I posted this over in reports, but I guess it was the wrong spot, because I couldn't get any replies. :-[  Here's a description of the lake and what we tried. All we got between two trips were 4 bass under 12".

The lake is relatively shallow with the deepest spot being around 25'. Water is fairly clear with alot of vegetation on the lake floor. There's no lily pads. Bear in mind we don't have a depthfinder so we couldn't really look for structure. There was alot of exposed tree stumps and logs which we fished.  

We got there late around 7:00 and used mainly greenish or brownish colored soft plastics. Baby Brush Hogs, Trick worms, Finesse worms, curly tails, Tiki sticks...  I also tried a shiner colored Rattle-Trap.  

So there's the info. Any suggestions for some relatively new bass anglers on a new lake? Whatever advice you guys could give would be greatly appreciated. It's bad when the fishing's so bad you're glad when you catch an 8" bass.  ;D

Thanks all!

Try some spinnerbaits near the tree stumps. And if you want to catch the 8" bass, lol try a beetle spin, never fails

Well, some more info. would be nice... we don't even know from your post, what time zone you're in.  What part of the country?  What were air + water temps?  How experienced are you?  

You can't judge a lake or pond in one outing I can answer that much for sure.  Maybe you just weren't hitting it, maybe they weren't actively feeding, maybe you're imitating the wrong forage, etc.   Maybe it's full of stunted bass, this happens when no one regulates a body of water, and people keep all of the large fish.

Don't be too fast to judge, keep hitting it, try different presentations, baits, etc.  Take someone fresh with you.  Sometimes a new fisherman can open up lots of possibilities.  You caught fish, you should be happy.  I go to choice water sometimes that I know holds big bass, and may not get bit for 2-3 hours.  Enjoy mother nature, and your fishing buddy.  I take a radio for the slow times if I just don't feel like racking my brain trying to figure out what the heck those bass are thinking.

Well, some more info. would be nice... we don't even know from your post, what time zone you're in. What part of the country? What were air + water temps? How experienced are you?

You can't judge a lake or pond in one outing I can answer that much for sure. Maybe you just weren't hitting it, maybe they weren't actively feeding, maybe you're imitating the wrong forage, etc. Maybe it's full of stunted bass, this happens when no one regulates a body of water, and people keep all of the large fish.

Don't be too fast to judge, keep hitting it, try different presentations, baits, etc. Take someone fresh with you. Sometimes a new fisherman can open up lots of possibilities. You caught fish, you should be happy. I go to choice water sometimes that I know holds big bass, and may not get bit for 2-3 hours. Enjoy mother nature, and your fishing buddy. I take a radio for the slow times if I just don't feel like racking my brain trying to figure out what the heck those bass are thinking.

Good advice fireandice! (hey that ryhmes!) ;D

I'm in NW Florida close to the FL/Ala state line. Air temp was high 80s. Water temp I couldn't tell you as the only electronics we have on our boat is our trolling motor and our camera! Experience level is very low.

The lake has large fish in it. We witnessed a guy catch about a 4-5# and I saw one about the same size dart by the boat.

Don't worry I was definetely enjoying myself. It wasn't that, in fact I'd go back out even if I knew I'd have the same luck. It's just I'd like to catch a few 'keepers'.

Thanks!

I understand.  That is a little frustrating.  It might help to just pick up on what the other guys are doing.  You'd be surprised how friendly and open fisherman can be sometimes.  I'd troll close enough to talk to them sometime if they're having a slow period and just see if they're willing to talk or give you any pointers.  I did this the other day, and the guy was actually honest with me the other day.  I just really wanted to confirm what I was seeing him throw and what he was catching.  We had the exact same setup and he was killing me as far as numbers go, so I guess he was just more experienced with that kind of bait, or different presentation.  It was making all the difference.  Sometimes it's very subtle differences that will get it done, especially on water with fishing pressure.  

Find out about the main forage in the lake and try to imitate that, and if that doesn't work, keep bangin' away at it.  You'll figure it out eventually.  Good luck.