This is tough to give advice as there’s a lot in your post. If you’ve been bassin’ for 11 years with no improvement, then either you’re really stubborn, putting an insane amount of self induced peer-pressure or are not hungry enough.
 

I live to fish and when I go, it’s to catch fish. When I don’t do well or feel I fished crappy, I’m genuinely irritated and mull all the negatives on the way home. This may seem counterproductive, but processing that negative experience drives me to fish better and do well next trip. Even if I’m on shore, I’m not playing around when I fish.
 

Get some good, go to areas on your lakes/rivers that you can start on and get a fish or two to start your day. Popping a couple solid keepers gets you going and feeling it, then you get another couple and the groove is on the move baby! Above all else man…BE CONFIDENT or you won’t fish well

...and to add to my post above. The two boats that were catching fish were also fishing solo and being extremely quiet as was myself. The two boats that were struggling had two and three fishermen aboard and  were pretty noisy. 

You must learn your electronics. You need to find schools of baitfish on lakes, understanding the spawning patterns of the lakes and particularly the LMB. Have you fished Patoka? Monroe? Patoka is a much harder lake than Monroe, my takeaway from your OP is learn your electronics. Learn the seasonal patterns of LMB, learn water temps, baitfish types, crawfish, structures on the lakes. Invest in topographical maps. Work on learning your scope, it will help you immensely. 
 

Don’t give up. Gain the knowledge then put it to work..find local tournament groups and see what weights are winning on what lakes you fish. You can find this information on Facebook. (I read your OP & nothing else) 

16 hours ago, gim said:

Those numbers are really low. I would say it’s not a reflection on your fishing skills though. If you are fishing that often and still experiencing those results, the fish aren’t there in good numbers.

 

I would focus on on some new water. Does your state post population survey numbers? Focus on lakes and rivers that have better populations of bass.

I will look into some of these surverys for sure. I've never thought about them. good idea there. 

1 hour ago, F14A-B said:

You must learn your electronics. You need to find schools of baitfish on lakes, understanding the spawning patterns of the lakes and particularly the LMB. Have you fished Patoka? Monroe? Patoka is a much harder lake than Monroe, my takeaway from your OP is learn your electronics. Learn the seasonal patterns of LMB, learn water temps, baitfish types, crawfish, structures on the lakes. Invest in topographical maps. Work on learning your scope, it will help you immensely. 
 

Don’t give up. Gain the knowledge then put it to work..find local tournament groups and see what weights are winning on what lakes you fish. You can find this information on Facebook. (I read your OP & nothing else) 

I haven't been to Monroe in many years. I have never fished Patoka. We do Geist, Morse, Eagle Creek and Lemon mostly. In learning all these factors of the lake would you recommend youtube/google or are there good books that explain the process more in depth. Thanks for the knowledge. I talked to guys fishing Geist Saturday. The weights were around 18-20 lbs for 5 fish leading on the board. They gave me some advice on colors to throw out there. 

1 hour ago, scaleface said:

...and to add to my post above. The two boats that were catching fish were also fishing solo and being extremely quiet as was myself. The two boats that were struggling had two and three fishermen aboard and  were pretty noisy. 

Stealth is a skill i need to learn. My wife is as quiet as a mouse all the time and I am the loudest man in most rooms i walk into. 

1 hour ago, JonB2 said:

This is tough to give advice as there’s a lot in your post. If you’ve been bassin’ for 11 years with no improvement, then either you’re really stubborn, putting an insane amount of self induced peer-pressure or are not hungry enough.
 

I live to fish and when I go, it’s to catch fish. When I don’t do well or feel I fished crappy, I’m genuinely irritated and mull all the negatives on the way home. This may seem counterproductive, but processing that negative experience drives me to fish better and do well next trip. Even if I’m on shore, I’m not playing around when I fish.
 

Get some good, go to areas on your lakes/rivers that you can start on and get a fish or two to start your day. Popping a couple solid keepers gets you going and feeling it, then you get another couple and the groove is on the move baby! Above all else man…BE CONFIDENT or you won’t fish well

I'm in the same boat. I was so annoyed getting skunked Satuday that I am at a point of needing to make some changes. I LOVE to fish too. It's my favorite thing in the world to be doing. I am 100% obsessed.  I've invested too many years of my life and too much money to be this bad is where I'm at right now. 

2 hours ago, Don Preller said:

first realize what is a good day on the waters you fish. not every body of water can pump out 20 pounds a day.second try to identify the type of lakes you have.Natural lake . highland reservoir, lowland reservoir etc. and the forage base that is in the lakes. also I think you got good advice above focus on 1 or 2 lakes and the river.As far as your electronics i use mine to find structure and cover more than fish. if i have a likely structure fir the time of year with cover on it in a reasonable depth zone for the season and theres bait around i fish it. Also as stated above find a couple moving bait techniques you are comfortable with and a couple slower techniques your comfortable with and focus on those. locating the fish is often more important than lure choice. hiring a guide is a good idea nit so much to catch a bunch of fish but to learn Why the guide is fishing where he is in general terms not neccesarilly the exact spot. Lastly im not an expert but i have improved alot in the last 10 years or so.

Thank you! I have some more homework to do to really know what is going on below the surface. i do look up the main baitfish before I go to to a lake and pick lures that "match the hatch". More homework/research to do. 

2 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

@jitterbug127 my experience on rivers is somewhat limited but I fish them enough to have some kind of an idea of what to look for.

 

In an environment where current is constant, you really have to fish the changes.

 

Are there times where the river slacks off?  Times where it gets more turbulent?

 

Does your river change water levels or clarity?  What is the predominant form of cover available to fish on the river?  What the secondary form of cover?  Have you tried planning to fish nasty days instead of nice days ever?  Have you tried very early or very late in the day?

 

 

 

With regard to bait selection - I tend to let the cover pick the bait for me - I don’t really pick my baits.  I just fish what efficiently deflects off or through the cover at various speeds and depths.  If I need to go very very fast on the bottom - I’m not gonna fish a jig or lipless or bladed jig or worm - I’m gonna need a deep diving crankbait.  If they’re loaded in grass that you can see on the surface - my deep crank is not useful.  If they’re on the bottom in the grass I’ll need a heavy pegged t rig, if they’re eating near the surface in the grass I might do a fluke or frog twitched or popped or burned or even dead sticked to see what speed they want it and efficiently target them in the grass etc.

 

those who are telling you to simplify bait selection are very very smart.

 

if you can find lures that allow you to more efficiently search the heavy cover on your river - you might see more success.

 

If you can figure out where they like to spawn, they’re never far from those areas 365 days a year (at least a substantial percentage of them he population of bass).

 

My experience on rivers is that you really have to locate the preferred structures.  There can be miles of river with no fish and then you find a deep hole with timber and shad loaded in it and get bit on every cast.

 

Bass are easy to find - they’re in heavy cover around bait.

 

You need to learn to find bait!  Bait is easier to find with your eyes and your ears than with a lure.  Electronics can definitely help but I really like to see bait with my eyes.

 

One more thing to add that has proven to be incredibly helpful time and time again with every lure category - don’t be afraid to go looney tunes fast or dead slow with your bait even within the same cast - always intentionally and deliberately explore extremes with regards to speed and depth and even size of bait to some degree - it can be the difference between 1 fish and 10 fish in the same spot as someone else at the same time.

 

I love fishing the river. We are limited on how far up and down we can go because my boat has a propeller. A few of the places I put in have approximately 2-3 mile stretches (heavily depending on the time of the year). so nothing huge but long enough to potentially hold some fish. I do really wonder if I am fishing dead water more than I know. The lakes I fish is so dirty that spotting baitfish can be rather difficult. I'd a foot of visibility is "clear" for most of the lakes around town. Theyre generally dirtier than that. 

You could absolutely try YouTube for your model Garmin or contact Garmin directly for assistance. I’m guessing they have all you need. 

3 hours ago, Kayak Koz said:

I’m going to give you a piece of advice that may not make sense at first but when you figure it out it will blow your mind. It’s something that I have been working on.

 

The key to finding fish is eliminating unproductive water. That means different things in different lakes in different times of the year. There are lots of videos on this. Too often I looked at maps looking for sweet spots instead of eliminating large areas of unproductive water.

 

Second, in a boat or kayak the temptation is to run and gun. If you’re in what should be a productive spot and don’t get a bite in a dozen casts or don’t see fish on electronics it’s easy to pick up and move.

 

But productive spots are not productive every minute of the day. Bass can be hit and run feeders, waiting a distance away before they make their move to feed. If the bait is there, the bass will show up. Your timing of being there just may be off.

 

This is something that I have to keep reminding myself.

YES! I really do think i fish a bunch of unproductive waters. This skill is probably just as or more important than finding the fish. Eliminating bad water is a big deal. 

4 hours ago, GRiver said:

“SLOW DOWN”

Texas rig some worms or creatures, work along the shore line, hunt for cover or shade lines. 

Use curly tail or straight, green pumpkin, watermelon, junebug, and some variation of red. Tequila sunrise, plum, red Shad. 
Enjoy the day…

 

Love this. Will buy some worms and give them a try. 

16 hours ago, OldManLure said:

I agree with @Susky River Rat, and the water I’d focus on is the White River.  It is known to have a healthy population of bass.  You have the equipment for it.  Focus on it.  Learn it.  Learn how the fish live in it.  IMO, nothing compares to river fishing for smallmouth.

I love smallmouth. Most of my fishing has been the river. if its not fishing shallow at a lake I'm not really sure where to start. I have more to learn. Thanks for all the advice. 

20 hours ago, jitterbug127 said:

Like an entire year. 

I probably fish 30 times a season. I get skunked 15-20 of those. 

 

Hmmm, well I can understand your frustration and the reason for your post.

 

We got to get you "fixed".   

 

I've got a work deadline tomorrow so I can maybe do some digging around your area after then.

 

In the meantime, here's a video below of a guy catching smallmouth right on your main fishing spot. Maybe it can help some.

 

 

 

 

 

4 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

You need to learn to find bait!  Bait is easier to find with your eyes and your ears than with a lure.

Pat, can you expand on how to find bait fish? I struggle with this too and don't have a fish finder. Eyes and ears implies you are looking for flaps on top of the water. 

Finding the bait - many ways to go about this.

 

birds, insects, heavy vegetation, shade, heavy wood cover, shallow flats, wind direction, flickering on the surface, popping sounds etc.

 

If your state allows - you could try cast net or mosquito hook + light line on a split shot rig.  
 

In my experience - bait is easier to see with your eyes or hear with your ears than it is to hunt it other ways - I’m not too concerned with the bait fish swimming around in the abyss or the bass chasing them - there are plenty of shallow baitfish and bass most of the year to hunt with my senses .

 

Bank fishing a small pond will rapidly help develop your awareness of what’s happening on the water and see a smaller scale representation of bait reacting to changing conditions.

38 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

Finding the bait - many ways to go about this.

 

birds, insects, heavy vegetation, shade, heavy wood cover, shallow flats, wind direction, flickering on the surface, popping sounds etc.

 

If your state allows - you could try cast net or mosquito hook + light line on a split shot rig.  
 

In my experience - bait is easier to see with your eyes or hear with your ears than it is to hunt it other ways - I’m not too concerned with the bait fish swimming around in the abyss or the bass chasing them - there are plenty of shallow baitfish and bass most of the year to hunt with my senses .

 

Bank fishing a small pond will rapidly help develop your awareness of what’s happening on the water and see a smaller scale representation of bait reacting to changing conditions.

Thank you Pat. Very helpful. As far as wind direction... how does wind direction affect bait fish?

@jitterbug127 I fish the same lakes you do and at times find them difficult too. Geist is bowl sewer dump for Lawrence, Morse very much the same for Noblesville with Lemmon and Monroe being pretty darn decent. The White is a good fishery.

I catch fish on these lakes but not the numbers or size a lot of the tournament anglers do. It’s frustrating. My $.02 is fishing basic information to help locate productive areas.

 

A few things to lean on is number one, confidence. Believe you are throwing the right lure at the right target and that you are going to be successful. How to improve “confidence “?

However rudimentary learn bass behavior. Generally; weather

When it’s sunny they look for cover; weed edges, logs overhanging bank vegetation and shade waiting on dinner to come by.

When it’s cloudy they are more active, searching for dinner and rely on ambush points, fresh water (creek flow) and bait balls.

Warmer water and weather, more active.

The colder the water gets the slower the reaction and “searching” mode. And typically the deeper they will go.

Early morning light or fading evening light is historically best, having the cover of semi-darkness. Which is a clue to daylight conditions.

These are totally GENERAL scenarios and do/will overlap.

 

My electronics are basic and used for water temperature and depth, no big screen, forward facing or multi units.  It is helpful for finding bait but not a guarantee the bass are there, but usually near.

The depth helps in seeing where in the water column fish are located. Water temp helps in determining how active I believe they are.

With these two bits of information I can narrow down which lure (chasing or dragging), at what depth and what speed to fish it when first hitting the water. It can basically apply to every lure you throw.

Add this information with the weather conditions and it helps narrow down “unproductive water” as @Kayak Koz  pointed out.

 

Study your electronics features and how to use them, efficiently and effectively. Use the “fish id” for fish symbols, not just millions of dot matrix flooding the screen until you know how to determine exactly what you are looking at.

Use the “general” rules of fish behavior and conditions to help figure out where the fish should be.

And the bain of my fishing,,,,,,slow down, especially now fall is here.

 

All this applies to the river as well but the target areas are usually more defined by current, structure and stealth!

 

This is my million mile view and helps me simplify where, what and when to fish. Every trip is a learning experience and I ask myself on the way home “what do I learn” while on the water? Take that information on the next outing and add another one to it.

Over time the accumulated knowledge improves the experience.

3 hours ago, Red Beard said:

Thank you Pat. Very helpful. As far as wind direction... how does wind direction affect bait fish?

Wind will push the tiny things that the baitfish eat. whatever direction the wind is blowing that's where the food will be. Ie if you're on a square lake facing North and the wind is coming from the west you'll want to start fishing the east side of the lake.

 

Keep in mind I'm just now really learning about this stuff though. Hopefully someone with more knowledge will come along and verify this or correct me

 

 

When you discover the secret please tell me.  Until then keep fishing, and have fun.  I will never be able to cast like a tournament pro, or quickly define a pattern, like a real expert, but I have as much fun as anybody, learn something every time I go fishing, and have enough tackle to supply a Bass Pro Shops.  Every day a person gets to bass fish is a good day, nothing terrible about it.

Baitfish will relate to wind differently at different times of year and so will bass.

 

Most of the time - wind is your friend.

 

Times I fish protected areas are more niche in general - winter and to some degree early spring - finding less windy spots CAN be better but not always.

 

If the wind is warmer than the water - then you generally want to fish the wind.

 

If the wind is colder than the water - you are gonna want to fish calmer spots usually.

 

When I locate bait - I still target optimum structure and cover and try to think creatively about how bass might use the area the bait is situated in throughout the day.

Glad I started this thread. It’s a good reset button on how to start again. Does anyone have a favorite book they’ve read for smallmouth bass fishing? 

https://www.bucksspoonplugs.com/Spoonplugging--your-Guide-to-Lunker-Catches--Soft-Cover-Edition_p_88.html

 

Buck Perry - of Hickory NC - really defined structure fishing and everyone should familiarize themselves with his literature.

12 hours ago, scaleface said:

The two boats that were catching fish were also fishing solo and being extremely quiet as was myself. The two boats that were struggling had two and three fishermen aboard and  were pretty noisy. 

 

Most of the guys at Bass Resource know much more about lures, techniques, rods, and reels than me, but I do pretty well by fishing quietly. Some of the Bass Resource guys maintain that silence is overrated, but I fished this afternoon and repeatedly spooked bass who weren't aware of my approach. When I spook them, I note where they were and spend extra time casting to similar-looking spots. 

 

I agree with @Reel: Find someone who is catching fish and ask them to fish with you. Then instead of fishing, watch them fish. Fish-catching skills can be learned. 

21 hours ago, jitterbug127 said:

Stealth is a skill i need to learn. My wife is as quiet as a mouse all the time and I am the loudest man in most rooms i walk into. 

 

I wouldn't worry about talking as much as these:

 

1990 Evinrude 9.9/15

2020 Powerdrive 50 LB thrust 

2022 Garmin Echomap 73sv

 

All these make noise and to a degree, it's unavoidable noise, but heavy footfalls on your boat and dropping anything on your deck is avoidable noise. I've been sitting in a lily pad field and bumped my boat and seen five swirls, all within feet of my canoe, as bass fled. There are situations when a paddled boat will outfish a motor boat. And vice versa. My canoe on a big Texas reservoir would be pathetic. But my canoe thrives in places like below. Look at the weeds behind this bass:

 

 

Now imagine a trolling motor churning through that. So, keep a paddled boat in mind one day. 

The places I fish have a ton of boat traffic, so I think the stealthier I can be the better.  A paddle boat looks like a ton of fun! 

I have been reading a-jays big thread on smallmouth bass. Lots of good information in there to learn. I think I might buy a kayak this winter to get into new next season to find some less pressured places to go. Being in the metropolitan area of Indy lots people are hitting the same spots over and over and over again. Off the beaten path will be a nice change 

14 minutes ago, jitterbug127 said:

The places I fish have a ton of boat traffic, so I think the stealthier I can be the better.  A paddle boat looks like a ton of fun! 

 

If you buy a canoe or kayak and you're willing to bushwhack, you can fish water with no boat traffic. 

 

Another reason you might not be catching fish is that they're hitting and you don't realize it. A bass hit doesn't feel like one thing. Sometimes it feels like nothing at all. They inhale the lures so lightly that you can't feel the hit. You must have streams in your area full of smaller fish that aren't targeted. Those smaller fish will train you in all the ways a bass can hit a lure. You can then take that knowledge and apply it to catch bigger bass.

What a great post, thread, what ever it’s called. A wealth of information is on this.
Thanks @jitterbug127 for asking the question.

Thanks to everyone who has offered advice, shared their knowledge and experience.

On 10/14/2025 at 7:50 PM, king fisher said:

When you discover the secret please tell me.  Until then keep fishing, and have fun. 

Best advise yet.

 

Don't say you're a terrible fisherman, always remember that just being able to go out a and fish its a f.... successes.

 

 

I believe you are serious about wanting to catch bass but overloaded with internet input.

I want to share with you my belief in bass fishing is based on seasonal periods and timing. Timing comes into play to when to try to catch active bass.

PM your email and will send you my Cosmic Clock and Bass Calendar. I know the title sounds strange but I describing seasonal periods and bass activity, 2 things you need to know to find bass and when to fish them.

This site has more specific presentation techniques then you could ever use, pick a few appropriate for the way fish and tackle you have.

Another good book on using your sonar is Don Iovino Finesse Bass Fishing and the sonar Connection. Old but timeless.

Tom

Go out on a calm summer evening, about an hour before sunset.  find an area with weeds and other cover near the bank.  Look for bluegill feeding on insects.  Cast an original floating rapala tied on a medium light spinning rod, with 8 pound test mono.  Cast it out and let it sit for awhile.  Give it a twitch or two then let sit again.  Do this a few times then slowly reel it back.  You will get bit.  They might not be big, but a bass will bite.

 

Do this a few evenings, then expand out from there with other lures, and different times of the day.  Eventually you will find other seasons, time of day, locations, and lures you prefer, but that late summer evening bite will always be there for you to enjoy.