Been bass fishing for about 2 weeks now and haven't gotten a single bite despite trying multiple spots and different lures. What am i likely doing wrong? Any tips for a complete beginner would be appreciated.

Learn a few proven techniques, watch some videos and ask questions here.

Texas rigged worm, wacky rigged Senko would be a good place to start and you can expand from there.

Whopper plopper is a simple top water bait that you could throw early and late.

Keep at it.

Not knowing where you’re at and what conditions you’re fishing, I can’t give too “dialed in” of advice…..

A smallish (1/4 or 3/8oz) white/chartreuse spinnerbait will get bit pretty much anywhere in the country. A 3.8 Keitech swimbait on an underspin jighead is another solid bait for someone just starting out.

Keep trying, keep asking questions.

Bank/shore, boat, yak, etc?

We need to know your limitations here before we can help you

A bass bite differs. It can start with a little tug or there will be absolutely no pull, just your line moving in an unexpected way and sometimes you've got a bass on your line that you can't feel or see in the line. You just have a sense that something's amiss from years of experience. So, be alert. Watch your line. If it does anything unexpected, set the hook.

Kinda need some info to really help ya. Lakes or ponds? Bank fishing or a boat of some kind? What lures are you trying? Is there lily pads or grass? Rock banks? More info and we will get ya on fish for sure.

Tie on, cast into water, reel in fish...

Could be lots of reasons you’re not getting bit.

The first would be, there ain’t no fish where you’re at. just because there’s water, doesn’t necessarily mean there’s bass there. If it’s a large lake and there’s grass, rocks, stumps (over to your left), but there’s a mud bottom where you’re fishing, then most likely there ain’t a whole lot of fish in that area. They like to hang out around the aforementioned grass and stumps.

The second would be heavy pressure from other anglers. If you fish a stretch of shore where everybody else fishes, you’re gonna have to do something different, and you’re gonna have to present that lure perfectly.

If I was gonna outfit a new angler with lures it would be as follows.

Zoom Fat Albert curly tail grub in green pumpkin on 1/4oz ball jigheads. cast out and reel it back slow, or hop it along the bottom.

1/4oz rooster tail in white and black colors, add a ball bearing swivel to the line tie to prevent line twist. Cast it out and reel it back.

Texas rigged Zoom super fluke in watermelon red color. 3/0 gamakatsu round bend worm hooks. Twitch it back with a jerk of the rod tip every second or so. Keep rod tip lower towards water.

Texas rigged 5” Senko in green pumpkin 297, gamakatsu 3/0 round bend worm hooks. Throw it out, let it set about 10 seconds. Move rod tip upward to drag the worm along the bottom while lifting it some. Repeat til back to shore.

An alternative to the senko would be a zoom trick worm. Watermelon red or green pumpkin colors.

Rebel brand popper. Twitch rod tip, and causes it to ploop, repeat every second or so with an occasional pause.

There really is no wrong way to fish the lures I suggest. My suggestion is how I fish them, but if you fish those lures, even if you do it a bit different, you most likely are gonna catch bass.

I’d use trilene big game or trilene xl mono in 10 pound for it all.

Another thing to consider, are you using bug spray? Deet turns off the bite for bass.

I agree with @Bass Rutten. I believe @road warrior has a thread on a guaranteed way to catch a bass and it involves rigging up a 5” senko and casting parallel to the bank. It should be that simple. Only thing I’ll add is rigging it wacky rigged will be even better.

“The Beetle Spin, which catches all species of fish, is my survival lure. I always carry a number of these small-and-compact lures with me. Beetle Spins catch numbers of bass, particularly big bass. My favorite color Beetle Spin is white with a red dot that I fish on spinning tackle on either 6- or 8-pound-test line."

Gary Klein

Agree Wacky Rig a Senko. You will get bit

Can’t go wrong

I agree with others that a 5” senko is a great starter bait for bass. Easy to use and generally always effective. I don’t wacky rig much, but a weightless texas rig is money. Falls slower and is way more weedless.

All you need, especially to start, is #’s 234, 301, 021. Those 3 colors are HIGHLY effective and cover all water conditions. Everyone runs for 297(green pumpkin), but don’t sleep on 301. My all time favorite is 234 with zero hesitation. Try these and get yourself some confidence, feel, FIRE and off you go my man

Edit: just wanted to add to this, you must become a line watcher, sometimes you may not feel pickups but will see your line twitch or start drifting left or right. If anything feels funny or off, swings are free!

A Texas rigged Senko, and the best advice is slow down, and when you think it’s slow, slow down some more. A lot of bites happen while the bait is sitting still. Watch your line where it disappears into the water. You see line movement, take up slack, feel the weight, then set the hook hard!, It won’t take too long!

I’ll have to just say it again since I’m late. If you’re bank fishing

A senko parallel to the bank will produce!!!! I also use a Texas rigged worm when the bite gets tough!

I add attractant to everything idk if it helps but I figure it can’t hurt

On 6/12/2026 at 9:25 PM, Bass Rutten said:

Tie on, cast into water, reel in fish...

I caught 80 bass this morning doing exactly what Bass Rutten suggested.

On 6/13/2026 at 1:03 AM, Bazoo said:

Another thing to consider, are you using bug spray? Deet turns off the bite for bass.

So does sunscreen.

The above suggestions cover everything an inexperienced angler needs to know to begin catching Bass. I WOULD LIKE TO ADD THIS : when fishing worms and Senkos, it takes time to learn when to set the hook, and while in the learning process most anglers experience a lot of gut hooked fish which results in mortality. To reduce the mortality rate, pinch the barbs or preferably get some barbless hooks. Another way, especially when wacky rigging, is to use circle hooks.

43 minutes ago, Tackleholic said:

The above suggestions cover everything an inexperienced angler needs to know to begin catching Bass. I WOULD LIKE TO ADD THIS : when fishing worms and Senkos, it takes time to learn when to set the hook, and while in the learning process most anglers experience a lot of gut hooked fish which results in mortality. To reduce the mortality rate, pinch the barbs or preferably get some barbless hooks. Another way, especially when wacky rigging, is to use circle hooks.

Great post and spot on.

I only use a 2/0 for 5" senkos, but have went down to a 1/0 when they're eating hard. I'd say for the most part, a good bass doesn't play games and one jump of your line and immediate running is instant hookset. Small fish grab and go, and can tear a senko right off or apart. Bigger bass swim up, inhale, and start moving off. Besides the great advice above, always carry side cutters to snip a hook.

On 6/12/2026 at 2:57 PM, hampter said:

Been bass fishing for about 2 weeks now and haven't gotten a single bite despite trying multiple spots and different lures. What am i likely doing wrong? Any tips for a complete beginner would be appreciated.

Would you happen to be fishing in salt water? 😜

I joke! But in all seriousness, you know there’s fish in your target body of water, right?

Great advice in this thread already. A couple things I'd add that don't get mentioned enough for beginners: 1. Time of day matters a lot. Early morning (first 2 hours after sunrise) and evening (last 2 hours before dark) are when bass are most actively feeding, especially in summer. Mid-afternoon when the sun is high is often the toughest time to get bites. If you've mostly been fishing during the day, try going out at dawn and you may be surprised. 2. Fish edges and transitions. Bass rarely sit in open water - they relate to structure. Look for where two things meet: a weedline where grass ends and open water begins, a point where a shallow flat drops into deeper water, where shade from a dock or tree hits the water. Cast parallel to those edges rather than into the middle of nowhere. 3. Slow down your retrieve by about 50% from what feels natural. Most beginners fish too fast. Bass are ambush predators - they want easy prey. A slow-moving or almost-still bait is often irresistible. Keep at it - the learning curve is steep at first but it clicks fast. Everyone here had a two-week stretch with no bites at some point!

There's a section on Bassresource for new bass anglers that's loaded with information: https://www.bassresource.com/how-to-fish

https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-videos/pressured-ponds.html

Don’t be afraid to whip out the ultralight with some 6 lb mono and a 1/16 oz jig head with a Bobby garland minnow when times are tough. Just cast it out and wind it back with the rod tip pointed up to about 11 o clock - vary speed and try popping your rod tip very gently occasionally and shaking the line as you reel it back very slightly every so often. Make sure you try reeling it fast and slow and medium speed and try steady retrieves and retrieves with lots of variation and you’ll catch some bass if there are bass to be caught.

A solid rule when you’re starting out is to just cover lots of water and move constantly until you get a tug or a bite or see a bunch of fish and that’s when you’re gonna wanna start mixing it up and slowing down and being more methodical and then if you go for about 10 or 20 minutes without a bite or another fish, then you need to keep moving in the process needs to keep going. You definitely don’t wanna sit still when you’re bass fishing.