Fishing conditions have been terrible lately.

Rolling cold fronts have been hitting most weeks. One will hit, and another will hit two days later. We have high and higher water conditions and the water looks like chocolate milk.

My daughter has caught two fish this year: one small striper and one small largemouth.

We've been trying for crappie and panfish besides bass, and we're getting nothing on that front.

It seemd most times we're out, something's surface feeding on bugs, and so I've been getting well-acquainted with my fly rod, but without success.

Besides using noisy lures and fishing slowly, what else should we be trying? I've tried all sorts of colors, even though I've always read that you should try to match the water color.

Any tips?

Thanks!

Live bait to get the skunk out ?

I always try a drop shot and need colors that stand out in the muddy water. Maybe even black lures

Try to put some scent on there as well. Like JJ magic

Those are the conditions where I reach for a single Colorado spinnerbait - either black or straight up chartreuse, alternating between slow rolling and burning it.

Find thick multiple type vegetation close to a significant depth change. Throw a plastics into the weeds and slowly pull them to the depth change and fall to the bottom. Bass will hit as the bait leaves the weeds and falls down the ledge. Let it sit at the bottom for several minutes and then repeat. Bites often come while sitting still. Be a line watcher.

Creek mouths, or any other place water is entering the lake, and isolated shoreline brush/weeds are my "go to's" in those conditions. Spinnerbait, square bill, and a jig or Trig get the nod.

Fishing will be tough but there is always a way to catch 'em. Big bladed spinnerbait or a fat, wide wobbling square bill bumped slowly into shallow wood cover will work. Repeated casts to the same stump is needed.

Slow down and worm that square bill thru there.

i think a live worm is a good idea when you’re fishing with kids - if the fish won’t eat a live worm - good chance the ones you’re trying to catch aren’t there. Also worth trying a hand net and one of the minnows from just along the bank at the spot you fish.

Water quality can make fishing extremely tough and droughts/flooding has made for very poor water quality in NC this summer and it seems like bite windows are very important when they aren’t comfortable just roaming around all day and eating.

Hour before sunrise and the 1-2 hours before the sun goes down are very wise times to fish when water quality is poor and fish are tight lipped.

Mid day you are going to find concentrations of fish in shade and around spawning areas and they can be caught but typically you gotta work a little more to get bites mid day.

Fishing is tougher now than it’s ever been due to fishing pressure and angler skill being at an all time high. Covid educated a whole generation of fish. You really have to do something a little different to stand out and for me - traditional baits all still work but I almost always have to be doing something different like fishing it very fast or very slow or very aggressive or very very gentle etc. We have a tendency to want to make the fish bite and sometimes less is more when they’ve seen the same eager twitching 10,000 times in a day with 17 different baits etc.

First off, Josh, kudos for taking your daughter fishing.

Since you're a family man, I think it will be hard for you to follow my approach, but the weather decides when I fish. I fish when it's overcast. Foggy is even better. Rain is great. Here's a bass I caught last night. Don't look at the fish. Look at the sky:

And here's a bass I caught yesterday morning. Note the fog:

If it's gray, it's a great day to fish. @Pat Brown said the same thing.

I'd also read @Mbirdsley's latest post in the Latest Catch thread. He couldn't catch bass until he downsized to a Neko rig.

And I like @TimTheGearNerd's live bait suggestion.

Strong work getting your daughter out fishing @Josh Smith!! When my kiddos were small, we would hit a local pond that I knew was stacked with bluegill. Put a single piece of corn on a hook, just down from bobber...they were catching fish faster than I could bait the hooks. Granted, kiddos were quite small...it was a blast!

On bigger lakes, in my area, there are a few "go-to's" that seem to catch fish when nothing else will.

NED rig, green pumpkin

T-rigged, weightless Senko

And my absolute "gonna catch something" set up...a 1/16th oz. crappie jig with a 2.5" Gulp Minnow, black shad. For some reason the crappie, bluegill and LMB's just cannot resist. I even have Pike hit this set up...although it's usually me feeling a bite, setting the hook...and getting a "plink!" as the line is snapped off in their toothy mouth : )

Good luck!!

When the water looks like chocolate milk I fish shallow and close to cover. My top lure is a black spinnerbaiy with copper blades. Dont know why copper , it just works for me. A Strike king Midnight Special would be a solid choice with the added benefit of a rattle.

I’m going to echo @DaubsNU1 on the 1/16th ounce jig head and Gulp Alive minnows.

As a kid I always heard that if the water was high, fish the "new habitat". Go back in the protected creeks and coves and fish a big spinnerbait, jig and shallow crank around that stuff. Rattles are good a well as darker colors.

When all else fails, I'll go to a smallish pond down in a hollow that belongs to my friends. I can fish there from a kayak when the wind is howling elsewhere.

Lots of good advice above. I would echo most of it.

Despite the conditions, remember that the fish still have to eat. Their metabolism is up since it is summer warm. They have to eat something at least once or twice a day. So getting out when they are eating, finding where they are, and putting a bait right in front of them are the keys. How you achieve those are up to you. If you're time on the water is already specified, then getting as many good casts in the right places is going to give you your best result.

For me in muddy water (or algal bloom) I want vibration and thump. Big colorado blade on a white spinnerbait, vibrating jig with a 4" trailer, a squarebill with loud rattles. If the fish can only see 6-12" in the water then you need some other way for them to know your bait is there. Throwing a 3" ned rig might get bit if you put it on his nose, but man you have to be right on them. If you know the fish are holding in an area then sure. But if you're not sure where they are then you have to find them first and a 'thumper' bait will let you do more of that.

And as noted, if the water has come up more than a couple feet, get up in it. It takes them a day or so of consistent high water to move up but once they do that single colorado in 2-3' of brushy high water is a winner.

10 hours ago, geo g said:

Find thick multiple type vegetation close to a significant depth change. Throw a plastics into the weeds and slowly pull them to the depth change and fall to the bottom. Bass will hit as the bait leaves the weeds and falls down the ledge. Let it sit at the bottom for several minutes and then repeat. Bites often come while sitting still. Be a line watcher.

This is actually my preferred fishing method at all times. It's more like hunting than fishing. One of my favorite methods is to cast over limbs, or on to the opposite bank, and hop a jig into the water; or, at least ram it into as many underwater obstacles as I can.

Unfortunately, this approach isn't working.

18 hours ago, TimTheGearNerd said:

Live bait to get the skunk out ?

I always try a drop shot and need colors that stand out in the muddy water. Maybe even black lures

Try to put some scent on there as well. Like JJ magic

My daughter hates live bait, depending on the day you ask her.

She likes artificials, and prefers ones you can just reel in. The couple fish she's caught this year have been on small spinners.

Interestingly, folks using live bait don't seem to be doing a whole lot better.

2 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

First off, Josh, kudos for taking your daughter fishing.

Since you're a family man, I think it will be hard for you to follow my approach, but the weather decides when I fish. I fish when it's overcast. Foggy is even better. Rain is great. Here's a bass I caught last night. Don't look at the fish. Look at the sky:

And here's a bass I caught yesterday morning. Note the fog:

If it's gray, it's a great day to fish. @Pat Brown said the same thing.

I'd also read @Mbirdsley's latest post in the Latest Catch thread. He couldn't catch bass until he downsized to a Neko rig.

And I like @TimTheGearNerd's live bait suggestion.

These are the days we usually go. On bright days, we go when the shadows are long.

7 hours ago, T-Billy said:

Creek mouths, or any other place water is entering the lake, and isolated shoreline brush/weeds are my "go to's" in those conditions. Spinnerbait, square bill, and a jig or Trig get the nod.

One of the main places we've been going is a creek mouth into the Salamonie Reservoir. It has always been an excellent place, even when fishing pressure is on. Now, though... We even have to hike to it because the road is closed due to high water.

I'm about ready to make more noise and thump than I ever have. Small and slow isn't working, so I think I'll go slower and louder and see what happens.

Do bass ever strike in self-defense?

For those congratulating me on taking my daughter fishing, thank you. She's been fishing with me for most of her life, though she did lose interest for a couple years while her interests were diversifying (but we did take up mountain biking during that time, so she wasn't neglected 😁)

First bass.

In the couple years she took off, Belle has forgotten how to use the baitcast and has switched to spinning, which is just fine.

Her PB bass.

We took our mountain bikes to this location.

Starting last year, I no longer show her face. She's changed enough that she's unrecognizable from her younger pictures, and so I'm OK putting those up.

One of her favorite shows when she was a toddler was when Scott Martin took his little girls fishing for crappie. We must have watched that hundreds of times -- at least daily. I ended up writing Scott and telling him about it, also sending those that pic of Belle with the old 5500c (I think) for him to share with his girls. He wrote back and thought it was so cool. Now we watch Hilary's YouTube channel together.

She's never been one for live bait, though I think I've been able to talk her into trying it since she used it at her school's camping trip. We'll get some soon-ish.

I saw these today in a thrift store tacklebox. I didn't buy it but was inspired: Maybe these thump enough to attract fish. I think maybe I'll order some and see 😁

Even though I'm a finesse fisherman at heart, after reading your post the first thing I thought is I'd tie on something thats runs shallow and pushes some water, chatterbaits and squarebills would be on my short list.

5 hours ago, Josh Smith said:

I saw these today in a thrift store tacklebox. I didn't buy it but was inspired: Maybe these thump enough to attract fish. I think maybe I'll order some and see 😁

I'd skip the helicopter lure, but those black/chart tail power worms sure look good in murky water tight to cover. For real

You've gotten some outstanding advice already. I'll add and/or reiterate just a couple of things. My first plan would be to find "pinch points" where the body of water narrows. It could be a bridge, a place where the current turns or rounds a corner, or anywhere that the lake narrows slightly. Focus your moving baits on those points or, if the water is flowing, fish the eddies near those pinch points. Also remember that current doesn't require a flowing river. Wind can produce the surface current that brings fish to the dinner table.

The next thing I would try is dark colored plastics right up against hard cover. Something really floppy with a lot of appendages or (my go-to) an Ol' Monster.

Your mentality and dedication is outstanding. Best of luck.

11 hours ago, BigAngus752 said:

My first plan would be to find "pinch points" where the body of water narrows. It could be a bridge, a place where the current turns or rounds a corner, or anywhere that the lake narrows slightly. Focus your moving baits on those points or, if the water is flowing, fish the eddies near those pinch points. Also remember that current doesn't require a flowing river. Wind can produce the surface current that brings fish to the dinner table.

I second this.

11 hours ago, BigAngus752 said:

Your mentality and dedication is outstanding. Best of luck.

I also second this.

One thing I'd try is farm ponds. Find them on Google Earth and knock on some doors WITH your daughter. They'll have a hard time saying "No." with your daughter in tow.

Didn't get skunked again today when I started making noise. Got dinked, but not skunked 🤣

Funny thing is, I've never been in a situation where fish hit on crankbaits but not jigs, so I just stopped carrying a crankbait rod and relied on knocking jigs around cover. That may have been a mistake. I used to use squarebills in the river, but I kept breaking them on rocks and found jigs just as effective.

I still prefer jigs and plastics for the tight cover in which I usually fish, but I think I'll have to explore the world of crankbaits again.

You asked about if they hit in self defense and the answer is no. However, they will react to a bait that is nearby that triggers them. A fast moving squarebill or lipless or burning a spinnerbait will draw reaction strikes when the fish aren’t eating anything else. A buzzbait or bladed jig will do the same. If they think it is a baitfish that is struggling or getting away sometimes they can’t help but give chase and of course a bass is faster than any lure you’re reeling in.

3 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

One thing I'd try is farm ponds. Find them on Google Earth and knock on some doors WITH your daughter. They'll have a hard time saying "No." with your daughter in tow

Absolutely brilliant! And slightly diabolical…

5 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

I second this.

I also second this.

One thing I'd try is farm ponds. Find them on Google Earth and knock on some doors WITH your daughter. They'll have a hard time saying "No." with your daughter in tow.

I do have access to a couple private ponds, but I feel weird fishing them. Always have on any private pond; dunno why.

I've had my best fishing days on them, though.