I took off work yesterday to go fishing because it looked like it was going to be the perfect day.  It was cool, overcast, not TOO windy, and raining on and off, the temp was between 62 and 70, and the water temp was about 65.  I went out about 9 am and fished til 9 pm.  I caught 2 SMALL small mouths, 2 SMALL rock fish, and foul hooked one carp over the course of 12 hours.  I didn't even go in for lunch  >

It was crazy, I only saw about 8 other boats on the entire lake all day, and the fish were non-existant.  It was like they had all disappeared.  I had a great weekend last weekend, and was expecting even better this weekend.  I started off with chartreuse spinner bait, nothing... then rapala x-rap suspending jerk bait, nothing... then T-rigged watermelon seed lizard, nothing... crank bait, nothing... red/white buzz bait, nothing... red/white spinner (you get the picture... went on to try rattle traps (red, chrome, and blue), jig and pig (black/blue), spinner (black/blue), chatter bait (black/blue) and I tried medium and deep diving cranks with NO success  :'(

I tried several different places on the lake.  It was BAD!  I don't know what happened to the fish.

Any ideas??? What do YOU use in these conditions???

I came home soaked from head to toe, freezing cold, hungry, and had to ride 3 miles back in to the boat ramp with my trolling motor cause my outboard broke (long story in another tread)  :'(    

Yesterday made me wonder... Is a bad day fishing REALLY better than a good day at work??? :

Yes,there is never a bad day on the water.Yeah...okay outboard problems suck,but just from the fishing perspective,even a skunkin' will teach you something.

You will get a hundred opinions on what could have worked or what you did wrong.I notice one thing you did right and that was stay out there.Hints will help but only you can unlock the answers.There are days that the fish just aren't bitng.Even on days that have good conditions,something may mess them up.Somedays you just go to all the right places at the wrong time.Stay after them.Maybe you got that bad day out of the way! Good Luck!

Yesterday made me wonder... Is a bad day fishing REALLY better than a good day at work??? :

Without question!!!    With one exception...

If fishing was your job

B

i find that the fishing picks up just prior to rain but not necessarily during the rain.  especially if the water turns muddy. what could really burst your bubble is did the other fishermen on the lake claim to have a great day!

Yesterday made me wonder... Is a bad day fishing REALLY better than a good day at work??? :

... ... ... >       lol

Look down...

I've had some of my best days on the water on rainy days.  Usually spinnerbaits or topwaters.  

Hint:  If I were you, I'd invest in a decent rainsuit if you're gonna fish in stuff like that

It was a full moon and I hate fishing the full moon. I try real hard to get my fish in the first couple hours because the've been feeding all night and don't have feed thru the day.

Then I get into heavy slop the rest of the day.

Garnet

With the full moon and the cold front moving through the bass probably fed the night before.

So it was reaction strikes that you would want first thing in the morning, using topwaters such as a RICO (thinner than a Pop-R) or Zara Spook.  Maybe a small buzzbait would have produced some results, too.

With the clouds you need to use darker colored lures to match the surface background (looking up to the surface like a fish).

Then, later in the day, around 10 or 11, you could throw crankbaits as search baits along the dropoffs or Senkos or Zoom finesse worms into the weedlines.

By this time some bass are off the beds while others are still on the beds. In some places there is a second spawing season underway so maybe this is occurring in your area and the fish are back on the beds.

There will probably be a "lull" in the action around Noon and then the bite can pick up in the late afternoon.

And don't worry about getting wet.  That is the fun part of fishing.  You can get wet and dirty and go home as a success!

Yesterday made me wonder... Is a bad day fishing REALLY better than a good day at work??? :

I have to say yes. I have had many many bad days fishing and I still think they where all beter than being at work.

With the full moon and the cold front moving through the bass probably fed the night before.

So it was reaction strikes that you would want first thing in the morning, using topwaters such as a RICO (thinner than a Pop-R) or Zara Spook. Maybe a small buzzbait would have produced some results, too.

With the clouds you need to use darker colored lures to match the surface background (looking up to the surface like a fish).

Then, later in the day, around 10 or 11, you could throw crankbaits as search baits along the dropoffs or Senkos or Zoom finesse worms into the weedlines.

By this time some bass are off the beds while others are still on the beds. In some places there is a second spawing season underway so maybe this is occurring in your area and the fish are back on the beds.

There will probably be a "lull" in the action around Noon and then the bite can pick up in the late afternoon.

And don't worry about getting wet. That is the fun part of fishing. You can get wet and dirty and go home as a success!

Thank you for answering my question!!!