i aint catchin nothin

O

OzarkCreekWalker

Joined
Jul 25, 2011
Messages
521
well you read the title, i can't catch anything this year. It's noteworthy that all spring everything was flooded and as soon as summer started it was hot hot hot. I recently got to my favorite creek but it was dry as a desert. I haven't had much time anymore but still, i probably haven't caught more than 20 fish this year. I'm usually catching at least 200-300 a year, size certainly varies. but what gives? Maybe my gear is a bit outdated. I haven't bought anything new in a couple years (knives have been leaving my fishing funds dry), but the stuff that normally works just ain't workin! Share your tips and fish calling dances here.
 
Ive been catching quantity not quality. Texas rigged worms for bass mainly, fishing during the week when no one else is around helps a lot.
 
I have had a great season for numbers. Went fishing about 25 times so far this year and I average 50 fish each time, now that is mostly panfish, but a good amount of bass and pickeral are in their and some trout.....
 
Fish don't know what is out of style. Most fancy lures and rods are meant to catch fishermen, not fish. Maybe you are not fishing the right places at the right times.
 
Codger_64 said:
Fish don't know what is out of style. Most fancy lures and rods are meant to catch fishermen, not fish. Maybe you are not fishing the right places at the right times.
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bolded troof... however i have not caught my fair share as well but thats my fault, not the fish.

OP be more specific, fly fishing? when i think of creek fishing i am thinking of fly fishing for trout.
 
OzarkCreekWalker said:
well you read the title, i can't catch anything this year. It's noteworthy that all spring everything was flooded and as soon as summer started it was hot hot hot. I recently got to my favorite creek but it was dry as a desert.
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That is how my creek year has been this year. I am standing in a bone dry hole I should be catching fish in. When they are on the wacky worm it works very well, though snags can be plenty. When 3 feet is the deepest most spots it helps draw out the drop time. Slow cranking a squarebill has been working well for me, because I can cover more ground faster, it's good for feeling out structure, and even a lazy fish is game if you bonk him on the nose with that racket. Depends what you are fishing for I suppose.
 
If the creek is dried up dont fish there. They need water.:)

Im serious now. I have never fished a creek that has dried up. It seems like it would be easy to fish because all the fishies would be crowded in the holes. Im guessing fishing pressure is causing them to be shy. Might try fishing at night.
 
hung-solo said:
bolded troof... however i have not caught my fair share as well but thats my fault, not the fish.

OP be more specific, fly fishing? when i think of creek fishing i am thinking of fly fishing for trout.
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No, as much as i love fly fishing for bluegill (that's all my skill level and equipment seems to allow) just regular rod and reel for bass (smallies, largemouth, and unfortunately spotted). And Dipbait i think fishing is worse when the creek is low because they are not nice and comfortable in their holes. The water is lower thus warmer. Maybe next time I get out their i'll have to use smaller stuff or even try live bait. :thumbup:
 
I know alot of you feel diffent, but live bait gets them all the time. I have fished many clear water lakes and watched fish chase and look at my lures go by them, and then use live bait and get my limit in a few minutes.
 
tom19176 said:
I know alot of you feel diffent, but live bait gets them all the time. I have fished many clear water lakes and watched fish chase and look at my lures go by them, and then use live bait and get my limit in a few minutes.
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Whatever catches fish, catches fish. Purists crack me up. The fish doesn't care if you're using a $3000 bamboo rod or cane pole you just chopped off the creek bank, though it might just care if it sees live bait wiggle on the end of your line. I sure don't care what you've got on there, as long as it isn't dynamite. Dynamite hurts my ears.
 
Thanks for the support of using bait Guyon. Years ago I went fishing with my son upstate NY in a stocked trout lake. There was a nice older man fly fishing with a very expensive outfit, and I commented on how nice it was. He spent a minute telling me how it cost over $1.200. He passed us a few hours later with one thin trout in his $200 creel, and looked in our plastic bucket to see over a dozen large trout....I held my closed face under spin rod up and said $8.99 at KMART....I used wax worms.....lol.....
 
tom19176 said:
Thanks for the support of using bait Guyon. Years ago I went fishing with my son upstate NY in a stocked trout lake. There was a nice older man fly fishing with a very expensive outfit, and I commented on how nice it was. He spent a minute telling me how it cost over $1.200. He passed us a few hours later with one thin trout in his $200 creel, and looked in our plastic bucket to see over a dozen large trout....I held my closed face under spin rod up and said $8.99 at KMART....I used wax worms.....lol.....
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lol yeah there are many fishing snobs down here. esp the fly fishing community. dont get me wrong i fly fish and i LOVE fly fishing. i love the challenge. my gear for everything i own to fly fish with only cost me maybe 500-600 bucks. thats boots, waders, 3 rods. 2 reels, line, leaders, flies. boxes and etc. but you are comparing apples to oranges. live bait will always be top dog to most forms of fishing. fly fishing to me is comparable to bow hunting for deer. way different ball game. now if it were a contest between live bait and uber expensive fly gear, well you know the answer to that already.
 
Bass fishing , artificials work so well that I never even consider live bait.
 
the places i fish were great in the late spring-early summer this year. I was nailin them on plastic worms, live minnows and a small hula popper, but the last 2 times i have gotten out it's been really slow. as in 2-3 largemouth in a 4 hour span slow. hopefully the action will pick up soon...
 
OzarkCreekWalker said:
No, as much as i love fly fishing for bluegill (that's all my skill level and equipment seems to allow) just regular rod and reel for bass (smallies, largemouth, and unfortunately spotted). And Dipbait i think fishing is worse when the creek is low because they are not nice and comfortable in their holes. The water is lower thus warmer. Maybe next time I get out their i'll have to use smaller stuff or even try live bait. :thumbup:
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Don't be a rube, bigger bait catches bigger fish!
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I would not be surprised that there was a huge die off this year of freshwater fish in small to medium sized streams. Trout have been especially hurt by the warm water temperatures and low rainfall in my areas of interest (PA and East TN). The fish in the larger bodies of water for the most part are fine but if they like cold water, they are deep and difficult to catch. When the stream water levels start dropping, it concentrates the fish in the larger pools, but it also makes them shyer. But they are competing for a limited food supply which often makes using bait effective. So, my suggestion is to spread your wings a bit on the fishing and look for options in larger streams until the stream flows come back hopefully this fall. But the damage may have been done on the coldwater species. Smallmouths should be okay, but they don't like 88 degree water either. Not sure at what temp it is fatal to them, but it would not surprise me if it is that temperature area.
 
I seriously havent got out fishing much this year because of the stupid "second spring" CA got. I have friends who go out once-2x a week and they cant catch shit either... it sucks.
 
I hit my boyhood lake in Queens. NYC twice this week on my way home from work. First night I got a 22" pickeral, 3 10-14" bass, and a few bluegills. Last night I got 56 Bluegills and nine turtles using wax worms! There was a guy there using minnows ( illegal in NYC) and he was injecting them with a needed and garlic oil? He said he read it attracts all types of fish? That said he was only get turtles going after his minnows while I was there....
 
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