Hard times on the water

[PòóF]

I was wondering if any of you experienced with bass fishing could give me some tips on tricks on finding them. I normally shore fish and I can usually work with what I got and pull out a couple. My problem happens when I go out with my friend on his boat. I'm not sure what I should be looking for or what I should be fishing and I sorta get overwhelmed and at that point I go back to where I feel comfortable and generally only bring in 2 fish after fishing for 6 hours... I've only been bass fishing for 3 years and been fishing on a boat maybe a handful times but everytime I go out I have that constant drive to find them and find myself in the same position and only pulling in 4-5 fish and end up going home wondering where I went wrong or what I could have done better. So with that said I hope some of you could give me some tips/pointers to make my day on the water alittle more successful.

Thanks in advanced and anything helps!

[lape0019]

Don't be so hard on yourself. Fishing isnt always about catching fish. It's about getting away from the daily grind and enjoying time on the water with friends and nature.

The less pressure you put on yourself, the better the fishing will be. It's not like your fishing a high stakes tournament so just roll with the punches. Pay attention to what the boater is doing and ask questions if he/she is catching more than you. And there is no issue with throwing a bait back where your partner just did. Some fish take some coaxing.

Now having wrote that. What do you typically being with you and what are your go to presentations? How deep does this boater typically fish and if you can answer this, what body of water do you typically fish? We may be able to point you in the right direction with a little more info.

[zeke13]

I agree with Adam (don't tell him as I'll never hear the end of it) but you need to relax a bit .. fishing is a process. Adam's point about asking questions is a key though .. obviously your boater is taking you to specific spots .. ask why ... what makes that area so attractive .. ask about depth, observe water color, clarity and vegetation growth .. always be willing to try new techniques ... everyone has strengths, confidence techniques that they can go to when things aren't working out, but trying new techniques will provide you with a more extensive list of alternatives.

Look at what your boater is throwing, what kind of bait is it .. is it a moving/reaction style bait, where in the water column is the bait ... always try to throw something else, different profile, different color, different position in the water column, how fast is the retrieve .. you'll be surprised at how many variations you can come up with ... your boater will miss fish ... offering the same thing will likely miss as well .. a slight variation may make the fish stop and say "wait, what?" ".

If you talk to anyone I fish with they will tell you that I am always trying to figure out some other presentation from what they are doing and I rarely will throw the same style, color, size bait as the person I am fishing with regardless if I am the boater or co-angler. Even in two feet of water there are many depths, colors, sizes that can be presented.

Most important, communicate with your fishing partner on all aspects of your fishing day ... and it keeps both of you engaged. And when a fish is caught, don't just celebrate the fish, observe everything you can about the conditions in which it was caught .. it may lead you to the detection of a pattern and that's when things are cool!

[PòóF]

Don't be so hard on yourself. Fishing isnt always about catching fish. It's about getting away from the daily grind and enjoying time on the water with friends and nature.

The less pressure you put on yourself, the better the fishing will be. It's not like your fishing a high stakes tournament so just roll with the punches. Pay attention to what the boater is doing and ask questions if he/she is catching more than you. And there is no issue with throwing a bait back where your partner just did. Some fish take some coaxing.

Now having wrote that. What do you typically being with you and what are your go to presentations? How deep does this boater typically fish and if you can answer this, what body of water do you typically fish? We may be able to point you in the right direction with a little more info.

You're right I probably shouldn't put so much pressure on myself and just have fun fishing as for what the boater is throwing he is just as new as I am and either asks me or uses a frog. The boater doesn't go into this as deep as I do (forums, YouTube, looking up maps online and as far as flipping into cups in the backyard) and he relies on me to find them which is where I think most of the pressure is coming from trying to give him a good time so he'll want to go back again because fishing on a boat just offer so much more.

I bring most of my gear if not all. Couple different rod setups (crankbait , spinner, frog, flip) As for my go to its generally a frog in heavy cover or attempting to flip docks. He usually wants to fish shorelines because he's addicted that hollow body frog he never puts that down lol and we always fish the Ottawa river aside from the 2 times we've been to Lac st Marie.

I agree with Adam (don't tell him as I'll never hear the end of it) but you need to relax a bit .. fishing is a process. Adam's point about asking questions is a key though .. obviously your boater is taking you to specific spots .. ask why ... what makes that area so attractive .. ask about depth, observe water color, clarity and vegetation growth .. always be willing to try new techniques ... everyone has strengths, confidence techniques that they can go to when things aren't working out, but trying new techniques will provide you with a more extensive list of alternatives.

Look at what your boater is throwing, what kind of bait is it .. is it a moving/reaction style bait, where in the water column is the bait ... always try to throw something else, different profile, different color, different position in the water column, how fast is the retrieve .. you'll be surprised at how many variations you can come up with ... your boater will miss fish ... offering the same thing will likely miss as well .. a slight variation may make the fish stop and say "wait, what?" ".

If you talk to anyone I fish with they will tell you that I am always trying to figure out some other presentation from what they are doing and I rarely will throw the same style, color, size bait as the person I am fishing with regardless if I am the boater or co-angler. Even in two feet of water there are many depths, colors, sizes that can be presented.

Most important, communicate with your fishing partner on all aspects of your fishing day ... and it keeps both of you engaged. And when a fish is caught, don't just celebrate the fish, observe everything you can about the conditions in which it was caught .. it may lead you to the detection of a pattern and that's when things are cool!

I guess I've never really thought of really observing everything and making mental notes to help get more fish in the boat I'm just so damn happy to be out and catching fish that everything else becomes a blur lol I appreciate the tips on trying different presentations that's another aspect I get frustrated with and I'm sure it will all come in time and soon enough be second nature lol

[zeke13]

I guess I've never really thought of really observing everything and making mental notes to help get more fish in the boat I'm just so damn happy to be out and catching fish that everything else becomes a blur lol

This was probably the hardest thing to learn for me as, I'm with you, let's celebrate the fact that we have a fish!

Other presentations you might consider given you stay close to shore and docks are buzzbaits, chatterbaits, weightless senkos, and soft swimbaits.

Don't sweat it, you're fishing!

[lape0019]

I'll add spinnerbaits to the list Andrew provided. I use a lot of wacky rigs and top waters as well. I'm not too familiar (never fished) the Ottawa but if you're fishing the shallows, these presentations will give you a good start.

[ShawnD]

as far as flipping into cups in the backyard

I'm glad to hear you're doing this, it's a great way to fine tune your casting, it's helped me tons!!

Keep at er! Being a co angler isn't easy.

[swampdonkey]

Practice makes perfect man , I used to practice flippin off the deck in the winter and it has paid off! And in my eyes you can never be in the wrong for throwing something you have confidence in! Depending on the water you fish throwing a search bait will tell you almost everything! If you pop a good fish or a few fish off the start it sets the mark, I usually start off with my strong set which is flippin or drop shotting! It helps me slow down and pay attention to the bites I get which allows me to figure out everything I did to lead up to that fish!

[Super]

Since you are just starting out, I would think a journal is what you should start using right away.
Keep it with you and when you go out put as much information as you can in it, ie date, time of day,temperature, cloudy, sunny and wind speed, waves.
Then get more specific, what side of the lake you are fishing ie windward and was the sun behind a cloud when you caught the fish or did it just peek out.
Then add the lure you were using and line and where was the lure when the fish took it, ie under the dock , beside it, or 2 feet from the dock.
At first, this is just information you are writing down, but after a while you will see a pattern and then after a while when you cannot catch fish you will use it to find a day similar to the present time and you will know what presentation to use. It even will help you plan where to go fishing on any particular day.
Remember, every time you are out, it is better than working.
David

[PòóF]

as far as flipping into cups in the backyard

I'm glad to hear your doing this, it's a great way to fine tune your casting, it's helped me tons!!

Keep at er! Being a co angler isn't easy.

Ya it's fun to and I get my kid involved so it makes even more exciting. I'm assuming beig a co angler isn't the greatest ? I've only fished with one guy lol

Practice makes perfect man , I used to practice flippin off the deck in the winter and it has paid off! And in my eyes you can never be in the wrong for throwing something you have confidence in! Depending on the water you fish throwing a search bait will tell you almost everything! If you pop a good fish or a few fish off the start it sets the mark, I usually start off with my strong set which is flippin or drop shotting! It helps me slow down and pay attention to the bites I get which allows me to figure out everything I did to lead up to that fish!

Spinnerbait is my fall back, seems like even when things are going bad I can always use a spinner and put one in the boat

Since you are just starting out, I would think a journal is what you should start using right away.
Keep it with you and when you go out put as much information as you can in it, ie date, time of day,temperature, cloudy, sunny and wind speed, waves.
Then get more specific, what side of the lake you are fishing ie windward and was the sun behind a cloud when you caught the fish or did it just peek out.
Then add the lure you were using and line and where was the lure when the fish took it, ie under the dock , beside it, or 2 feet from the dock.
At first, this is just information you are writing down, but after a while you will see a pattern and then after a while when you cannot catch fish you will use it to find a day similar to the present time and you will know what presentation to use. It even will help you plan where to go fishing on any particular day.
Remember, every time you are out, it is better than working.
David

That's a really wicked idea! I'm definitely going to do that, and it will help with what zeke and laps said, I'll have time to slow down and observer and write down what happen! I'm already feeling more confident and wish I could be on the water right now I appreciate everyone's input!

[lape0019]

I've read of others putting this information into excel and as super stated, it is meaningless at first. but with more information, it becomes an invaluable tool.

Say you are going fishing and know there is no cloud cover (probably the hardest time to catch fish). You can search the excel sheet by filtering for only bass caught under bluebird skies and see what was used and where you caught them (Off docks, rocks, humps, around islands).

The more information you keep and put into something like this, the more detail you will get out. By keeping this information over a season or two, you may even be able to start the beginnings of a pattern before you even hit the lake.

[TheMaverick]

I like to think locating fish on the water is maybe 70% of the effort, the other 30% is attributed to the “off the water prep”.
If you’re going in blind on any given body of water, it will be quite overwhelming. I wouldn’t know where to go or where to start, and would probably spend most of the day idling on the main motor as opposed to fishing.

The Navionics website, Google earth, or even World of Maps in Ottawa, are all good options into studying the lake/river prior to going fishing.

I try to locate spots that I think will hold fish, flats with deep water close by, points, isolated humps, whatever suits your intended way to fish. Once that is done, and you have a considerable amount of spots to try out, you can setup your arsenal and keep a straight focused approach.

After a while, you’ll amount enough spots reflecting similar conditions (points, drop offs, flats) and based on the pattern that given day, you’ll be able to eliminate lots of water.

[CNs]

What do you typically being with you and what are your go to presentations? How deep does this boater typically fish and if you can answer this, what body of water do you typically fish? We may be able to point you in the right direction with a little more info.

I think what Adam meant was what depth of water. Shallow 0- 5 ft medium 5 - 15 ft deep 15 + . These are my interpretations of deep. To some 20 ft is shallow.

[PòóF]

I like to think locating fish on the water is maybe 70% of the effort, the other 30% is attributed to the “off the water prep”.
If you’re going in blind on any given body of water, it will be quite overwhelming. I wouldn’t know where to go or where to start, and would probably spend most of the day idling on the main motor as opposed to fishing.

The Navionics website, Google earth, or even World of Maps in Ottawa, are all good options into studying the lake/river prior to going fishing.

I try to locate spots that I think will hold fish, flats with deep water close by, points, isolated humps, whatever suits your intended way to fish. Once that is done, and you have a considerable amount of spots to try out, you can setup your arsenal and keep a straight focused approach.

After a while, you’ll amount enough spots reflecting similar conditions (points, drop offs, flats) and based on the pattern that given day, you’ll be able to eliminate lots of water.

That's another thing I've been trying to work on is map studying. trying to dissect fishing spots and where to fish.

[Trout_83]

As other people have posted, it's always a good idea to vary it up and try new presentations. That being said, whenever I'm having a slow day I will typically switch to my confidence bait - a 5 inch yamamoto senko worm wacky rigged (weightless). ive had the most success with pumpkinseed colour. Cast it, let it fall completely weightless all the way to the bottom (even if it takes 20 seconds) and then give it a couple lifts and let it fall. I don the slower I fish it, the better the results. Good luck!