I'm an amateur/intermediate fisherman...I do it mainly as a hobby with buddies. However, lately I have had the worst luck. Maybe it is something about the temperature of the water and times of year that I don't know about.
For example...This is the first time I've been fishing since about September/October. It was back when the temperature was still up in the 80s/90s. My friends and I would go to a local pond...use beetle-spins, grubs, curly-tailed grubs, neons, etc... and catch bass with ease. Anywhere from 1-3 pounds.

This weekend, we went to the same pond. This is the first time we have been there since last Sept/Oct. as previously stated. The pond is in awesome condition, clear water, etc...
So we were out there yesterday from 10AM-2PM and today during the same time period and caught 0 fish. I may have had a few bites (or was dragging the bottom, not sure), but other than that, nada, zilch.
Every once in a while, you would see one swim by near the shore, but they would just stare at the lure and swim away.
I remember last year, we would see the bass top out on the water every once in a while. We didn't see any of that this weekend.
What are the best methods/lures to use for bass this time of year? Obviously the methods are different..the water is still quite cold and it is early March.
Any help would be appreciated.
We ditched that pond and went to another one and I caught 5-6 nice sized crappie...but i'd rather catch bass.

3/12/2006 10:35:47 PM

you can't beat live worms. take it from a guy who has fished extensively in fresh water and salt, live worms almost always delivers.

3/12/2006 10:38:21 PM

caught this one today on a red weightless lizard in 1.5' of water
right now they should be either spawning or post spawn
if its post spawn they basically just sit around and dont do much for a couple of weeks
then it picks back up as you get farther into spring
i like using lizards in the spring, the theory being that lizards eat fish eggs, and big females sitting on a nest will attack the lizard to protect the eggs.
btw, the water was suprisingly warm where i was


[Edited on March 12, 2006 at 11:00 PM. Reason : dsfa]

3/12/2006 10:59:41 PM

mepps comet minnow wont let you down in march

3/12/2006 11:06:21 PM

wow man, awesome fish. i was just casting the worms/grubs out there and reeling them in slowly, letting them sink a little, then reeling...
it always worked before, but this weekend it provided no results. i was perplexed.

3/12/2006 11:08:22 PM

the fish i was catching were tucked up real close to all of those little trees you see in the background

i was actually able to see the fish and cast to em. there were some smaller fish farther away from the sticks, but the big ones were wrapped up in the sticks and bushes and stuff

3/12/2006 11:17:32 PM

about time for the bass to be bedding, they dont eat a whole lot right now. YOu have to get a reaction strike out of them if you want to catch a bedding fish, like the dude above said, weightless lizard, i go with a white weightless zoom trickworm or a tube bait for bedding bass.
Oh btw, you got a place to fish close to raleigh?

3/12/2006 11:57:10 PM

That's why it is called fishing.



If you caught something every time it would be called "Catching".

3/13/2006 11:32:56 AM

someone take me to a good farm pond around here! these raleigh public lakes suck!

3/13/2006 3:45:08 PM

what is simply amazing to me is that lake johnson does not permit shore fishing

fucking stupid

3/13/2006 4:56:10 PM

GNU,

Makes you rent boats. It's business.

3/13/2006 4:58:44 PM

They dont PERMIT shore fishing, but i have done it on several occasions. Just hide under the bridge.

3/13/2006 4:58:48 PM

yeah, now that i engage my brain, i guess thats the reason why you can't shorefish over there

i've shore casted around there some, but mainly just to get the kinks out of a newly wound spool, i sure as shit dont want to pay a warden whatever the fine might be

but there are some really good spots on the sand flats out there on the southern shore of the lake

usually its too damn windy out there to cast from the damn area west, and of course just about the rest of the lake is tree-lined

i hear fall's lake is low now, so it might be walkable, might have to try that out this weekend, need to get away!

3/13/2006 5:04:10 PM

screw you guys for reminding me I haven't been fishing essentially since I moved to raleigh.

Anyone got any good suggestions for fishing in the area? Shore or boat since I can bring my boat up from myrtle beach, though storage would suck

3/13/2006 5:49:53 PM

lake wheeler is the only decent place that i have fished so far in raleigh, jordan lake is alright if you wanna drive 20 minutes. Nothing around here compares to the ponds back home.

3/13/2006 6:00:45 PM

went fishing today. Caught 6 bass. They weren't big though, around 1.5-2 pounds.

3/13/2006 6:42:24 PM

Quote :

"mepps comet minnow wont let you down in march"

Good advice, its true

and the lizards and crawdads are also good advice, this is the time when the big ones are around due to bedding and havin eggs in em, so work on the protective mother instinct

slowwwwww reeling this time of year as well, its so cold they dont wanna get real active

3/13/2006 6:48:05 PM

well, this has probably been said in other related threads, but wtf

20 - 30 minutes away (unless you know the backroads around these parts):

-jordan lake (wouldn't eat fish out of it) has stripers, bass, and everything else for the region
-falls lake (wouldn't eat fish out of it) has stripers, bass, and everything else for the region
-I-85 rock quarry in Durham (don't get shot w/ rock salt) (bass, etc.)
-Eno "River" -which is really a big stream/river AT POINTS (bass, smallies, etc..)

greater Raleigh area (10 - 15 minutes away):

-sharon harris area -Lake Crabtree? (definitely wouldn't eat fish out of that area)
-streams/ponds in Umstead (PCB pollution), maybe some fish (never been)
-Lake Wheeler -don't know shit about it, except that they permit motor boats, and there are bass
-Lake Johnson -meh, I don't like to have to pay to fish, and the spot's overfished anyway

o/w, you're stuck on farm/golf course ponds, if you can find one that you can fish w/o harrassment

3/13/2006 9:18:28 PM

With all the chemicals from from stormwater runoff entering in these lakes, I wouldnt be tempted to keep anything I caught in these lakes. Wouldn't mind taking the fly rod out for a spin though.

3/13/2006 9:27:01 PM

if your worried about eating fish out of any of the above mentioned bodies of water, then you better really be worried about all the other food you eat. Fresh fish from the markets come from the big ass toilet that we call the ocean, wheat and other grain is sprayed with several different pesticides and herbicides. Hogs and cows lay around in their own shit and are shot up with different types of antibiotis, and you dont even want to see the inside of a broiler (chicken for the farm lay person) house.

Eat all the fresh caught fish you want, its not going to hurt you any worse than any other food.

3/13/2006 9:44:44 PM

you just gotta read. also, go fishing with someone who really knows about fishing at a lake. it's hard to learn anything about bass fishing by going to a pond since pond life is different than lake life. at that note, every pond i've fished is different as well. one pond i frequent is nothing but a spinnerbait pond. another is a worm pond. right now the fish are going into prespawn. they will be hanging out near deep banks near shallow coves. when the water temp gets consistently into the 60's, they will move shallow to spawn. i'm still fishing slow. i have noticed at falls lake the fish to be very finiky right now for some reason. i caught the bass in the pic below at falls 2 weeks ago off a #5 shadrap. he was 5.8 lbs. the guy i was fishing with caught 2 keepers with them weighing 6.5 and 7.3. we both caught others throughout the day but they were small in the 1-2 lbs range.



this is a fellow state student. i don't know how he does it but he consistently brings in quality fish with this being the biggest i've seen him catch. this one is 11 lbs.






check out this website. you can get a lot of helpful pointers about what lure is bringing in the fish.

http://www.wmi.org/bassfish/reports/northcar/index.html

3/13/2006 10:19:07 PM

looks like the same guy in this picture
http://www.wmi.org/bassfish/lunkers/T187.htm

how the hell do you know where those bass are in a lake that big?

3/13/2006 10:27:14 PM

^^shit son!!!

I mainly fish the meherrin, and a farm pond in conway. I have pulled maybe 5 or so 7 lbers out of the pond and a few 5 lbers out of the meherrin. I love the culprit worm tough... its the hotness in a pond(crawdad or red shad)

3/13/2006 10:34:29 PM

The largest fish I ever caught was a 1 lb 1 ounce bass... smallmouth
I suck

[Edited on March 13, 2006 at 10:35 PM. Reason : yep]

3/13/2006 10:35:34 PM

^^that is the same guy. his s/n on that website is chadrap. check out his posts on there.

Quote :

"how the hell do you know where those bass are in a lake that big?"

like i said, it all depends on the time of year, water temp., etc. read about bass, get a magazine subscription, and keep reading those websites. you'll learn.

^you can never go wrong with a 1/2 oz. white/chartruese spinnerbait w/ a single chrome willowleaf blade. that is probably one of the most productive lures out there. you'll catch fish of all sizes on one.

[Edited on March 13, 2006 at 10:46 PM. Reason : -]

3/13/2006 10:37:16 PM

My biggest was 10.5 lbs. white trick worm, feb 12 2004. Im gonna try to get my pics on here soon. Got her mounted.

[Edited on March 13, 2006 at 10:50 PM. Reason : h]

3/13/2006 10:44:28 PM

my biggest from last year, let it go, so i never got it weighed. probably about 6 lbs or so. our pond bass get long, but not fat

3/14/2006 12:04:47 AM

anyone else having any luck with bass right now? What lures are working for you? i bought some new lures tonight and am gonna try them this weekend...

5/18/2006 11:17:08 PM

i shouldnt give up my spot, but since i graduated and wont be back i will now. the pond at meredith is loaded with bass. lots of them will be small but there are nice ones to be had. me and a buddy caught about 20 in an hour or so the other day on buzzbaits, beetle spins, and grubs.

5/18/2006 11:38:52 PM

buzzbaits are fucking gold

5/19/2006 12:15:08 AM

^^Are they letting people fish at meredith again?

I fished there from 97 till about 2000 or so
then they started having a peeping tom and wouldnt let anyone fish out there w/o a student w/ them

5/19/2006 1:18:05 AM