What am I doing wrong?

[caseyweed]

So I've been looking for a hobby and I decided to take fishing back up since I haven't done it since I was about 12. I haven't really had any luck the last few times I've been out, not even a bite. I've been floating rainbow powerbait off the bottom 'cause I've heard that works pretty well. occasionally I've switch to a lure and I get a bunch of little guys following it back in but nothing else until tonight. I caught about 10 of these little guys is my lure too small for the larger fish? I mean these guys were eating it up. Any advice would be much appreciated.

P.S. Are those baby bass? I don't even know how they got the hook in their mouth

[spadam98]

what lake were you fishing at and did you see any biggerones following it back

[Paul & Sammi]

Looks like a small mouth bass. Your hook isn't to small. They just think they are big fish. lol Bass are vicious little predators who will try to eat just about anything they can catch. If there are small ones around, there must be bigger ones too. Try fishing a little deeper water or edges of drop offs and rocky points if you can.

[kzoo]

Try using plastics in deeper waters, if your targeting for bass. That's a largemouth by the way.

[caseyweed]

I've been fishing at lake tyee and martha lake. I caught all the little ones at lake tyee. I saw larger fish jumping a little further out but none following my lure back in. I can't cast out far enough to get to where they are jumping. I've actually been trying to catch trout which is why I was a little surprised to see these little guys keep taking my lure.

[Bigbass Dez]

Its very common for a bass too attack prey that is as long as the bass themselves , if you find yourself catching smaller fish , move from that area !! increase your bait size and like someone else mentioned go deeper .. that lure your using is a small fish magnet by the way !!! ..just FYI !! .. BBD

[cavdad45]

Those are baby largemouth bass.

Move toward deeper water is a good choice. Also try a larger lure. Try a 1/4oz or 3/8oz tandem spinnerbait. If there is an area with lily pads or other emergent vegetation try a plastic frog. I like the Trophy Scumfrog myself as a good search bait.

You could try to fish at night!!! Try a black Jitterbug. Toss it out on a long cast and retrieve it at a constant pace and the bass will scare you to death. Also try a dark spinnerbait at night. Rat-L-Traps at night are good, so long as you stay out of the vegetation. The biggest advantage of night fishing is that alot of larger fish move into the shallows increasing your chance of grabbing one.

I am not sure plastic worms will be an advantage for you since you stated that you are relearning the sport. If you feel a bite, it's usually a smaller fish. The larger fish have a much more subtle pickup. And they will spit it out before you ever knew he was there. It takes time and practice to get the hang of plastic worms. Stick to the more aggresive lures for now. Right now plastic worms might just cause more frustration.

Try the night fishing thing though. There is a full moon coming in the next few days which will help increase the odds in your favor also.

And finally, check out the lake reports section of this site. Fish those lakes that are producing right now.

Good luck. Let us know how you do.

[ruthven78]

you probably wont be able to hit the bigger ones casting from shore, you might try getting a boat somehow either by buying one or renting one, or borrowing one if you can....

[Paul & Sammi]

Ok, it looked like a largemouth bass to me too but the corner of the mouth doesn't appear to go past the eye, so i said its a smallmouth. I was once told the easiest way to tell a smallmouth from a largemouth bass is that the mouth extends beyond the eye on a largemouth but stops in front of the eye on a smallmouth. I'm really not a bass guy so what is the best way to tell the species apart?

[Anglinarcher]

Ok, it looked like a largemouth bass to me too but the corner of the mouth doesn't appear to go past the eye, so i said its a smallmouth. I was once told the easiest way to tell a smallmouth from a largemouth bass is that the mouth extends beyond the eye on a largemouth but stops in front of the eye on a smallmouth. I'm really not a bass guy so what is the best way to tell the species apart?

The explanation is true, but it only works when the mouth is closed. (LOL) It is a Large Mouth Bass, probably this years fry.

You know, I use to use a "Float Tube" to fish for bass and trout. Call it a poor man's boat if you want, but if my age, weight, and bad knees were not an issue, I'd still be fishing out of one. ( I own a nice 18' Lund and a 9' pontoon so what does that tell you).

Try to fish at night like has been mentioned above if you want to fish for the Bass. But, it sounds like trout is your target.

I don't know your lakes on the side of the state, but if you have small bass, you are probably way too shallow for trout right now. Look for a spot where you can fish in 20 to 30 feet of water. Later in the year, when the temperatures are down, perhaps the trout will be shallower.

Look for a fishing partner in the area that is more experienced. I take new people out a lot, and should do it more. I'll bet there is someone out there that can shorten the learning curve for you.

[gpc]

Ok, it looked like a largemouth bass to me too but the corner of the mouth doesn't appear to go past the eye, so i said its a smallmouth. I was once told the easiest way to tell a smallmouth from a largemouth bass is that the mouth extends beyond the eye on a largemouth but stops in front of the eye on a smallmouth. I'm really not a bass guy so what is the best way to tell the species apart?

I just go by the color. There is a reason for the different colors as well. Large mouth are green and most likely take cover in weeds. Small mouth are brown and most likely take cover in rocks. I have caught LM in really really stained water that appear almost brown. When they are like this I look for a horizontal line. Small mouth have almost vertical stripes, where LM has a horizontal line.


Yeah its really the wrong time of year to be fishing for trout. Wait until September/ October for trout. I would switch to a worm and bobber, you will catch a lot of fish, but will probably be lacking size. But this year is a record breaking year for the return of pink salmon. There is 3.3 million spawning in our rivers. Perfect for a beginner. Think of them as a big trout and not a salmon they average about 4lbs, you use trout gear and are allowed to keep 4 a day. I am new to pink fishing and its taken me about a month to get it figured out, but I almost have it down now, so if you have any questions PM. If I dont have the answers I have met some pink fishing pros on this site who have helped me out a ton, so I can probably get some answers for you.

[bpm2000]

thats definitely a largemouth.

[lskiles]

I don't know your lakes on the side of the state, but if you have small bass, you are probably way too shallow for trout right now. Look for a spot where you can fish in 20 to 30 feet of water. Later in the year, when the temperatures are down, perhaps the trout will be shallower.

Look for a fishing partner in the area that is more experienced. I take new people out a lot, and should do it more. I'll bet there is someone out there that can shorten the learning curve for you.

I see you are new to this site, so am I. You may not know where a lake is 20 to 30 feet deep. There is a really great feature on this web site if you go to "Features" and then to "Topographic Maps" you can access maps that show the depths of lakes. You can then compare them to the images on Google Maps and BANG there it is. That is how I found this site. I went to a seminar on how and where to catch fish in my area at the park and rec and the instructor gave us all a bunch of maps that had washingtolakes.com on them. I have not found most of what he said to work for me, but it brought me here and I have found washingtonlakes.com to be enjoyable...

I do understand your frustration in not being able to catch fish. I read reports on here all the time and go to the same place and do the same thing and get skunked almost all the time. I keep trying though and looking for a partner.
As my fishing hero Jeff Smith says, "Sore lip 'em all."

[caseyweed]

Thanks for all the info guys. I just found out one of my coworkers has been fishing his whole life so he's going to give me some pointers next time I see him. I'll have to try the fishing at night, that sounds like good fun I've been thinking about heading out to the river for the humpies, if nothing else it's a good excuse to add to my tackel box...

[Paul & Sammi]

"The explanation is true, but it only works when the mouth is closed. (LOL) It is a Large Mouth Bass, probably this years fry"

Mouth closed...lol ok that makes sense. doh'

"I just go by the color. There is a reason for the different colors as well. Large mouth are green and most likely take cover in weeds. Small mouth are brown and most likely take cover in rocks. I have caught LM in really really stained water that appear almost brown. When they are like this I look for a horizontal line. Small mouth have almost vertical stripes, where LM has a horizontal line."

Yup. I know the preferred habitats of each and their general colors. Didn't know about the stripes though.
Thanks for the education

[Marc Martyn]

o:) First, you are not doing anything wrong..........your fishing and catching fish, that is a good thing.
If there are bass, especially large mouth in the lake, I would try casting at sunset and fishing till starlight. Try using a popper bait. The bigger ones will cruise the shallows at dusk. I have gotten some very nice bass casting at night to the sound of the rise at Chapman Lake near Spokane. I once got an 18" Brown out at Fish Lake with a small popper in total darkness. I was actually targeting bass (before they killed off the lake) and was surprised to see that it was a Brown.
When you go out to a new lake, read the fishing reports on the site or just post a question on the forum about any questions you have about a lake. Talking with people that have the experience will save you alot of time and frustration.

Good luck and keep us posted ;-)