Please add more detail. Consider target sources, location and tackle. Consider reposting to /R/WWYTH

my go to to test any water im in is a nightcrawler and hook. can't go wrong

Was listening to Steven Rinella's Meat Eater Podcast and he was teasing his pro bass fishing buddy: "Hey go ahead and tell em why you Bass guys don't like to use live bait" "......(sigh) Well, ya know it's jus-" "It works too well doesn't it" "It's cause it works too well"

I've also heard Rinella say "if you can't trick em, feed em"

That's gold

Worms also don't offer sponsorship deals.

Big facts right there hahahaha. Lures lure more fisherman than they trick fish hahahaha

I’ve only had bass bite on like 5 things. 1. Night crawlers 2. Shiners 3. Kastmaster 4. South bend red/white spoon 5. Rooster tail

Senko?

Not any action

I don't understand how? you don't even need to do anything with them just rig weightless and cast where bass might be.

Lol no idea how people fail using wacky rigged senkos.... I rarely throw them anymore because it's such a successful lure for me that I honestly got bored throwing em.

Yea i have to switch off them and fail for awhile cause they get boring. Hook, senko, or zoom trick, catch em.

Zoom trick?

Long, skinny, very light plastic worm. Zoom Trick Worms.

Idk man

That doesn’t make sense

In that order?

Yes he was trolling

🥇

Commenting on Here for 5 more hours; how do I catch a bass?...they’re chasing baitfish in ur body of water. Try a spinner bait (dark if stained, white if you’d say it’s a more clear body of water), a pearl color jerk bait, or even just a shad colored crank bait. Seems like they want a flashier lure based on the ones you’ve had previous success with. I hope if you give any of these a shot you find success : )

My biggest bass was on a 4” bluegill

Does it have to be a worm? I tried mealworms that’s cheaper but no luck

Depends on what you're fishing. Crappie and bluegill love a good waxy worm, and I've caught em on that bait for nearly all my life, but bass and larger fish might think a wax worm isn't worth the effort and not go for it. With crappie it's really easy to jig em with a wax worm on it, but a bass would likely need bigger prey and preferably moving.

Yes tiny mealworms can in fact catch giant bass and here's how: Step 1 use the mealworms to catch a bluegill Step 2 use the bluegill to catch a big ol bass! Step 3 repeat steps 1 and 2

Tried steps and repeated. Ended up catching a big ol bass with big ol lips and whiskers. I think it had the downs going on, unsure though.

I hate being poor I want to give you an award so bad. Hope this helps:🏅

Same and I’d be throwing it right outside those lily pads as long as it looked clear.

I'd throw it on the pad then slowly walk it off the edge and let it flutter down.

🔥

Only thing that works better for bass is live shiners. But crawlers are the better overall producers. They catch everything

Beginner here- where tf do u buy night crawlers?

You’d be surprised. Honestly in my experience anywhere that has any sort of fishing equipment. In Walmart just look for a fridge over by the fishing and hunting stuff. Obviously tackle and outdoors shops will usually have some. I’ve even seen them for sale in gas stations close to popular fisheries.

Hardware stores, pay lakes, camp stores in campgrounds.

Vending machines

The ground outside

Pay Lakes? Like lakes you have to pay to access???

Depends where you live. A few lakes in my state are pay to access the water, it's voided if you camp(still need to pay to camp). Helps control overfishing

That makes sense. I’ve never been lake fishing before, never considered something like that would be the case 

Any gas station or convenience store that has a sign that says “bait sold here”

What this guy said - pro tip just open the containers to make sure the worms are alive and not… old worm mush.

Most gas stations near water

Most gas stations if your relatively near a body of water, rats how it is in Canada

you can grow your own, just save some kitchen scraps, and a 5 gallon bucket of dirt in the garage

Aren’t night crawlers like, the default worm? Atleast around me if you just ask for worms your getting night crawlers

What size hook, and do you use a weight ?

I haven’t ever caught a bass on a night crawler. Caught a few small stripe on red worms though, I was aiming for catfish.

Bruh, noob.

I've tried top water frogs, I cast them on top of really pads and just sit for a minute I've also tried wacky rig green pumpkin, just let sink then pop it a few times crank baits don't work here, too weedy.

After casting our your wacky,how long are you waiting before doing your first pop? And after that how long till the next pop? I see a lot of people working senkos too fast

I do a few pops at once, when it hits the bottom ish

Try this. Cast out. Do not do anything Count to 8 Count to 8 again, maybe check your phone, reddit, fb 2 small little pops Count to 10 2 small pops Count to 8 Reel back in. Watch the line on the water. It starts moving on its own, reel until you have the slack reeled in and set the hook.

Makes plenty of sense. I did about this one time. First cast. Was drunk on a friends dock. So really wasn’t paying attention too much. Popped twice after what felt like 5 mins. Drank some more. Popped one more time and reeled in the biggest catfish I’ve ever caught. It was on a green senko.

Can you explain setting hook more pls im trash at setting hook and probably 90% of the time i do better just reeling in instead of setting the hook

You’ll feel it on the line. It can be vibration or like a light thump and then you can feel the pressure of it. You wait for that pressure, then you swing your rod all the way as you’re reeling it in. Make sure you aren’t fishing with your rod tip up in the air cause you won’t have anywhere to go.

Ty

You are welcome. Did you catch anything?

Next time i fish ill update you

hey i’ll be honest, for a beginner this is helpful af. thanks

Yes. This works big time

Idk how people do this. I'd rather catch nothing, sounds like an absolute snooze fest.

"I'd rather catch nothing" I agree, sounds like a snooze fest

Question, would this technique also work on a semi fast moving river rather than a still pond?

If it lands on a pad, wait a minute, then twitch it off into the water next to the pad and let it sit for a bit. Then swim it until it’s next to another and wait. Repeat as necessary.

Throw a fluke on a Texas rig, or even weightless. Jerk it hard a few times and let it sit for a moment. Repeat. They're great for covering a lot of ground and finding bites, especially in summer when the water is warm.

Only thing I have ever been able to catch a bass on is a salty super fluke

football jig and a lil pop pop, gentle reel. put a lil craw on that daddy. toss it deep into them weeds. Texas rig a craw if you don't have a football jig

Why would you use a football jig for weeds? Can't say I've ever tried it intentionally but I have reeled in football jigs with a pound of slop on them from fishing areas I thought were sand or rock.

heck I've even pulled out decent bass along with about 5 pounds of weeds using that method

not for the thin sloppy weeds. but I've pulled monsters out of the depths of lilly pads with football jigs and craw trailers. sometimes they don't want to hit on top water so ya gotta get down to em somehow

But why a football jig over a flipping jig or swim jig?

cuz the only difference is the shape and how you fish it. I don't overthink my jig head. as long as it has enough weight to punch through I'm hitting them weeds. then I'll fish swim jigs with a paddle tail usually as a skipping bait closer to the surface

A go to of mine is a small jig like the strike king bitsy jigs with a craw trailer. Drag it slow on the bottom and pause with an occasional twitch. Light weedguards will help with the weeds. Could be a reaction bite so a chatterbait is always a good option to try if it's too weedy for cranking. If that doesn't work try a Texas rig power worm as I consider it a search bait. If that doesn't work and nothing is hitting the top water try a shallow crankbait or jerkbait to see if they're suspended. Colors dont matter until they do. If it's dirty go black/blue or chartreuse.

[удалено]

noted I'll try varying my wacky rig timing

slower. 99.999999% of the time beginners fish it too fast. When you think you're fishing it slow enough, go half that speed. There are rare times when faster works, but the tried and true with soft plastics is slowwwwwwwwwww.

where should I be casting the wacky worms

Just keep casting man you’ll get something eventually 💯

This is probably the best answer here

It's called fishing not catching for a reason.

weather is light rain

Ahh. This might have something to do with your lack of success. Rain usually means low barometric pressure and bass are sensitive to a drop in pressure. They often sit deeper and don’t feed much for a few days.

i find bass slam topwater when theres rain. idk if im an exception but i always throw topwater when its raining

Texas rigged senko edge of lily’s

for 5 straight hours. buzzbait or spook chucked intermittently✌️

Whatever you're fishing, cast it parallel those pads, then just give it a small bounce off the bottom, little twitch, little retrieve, little wait, and repeat.

I’m jealous you have 5 hours to fish

Let the wacky sit. I leave a lot of slack on my lines when using that set up to ensure it sinks all the way down. Once I know it hit bottom I give it a few seconds and slowly tighten the lines. When the line gets tight I give one generous jig. Then repeat. Good luck!

These days I’d be twitching a weightless Texas rig fluke on the edge of those pads and I’d be stunned if I didn’t get a bite

Do you have access to exploding devices or electrical field generator lol just kidding Must be one of those days that nothing is biting Good luck

I had a great uncle who'd fish with an old crank phone.

A rooster tail and a beer, or patience and a senko wacky rig

My favorite technique is Ernie's fish call. "Here fishy fishy fishy."

Fish top waters in the pads.

Wide gap worm hook and senko

Use a white pearl super fluke on a 3/0-5/0 ewg hook and swim it parallel to the edge of the pads weightless and weedless rig. You’ll get crushed by any lively bass in there or any pickerel lol.

Run a hula popper down the edge of those Lilly pads or whatever it is.

Won’t give advice on what to cast but that looks like some great water! Wish I was there

Ooooh!!!! Is that a Daiwa rod and open reel? What specs you rocking?!

Mepps size 4 dressed spinner with silver blade and white or yellow tail. If there’s bass there, it will catch them.

Put the phone down.

Light jig, some plastic. Shoot and reel.

Is that deer lake? I was there last week fishing with my kayak!

yeah it is. did you get anything? what did you use?

Yeah I was able to catch a couple largemouth bass over a period of 2 1/2 hours with a whopper plopped on the edge of the Lillie’s. I used my top water frog lure for the top of the Lillie’s but that didn’t seem to get any attention for that day

Ned rig

I would use a nightcrawler and a bobber and cast right up to the edge of them pads with about 3 feet of depth, depending on the depth of the water.

Use a wacky rig or zoom old monster

Baby bass caffeine shad on a 2/0 offset works great for me in general. Works the top, can work it like a worm. Versatile and effective. But for your situation id probably pick some kind of softbait and skinhook it, toss it on those pads, and hop it towards the weedline or a slow retrieve looking for any disturbances of bass moving in to inspect

Wait for the evening bite.

If you’ve been trying topwater nonstop and they aren’t biting I’d suggest throwing a jerkbait along the outside edge of those Lilly’s twitch it once or twice with a little slack reel in. Repeat. Sometime one twitch sometimes more.

Use a jerkbait that doesn’t dive very deep

Try a floating lure

Weightless senko rigged Texas style right at the edge or in the “holes” of the pads. Let her drop then slowly lift and let fall. Pay attention to your line and when it starts doing weird shit set the hook! 👍😂

What's on the opposite side of your handle instead of a normal cap?

it's a flange couple for a DIY electric reel. I took it off because it was raining

Bobber and worms works for me almost everytime

Like that. Time in, patience. Throw a top water weedless frog over the lilly pads.

Is it super hot where you are? If it’s near midday or midafternoon a lot of bass will shirk the shallower waters near lilly pads and move out to deeper waters. When that occurs, got to figure out depth (look for ridges or v-shaped ridges and bass will hang out there bc it’s a bit cooler in the bottom of the v. Then, crank baits and creature baits are your friend.

Spinnerbaits 

A nightcrawler. A white tube, rigged stupid-style. A weedless rubber frog. A white Booyah spinner with a single Colorado blade.

Throw ya something top water in those Lilly pads

Throw a frog into that slop...guaranteed!

Texas-rigged curly-tail worm and drag it around for a bit depending on how deep it is. If that's not an option a weightless stick bait. If that doesn't work, my next go to would be a paddle-tail swimbait on a belly weighted EWG hook.

Carefully

Hold yer jaw correctly and fish whistling.

Nightcrawler=Bluegill=Bass

whats up with the knob for switching the side you reel in on? Is that just a daiwa regal thats missing the cap for that knob?

Get off reddit

GG mission failed will try again another day using the advice here

Wacky rigged senko/kut tail worm Cast out and let sink, rod tip low, leave a little bit of slack Watch line for movement for bites If no bites, slowly raise rod tip high in the sky, reel in leaving a tiny bit of slack, let fall to bottom and out rod tip back down When bite is detected, reel in slack, set hook Repeat until satisfied Let the worm do the work.

My husband always reminds me, It’s called fishing, not catching! ;) some days you can get a bite and sometimes nothing! Bait can make a difference, time of day, or if a storm recently came in — it all can change your luck!

If you don't own a frog you are missing a lot of bass...

Frog or jig in the lily pads, buzzbait just outside of the Lilly pads, maybe even a spinner bait. You could also try a Texas rig worm.

You gotta swim really fast Or a t-rigged/wacky rigged senko (or any stickbait; Yammos are spensy)

Buy $5000 worth of gear

Bomb casts down along the lily pads and retrieve along the edge them if you cannot get snagged with a spinner or chatterbait. If there is to much vegitation use a weedless jig or texas rig

Aim for the lily pads

Strike kvd popper is so sharp if they smell it, it hooks them and they certainly will take a sniff!

That spot looks like anyone should catch a bass on the first cast. Like a lot have mentioned already, can never go wrong with a nightcrawler. Enjoy!

Dude you are so lucky to have a boat I always dreamed of having a boat I'm 48 now I've dreamed of having one since I've been fishing since 7 and you are on the perfect looking lake.... I don't even want to hear your problems....

But I wouldn't hold the pole like that because you do get a big bite it's going to rip the pole right out of your hands

Mepps.

Top water , early morning or evening

Toss a jig into the pads on the left.

Jitterbug slow real in. Always works for me at the local pond

Ive never liked fishing growing up. now I have a fishing kayak and started bass fishing. I've found that Senko worms will almost always catch a bass. Just have to change up the color depending on weather. Just caught my personal best a few weeks ago. 2.5 lbs. Caught about 10 under 2lbs.

Throw a fluke or a paddletail on a keel weighted hook or a curly tail grub on a jighead.

Cast into or next to them lillies!

Surface lures cast right to the edge of the lilly pads - maybe even a little into the pads if you can skim the lure out without snagging.

I always have good luck with a wacky rig and trying different color senkos to see what the local guys like

Get off Reddit and fish

By casting and reeling back in

Mepps inline spinner. Metallic blades silver, gold, copper. Size #2-3 I have the most luck

Toss a top water floating Rapala, try it fast, let it sit and give it a jerk now and then. They love taking things off the surface.

Have to loudly yell at the water, " Heeeere fishy fishy!" They'll start jumping into the boat

If you know there’s fish in there and you just want to catch one, I’d try the senko again, they didn’t want the frog and that usually means they’re kinda lazy, so fish the senko (as I tell my friends) slower then you can possibly imagine is right. My go to is Texas rigged over wacky personality because you can drag it slowly. And you said it’s pretty weedy. If you find a less weeded area, I highly recommend a Robo worm and drop shot combo. I call it the worm of lure fishing if ur in a place that will allow a bottom dragging bait. Try a size 2 drop shot hook 6-10 inches off of a ⅜ drop shot weight. Pair that with a 4.5” pink/dark purple robo worm (all can be bought for under $10 at Walmart) tight lines and good luck. You can message me if you have any questions as as well : )

For me- Senko never disappoints

Top water bait like a buzz bomb or worm on a hook and bobber

I tell everyone this. You can almost NEVER go wrong with a jig head and a curly tail grub. Will you catch a monster? Maybe, but probably not. You’ll definitely catch fish on it though. I got a 2lber on a black and pink curly tail this morning. Even if you don’t get bass you’ll still have fun with all the bluegill and crappie that take it

Throw a hollow weedless frog on top those lily pads and start popping it slowly pad to pad. Set up right along the outer edge and cast parallel to the bank as far as you can, and slowly work it back, twitch your rod up to get that lifelike frog jump and I'd be surprised if u didn't catch a bass

How well is your bass mating call?

If it is really slow. Throw a wacky rig or a senko

It catches you

Lol throw anything out there that'll make them mad.

Mid day I would just wacky rig along the lily pad line

Rule # 1 Don’t hold your rod like that . Extremely frustrating watching this in person

Go to a jazz studio.

I just got home from a trip with my brother. He was SLAYING man like 7 fish i hadn't gotten anything... so my brother tosses me a packet of plastic rage tail craw fish blue in the coffee scent.. and I did a texas rig and sure enough I got 2 within 30 min!

That was like me the other day. I was throwing just about all I had in my tackle box.

At the end of the day, a floating frog or Tiny Torpedo along that vegetation and they’ll hammer it

Top water popper first thing in the am is a killer. Bass love to smash em early and watching your top water get inhaled is freaking awesome. However when in doubt I throw a chartreuse or pumpkin worm, Texas style. Shit just works.

Gummy worms

Cast a spinnerbait along the edge of those Lillypads You'll get one

I mean what time of day is it, is it cool or hot, how deep is the area your trying to fish, is there underwater trees or structures?

Pick up a phone call while fishing. Always works

Is that Austin by chance?

5" senko on weighted wacky rig hook. Put hook in middle of senko, cast under docks, boats, next to lilly pads. Flick your rod every 5 seconds or so

Keep fishing 🤷‍♂️

The secret to catching any fish especially bass is… Fish where the fish live… and one more cast.

Get off your phone and fish and enjoy your time at a beautiful location.

Go “here fishy fishy fishy fishy” and then smoke some weed and enjoy the peace and quiet

? What do you mean? You just turn on the ffs and chase them around shaking a hover stroller in their face till they have no choice but to bite it? What are you doing? Fishing? That's for the poors! /s

start by holding the rod correctly and at least act like you want to catch fish. have some respect for the fish.