Tough Day Fishing

[M_Taylor 142]

Fished 2-8-15 from 1-5pm.

Went south out of Hwy 12 bridge and fished between the bridge and Blackburn Arm.

Water temp: 41 degrees.

So I have swallowed my pride and have to put my report out there in hopes of learning some things. I am not a bass fisherman (but I am an experienced fisherman) and I want to learn and therefore only looked for bass yesterday. I like a challenge but yesterday was more than that. I don't have a fast boat or high end electronics so I just tried to fish the "right type" of water real slow, and not too far from the ramp.

I used 4 baits. Jerkbait, crawfish type jig with trailer, wiggle wart, and shaky head worm.

I worked secondary point and even in farther into coves. I also tried some main lake points and shoreline. I worked around docks and standing timber as well.

I worked from the shore out to 30ft over the course of the day, trying to fish fairly steep chunky rock banks and a few bluffs.

To summarize: I didn't catch squat! I know there are a lot of variables, but anything obvious that sticks out that I did right or wrong would be appreciated. I'm not looking for someone's honey hole, just a direction on technique or strategy for winter fishing. Much appreciated. If I ever do have a good day I will be sure to post with photos to somewhat redeem my self confidence.

[J-Doc 502]

Sorry to hear about the bad luck. That is Beaver for sure.

I am not the person to be giving advice for bass especially this time of year but it sounds like you did the right thing. In the winter, many will struggle because bass either want a particular reaction bait or very lethargic and very very particular. And most often, there are simply not many fish in a larger area. I refer to this as “fishing unpopulated water”. If you don’t know fish aren’t there, you’re frustrated spent a lot of time/effort fishing when the fish were not there.

Having “fancy graphs” is not a mandate to fishing success but they sure cut down the time you spend fishing an area not realizing there are not many fish there. I have found Beaver to be a much smaller lake than it is acreage wise. Finding a productive area and pattern is key. Beaver is tough any day of the week. Add in winter and it’s even tougher.

My advice would be to try the Monte Ne area and Horseshoe Bend. There is always a population of bass in these general areas all year long.