Advice, Springfield Area: Struggles of a Bad Angler

[Haris122]

I agree there was something different. But I couldn’t figure it out, and I tried an awful lot of different things to figure it out. So whatever it was, it was very subtle I feel like. And it sucks that something that subtle can have that big an impact. What baffles me the most is that, earlier on, before the guy came up to the same spot, I had a good amount of bites from them, doing the same thing I did later on. I just figured I try something different in hopes of catching something bigger, thinking if nothing happens, I can always go back and catch a few more later. 

That’s the part that’s most annoying. He was throwing his roostertail directly tied on, whereas I had it attached to a snap swivel. He was using mono whereas I was using braid. He was throwing his with a baitcaster (I know it sounds odd, but true) whereas I was using a spincaster. But despite all that, I was having almost the same response as he did at first with bites almost every few casts (maybe not as often as him, but still pretty frequent). Then all of a sudden, I could hardly buy me a bite.

And as far as watching him, I did that too. He told me what he was doing even, and at one point he even cast my setup a few times, to narrow it down, and he still got bites. He told me to try reeling a little faster, which I did, but it was still a bust for me, no matter how I tried to change my retrieve.

 

[Dutch]

I wonder where the OP has gotten to.  He hasn’t been on here in several days.  

[Flysmallie]

On 8/5/2019 at 1:31 PM, Mitch f said:

All those in-line spinners work well until you catch one decent size fish, then the wire gets slightly bent and never spins at the same speed again. You try to to bend it back...still never works the same. If only they made (and they might) an in-line spinner with a titanium wire, then the rpm would stay fast enough to create the perfect vibration.

These are pretty tough and catch some fish. Caught an 8lb channel cat on one when I was 9 and I've had one with me ever since. 

 

[jimithyashford]

Howdy all. Resurrecting this dead post. It was interesting reading through where I was 5 years ago and the advice I was getting.

I feel like I am a pretty successful angler now, at least for bass. I very rarely get skunked, and pretty reliably have good trips.

The kind of fishing I have gotten decent at is bass fishing in streams. Whether wading or kayaking, 90% of the time when I get out on the water I'll catch a decent number of fish, maybe not all giants, but good numbers, and occasionally a good sized fish as well.

I almost never tie on a crankbait or rooster tail anymore. I use finesse techniques 90% of the time. Wacky Rig and Ned Rig are my go tos, a jig with a craw plastic on it also works well. I also throw a hellgrammite on a light jig head and let it float down current and settle into pools, smallies seem to like that. I do still sometimes throw a crankbait or rooster tail or occasionally a spinner and retrieve past cover that I'm trying to lure something out of, or if the bite is just on really hard.

My favorite bass fishing lure is actually a micro ned plastic on a little jig head. I like it cause small fish will bite it, so at least you're having fun and frequently catching, but big fish will bite it too. The two largest bass I've ever caught were on it. 20 and 22 incher. So not giants compared to what you lake fishermen catch no doubt, but for river fish I was quite pleased.

Also, while I feel like I can catch Largies more reliably, and they get bigger, I have WAY more fun catching Smallies.

 

So, I'm very happy about that. I am, however, trying to expand my species a bit this summer, now that I feel I can reliably get on the bass. Here are the other species I am thinking about expanding my repertoire to, if you have any advice:

 

Trout: I gave trout fishing a few tries last summer. I put in on the Niangua just below Bennet Springs. I started pre-dawn, tossed little power egg things on a bobber with a small weight, targeting areas where current dumps out into a pool to create and eddy, or passes by cover, and I got a few bites, but didn't land anything. It seems like retrieving the trout through the strong current, the hook tore out each time. Very soft mouths? I dunno. But I didn't manage to land any, and by about 9am I was run off the river by the ceaseless parade of bank to bank recreational floaters.

 

Crappie: I honestly have no idea how to fish for crappie. I know they like structure, and they tend to school up. People tell me to fish "off the points" but I honestly have no idea what that means. I mean I know what a point is, but I have no clue what "off the point" means. I've tried a little bit, like banking my kayak right on a point and casting strait out off the point with some small minnow bait or crappie powerbait hanging like 5 feet below a bobber and just let it sit there for a while. Tried the same thing a bit to the left, bit to the right, bit further out, bit closer in, and after about and hour figured I was missing the trick and just went back to bass fishing so I didn't waste my outing. 

 

Catfish: I am still utterly vexed by catfishing. Of course I've only tried a handful of times in the past few years, but I have put every bait known to man on a treble hook and tossed it out into a river channel or off the bank at a lake, and I dunno, I just never get bit. Shrimp and cut bait and liver and soap and catfish dough so on so forth. And nothing ever takes. So I dunno. Of course I'm not super patient. If something hasn't bitten in about 20 minutes I'm probably moving on. 

[BilletHead]

5 hours ago, jimithyashford said:

Howdy all. Resurrecting this dead post. It was interesting reading through where I was 5 years ago and the advice I was getting.

I feel like I am a pretty successful angler now, at least for bass. I very rarely get skunked, and pretty reliably have good trips.

The kind of fishing I have gotten decent at is bass fishing in streams. Whether wading or kayaking, 90% of the time when I get out on the water I'll catch a decent number of fish, maybe not all giants, but good numbers, and occasionally a good sized fish as well.

I almost never tie on a crankbait or rooster tail anymore. I use finesse techniques 90% of the time. Wacky Rig and Ned Rig are my go tos, a jig with a craw plastic on it also works well. I also throw a hellgrammite on a light jig head and let it float down current and settle into pools, smallies seem to like that. I do still sometimes throw a crankbait or rooster tail or occasionally a spinner and retrieve past cover that I'm trying to lure something out of, or if the bite is just on really hard.

My favorite bass fishing lure is actually a micro ned plastic on a little jig head. I like it cause small fish will bite it, so at least you're having fun and frequently catching, but big fish will bite it too. The two largest bass I've ever caught were on it. 20 and 22 incher. So not giants compared to what you lake fishermen catch no doubt, but for river fish I was quite pleased.

Also, while I feel like I can catch Largies more reliably, and they get bigger, I have WAY more fun catching Smallies.

 

So, I'm very happy about that. I am, however, trying to expand my species a bit this summer, now that I feel I can reliably get on the bass. Here are the other species I am thinking about expanding my repertoire to, if you have any advice:

 

Trout: I gave trout fishing a few tries last summer. I put in on the Niangua just below Bennet Springs. I started pre-dawn, tossed little power egg things on a bobber with a small weight, targeting areas where current dumps out into a pool to create and eddy, or passes by cover, and I got a few bites, but didn't land anything. It seems like retrieving the trout through the strong current, the hook tore out each time. Very soft mouths? I dunno. But I didn't manage to land any, and by about 9am I was run off the river by the ceaseless parade of bank to bank recreational floaters.

 

Crappie: I honestly have no idea how to fish for crappie. I know they like structure, and they tend to school up. People tell me to fish "off the points" but I honestly have no idea what that means. I mean I know what a point is, but I have no clue what "off the point" means. I've tried a little bit, like banking my kayak right on a point and casting strait out off the point with some small minnow bait or crappie powerbait hanging like 5 feet below a bobber and just let it sit there for a while. Tried the same thing a bit to the left, bit to the right, bit further out, bit closer in, and after about and hour figured I was missing the trick and just went back to bass fishing so I didn't waste my outing. 

 

Catfish: I am still utterly vexed by catfishing. Of course I've only tried a handful of times in the past few years, but I have put every bait known to man on a treble hook and tossed it out into a river channel or off the bank at a lake, and I dunno, I just never get bit. Shrimp and cut bait and liver and soap and catfish dough so on so forth. And nothing ever takes. So I dunno. Of course I'm not super patient. If something hasn't bitten in about 20 minutes I'm probably moving on. 

                  Congrats on your success with the bass. Rome was not built in a day and fishermen are not instant either. All of us were new to the sport. I still learn something each outing that I go on. I still have goals just like you mentioned on different fish species. Keep going fishing and asking questions on places like this.  

[sitting fishing]

                                                        tr rigging one of your catfish rods with a bobber starting as shallow as 2 feet and change up depths until you find the most productive good luck  luck