Northwest Fishing Reports

Hi all-

When most of you first started learning about bass fishing...how long was it before you tied into and landed your first bass of respectable size?

As most of my posts would indicate, I am just starting to learn. As of today, I have been able to hook and loose one decent sized...something, hook and land a handful of little small ones. But nothing of any size. Not even any serious offers of the bait I throw at them.

I have read many articles at sites such as this one, bassdozer.com, gamefishin.com, and bassresource.com just to name a few. I am starting to understand the effects of weather, water clarity, forage, lure choice, color choice and the five hundred other things that can effect a catch or not. Key phrase being..."starting to understand".

I do understand being shore bound, I am forced to fish the more pressured areas of a lake or pond. However, I am ok with this, simply because I don't have much choice. I move about the edge of the lake, and look for some of the best areas I think would hold those big fatties and fish it. Weed edges, lily pads, over hangs, downed trees and logs, stumps, and whatever other structure I can find.

I fish these areas with the typical arsenal...or what I think would be typical. During a typical outing I will approach the body of water at the best location I can find to fish (I don't mean ease of accessibility, but where the fish may be hanging out). I usually start out with a top water of some sort...whether it be a frog, a popper, spinner, whatever working the bait parallel to the feature I am fishing. Once daylight has come, I usually move towards what seems to be deeper structure or areas and use mostly jigs, texas rigged worms, and dropshots. I do not ignore where I have already been, but I will fish them with a different approach. Usually colors/patterns and much slower.

I usually fish four or five days out of the week, and come up with jack. Well, nothing but little fish. I cannot for the life of me figure out what I am doing wrong. I can say without a doubt, I need more practice with flipping...maybe I am not stealthy enough. Perhaps I am not choosing the right bait or color combinations for the water. Heck for all I know...the bass may be quite a bit deeper than what I think they would be or worse case scenario...none around. Or the suckers are just outsmarting me...which could always be the case. Every lake I have been to, there have been reports of bass. I have talked to locals, they have told me there are bass...I have seen pictures of the bass caught. But be damned if I can hook one, or even get them to even yank my chain and give me a tug once in a while. It may just boil down to my time on the water...someday the fish gods will send a fat one my way.

Sorry to be a whiner...but my frustration level is increasing trying to figure out what is up. I may just need to put my rod and reels away for the winter...but that would be no fun at all.

Anyrate, I have done enough pissing and moaning for one night...I've got to get my gear ready for tomorrow morning. Thanks!


Chad

leahcim_dahc wrote:... I do understand being shore bound, I am forced to fish the more pressured areas of a lake or pond.

... I usually fish four or five days out of the week, and come up with jack.

... The bass may be quite a bit deeper than what I think they would be or worse case scenario...none around.

the biggest disadvantage you face is location location location.

:king:

if you are catching smaller fish, and are after larger fish, your best option is to move. bass school in packs, and more often than not, most of them are similar in size and weight.

other than that, i suggest you hit your spots up early in the morning throughout the year. try to make sure you are the first one there.

T Dot-

Thanks! I am getting better about moving around the lakes. I used to fish a specific spot for hours, but the past few trips out, I move as much as I can. A few places I fish, only certain areas are accessible (trespassing notices), but I move throughout these areas sometimes up to a kilometer away. I try not to stray too far especially if I am having to leave my vehicle in an isolated area. Nine times out of ten I am by myself, so wandering too far isn't a great idea, particularly after dark. If I had some night vision goggles it wouldn't be too bad.

There are a couple areas I'd like to get to, but will need to push my way through some brush. I haven't drove all the way around Kapowsin, but looking at google earth I see a road that runs along the south side. The road may be private...I think it belongs to the quarry that is south of the lake. May just have to wander down it this weekend and see if I get into trouble for being there.


Chad

honestly if you are serious about bass fishing, you're going to have to get something to fish out of, even if its a small raft or a canoe or something. i think once you take that huge step, you're going to find yourself catching a lot more better sized bass. fishing from shore just puts you at a big disadvantage, especially when the weather starts to get really cold and the bass move off shore.

if the boat's not possible at the moment, don't get discouraged, just make due with what you have and learn as much as you can, so when you finally do score a boat you're ready to rock.

It's tough Chad. Sounds like you've been patient and been doing your homework. You really need to get on the lake somehow, fishing on shore sucks. Maybe invest in a float tube or something. Your best bet for the big bass in the shallows will be in the spring. Fall can be hit or miss depending on weather conditions. Keep on trying man, if you still don't catch one by next spring, give me a PM I'll take you out on the spawn.

Hey man I feel your pain. However I admire your patience and persistance. Keep up the hard work it will pay off!!! I agree that your location is proably the biggest factor. It appears you do your research and are throwing all of the right baits. Not sure what your $ situation is but you should think about a pontoon boat. If not new check out Craigslist for a used one. You can pick one up used for around $150. There are a lot of us that fish out of them and have some pretty good success. As the season is coming to a close you will probably see some come up for sale.

To add to what most have said already- you should look into getting some sort of boat. If you have a pickup it gets alot easier to find one. If you check around craigslist or even bulletin boards at work you can usually find someone getting rid of an old canoe, livingston, or an old dinghy from their yachts. The latter is how I managed to get mine for free.

Either way keep it up, your perserverance will pay off eventually. Had you found your lunkers early on you may not have been as compelled to seek out or learn as much about bass, their behavior, or techniques.

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like I need to just get away from the shore. I'll start checking out my options. Thanks!


Chad

A floating device of some kind is almost a must to fish bass in Western Washington. There is just much vegetation -- or worse yet private property around most shorelines. Eastern Washington, and some of the backwater lakes down along the Columbia River offer some good chances for nice sized bass from the shoreline. I once hooked an 8 pound, 4 ounce largemouth while casting spinnerbaits from the shoreline in a backwater lake down along the Columbia River. Lunker smallmouth are also available from some of these same lakes while fishing from the shoreline. Check out my story about these lakes in Tackle Box Tales on page 3. BJ

If you pick and choose your spots carefully, you CAN get decent fish from the bank.

Try again in the springtime - when they are on the shallow pre-spawn feed your chances at a good shore fish will go up dramatically. Go early and beat the crowds or recreational boaters. Fish at night. You have to do all kinds of crap if you're fishing from shore to up your chances at some fish.

That said, I wish I had a boat

Bass Tracker wrote:...

I vaguely remember reading that article at one point in time...I'll check it out again. Thanks!

One thing I have doing lately is going to all kinds of those types of ponds around pierce county. About a week ago, I was looking through a Thomas Guide mapbook and Google earth and found a mess of these little small ponds scattered about. Don't know whether any of these ponds contain any bass or not as most of them are not noted in the regulations or in the WL.com's reports. But they do look like a good opportunity to check them out and see what's there.


Chad

Chad,

Thanks for having a REAL post about FISHING...I appreciate it. You're a breath of fresh air.

Bank fishing is cool, I did it for a long time, however, I didn't start getting into good fish until I got out on the water. Float tube, pontoon, or floaties for that matter....you have to go where the fish are, they aren't always going to come to you.

Good luck my friend.

I do not want to take anything away from wl.com, but this site: http://www.bassresource.com/fish/bass_fish.html helped me start bass fishing and contributed to a lot of the knowledge I know today...
On the left there are several tabs, and I have found that the best ones to look around under are: Featured Articles, Seasonal Articles, Tournament Tips, Tips and Tactics, About Bass, Beginners and Boaters. Look around under those tabs, browse around the articles, and of course let us know how you do out there!

leahcim_dahc wrote:

Bass Tracker wrote:...

I vaguely remember reading that article at one point in time...I'll check it out again. Thanks!

One thing I have doing lately is going to all kinds of those types of ponds around pierce county. About a week ago, I was looking through a Thomas Guide mapbook and Google earth and found a mess of these little small ponds scattered about. Don't know whether any of these ponds contain any bass or not as most of them are not noted in the regulations or in the WL.com's reports. But they do look like a good opportunity to check them out and see what's there.


Chad

be careful checking out google maps ponds... some are on private land.

bpm2000 wrote:be careful checking out google maps ponds... some are on private land.

Yeah...haven't run into problems, yet. If it comes down to it, I'll knock on doors and ask first.


Chad

I remember my first Bass trip.
A friend of mine and I had read about them in Field and Stream and Out Door Life.
He had an Uncle that had a Cabin up on the Pend Oreille River and his Uncle told him there were Bass up there.
I was 14 and my buddy was 15 and we lived in Spokane.
We went down to the White Elephant which was the local sporting goods outfit in town.
I bought 3 Baits that the magazine said would work.
Jitter bug.
Hula popper and a Zara Spook.
We talked my mom into taking us up to the river and dropping us off for the day.
My dad had taken us out for Crappie a few times and we used a Uncle Josh Red and White Pork strip and did very well on those, so I took a jar with me on our trip as my buddies Uncle said there were Crappies there too.
I figured that if I couldn't get a Bass I knew how to get a Crappie,lol.
When we got up there I tied on one of those new baits and nothing. So I tried another one and nothing.
By this time my buddy was heckling me pretty good so I tried the third new bait and again nothing. By this time I knew I had better catch something or I would never hear the end of it so I rigged up for Crappie.
I put a split shot on so I could cast as there was a ton of Mil foil at the bank. I made a cast out past the weeds and started reeling my little Pork bait back. Just as it got over the weeds and about 4 feet from the bank, a monster came out and grabbed it. The fish scared me so bad that I just jumped back and when I did I set the hook out of shear self defence. As we looked at this thing flopping on the Bank we were in awe, This was not a little ole Trout which we were used to at the time, this was a fish. We stopped at the local Market in Newport and asked them if they could weigh it. 4 lbs even the man said. that was 40 years ago.
I have been chasing them ever since.
My best so far is on the wall and was 8lbs 3 ounces.

Thanks for the memories leahcim_dahc

leahcim_dahc wrote:

bpm2000 wrote:be careful checking out google maps ponds... some are on private land.

Yeah...haven't run into problems, yet. If it comes down to it, I'll knock on doors and ask first.


Chad

I remember doing this as a kid, with pretty decent results. Unfortunately in the current blinds drawn with the doors locked society I think it would be difficult to get away with it nowadays. It sure is tempting to give it a shot though...

Most definitely! I look at all these little ponds and I get to thinking it would be quite a bit of fun to find out if there is any fish in them. I do understand some are private...and I don't want to cause problems. But, it just looks like so much fun when driving by...find a place to park, drag out a rod or two and see what comes of it.

EastsideRedneck wrote:Unfortunately in the current blinds drawn with the doors locked society I think it would be difficult to get away with it nowadays.

That is so true, and too bad it is that way anymore. Honestly, if someone were to come to my door and ask who owns a pond or if they could fish there...I'd be a little reluctant as well. When I was a kid it used to be if you were on private property and didn't have permission and the owner(s) didn't want you there, you would get a good tongue lashing and get chased off. Nowadays, the sheriff gets called, the swat team shows up, black helicopters flying around and you get drug off in cuffs, get a nice water boarding for an hour or so until it is determined in fact you were just fishing and not cooking meth or burying a body.


Chad

Since you are new to bass fishing and are not having much luck, try this.

1. Put the bass stuff away until spring. We are approaching winter and the bass fishing only gets harder, which frustrates even veteran bass anglers and could cause a newbie to quit altogether.

2. Until spring STUDY! Read everything you can find on-line, out of books, etc. For local info, read the threads in this section, most are very informative and relevant to anywhere in the Northwest. Especially read the thread from awhile back entitled "Where Do You Get Your Bass Fishing Information" or something like that, it's a good starting point.

3. Get your bassing gear ready for next year, but don't change your line until just before Spring. Use that old line to practice casting, flipping, and pitching.

4. Stay on-line and ask any question you have about bassing.

5. Get something that floats. A tube, canoe, pontoon, cartopper, anything you can fish from.

6. Fish the lakes you hear mentioned with regularity to increase your chances of success.

7. Fish with experienced bass anglers as much as possible. I still do that and learn new tricks and techniques.

8. If you need to fish the winter monthes, satisfy your need with a surrogate like trout and perch until the bass start moving toward their pre-spawn locations, and then have a bang-up year in 2008!

Chad, I think structure is very important, especially for shore bound fishermen. This summer, I had my little secret shore spot on a lake I know of, and it had a long-dead log in the water, lilypads and a dock on the side. Well, there was this little tiny channel in the lily pads that led to a ton of fish. I threw weightless after weightless, catching lots of 16+ inch fish. No luck off anything but weightless. Two days later, some more lilypads grew over the promised land, and I haven't gotten a bite since out of there. The moral of this story is if you're going to fish a limited number of spots, get familiar with the fish, and capitalize on odd structure. Also, it pays to find a 'secret' (or less pressured) spot, even if it is not easily accesible.

Good luck with the big fatties!