the year so far

[serpent]

I've been struggling this year. I'm about 150 fish short of where I was at this time last year and only have 6 fish over 21". I've found that the deep bite has been inconsistent with a couple fish here, couple fish there, but not any big schools where you can catch 20 off an area. Just curious how bass fishing has been for everyone else.

[thatoneguy]

"only" six fish over 21"? Were those actually measured at 21"+ or just guesstimated? I'm new to bass fishing, but I'd be pretty happy with six that size

[EBass]

It's been a horrid year, but I'm not getting out as much as I used to. Not a single bass at or over 20" Did get a 19.5" over the weekend though. Last season I caught 10 at or over 20" Oh well, best time is just a month or so away.

[Juan Grande]

Yeah Serpent, I've never caught a 21 my life, let alone 10 in one season. Hopefully things turn around for you

[SneakAttack]

Gotta love FM and the reports people give

[Jig Master]

I usually catch 6 fish over 21" every time I go out. I don't what you're talking about no deep spots with 20 fish on them? I've got numerous spots where I've pulled 200 fish this year without moving the boat! Rookie....

[Deitz Dittrich]

LOL- Easy boys..

I to would have joked about your statement of only 6 fish over 21".. Thats a great season in my mind. I mean really.. depending on time of season, you could have 5 fish over 6 lbs?.. but hard to say.. really depends on how much time you spend on the water. But you will get very little sympathy from many anglers crying about 6 fish over 21".

As for this being a tough season. I guess it all depends on when and how you fished, Water temps were really high this year. and still are actually.

I am having a pretty decent year.. 818 bass in the boat so far.. I aint done yet...

[Craigums]

Classic

[bassfshin24]

My season has been alright. I didnt get out as much as i would have liked at the beginning of the season. I have 2 fish over 20 and quite a few 18's and 19's. I did catch my biggest MN largemouth at 5.22 and my 2nd biggest smallie at 4.72. So all and all not a bad year and its not even close to being over...cant wait for the fall to be here!

[serpent]

Yes the fish are measured. No I wasn't trying to brag about 6 over 21". I knew when I wrote that I'd get [PoorWordUsage]. It honestly has been a bad year. I just wanted to know if the bite has been off for others. Sorry.

[Deitz Dittrich]

O.K., well lets try and turn this post into a positive one.. Lets find out maybe why.. For those having good seasons, what are you doing differently? For those who are having tougher seasons, why do you think it is? Is the water higher or lower than normal, are there more or less weeds, is there more pressure. Something had to have changed, your fishing style? Are you trying new lures? Fishing different lakes?

For me, I have tried some new water this year, Water is down in my area, which has for sure changed a lot of locations. I have caught bass in areas I never have before, and a few of my best spots from years past have no fish on them now. I know this because there is no water. So I have had to adapt. The slop in my area is not producing like in years past, but the deeper rock is maybe even producing better. The weeds have been different as well..

[serpent]

It should have been positive from the start. Thats what I get for asking how the season has been. Obviously its been bad based on the replies. Everybody is a little crabby.

[thatoneguy]

any photos of those six 21"+ fish, serpent? I'd love to see those sows!

This is my first year bass fishing, really, so it's been fun for me. A big thank-you to Meat Run for showing me the ropes and getting me hopelessly addicted. My biggest this year is 20 1/4", but more importantly I've been able to put in a lot of time on the water and learn a lot that will pay off in future years.

[bassfshin24]

For me i think the high water temps have hurt my fishing this summer. The past 3 weeks have been terrible for me for some reason. Im not a very good deep water fisherman and its definitely something i need to work on. i need to learn how to find the deep rocks in lakes and start using techniques im not use to using. i tend to stay with my usual techniques and i honestly think that has affected my fishing. i guess i know what my goal is for next year now.

Hey serpent...do you have any theories on why the fishin hasnt been as good for you this year as years past?

[Burchoid]

6 fish over 21" = good season, even if those were the only 6 fish you caught.

[Deitz Dittrich]

It should have been positive from the start. Thats what I get for asking how the season has been. Obviously its been bad based on the replies. Everybody is a little crabby.

Serp- I dont think people are being crabby, but many will go an entire life without 6 fish over 21". While it may be sub par for you in a season, its a dream for many. So complaining about it, is kind of a dig to others is all. It would be like complaining about making only 2 million dollars this year when you had made 4 mill by this time last year. Your just not going to get a whole lot of sympathy.

As for the tough season, you still have not answered any of my questions.. What has changed, why do you think the season has been harder? This could be a great learning exp for many.. so please help us out.

[serpent]

Yes I have pics. I'll try to post later if I have time. I've noticed on two of the lakes that I fish that the deeper rocks have moss on them. It seems that if they have moss they don't hold fish. The algae bloom hasn't been as bad on these lakes this year so I assume that its not killing the moss. Where there isn't moss I catch them but they're not as schooled up as usual. I've been fishing some of these lakes for 20 yrs and the fish are always in the same spots, or close to it, every year. I'm sure I've had other years where the numbers were off but this year has been really bad. Its gotta be the heat and the rain.

[Burchoid]

I smell a troll...

In all seriousness, its been a decent season out of my boat, with quite a few over 4 and even a few over 5. We're talking tournament weighed fish, or fish weighed on a very accurate digital scale.

Tonka has been the toughest for me this year. A lot of my rocks and grass that has produced well in the past just hasn't been the same this year.

And for the life of me, I can't seem to catch a fish off a dock with a 3/8oz jig anymore. I used to be able to go out on almost any given day and whack 'em good. Now I have to use tubes, creature baits, and finess jigs to get 'em. Anyone else notice this change over the last few years or is it just me???

[thatoneguy]

Burchoid - maybe they're slowly becoming "educated" and respond better to newer presentations now? Just a guess.

I was out yesterday from about 5:30-8:00, and my usual spots/presentations were producing nothing but pike...not a single strike from a bass. I tried a few different things - spinners, buzzers, jungle jigs - and still nothing. Finally, just on a whim, I put on a 1/8oz Weed Weasel jig, tipped it with a fat crawler, and slowly brought it back parallel to the weed edge. BOOM - three bass in 10 minutes.

That's what I'm really enjoying about my first year of fishing...it's been quite an education for me, and I know I've only just scratched the surface!

[serpent]

One thing we can all agree on. Bass fishing rules. And it only gets better in the fall.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

This is very interesting others talking about deeper rocks not producing as well. One of my go to lakes has some very good deep hard bottom spots that in years past have produced amazingly but this season it seems they have been abandoned. One thing Ive noticed is early in the season this lake was down 2-3' over past years but I fished it a few weeks back and the water was back up to normal levels and I had 3 bass on my first five casts including a 19.5"er on one of those rock piles. I find it hard to believe that fish would give up a deep prime area because of a few less FOW but Ill give it a few more tries and see what happens.

My season over all has been average. Ive got some good number days and some good fish Im proud of. Only complaint would be that I havnt got out as much as Id like but in reality who gets out as much or more than they'd like?

[MegaHawk]

Here in the mankato area I have noticed that alot of my weed beds from last year have been sprayed and are gone. I was told that they can only spray the same area once every 3 years? A local lake had its entire north bay sprayed this year! last year there was weeds all over and this year its bare!

[TonkaBass]

I think side imaging has hindered some deep rocks as well...

[st.crioxfishin]

I have found that getting back to my strengths (fishing shallow cover) has helped me tremendously in terms of tournament finishes this summer. Thats not to say that I don't like fishing deep or haven't caught fish deep this summer, it just means I have been focusing more on shallow water and seem to be having better results doing it (It could also mean I'm a lousy deep water fisherman too!). I've taken home money in my last 8 events and in all but one tournament, all my fish have come shallow. I'm not sure if the water coming up in some lakes has made the shallow bite better or if its just a matter of fishing shallow cover that is being overlooked by those that mainly are concentrating offshore.

When I started fishing larger Minnesota events just last summer I was bound and determined that if I was going to do well, I was going to have to fish deep. This summer I have done the exact opposite by fishing shallow and have had decent results.

Does this mean that I haven't got my behind kicked this year by guys that are fishing deep? No sir, there are still fish deep

[74mph]

It also depends on if your fishing for those 20+ inch fish or those 800+ fish that are 8 to 15 inches. I tend to find myself spending alot of time working areas that I know hold bigger fish and have put a good number of 20+ inch fish in the boat this year (maybe more than six, unfortunately not that many in the tournaments!)

It has been documented and proven several times over that fish tend to school up in size classes. You can find awesome schools of 14 inchers and catch 30+ fish in a single spot or you can find a school of maybe 2 to 5 really big girls.

Maybe the choice of what your going after really makes all the difference. Lately I will leave a big school of 14s to go after something that is going to bring my weight up.