Light bite advice

I am by no means a James Holst but I have fished long enough to be semi productive. With that being stated I am having a difficult time getting fish to bite.

I am fishing a relatively new lake. This lake has lots of structure in general. The spot I am fishing is a hard bottom point. The point juts out from shore and averages 5′ to 8′ deep and then gradually drops off on each side of the point to about 30′.

I am looking for walleye. I know they are down there because an old timer I know lives on the lake and told me about the spot. It has been a very productive spot for him in the past. I have spent the last three afternoons/evenings fishing this area. Right at 5:00 pm my Vexilar lights up with fish and they are down there until 6:00.

I am fishing with my two boys so we have six lines going. Tonight I was picking up the most fish on the Vexilar and I was fishing 13′ of water. We have been using dead stick with a fat head, ripping raps, various VMC jigs and spoons. All different colors and sizes. The bobber on the dead stick will go down less than an inch and not a bit more. I have given it a ton of time and nothing is on the other end. When I use a spoon tipped with minnow head or a rippin rap they do not follow it on the Vexilar. I have jigged aggressively and I have done the opposite. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

I have not tried shiners and I have not spoken to the old timer who informed me of the spot to see what he uses.

Advice?

Camera?

tindall wrote:

Camera?

Nope. Everything but a camera.

And for those of you keeping score from home.

I purchased a 8″ Ion auger late last year. I have been a huge fan of it. I know for a fact that my having one and letting total strangers “drill a few holes” with it has sold a few more of their augers. With that being stated, tonight I encountered in what I would label a “significant” issue with it. I will contact their customer service tomorrow. Their response will dictate how I use social media/word of mouth to my or their advantage.

If the fish don’t win sometimes, there wouldn’t be any left. You probably aren’t doing anything wrong, but in the event there’s something more you can do; it will likely entail continually trying different things. Try downsizing to smaller baits when they’re finicky. Bring crappie minnows and shiners and try them both if fatheads aren’t working. Sometimes size and color help make the most when the bite is tough. I’ve had many slow-to-no-go days this season alone where one color or presentation was the only thing that would work and even then it was slim pickings. Just get back out there and keep trying, it’s the slow days that make us all grateful for the days with hot action.

Ben Putnam wrote:

If the fish don’t win sometimes, there wouldn’t be any left. You probably aren’t doing anything wrong, but in the event there’s something more you can do; it will likely entail continually trying different things. Try downsizing to smaller baits when they’re finicky. Bring crappie minnows and shiners and try them both if fatheads aren’t working. Sometimes size and color help make the most when the bite is tough. I’ve had many slow-to-no-go days this season alone where one color or presentation was the only thing that would work and even then it was slim pickings. Just get back out there and keep trying, it’s the slow days that make us all grateful for the days with hot action.

Good point. A bad day of fishing is still better than a good day at work.

rmanderson wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Ben Putnam wrote:</div>
If the fish don’t win sometimes, there wouldn’t be any left. You probably aren’t doing anything wrong, but in the event there’s something more you can do; it will likely entail continually trying different things. Try downsizing to smaller baits when they’re finicky. Bring crappie minnows and shiners and try them both if fatheads aren’t working. Sometimes size and color help make the most when the bite is tough. I’ve had many slow-to-no-go days this season alone where one color or presentation was the only thing that would work and even then it was slim pickings. Just get back out there and keep trying, it’s the slow days that make us all grateful for the days with hot action.

Good point. A bad day of fishing is still better than a good day at work.

True…but I still like to catch fish sometimes-especially when I know they’re there. Downsizing is good advice. Something else to try, which pays off for me at least some of the time is up-sizing or getting aggressive. Larger spoons, more aggressively fished, try to get some reaction. On the other hand, I just spent three days getting my butt handed to me on the ice by fish, so maybe what the heck do I know? Even hammer-handle slimers were being tentative biters.

I’d downsize like lots of the guys are saying, try glowing jigs, try different colors you haven’t tried yet, grab a bait you’ve never used before, try different things. Bring a buddy who has a camera and see what’s down there and what’s happening. Maybe they’re biting but you can’t tell, No telling!