Bait but no fish??

Hey guts, went out to the lake this morning and got skunked. I was able to find plenty of bait around the 25-30ft range, but was never confident that I found any fish. I was riding along creek channels finding bait. The further away I got from the channel, the less life was around. Checked several different spots and same deal. Talked to a couple of guys at the ramp and they experienced the same thing. Just curious what you guy’s thoughts may be. I’m still new so I’m still trying to connect all the dots. Thanks

By the way, water temp was around 62 degrees

Water temperature please

I saw the same thing in one cove yesterday. More bait than you could fit in a full-sized swimming pool but few fish. Guess they were too full to chase them. Look further out on the edges of the bait for structure holding fish. Also search near bridges and mouths of coves for transitioning fish. My bigger fish were in suspended schools outside of a bridge away from the huge schools of bait. Keep at it, I fished for 7 hours before getting on some good keepers. My water temp was 55 degrees yesterday.

The only thing I thought about was graphing the flats around that depth and seeing what was out there. I literally stayed in the channels looking. Hind sight is always 20/20. But again, I’m new to all this still. And I still struggle to figure out how to fish in the wind, even a small breeze. Im always scared to go too heavy with my jigs but I can never feel the jigs.

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Originally Posted by Auston22688

The only thing I thought about was graphing the flats around that depth and seeing what was out there. I literally stayed in the channels looking. Hind sight is always 20/20. But again, I’m new to all this still. And I still struggle to figure out how to fish in the wind, even a small breeze. Im always scared to go too heavy with my jigs but I can never feel the jigs.

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We went yesterday. Couldn't find bait but caught 78 crappie. All put back. Don

Dothan is a little higher than we are and I'm finding the larger groups of fish on the bottom to right off the bottom. You have to fish slow whatever way you're fishing too.

P.S. I should say I can hardly feel the bite, almost my subconscious is setting the hook before I realize I had a bite. That takes time to develop so focus on what your rod is telling you.

With crappie become a line watcher and don't just concentrate on your rod tip to detect a bite. You will be amazed at the bites you miss because you did not see the line move sideways or all of sudden there is slack in the line.

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Originally Posted by Auston22688

Hey guts, went out to the lake this morning and got skunked. I was able to find plenty of bait around the 25-30ft range, but was never confident that I found any fish. I was riding along creek channels finding bait. The further away I got from the channel, the less life was around. Checked several different spots and same deal. Talked to a couple of guys at the ramp and they experienced the same thing. Just curious what you guy’s thoughts may be. I’m still new so I’m still trying to connect all the dots. Thanks
By the way, water temp was around 62 degrees

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If the bait was that deep, I would expect the fish to be deeper. The fish could also have been hugging the bottom, making them hard to distinguish from bottom contour or debris.

This .... sometimes they are flat on the bottom under the bait , this is why I asked what the water temp was , winter die off on Shad occurs in the low 50 degree water temperature and they sit under them and gorge

Sometimes theres just too much bait and not enough fish. Case in point, I fished a tourny, poorly I might add, on High Rock Lake NC this past saturday. I caught some good fish in the middle of the lake the day before, in bait. Day of tourny I covered over a mile of water criss-crossing back and forth looking for fish. Literally acres and acres of bait that at times, changed my depth on the sonar, but nothing but catfish in it for the most part. Chances are theres another spot holding bait AND fish. I made a move late in the day, and found bait and fish. Bait was in tighter, smaller balls, and fish were usually in it, just under it, or in small schools away from bait, but not far away.

I should have ventured out further away from the channels than I did. I’m still figuring all this out. And it always seems the days I’m able to go are the worst days weather wise. I’ll figure them out eventually though. Just waiting on the lightbulb to go off and all the pieces of the puzzle fall together

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Originally Posted by Auston22688

I’ll figure them out eventually though. Just waiting on the lightbulb to go off and all the pieces of the puzzle fall together

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That makes two of us Auston. :ThumbsUp