Worst year for me

papaperch

Active member
Joined
Mar 28, 2010
Messages
1,033
Location
Northeast Ohio
I have apparently forgot how to fish. This has been the worst year for me as far as putting fish in boat. Last year when son vacationed here for a week we almost got tired of catching them. This year our best day we only managed 12 keepers. All of our local lakes that I fish have been more stained than normal. Can't say if this is causing it or what.

Prior to son's vacation my scouting trips in preparation for his vacation also proved rather fruitless. The only fish I have had any success at at all have been dinky little perch. Went to bigger baits to avoid small smaller fish. Resulted in no action what so ever.

I fish almost exclusively for pan fish so its like a double whammy for me.

Anyone else having a down year ?
 

Fatman

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Joined
May 1, 2011
Messages
10,523
Location
Northfield, Vermont
Yeah, being a shore fisherman and all the rain we keep getting the rivers are blown out and muddy and most of the Fish and Wildlife ponds I like to fish you can't get into the back side cause the trails are all flooded out.
 

toadfrog

Active member
Joined
Jun 28, 2010
Messages
2,811
Location
OKLAHOMA
Ain't doing so well myself . Quit lake fishing and hit some ponds that was productive on one the rest had parasites to bad to keep.
 

Jig Man

Active member
Joined
May 19, 2010
Messages
5,523
Location
Out here...
The only year I can think of that was worse was a year I didn't fish at all... The lakes I normally fish have been dry or close to dry until last year and then they caught water. Now all the brush that was on the lake bed and bank gives them a great place to hide and the few fish that survived are scattered to the wind. But the good news is the fry that hatch this year will have a better chance of surviving and growing up for the future...
 

JUNGLEJIM1

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 23, 2010
Messages
3,173
Location
Saint Louis,Mo
I've had some years that the regular fish producing spots aren't productive but this year isn't one of them, even with a lot of high water here. Lot's of fish and some bigger fish too. I missed out on the crappie spawn because hybrid stripers were biting in the blown out rivers but bluegill and redear were off the hook and had a few 100+ fish days. Several redear were 12 inches or more which are PB redear in Missouri for me. I've been fishing more this year having one stretch of 10 days straight. Being out a lot more keeps me in tune with what fish are doing. I think fishing more is key for me along with trying new spots. Saying this sets me up for a bad year next year but if I keep getting out there regularly slumps won't last too long, hopefully.
 

Kdog

Moderator
Joined
Apr 26, 2013
Messages
1,808
Location
SW Ohio
This year has been producive even though I havent been fishing very much due to work. One thing I gotta say is techniques from past years and productive spots from past years have all gone up in smoke. I fish with a couple guys that get out waaaay to many days so they have a good idea where fish can be found. Which reealistically this year is where they are at the moment. fish are still in pods but they move around constantly. Food is plentiful and jig-n-crawler work but only on barely legal fish which we wont keep.

My most succesful combo thus far is a herring head with a colorado blade. Either nightcrawler or zonker strip, zonker seems to catch larger fish aand crawlers catches more fish. Suspending crank baits are already producing which is unheard of. Onlt reason Ive been succesfyl everytime out is a. buddies are up to date on patterns and B. I have an incredible selection of tackle to try also 3 men in a boat, you can try a lot of things fast. Oj yeah, best color, day in day out has been white with a dysting of orange on the back. Orange with a dusting of white on the belly is almost a stop sign. Beeh a fun spring. I even painted some cranks in the white with orange back and they work better than any other combo thus far. Its also a combo I had never even thought of trying.

Keep an open mind and ho fish, sooner or later you will find what works.
 

Hawnjigs

KISS
Joined
Mar 23, 2010
Messages
4,226
Location
Ogallala, NE
After a productive first year on Lake McConaughey in '15, last year was a dud, and this year a total skunk so far. Same spots, same jigs + new ones, same time frames. Can't tell if Mac walleye & wiper #s are depleted or they just moved off the dam earlier than post spawn usual. Can't remember last year, but unusually warm winter this year.

Harvest pressure matters. One out of state guy has parked his camper at the best wally canal spot and bait dunks every day all day. My catches have declined from a consistent dozen+ per session to 1 or even zero since he moved in 3 weeks ago. I only keep 1 or 2 per month to eat.
 

AllenOK

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Joined
Oct 27, 2014
Messages
1,080
Location
Jackson, MI
I'm not fishing as much as I'd "like to be". Mainly because of work. I get two days off this weekend, so hopefully I'll get onto some better/more fish. Probably going to have to start getting up at the 0-Dark-30 and take off, instead of sleeping in a bit. Momma doesn't like it, and I got out of doing that a couple years ago. We'll see how it plays out.

The Hex hatch is going to start up soon, if it hasn't already. That will change my fishing schedule completely, sunset into the night, instead of early morning.
 

AtticaFish

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Staff member
Joined
Mar 22, 2010
Messages
5,445
Location
Attica, OH
I believe it has a lot to do with the mild winters.... 2 of them back to back. Everything is way off schedule in my deep/baron upground reservoirs. The crappie are late spawning and the bluegill look like they are just about to start spawning. That does not usually happen. I was out twice this week and found the crappie on fire at one reservoir, caught crappie on every cast, but had a hard time catching the bluegill i wanted. I even hooked up with a walleye and have not caught a walleye (could have been saugeye) in almost 15 years in this particular lake. Did not have my net and popped the tiny bluegill jig hook at shore..... but it would have kept. I've been having a pretty good year, but have had to go by a completely different schedule for where and when to find what i am after.

AllenOK - Was out last night and there were Hex's everywhere tapping the water. There was also midge swarm that blew through at one point and it was so thick i ate several. Cottonwood is everywhere too. There were schools of carp slurping the the white puffs off the surface.

papaperch - I could put you on some decent bluegill fishing over here...... don't think the 3 hour drive would be worth a couple bluegill though. :p Willard bluegill should be starting very soon and there are some monsters in there. The numbers/size of perch are 'supposed' to be making a comeback there also. I have caught five 10" bluegill and one 10.5" bluegill so far this year out of my little local reservoir that everyone i talk to says has no fish in it. Shhhh.
 
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