How to find fish on a lake and get them to bite on artificial

So i’ve been struggling a lot lately with fishing on a lake that I can only seem to catch fish on live bait. I have tried everything and every little bit of structure. But the only thing I can get to work is live bait. Any thing you can think of that I am doing wrong or anything i can try? I try going for panfish (bass crappie bluegill etc) northern pike, musky, walleye. I am trying to use crankbaits spinnerbaits frogs buzzbaits texas rig jigs stand up jig. You name it i have probably tried it.

hardfishing:

Here come the questions:
So what are you fishing for???
What are you using for artificials, hard baits or softbaits???
I’m sure once you answer these two questions, there will be some answers and more questions…

Mark

P.S. At least you are catching fish on live bait, you could be struggling even worse, like not catching anything at all…

One thing about artificials is most people fish them too fast/hard. Try slowing them down and making them a more subtle presentation. There are times when a quick presentation is king, but more often than not slow is the key.

If you know where the fish are hitting on live bait, leave the live bait at home and make serious effort to catch them using artificials. Pay attention to what others are using for lures and have some of those along the next time you hit the water.

Artificial baits are a confidence thing and live bait is just something to trip over while you are developing that confidence.

I go for anything that bites. I fish for walleye, bass, perch, bluegill, pike, musky( i wish) crappie and other panfish. I have used many if not pretty much any lure you can think of that is sold in stores. The water is stained with copper ( from the natural land of the area). I have tried buzzbaits, crankbaits, spinnerbaits etc.

The issue is that even people that are experienced on the lake can’t catch fish on artificial. I have talked with a lot of them and they have said they were using worms, minnows etc.

How would you slow it down? As in like take a spinnerbait and just slow it down with making probably a cast every 30 seconds to a miniute? Also how could i learn how to cast near trees without getting snagged? I am not very good at it and most of the time i get snagged and have to cut the line.

hardfishing wrote:

How would you slow it down? As in like take a spinnerbait and just slow it down with making probably a cast every 30 seconds to a miniute? Also how could i learn how to cast near trees without getting snagged? I am not very good at it and most of the time i get snagged and have to cut the line.

With spinnerbaits you want to reel fast enough to keep the blades spinning and to keep them just above the weed tops. Varying the retrieve rate so it drops and rises occasionally also works well. I’ve also had good luck “killing” it so the spinnerbait drops into weed pockets, then quickly pulling them out. Hardbaits, kinda the same thing, run them just fast enough so they have a good swimming action, and vary the retrieve, killing and twitching them occasionally. Soft plastics like Texas rigged worms and such, cast it and let it sink to the bottom, then just hop it, drag it, and shake it. When you think you’ve gotten out of the fishable area quickly reel in.

As far as casting near trees, overhand is not a very accurate and efficient method. My best advice is to learn to cast a sidearm/underarm type cast with accuracy. Most times if you do miss your target and get into the trees a non-treble lure will just shake right out, or it’s low enough to be able to grab it.

Try flippin with a long rod. Make as little commotion as possible with the bait hitting the water. Let it sit there at least till all the ripples are gone, then start a slow stop and go retrieve.

You can even flip it onto the shore or a log and slowly drag it into the water.

Is this super clear water?

Have you tried a fly rod?

Its not clear water at all. It is stained with copper in the water.

hardfishing wrote:

Also how could i learn how to cast near trees without getting snagged? I am not very good at it and most of the time i get snagged and have to cut the line.

Some good advice has already been given on this. Some mentioned casting sidearm/sideways and as a fisherman it’s always good to be able to cast sidearm.

Just like any skill, your casting will improve over time with practice. Which means that just like those other skills, you’ll have to build up some reps and be ready to fail a few times (thus cutting your line a time or two).

Obviously aim is important in casting, and it’ll help you to make that precise. It’s like the phrase “aim small, miss small” when shooting. A guy shouldn’t just aim at a target, he should aim at a specific spot on that target, which will help him be a lot more accurate and precise. I always preach the same mentality when playing catch in baseball; don’t just look at your catch partner and throw, aim to hit his glove every time.

You can work on this with specific areas or tell yourself you want to hit a specific lily pad or some other target.

I kind of “cut my teeth” so to speak growing up by a pond in my area where the shoreline is full of trees, so a full cast was out of the question and I had to learn how to cast sideways or do sort of a half-cast. As I got older and got out on boats more I saw that good bass can be had hiding around cover, but you’ve gotta be precise and get that bait right in front of them. Again, lots of practice; I don’t think I’ve cut my last line after getting snagged on a dock, but I’ve gotten a lot better. To me, casting is a blast once you get comfortable with it and can put your lure/bait where you want it.

Tom Sawvell wrote:

If you know where the fish are hitting on live bait, leave the live bait at home and make serious effort to catch them using artificials. Pay attention to what others are using for lures and have some of those along the next time you hit the water.

Artificial baits are a confidence thing and live bait is just something to trip over while you are developing that confidence.

this is gonna hurt typing this but I agree with Tom. ITS A CONFIDENCE THING and Tom actually got me into fishing plastics. now with that said there are lakes I never use live bait on, then others it seems plastics don’t work so well, so I have live bait as a backup.

I’ll be darned! Glenn, you’re proof that old dogs can learn new tricks. Ugly old dog at that.

Tom Sawvell wrote:

I’ll be darned! Glenn, you’re proof that old dogs can learn new tricks. Ugly old dog at that.

but my wife and 2 dogs loves this old ugly mutt!!!!!!!!!

I have to admit it took a while. now I got more dang plastics then I really need!!!!

Try a Senko Texas rigged or wacky style with a weedless hook-Owner makes a great one that is about the size of a nickle with a light weed/brush gaurd-I like the Skip Jack hooks for rigging texas style-look for black or something with a bright tail. Slow down as many have said-even dead stick if you like your spot.
Someday you will outfish someone using live bait (that’s fun)
GoodLuck

hardfishing wrote:

I go for anything that bites. I fish for walleye, bass, perch, bluegill, pike, musky( i wish) <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>crappie and other panfish. I have used many if not pretty much any lure you can think of that is sold in stores. The water is stained with copper ( from the natural land of the area). I have tried buzzbaits, crankbaits, spinnerbaits etc.

All right to start, let’s split this up a bit… walleye, perch… bass, bluegill, panfish & musky… then pike.

I split the fish up according to where you’re going to fish for them… So to start with panfish are going to be located along the shoreline at the beginning of the year and then move out along the weedgrowth. With tha tannic water you are complaining about, weedgrowth likely will end before you get to 10′. If it makes it that far out, then its not as tannic as some of our northern WI waters.

So start shallow, my go to has been Kalins Crappie Scrubbs and acid rain seems to be the brightest of the colors I am using now, but according to google, it comes in firetiger and chartruese/black/blue which should help in the dark water. I then thread a TriggerX Nymph for scent attractor, suspend under a bobber 2′ – 3′ and keep it moving. Start shallower and by now you will wasn’t to be working the outside weed edges. I have caught crappies, perch and sunfish/bluegills on this of all sizes, though it should discriminate for larger sized fish. That should cover all of your panfish situations to start.

Then is water’s color is tannic, not copper I am guessing??? Other descriptive colors could be coffee or tea stained. No matter what baits you use, they should all be bright in your spinnerbaits/buzzbaits and cranks. Oranges, reds, bright greens/chartrueses and whites/blacks should be go to colors… Rattle baits and other baits with rattles may be of help here as well. Lipless cranks in the above colors will give you the ability to fish fast and shallow or slow down and go deep. Consider any other style bait that makes noise to start, then you may want to add plastics to the arsenal in the above colors to go noiseless, which can be a trigger as well, remembering that fish use their lateral line to find prey.

These choices should help you with the bass, walleye, northern pike and musky most of the early season. I seperated the pike because as the water warms and dark water will warm faster than clear, the pike especially the larger ones will vacate shallows looking for cooler to cold water. The do not do well in waters above 65* or so.

Now the last piece to this puzzle is going to be where are you fishing for each of these species in relation to their prefered habitat. If you not fishing in the right spots, then you can’t make contact with the artificials. I am hoping that because you are successful with bait, location isn’t or shouldn’t be the big issue here… More in a bit

Mark

Thanks for the tips. The lake i am trying to catch fish on is the Holcombe flowage in rusk county wisconsin. I will have to try and use brighter colors. The fish most of the time are probably under docks or deep because alot of the grass and structure is facing the sun side rather than the darker side.

hardfishing wrote:

”The issue is that even people that are experienced on the lake can’t catch fish on artificial. I have talked with a lot of them and they have said they were using worms, minnows etc.”

hardfishing, people that are experienced with the lake may be in the same situation as you, confident with bait, but having no confidence in using artificials, so I wouldn’t use that as a guage..
.

hardfishing wrote:

”How would you slow it down? As in like take a spinnerbait and just slow it down with making probably a cast every 30 seconds to a miniute? Also how could i learn how to cast near trees without getting snagged? I am not very good at it and most of the time i get snagged and have to cut the line.”

As mentioned by another, slowing down means to just make the blade turn, even stopping it to let it fall, then starting the retrieve again. Keeping the bait in the water is important for the fish to find, the longer the better.

Practice casting at trees in your yard taking the hooks off a bait, then when your bait is in the tree limb reel it slowly and carefully, so the bait is just under the limb and give it a quick twitch. It should jump around the limb and out of the tree. Another thing to do is learn to feather your casts with your finger or thumb. Once you learn these two techniques, you should be able to cast to trees/docks at any time.

Mark

Just got back from a family vacation in Wisc. After getting enough fish for a few meals on 1/16 oz. Maribo or with paddle tails, I switched to ultra light rippin raps. I used the rip and drop method on a lazy drift across the lake. Using my electronics and trying to put the lure where the fish were, I caught bluegill, perch, crappie and walleye! They drilled it, almost always on the drop after the rip

hardfishing:

You are on a tough body of water… and it is tannins from the upstream marshes that the Flambeau is accepting that make the water its specific color… Keep at it with the artificials, then when you need a catching fix, bring the bait back out…

jighead:

Where were ya at in WI??? Imagining the better situations were shallower parts of the lake when you were drifting and/or deep weed edges…

Mark

Now how would you recommend i practice? I dont live up on the lake i just stay at a cabin we own up here. I have half a acre of open lawn. Any tips you could give me or anyone else on here so far please let me know.

mbenson wrote:

hardfishing:

You are on a tough body of water… and it is tannins from the upstream marshes that the Flambeau is accepting that make the water its specific color… Keep at it with the artificials, then when you need a catching fix, bring the bait back out…

jighead:

Where were ya at in WI??? Imagining the better situations were shallower parts of the lake when you were drifting and/or deep weed edges…

Mark

Birchwood, started in about 9’at the end of the vegetation and drifted away from them. Easiest fishing was14′-16’bluegill, perch, walleye on or near bottom, crappie suspended and on the bottom.

Ok im going fishing tonight. What should i try to fish? I’m planning on anchoring in a cove that is 10 feet in its deepest point. There are trees all around the island also. The trees themselves have a lot of protruding branches so it is hard to get something in it deep.

You have heard lots of good advice, maybe too much! Focus on one thing (spinners would be good) learn the lure get a rhythm- sometimes the take is shorter and more subtle with artificals so you need to get in tune with the lure more. Worth the effort though. Good Luck

keep at what you are doin eventually they will bite. From my experience on the lake is if you only fish the weekends fishing is poor because they raise and lower the crap out of the lake on the weekends so nobody catches fish. Try fishing couple days in a row during the week and see if that helps. Fish are in negative moods when they jack with water levels and with all the rain it is pry worse this year. I think they do it on purpose to keep people away because the fishn sucks on the weekends(usually for me). When you get some stable water levels go to places where you catch em and see what happens. Or use what works bait! I haven’t been there in a couple years, don’t think it is any different now. I have noticed when I’m panfishing with artificial, that when my dad puts on bait and contaminates the water my bite slows down significantly, sometimes I have to put bait on to get a bite when that smell gets in the water.

hardfishing wrote:

Ok im going fishing tonight. What should i try to fish? I’m planning on anchoring in a cove that is 10 feet in its deepest point. There are trees all around the island also. The trees themselves have a lot of protruding branches so it is hard to get something in it deep.

First of all how did it go??

Are you going to anchor the whole time??? I’m a bit confused on the cove and island part… Forgetting the island for a bit, are the trees on shore or in the water??? Looked at a Holcombe map and am wondering what part of the flowage are you on… Lots of islands, hard to tell what might be going on…

You ask the question “What should I try to fish?” and I am wondering are you picking a certain species or are you trying to fish the area or part of that area??? In this spot what do you think you should be fishing for???

Mark

zubba wrote:

From my experience on the lake is if you only fish the weekends fishing is poor because they raise and lower the crap out of the lake on the weekends so nobody catches fish. Try fishing couple days in a row during the week and see if that helps. Fish are in negative moods when they jack with water levels and with all the rain it is pry worse this year. I think they do it on purpose to keep people away because the fishn sucks on the weekends(usually for me).

I’m curious about this. I have zero experience with this body of water, but I have to ask — who are “they” that have the ability to alter water levels, and why would “they” want to sabotage weekend fishing?

not sure who controls the dam but it is like any flowage with a dam, constantly opening and closing it, then when it is stable for a couple days fishing gets better. Then before winter flowages experience big draw downs to handle snow melt in spring. My opinion on why they do it more on weekends is why anyone would sabotage fishing because they don’t want people catchn their fish. they(maybe lake association) know locals fish during the week away from the big weekend crowds so they keep it a little more stable of course this is my thought, I have no proof this is happening but locals told me the story. fish can still be caught anytime obviously. Wi is outfished the average size of all fish gets smaller every year from over harvesting imo.

zubba wrote:

not sure who controls the dam but it is like any flowage with a dam, constantly opening and closing it, then when it is stable for a couple days fishing gets better. Then before winter flowages experience big draw downs to handle snow melt in spring. My opinion on why they do it more on weekends is why anyone would sabotage fishing because they don’t want people catchn their fish. they(maybe lake association) know locals fish during the week away from the big weekend crowds so they keep it a little more stable of course this is my thought, I have no proof this is happening but locals told me the story. fish can still be caught anytime obviously. Wi is outfished the average size of all fish gets smaller every year from over harvesting imo.

I get the idea, and I’m no fan of Lake Associations. . . but unless somebody in the association is greasing some palms at Xcel Energy, the dam is not opening and closing to deter weekend fishermen. It just seems pretty far fetched to me.