Hey, im looking for some advice on fishing. I live in New Jersey and love to hunt and fish, especially at one location, Round Va

[fishmaster42]

Hey, im looking for some advice on fishing. I live in New Jersey and love to hunt and fish, especially at one location, Round Valley Reservoir. Lately, we've been fishing off the docks with shiners and crayfish. Ive been nailing the smallies one after another and the occasional largemouth. The average fish is about 10-12 inches, but there are 2 or 3 easy 10 pounders than sit right under the dock in about 6-10 feet of water. These fish are incredibly smart and have outwitted me so far. I have tried shiners, crayfish, worms, all plastics, topwater frogs, and many lures...do u have any idea what i can use? I have gotten him to tap on one crayfish but not enough to set the hook. Another thing is they do not come to the surface, so it must not float. Thanks again for any ideas

[Eightsouthman]

The key here is patience. Yep, it's easy to say and not easy to do. I'd use jigs of various sorts, not too big with plenty of natural action. One of my most successful methods in Texas I came up with out of the blue not catching the big ones I knew were there, and a method adopted by countless fishermen I know of since then was to take the lower part of a Power Worm I'd broken and rig it where it looked good as a trailer on a Stanley jig(1/4-5/15OZ)with a (mostly brownish((no matter what they call it, pumpkinseed, watermelon)). Use the worm with the curly tail. Of course some pork rind of some sort works well too but it seems the power worm tail has the action that sorta makes them not be able to ignore it forever. I learned from watching an old man who would go fishing with us and maybe catch only one fish while we'd catch several but his would be a GOOD ONE, the one we were going for. He'd just lay back and jig with mainly a couple things. Stay quiet and don't move around. The more time you spend doing this, the more likely you are of making her think it's something good. Then there is the theory, and I believe it, that a bass will strike finally out of sheer frustration, they're just tired of watching it and it get's their goat or they think it's something they want to kill, get it out of their territory. I think of it sorta like fishing on beds where males and females alike will grab an interloper(it's always good to make something look like one of the things that prey on their beds like waterdogs, salamanders, etc)and remove it to a spot away from them while trying to kill it in process. I've caught some good ones like this. Don't think something new might do the trick either. I have used a Power Slug and let it stay on the bottom, twitching it now and then, subtly, and had many a good fish mount it after a bit. I think sometimes it's just too easy a target to turn down after a while. Sluggish fish can be that way for a myriad of reasons so keep that in mind and try to put yourself in the fish's mind. A friend and I went fishing one day, not a particularly good time we thought from days immediately preceding it. He said I have a new bait, ordered it off tv and then laughed. He came out with these flying soft baits. They were weird looking but would run sideways up under docks. He said "We'll probably never get a bite but I got tired of not catching anything and the commercial both" so I rigged one the way it said and we giggled at our folly and I proceeded to cast up under a tree and Bam, caught a 5 lber right off. He was laughing and I was too. We caught a couple more fish with it and then I don't think we ever fished it much again. We probably should have. We wore it out that day though. I did get a few good hits but it's tough fishing under docks back in brush and various things to get caught up on. One thing for sure, you have to get the bait to them most of the time and whatever works for that has an advantage. They didn't get that big from being stupid. Good luck, I hope this verbose post helps a bit. Remember, Power Worms are good for the scent as well as action. I don't knock other brands, just use what works for me.

[Pathfinder1]

Hi...


When you're fishing off a dock with just six to ten feet of water depth underneath...you can bet that those bass know you are there...!!


Have you tried to...very stealthily...fish for them at night. A noisy surface lure may work then, as might live bait.


Good luck.

[fishmaster42]

Hey,
I will definetly attempt both of these methods. Pathfinder1 i will try to go night fishing during the week when most people will not be out on the water, and Eightsouthman your ideas sound great and will also try them. Patience and stealth.

Thanks again,
fishmaster42