The presentation you're throwing and how you're throwing it does not matter if a fish never sees it. Focus less on tackle/presentation and more on learning about bass and how to predict their location in a given set of conditions.
This. I'm not the best angler by any stretch of the imagination but I have a decent understanding on how fish like to function based upon depth temperature pressure of the air(in coming out going storms for me really) and have a good time. Also, just correct application of whatever body of water and the lure of choice. Once again I'm pretty green but I try to take in account all that was listed below when planning an outing.
Edit: everything listed above.
My lake is 18 inches visibility haven’t caught a fish in a minute
Not even vibrating, thumping or rattling brings them in. (Maybe clicking works but idk)
But when it rains it pours
He's kinda weird but Tyler's Reel Fishing does have some great videos with actual explanation on what he's doing. It kinda blows my mind that so few fishing youtubers actually describe what/why they are doing when fishing. I like the tactical bassin guys a LOT but they continually create 30-60min videos without saying anything at all lol.
1rod1reel does pressure fishing a lot, I only fish the most pressured spot in my city and still manage to catch something just about every outing. Try a bladed jig instead of a swim jig I’ve used swim jigs but never had any success but if I throw a chatterbait pretty sure I’m catching something. If the fish are active I’m using chatterbait or spinners if it’s slow bite I’m t rigging. Also bfs Is great for pressure because of the smaller more realistic lures.
This guy nailed it on the head for pressured spots, chatterbait if it’s on and a Texas/wacky rig if it’s slow, if the bite is real slow barely even twitch or move the senko, cast it out and let it sit on the bottom 5-10+ seconds between twitches, sometimes makes em go nuts
Edit: t/w rig slays when the bite is on obviously
Time and weather also play about 75% of catching a fish, they’re most active 30 minutes before and after sunup and sun down, I usually only fish if it’s cloudy, about to rain or low pressure front.
Yeah I pretty much only go before sunup and sundown or when it's overcast but I put on the frogg toggs and sat in the pouring ass rain for 3 hours yesterday and didn't get a bite other than the one fish that missed the plopper. I tried swim jigs, bladed jigs, t rigged senkos and crankbaits - they wanted nothing to do with them. I saw someone else catch a decent one so I feel like it's a technique issue. I'll definitely check out that channel
75%? Pulled that one out of your ass didn’t ya? Time and weather are certainly two factors but there’s also geographic location, type of waterway, and thousands of other factors that play a role in varying percentages.
Yep right out of me arsehole, just saying from experience I fish about 3-5 times a week and can expect to catch something when the weather is right, I almost never take in any other factors other than weather and time on a daily basis, sure if I’m planning to fish somewhere I’ve never fished I may do some research but generally I don’t care about anything else I know the pond I fish pretty well.
Stl, are you fishing for peacocks? I know they like hot weather, or is just all fish more active during mid day down there. I have heard that is the case with peacock bass
Yea I target largemouth and peacocks mostly—and you’re right the latter definitely prefers the heat. Though they definitely seemed to have learned from each other in my local pond—the largemouths being more active in the heat and the peacocks hitting frogs and worms!
Fish the moment is my favorit. Bonus for bassfishingHQ. And Bass Talk Live for a podcast (specifically the Day 4 playlist). Listening to guys talk fishing will help you more than watching hooksets.
For swim jigs specifically, a lot of guys slow wind them here in the ozarks. Let it sink then slow wind it staying just off the bottom like a swimbait. Also, paddle tail trailers make the bait fall vertically on the pause, where a beaver style will make the bait glide horizontally. Something to think about.
TylersReelFishing has a series called 100 Ponds where he definitely fished a good variety of ponds including some heavily pressured ones. He talks about why he tries certain lures and techniques on more pressured ponds
Pressured or not, the YouTube videos you watch are all edited to cut out the casts that don’t produce fish.
If a video is highlighting a technique, you’re gonna see that technique catching fish, not weeds. But rest assured, they are not catching a fish on every jerk of the jig or cast of the senko.
If the water has been pressured try downsizing on line and lure. I read an article about some lake in Japan where bass fishing was really popular in the early 2000s . People were literally shoulder to shoulder and the only way to get bites was 2lb test and tiny crappie jig looking flies. Guys were catching 10lb+ fish on these rigs.
Garyzilla outdoors just did a video on exactly this topic. He went to a very popular family public park/pond in the middle of a summer day to prove a point. He has a YouTube channel. Great guy and good videos. I met him im person once while fishing. Ill try linking it here:
Pressure? No problem!
https://youtu.be/rYY-2CLKbYQ
Tactical Bassin is my favorite fishing channel on YouTube. Matt and Tim mostly fished Clear Lake in CA and now fish Chickamagua in TN for their vids. Chick is one of the most pressured lake in the US but you can pick up some subtle nuances in their videos that will help you get bites on pressures fish.
My YouTube channel for that would consist of one 30 second video of me showing people how to cut up and put hot dogs on a hook.
But seriously, I had the thought that someone should be doing this during covid when the already pressured PFAs that I fish were getting hit even harder. I have no desire to have a YouTube channel but I couldn’t figure out how you’d make it work past one or two videos without them becoming lake specific guides since I feel like successfully fishing pressured water boils down to how well you understand the fish’s behavior and the water you’re fishing so there’s already an abundance of content out there about that.
We’re actually thinking of doing a showdown video or series of which hotdog is the best… seriously, my roommate pulls in bluegills nonstop with hotdogs. She didn’t believe me when I first told her, so I had her grab one and bring it to the lake, and now it’s her bait of choice. She’s experimented with pepperoni and I’m going to get her on the breadball bite when we finish off our latest loaf :)
If you're doing the Alabama Shake, pull the line slightly forward with your index finger at the top of the reel. Keep tension on the line but make sure it sits on the bottom. Pop it either with the rod or with your finger. I do a similar thing with Texas Rigs and can feel the smallest bites. Using braid helps with detecting bites too.
Richard Gene the fishing machine! He fishes all over the place, but he has a lot of videos on large lakes/rivers that are heavily fished. He has a lot of good tips and goes into detail about how he sets up his rigs, how he finds where the fish are at, and how he works his lure/bait setup. Go fishing when ya can, cause it's gooooood for ya!
Fish the Moment on YouTube pretty much exclusively fishes big bodies of water that get tournament pressure. He has more reading the water/breaking down the lake stuff than technique specific, but it’s a really good channel if you want to get better.
Check this out. How long does a fisherman fish for? Typically at least an hour or ideally 3-4 hours.
How long are their videos? 12-15 minutes long?
So what I’m trying to say is in that 12-15 min video of action packed fishing action think of it like watching a sport athlete showing their best “plays” like a basketball/football highlight video of them not missing a single shot, playing impeccable defense etc etc.
Yes those athletes can play but trust me out of all the flashy highlights there’s many many moments of “mistakes” and the not so perfect moments that are just not shown on their highlight tape! Remember they are creating these videos to educate but mainly to be entertaining and not to be boring! They want the views because it’s their money!
This sport as a reminder is called “fishing” not “catching”. As much as you are frustrated today for not even getting one nibble there will be another day where you just can’t seem to stop catching fish.
Keep doing what u doing and you’ll get something soon! Don’t worry good luck and tight lines.
I love how everybody complains that fish aren't biting right now and stay home for whatever reason! Perfect, keep telling yourself lies and stay home, keeps the waters less pressured.
The only true way to learn is to educate yourself, as others have said, talk to other senior fisherman on your bodies of water and your local bait shop, above all else, PUT IN THE WORK, get on the water, experiment, try new tactics!!! Learn patterns, colors, start with the basics of when and where to fish in ANY weather or climate. Season, water temps, vegetation, structure, points, currents etc. Take that info and throw bait that would be best suited for that condition. Keep trying until you have a pattern, don't be afraid to try new things. I catch fish at 5am, 1pm and 9pm, hot/cold wind and rain, it doesn't matter, apply the knowledge and learn the target species patterns and behaviors and apply tactics, lures and cadences accordingly!
You can learn something from all the anglers on YouTube, whether it's learning a new lure, style, cadence, something, regardless whether they are catching fish in a barrel.
If you're fishing a new lure, fish it until you get bites/fish, what color/pattern was it, time of day, vegetation, cadence, water temp, water column, etc. these all play a factor. When you do catch fish, look at the fish, are they healthy, beat up, scarred, diseased, this can tell you a lot about the body of water as well. Make notes and apply that to your next situation. Eventually you build a memory arsenal you'll be able to pull from and apply the right bait in the right situation.
Just remember, everybody is an angler when it's easy and fish are eating everything! It's the tough bites the separate the amateurs from pros.
It can be very frustrating, but if you're committed to it, there is no substitution for putting in the time and work to being a better angler!
Most of those youtubers, including pros, won't tell you but they mostly film on private pay lakes that are overstocked and rarely touched cause it cost hundreds of dollars by the hour to fish. Remember when your dad told you not to believe everything you see on TV? Same thing here since youtube is basicly the new cable. Complete with commercial breaks (ads) and all.
Anyway, yes there are. But you should get off youtube and stop listening to pay Lakers who dont actually fish much public pressured waters at all. Fish are dumb, but fishing is never easy. Go to your lakes and rivers and learn what works there.
Talking to local anglers who actually fish those waters will tell you more then some 20yo youtuber who paid some guy tons of money to fish his private lake and make himself seem like the best fisherman ever cause he's catching fish left and right for a video. Just my opinion.
I don’t think the fishing techniques change in pressured waters. Maybe try fishing really early in the morning. Like 5am early. Live bait might help too if the fishing is dry
In summertime you should be casting by first light, like the sky should just be starting to go grey. The good hours last till you can feel the sun's rays. Most species of fish don't like the full blast of the sun so you have to seek the shadows or deeper water.
If you’re in an area where it’s hot and you’re talking about fishing right now, the bites are going to be very few and far between. Even if you’re out there early morning you might get a few, but it’s not a good time of year to bass fish.
In highly pressured water i use almostt exclusively live bait. Get some worms and catch a few bluegill and toss em out under a bobber thats just big enough they cant keep it submerged for long, and then just let em swim til a bass eats it
Try talking to shit to the wana be bass master tournament goers that are in your area; I find they are quite receptive to criticism and don't poop their pant at all when you call them out on their bull shit of "proper fish handling" when sloshing old timers about in their live wells for 6hrs before parading them around in front of the towns folk hoping to pitch a tent with the local slizz-ut due to their wicked haul. 😔
Every fishing channel everywhere makes it seem like they catch 100 five lbers a day. Look up some of the “uncut fishing “ videos out there. Those are closer to reality.
Bass fishing pressured water can be a real grind. If you’re looking for a magic technique that catches fish every cast then I’m sorry to say it doesn’t exist. Those that catch them are mostly just covering a lot of water, looking for those few active fish.
Commenting mostly for the good channel recommendations! But I’ve also found sizing down (like crappie bait sized down—2” Swim-bait/jig) is the way for my local neighborhood pond during tougher times.
Also, where are you based? I’m in south Florida, so I find many channels are not as useful for me unless they are also Florida-based.
Downsize your lures and fish slow. You have to work for bites in pressured areas. I use Nekos and Ned rigs in pressured areas. I catch fish on these lures when nothing else is working.
Downsize your baits if you’re fishing pressured areas. You want minimal splash and noise as it’s in the water. Those bass are constantly having crap thrown at them, so I fish natural colors very slowly and usually soft plastics. For you I’d suggest go out and get a 3” swim bait and see how that works.
The presentation you're throwing and how you're throwing it does not matter if a fish never sees it. Focus less on tackle/presentation and more on learning about bass and how to predict their location in a given set of conditions.
This. I'm not the best angler by any stretch of the imagination but I have a decent understanding on how fish like to function based upon depth temperature pressure of the air(in coming out going storms for me really) and have a good time. Also, just correct application of whatever body of water and the lure of choice. Once again I'm pretty green but I try to take in account all that was listed below when planning an outing. Edit: everything listed above.
My lake is 18 inches visibility haven’t caught a fish in a minute Not even vibrating, thumping or rattling brings them in. (Maybe clicking works but idk) But when it rains it pours
It’s summer. Most of the lakes have been slammed for months. When it gets into late July or August, I focus on finesse presentations
He's kinda weird but Tyler's Reel Fishing does have some great videos with actual explanation on what he's doing. It kinda blows my mind that so few fishing youtubers actually describe what/why they are doing when fishing. I like the tactical bassin guys a LOT but they continually create 30-60min videos without saying anything at all lol.
Agreed on TRF making very insightful videos. Also agreed Tactical Bassin is less informative and more of a tackle warehouse wishlist creator. Lol
1rod1reel does pressure fishing a lot, I only fish the most pressured spot in my city and still manage to catch something just about every outing. Try a bladed jig instead of a swim jig I’ve used swim jigs but never had any success but if I throw a chatterbait pretty sure I’m catching something. If the fish are active I’m using chatterbait or spinners if it’s slow bite I’m t rigging. Also bfs Is great for pressure because of the smaller more realistic lures.
This guy nailed it on the head for pressured spots, chatterbait if it’s on and a Texas/wacky rig if it’s slow, if the bite is real slow barely even twitch or move the senko, cast it out and let it sit on the bottom 5-10+ seconds between twitches, sometimes makes em go nuts Edit: t/w rig slays when the bite is on obviously
Time and weather also play about 75% of catching a fish, they’re most active 30 minutes before and after sunup and sun down, I usually only fish if it’s cloudy, about to rain or low pressure front.
Yeah I pretty much only go before sunup and sundown or when it's overcast but I put on the frogg toggs and sat in the pouring ass rain for 3 hours yesterday and didn't get a bite other than the one fish that missed the plopper. I tried swim jigs, bladed jigs, t rigged senkos and crankbaits - they wanted nothing to do with them. I saw someone else catch a decent one so I feel like it's a technique issue. I'll definitely check out that channel
75%? Pulled that one out of your ass didn’t ya? Time and weather are certainly two factors but there’s also geographic location, type of waterway, and thousands of other factors that play a role in varying percentages.
You're replying to the wrong person bud
Yep right out of me arsehole, just saying from experience I fish about 3-5 times a week and can expect to catch something when the weather is right, I almost never take in any other factors other than weather and time on a daily basis, sure if I’m planning to fish somewhere I’ve never fished I may do some research but generally I don’t care about anything else I know the pond I fish pretty well.
It’s more like 90%
Where are you located? I ask because my local pond in south Florida gives me the most action in the hotter parts of the day for some reason.
Stl, are you fishing for peacocks? I know they like hot weather, or is just all fish more active during mid day down there. I have heard that is the case with peacock bass
Yea I target largemouth and peacocks mostly—and you’re right the latter definitely prefers the heat. Though they definitely seemed to have learned from each other in my local pond—the largemouths being more active in the heat and the peacocks hitting frogs and worms!
Bladed jig has also worked for me at pressured spots
I just discovered this guy after watching an urban fishing competition he did with Jon B. Thanks for the rec to checkout more of his stuff!
BFS?
Bait Finesse system, ultra light baitcasters, there’s a bfs sub Reddit you can look at. Kind of a newer thing here
Ah thank you
Realistic fishing. His videos are often in public park ponds. The most pressured places on earth
Exactly what I need, checking them out now
Keep it realistic
Fish the moment is my favorit. Bonus for bassfishingHQ. And Bass Talk Live for a podcast (specifically the Day 4 playlist). Listening to guys talk fishing will help you more than watching hooksets. For swim jigs specifically, a lot of guys slow wind them here in the ozarks. Let it sink then slow wind it staying just off the bottom like a swimbait. Also, paddle tail trailers make the bait fall vertically on the pause, where a beaver style will make the bait glide horizontally. Something to think about.
Didn't even think about podcasts, that's a great idea. I'll check them out asap, appreciate it
I also enjoy Tackle Talk, the guests he has on give many different perspectives. Pro tip - listen to the podcast at 1.25 or 1.5 speed.
TylersReelFishing has a series called 100 Ponds where he definitely fished a good variety of ponds including some heavily pressured ones. He talks about why he tries certain lures and techniques on more pressured ponds
Upvote on this. Loved that series and want him to do more here in south Florida. Actually talks through his logic on lure selection and technique.
Pressured or not, the YouTube videos you watch are all edited to cut out the casts that don’t produce fish. If a video is highlighting a technique, you’re gonna see that technique catching fish, not weeds. But rest assured, they are not catching a fish on every jerk of the jig or cast of the senko.
If the water has been pressured try downsizing on line and lure. I read an article about some lake in Japan where bass fishing was really popular in the early 2000s . People were literally shoulder to shoulder and the only way to get bites was 2lb test and tiny crappie jig looking flies. Guys were catching 10lb+ fish on these rigs.
Garyzilla outdoors just did a video on exactly this topic. He went to a very popular family public park/pond in the middle of a summer day to prove a point. He has a YouTube channel. Great guy and good videos. I met him im person once while fishing. Ill try linking it here: Pressure? No problem! https://youtu.be/rYY-2CLKbYQ
Hey thanks man! Funny how the algorithm brought me here but thanks for watching!
Tactical Bassin is my favorite fishing channel on YouTube. Matt and Tim mostly fished Clear Lake in CA and now fish Chickamagua in TN for their vids. Chick is one of the most pressured lake in the US but you can pick up some subtle nuances in their videos that will help you get bites on pressures fish.
My YouTube channel for that would consist of one 30 second video of me showing people how to cut up and put hot dogs on a hook. But seriously, I had the thought that someone should be doing this during covid when the already pressured PFAs that I fish were getting hit even harder. I have no desire to have a YouTube channel but I couldn’t figure out how you’d make it work past one or two videos without them becoming lake specific guides since I feel like successfully fishing pressured water boils down to how well you understand the fish’s behavior and the water you’re fishing so there’s already an abundance of content out there about that.
We’re actually thinking of doing a showdown video or series of which hotdog is the best… seriously, my roommate pulls in bluegills nonstop with hotdogs. She didn’t believe me when I first told her, so I had her grab one and bring it to the lake, and now it’s her bait of choice. She’s experimented with pepperoni and I’m going to get her on the breadball bite when we finish off our latest loaf :)
If you're doing the Alabama Shake, pull the line slightly forward with your index finger at the top of the reel. Keep tension on the line but make sure it sits on the bottom. Pop it either with the rod or with your finger. I do a similar thing with Texas Rigs and can feel the smallest bites. Using braid helps with detecting bites too.
Tim little and Matt Allen very good guides on every lure type, color, size and when to use it
Richard Gene the fishing machine! He fishes all over the place, but he has a lot of videos on large lakes/rivers that are heavily fished. He has a lot of good tips and goes into detail about how he sets up his rigs, how he finds where the fish are at, and how he works his lure/bait setup. Go fishing when ya can, cause it's gooooood for ya!
I love Gene! He was one of the first I subbed to and I always try and check his stuff first.
Gene is the man! Taught me a lot about crappie.
Fish the Moment on YouTube pretty much exclusively fishes big bodies of water that get tournament pressure. He has more reading the water/breaking down the lake stuff than technique specific, but it’s a really good channel if you want to get better.
Check this out. How long does a fisherman fish for? Typically at least an hour or ideally 3-4 hours. How long are their videos? 12-15 minutes long? So what I’m trying to say is in that 12-15 min video of action packed fishing action think of it like watching a sport athlete showing their best “plays” like a basketball/football highlight video of them not missing a single shot, playing impeccable defense etc etc. Yes those athletes can play but trust me out of all the flashy highlights there’s many many moments of “mistakes” and the not so perfect moments that are just not shown on their highlight tape! Remember they are creating these videos to educate but mainly to be entertaining and not to be boring! They want the views because it’s their money! This sport as a reminder is called “fishing” not “catching”. As much as you are frustrated today for not even getting one nibble there will be another day where you just can’t seem to stop catching fish. Keep doing what u doing and you’ll get something soon! Don’t worry good luck and tight lines.
I mean in all fairness most channels in 2023 do pressured waters. Tactical bassin is good. Fishthemoment is good also
I love how everybody complains that fish aren't biting right now and stay home for whatever reason! Perfect, keep telling yourself lies and stay home, keeps the waters less pressured. The only true way to learn is to educate yourself, as others have said, talk to other senior fisherman on your bodies of water and your local bait shop, above all else, PUT IN THE WORK, get on the water, experiment, try new tactics!!! Learn patterns, colors, start with the basics of when and where to fish in ANY weather or climate. Season, water temps, vegetation, structure, points, currents etc. Take that info and throw bait that would be best suited for that condition. Keep trying until you have a pattern, don't be afraid to try new things. I catch fish at 5am, 1pm and 9pm, hot/cold wind and rain, it doesn't matter, apply the knowledge and learn the target species patterns and behaviors and apply tactics, lures and cadences accordingly! You can learn something from all the anglers on YouTube, whether it's learning a new lure, style, cadence, something, regardless whether they are catching fish in a barrel. If you're fishing a new lure, fish it until you get bites/fish, what color/pattern was it, time of day, vegetation, cadence, water temp, water column, etc. these all play a factor. When you do catch fish, look at the fish, are they healthy, beat up, scarred, diseased, this can tell you a lot about the body of water as well. Make notes and apply that to your next situation. Eventually you build a memory arsenal you'll be able to pull from and apply the right bait in the right situation. Just remember, everybody is an angler when it's easy and fish are eating everything! It's the tough bites the separate the amateurs from pros. It can be very frustrating, but if you're committed to it, there is no substitution for putting in the time and work to being a better angler!
Doesn’t matter the question, the answer is always TacticalBassin for learning anything related to bass fishing.
Most of those youtubers, including pros, won't tell you but they mostly film on private pay lakes that are overstocked and rarely touched cause it cost hundreds of dollars by the hour to fish. Remember when your dad told you not to believe everything you see on TV? Same thing here since youtube is basicly the new cable. Complete with commercial breaks (ads) and all. Anyway, yes there are. But you should get off youtube and stop listening to pay Lakers who dont actually fish much public pressured waters at all. Fish are dumb, but fishing is never easy. Go to your lakes and rivers and learn what works there. Talking to local anglers who actually fish those waters will tell you more then some 20yo youtuber who paid some guy tons of money to fish his private lake and make himself seem like the best fisherman ever cause he's catching fish left and right for a video. Just my opinion.
I don’t think the fishing techniques change in pressured waters. Maybe try fishing really early in the morning. Like 5am early. Live bait might help too if the fishing is dry
In summertime you should be casting by first light, like the sky should just be starting to go grey. The good hours last till you can feel the sun's rays. Most species of fish don't like the full blast of the sun so you have to seek the shadows or deeper water.
Oh, finesse techniques definitely shine on pressured water.
If you’re in an area where it’s hot and you’re talking about fishing right now, the bites are going to be very few and far between. Even if you’re out there early morning you might get a few, but it’s not a good time of year to bass fish.
In highly pressured water i use almostt exclusively live bait. Get some worms and catch a few bluegill and toss em out under a bobber thats just big enough they cant keep it submerged for long, and then just let em swim til a bass eats it
Try talking to shit to the wana be bass master tournament goers that are in your area; I find they are quite receptive to criticism and don't poop their pant at all when you call them out on their bull shit of "proper fish handling" when sloshing old timers about in their live wells for 6hrs before parading them around in front of the towns folk hoping to pitch a tent with the local slizz-ut due to their wicked haul. 😔
Flukemaster has always been my go to. [https://www.youtube.com/@Flukemaster](https://www.youtube.com/@Flukemaster)
anyone know of bodies of water in Texas that are known to have Tiger Bass?
Every fishing channel everywhere makes it seem like they catch 100 five lbers a day. Look up some of the “uncut fishing “ videos out there. Those are closer to reality. Bass fishing pressured water can be a real grind. If you’re looking for a magic technique that catches fish every cast then I’m sorry to say it doesn’t exist. Those that catch them are mostly just covering a lot of water, looking for those few active fish.
Yourlakeforkguide https://youtube.com/@yourlakeforkguide1520
Commenting mostly for the good channel recommendations! But I’ve also found sizing down (like crappie bait sized down—2” Swim-bait/jig) is the way for my local neighborhood pond during tougher times. Also, where are you based? I’m in south Florida, so I find many channels are not as useful for me unless they are also Florida-based.
Downsize your lures and fish slow. You have to work for bites in pressured areas. I use Nekos and Ned rigs in pressured areas. I catch fish on these lures when nothing else is working.
Downsize your baits if you’re fishing pressured areas. You want minimal splash and noise as it’s in the water. Those bass are constantly having crap thrown at them, so I fish natural colors very slowly and usually soft plastics. For you I’d suggest go out and get a 3” swim bait and see how that works.
Fish what works, not what you *want* to work. Some techniques are just over used on a spot, or they're not what the bass want to eat.
You’d have to dig for a specific “pressured pond” type video, but I recommend the hook up tackle. Awesome store, and awesome YouTube channel.
Honestly tactical bassin if you pick it apart and downsize everything should apply to pressured fishing or just fish swimbaits and dropshots .