[Fingelakesbassr]

Your going to fish a 200+ boat field tourn.Pro- rider .The tourn. is on Sat so prefish Monday before everyone shows up to stick fish .Your #1 spot you go to at safelight on Monday no one there, 3-2lbs+ and a3+ so I leave there.Don't want to stick to many. Had almost 15lb 2002 on this spot and not to bad a check.Time to check some other spots but you have two guys who are My shadows and I catch two3+ but can't hide them .Forget that spot. Go to another spot , well there are my shadows right behind you?? One guy says where are the fish I haven't caught anything?Its 12:00 Time to leave and head for the house. OK tourn day # 78 draw to go out ,get to #one spot Maybe ten boats but room to cast . About 4th cast with a worm 1/8oz bullet sinker with 14 lb test a 2lber then nothing ,the fish are there on my Garmin with 2 schools of bait fish close . No room to throw a deep diving C-bait other boats to close, have them but they don't work on this lake for me . Throw a tube ,nothing Can't trigger a fish to stike and turn on the rest. S- bait Zip Turned my new team tourn partner on to the some worm he took a 18th about 1/2 mile away . Tube would not work for him <his#1 bait> Went back out on Monday and caught 15+ 2+-3.5 bass on that spot with that worm I fished in the tourn . Weedbed out to 14 ft with a cut to a point and drops off fast to 30ft . What would you have used to trigger these fish? I did move and had a 5 fish limit ,a 4lbr but nothing to go with it. Fingerlakesbasser

 

[earthworm77]

Finger, I think you stuck too many fish during your prefish.

 

[Fingelakesbassr]

Earthworm, I don't think so ,5 days before . And all the things you read say and I've learned over the years a bass will bite again in about a half an hour . I've caugut the same bass 3 times in one day off a bed , just to see if it would bite . Couldn't see the bed but cast close to the same spot.

 

[HugeFish4]

Fish moved. What time of year may I ask where you fishing?

 

[earthworm77]

In the spring, I'll buy that because a bass is protective of its bed/young. If you are going to tell me that sticking your fish during prefish has absolutey no chance of those fish being turned off, for whatever reason...I don't buy it. And although I do agree that fish will bite again, the ones you are likely looking for will not. During a prefish, my plan would be to find a few new spots, not check my milk run to see if it produces. I would also not stick my fish.

I'm assuming you know the lake. You referred to areas as #1 spot and such. You already know you can catch fish there, why would put the hook to them. Now, especially if you have people around you watching what you are doing.

 

[Fingelakesbassr]

Huge, Cayuga Lake , Aug and have never fished a Senko , Earth worm that was just an example of a test I did in June about I would guess 20 years ago . I've caught 3and 4 lb Bass in early Aug on Cayuga with bloody tails in 14 ft of water . This lake is over 400ft deep takes a while for the water to warm up to temp for these bass to move into spawn.You have to move with surface temp and switch between sm and Lm . North end and south end are shallow maybe 4-14 average but thats about 39 miles . Finger

 

[SethV]

Finger-

I don't know if you are talking about the BFL on Cayuga or not, but I also fished that Tx as a boater. Check back in the history on this page for my prefish and Tx report if you are interested.

Cayuga can be tough! I really struggled the first season I fished that lake (last year) and put a ton of time in there this year. For both of the tx this year, I used a run 'n gun strategy. During the Super Tx, I ran almost 100 miles the first day, covering about 8 locations, some multiple times. I was on some fish, but you are right, after a week of prefish, 200 boats on a small lake like Cayuga beats it up. I hate fishing in a crowd...so in those cases I move often. Most of the fish were scattered. Hard to say what you should have done, but crowded conditions and "community holes" are a fact of life and we have to either adapt to fishing in a crowd, or get away from the crowd.

As i remember, you still probly did ok, 5 fish + a 4 lb kicker should have put you near the top end...

Seth V

 

[Sea Jack]

Yeh, Cayuga can be tough. That's one lake that seems to get me every time. Unfortunately, I have two tourneys there next year, with a possibility of thrid. We'll see how that goes . . .

Sorry, I really can't help you, I'm as lost on that lake as the next guy.

 

[joe p]

Time to pitch and flip or dropshot

I would have went back to your best producing spot, and with the same worm, change the 1/8th sinker to a heavier one, say a 5/16th or a 3/8th. Hopefully, you'd catch a fish or 2 on a reaction strike.

I assume you caught your fish early in the tx when the fish were relatively active. As soon as the day goes and boats whip the lake into a froth, fish may turn inactive, not necessarily move far, maybe sulk at the bottom, or move to cover close by.


Or.....

Same spot but work it thoroughly with a drop shot rig....

Joe

 

[JOHN G]

finger: you already said that there were other boats on your "spot" when you arrived there....if that is the case, why are you so surprised that nothing hit?? if they had already received a fair amount of fishing pressure from the boats before you, then I don't think this is a mystery whatsoever.....

now: when you said you had a "shadow"? were these other prospective entrants prefishing who were deliberately following you wherever you went that day? that sounds rather odd for me.....did you know them? I have a feeling there is more to this than you are letting on....

now, with 200 plus boats ( a friggin' Zoo if you ask me), it was probably an open type of event, not a club event, so it is very possible that there were many many people that you didn't know, but the "shadow" needs more explaining.......

the only solution in your case, was to present something more subtle, as you did when you returned there days later.......but again, fishing pressure is not something to be doubted.....

 

[earthworm77]

When prefishing for a tournament where 200 other boats were involved chances are pretty good that most of them and their non boating partners also fished sometime during the week leading up to the event. Taking that into consideration, it is no wonder your water was beat up. There is no doubt that fish can and do bite after being caught however, I totally do not agree with the 30 min. thing. Spawners are a totally different ballgame.

 

[Bink]

My 6 year old can catch the same fish of a Bed,evn three times in ten mins, like EW said that means nothing except the vulnerable nature of the fish( I won't go further on that). Prefishing can be tricky if I find all my fish on a spot when I go back a week later I know where the fish were so I start with a differnt bait and work back to the founding bait. I don't know how big the place you fished was but I have been in 100 boat T's on Winnipeasukee all 44,000+ acres only to see guys on the same spot or pretty near one another. Good spots don't stay private for long.

 

[Bass Rat]

What would you have done?

I would of used my map & done some heavy studying. I would have attempted to establish a PATTERN in both practice & on game day.
Too often too many tournament anglers attempt to fish "spots". Spot fishing is not a good way to play the odds. Maybe there on your spot & maybe they ain't.
stablish a pattern & then try to replicate it throughout similar areas of the lake with similar methods.
From there fine tune the presentation & offerings.
I would aldo use the fish finder as a window to bottom structure, bait fish & contore and not give too much validity to the species of fish I was marking.
Just my HO, what do I know.
Nick

 

[Lpbassman]

I would have worked the out edge of the weed bed with a slider worm on a 1/4 oz head--fishing 10-14' deep. Perhaps the fish wanted a more subtle bait.

 

[Fingelakesbassr]

Guys , I've got a repy somewhere out in space I lost If anyone finds it let me know . Will try again . Seth you may want to comment on this Cayuga has spots within spots that BFL guys don't see , thats what I was fishing .Over the years I've learned a big share of BFL fisherman I would say are drifters they either drift a weedline or have trolling mot on 1/2 speed chucken and winden. If they catch a fish they keep on goin . On Cayuga if you catch a fish you better stop because there may be 5 or more there and maybe a 3-5 lb with them . Seth I had a 5fish limit with one being that 4 checked in let fish go on the way to Union springs to load my boat.I knew I didn't have enough for a check .Only one I fished can't do all that traveling anymore . guess I'm getting old.

 

[Fingelakesbassr]

Shadows, one I did know in fact I bought My Xpress from him this year.Afew years ago I had tenden idis from laying 12" block so bad I was off work I fished but could only stand about 2hours and I was done .He talked to me at BFL Reg . Iwent to see some of the guys I'd fished with over the years I told him something and he won that tourn. Went to weigh in . congratulated him He said King I'm sorry about you not being able to fish but Im glad I didn't have to compete with you. John G shadows These are guys we get all the time guys who are trying to learn spots and follow you to see what your doing the easy way out this happens quite often . BFL prefishing Monday the other guy had virgina tages , I have NY tages . Fisherman come up to pre fish for this tour 2-3 weeks before Sometimes there are 5 tourn on sat and sunday here a lot of pressure . Seth any comment.

 

[Paul_M]

I decided those conditions weren't optimal so I gave up on Operation Bass.

Find some deep fish, offshore.