Fish aren't biting, how to get more bites?
I live in Miami, Florida. I have been attempting to catch fish in a canal near where I live with a light rod, 8lb test mono line, and size 6 and 8 hooks. I have primarily been using night crawlers as bait but have also tried several jigs and crankbaits. When fishing worms I use a float about 1.5 - 3 feet above the hook with enough split shot to make the float vertical in the water.
If I drop my line near the edge I can usually get baby Mayan Cichlids to bite. Other than that though I have not had any luck, not even bites no matter where I cast or what time of day I go. I have seen schools of fish swim right by my bait without even attempting a bite. Sometimes when I am bringing my line in as it drags across the surface of the water a baby Florida garr will chase it and attempt to eat my worm but other than that I have not had any action.
One rare time I casted into the opening of a boat shed and almost as soon as the bait hit the water an adult Mayan Cichlid took it. This was a rare and singular event.
But all that to say, what am I doing wrong? Could my 8lb line be spooking fish or do some fish not have any interest in worms? Maybe using a float is not an effective way to target fish that hang out near the bottom? I know it is hard to say if you are not actually there to see it yourself but I am hoping for some general tips for this type of situation from seasoned anglers. I want to catch some fish that are bigger than the palm of my hands!
This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/q/19297. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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It would be good to know if you are certain that there actually ARE fish bigger than the palm of your hand in the area. But let's assume that there are. Whenever I come across suspicious fish that won't bite anything, I try two different tactics.
The first and almost always the best is to use live bait - fish, not worms - of some sort. If you see schools of minnows or mullet or something, catch a few. Then hook one on a relatively small hook with no weight or anything else. Lob that near some structure and let it swim about. The hook and the injury will make the fish stand out even if it manages to get back into a school of other bait fish. Predators will zero in on it immediately. The method of hooking can differ depending on the species of bait, but I typically go for something behind the dorsal fin. I've also seen them hooked through a lip.
If I can't get live bait, I'll go "small" with a lure - especially around docks that get a lot of fishing pressure. Big fish (30" striped bass, fore example) will often cruise around docks in the Northeast, but will rarely take much notice of a lure. BUT if I take a small 2-3" clear rubber minnow, throw it on a small belly/worm hook, and toss it in front of one of these, these same fish will often move in and suck it up nonchalantly. Big fun.
This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/a/19299. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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