What to do when.....

[ERNEST PATY]

Nothing seems to work. You're sure fish are there but they won't bite.

Today was a perfect day to fish...except it was bluebird clear, windy, cold, right after a major cold front...and you couldn't buy a bite. Sound familiar?

When this type situation occurs keep making changes until something works. Today we tried hand tied jigs, plastic bodies, large, small, different colors, heavy, lighter, nothing much happened so I "Spoon Fed" them. Fed them a spoon that is and they ate it. Took out a bass rod that had a 1/2 oz spoon (Castmaster I think) on it and fished it vertically like a jig. Very slow raise and lower or just still and they hit it like they hated it. Not a bunch but had a dozen or so and not a dink in the bunch.

Never give up, something will work if you can just find it.

[Slab Junkie]

Nice tip, thanks for the info.

[skiptomylu]

Have caught crappie just like this using a 1/2 Oz spoon.

[LA CrappieMaster]

I am novice fisherman, so the first thing I do is look around to see if they aren't biting or if I am just not catching. I then start using the baits that I see and wonder "why did I buy such an ugly thing". I have a couple bass rods that I bought to play around with too, but have yet to present a meal that they want. I think in the future, I will start using those days to idle around and locate structure.

[NIMROD]

Sometimes presentation is more important than the bait it self. I found some fish will bite about always , it is up to you to find want they want. I bet this major cold front has them in a negative mood meaning they refuse to chase a bait. Also this cold snap in some areas may start triggering Shad die offs in which fish just sit waiting for a dying Shad to flutter down to them.

[crappiewishing]

good advice and thanks for sharing.........it just goes to show that you never give up

[Eager Beaver]

Nothing seems to work. You're sure fish are there but they won't bite.Today was a perfect day to fish...except it was bluebird clear, windy, cold, right after a major front. Never give up, something will work if you can just find it.

This is the hardest thing to teach someone. It doesn't make a difference for new Crappie fishermen or experience ones to understand. Fish feed 24/7 365 days. Some are always hungery. You just have to figure out where they are and what they want to snack on. Different conditions call for different tactics. Fish are always telling you what they want and how to catch them if you just listen to them. EB