# Where did I go wrong?



## JBuck132 (Feb 9, 2014)

Sunday morning my father and I headed out to the south end of the lake to try vertical jigging for the first time. I did my research and bought the right lures (I thought) and headed out to just see if we could find fish. 
After some time we found fish, and boats on both sides of us were catching them. We tried everything we knew and we couldnâ€™t pull in a fish. Where did I go wrong? 
I know Iâ€™m new to White bass fishing but I didnâ€™t think it would be that bad. Usually Iâ€™m the one to go out fishing and just figure it out, but this time I could really use a tip. 
I bought white, silver and green jigging spoons. If this isnâ€™t the right lure can someone point me in the right direction? 

thank you.


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## OrangeS30 (Jun 21, 2009)

My first time out jigging was similar to your experience. But, I got out fished by a little boy in the next boat using a Snoopy rod! Whites are sometimes real particular on how they want the jig presented to them. Did you watch what the people in the other boats were doing, as far as how they were jigging? Sometimes that helps to figure out that the fish want.


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## bueyescowboy (Apr 10, 2005)

there's alot more than dropping a lure down. Going out with someone with experience helps. I go all over the lake... because I like to fish in peace.


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## catchafish (Mar 23, 2014)

bueyescowboy said:


> there's alot more than dropping a lure down. Going out with someone with experience helps. I go all over the lake... because I like to fish in peace.


X2 on fishing in peace. Presentation can be key and changes day to day.


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## wal1809 (May 27, 2005)

Don't fell like the lone ranger. I have fished for whites my whole life. My wife and I went Sunday and for the first time EVER in my history, we got skunked. Big fat 0. We jigged and trolled hellbender/pet spoons. NOTHING! Thats why they call it fishiing.


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## muney pit (Mar 24, 2014)

It took me and the wife several trips out to figure it out. It'll come.


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## texas skiffaroo (Oct 8, 2013)

Wife and I had the same experience last Thursday at Somerville.
The week before we had drifted right into diving birds and white bass feeding on top
in a small cove in five feet of water.
Thursday we saw bait jumping right by the ramp and caught one small white bass 10 minutes on the water then nothing all day.
Jumping bait all over the lake. Threw the same lures we had caught the bass on plus everything else.
Went to the dam and fished deep to fishy looking sonar readings.
Pontoon came by trolling red jet divers. Didn't see them pull in any fish.
Big full moon the night before and it was a blue bird day but went any way to beat the crowds.
The day we caught the bass we said let's change our luck.
Left the net home, also the fish cooler, didn't bring the camera.
Cloudy windy day and we caught fish shallow.
Never give up, never surrender.


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## Ranger373V (Jun 26, 2011)

texas skiffaroo said:


> Wife and I had the same experience last Thursday at Somerville.
> The week before we had drifted right into diving birds and white bass feeding on top
> in a small cove in five feet of water.
> Thursday we saw bait jumping right by the ramp and caught one small white bass 10 minutes on the water then nothing all day.
> ...


Same here on Somerville Thursday! Couldn't buy a White Bass ANYWHERE! I ended up folding like a house of cards and buying some minnows at Big Creek and salvaging the day with a few nice Crappie outside the tires. I'm sure the full moon had a lot to do with it...


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## Spooley (Feb 24, 2013)

Some days all I can catch are turtles, then some days, the turtles steal my bite and I never catch them.


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## droebuck (Oct 17, 2011)

Don't get discouraged yesterday was an off day for jigging for us also on the south end. After the early topwater/crankbait bite we searched all of the humps we normally do well on this time of year and only caught one undersized striper. The fish I was seeing were suspended and didn't appear to be feeding. Give it another try and you will probably get different results.


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## JBuck132 (Feb 9, 2014)

I like a good challenge but watching boats pull in fish forty foot from me on both sides, well thatâ€™s never happen to me before. At one point we just started to laugh about it. Either way, it looks like I have a lot to learn. I think Iâ€™ll start by not trying to fish so hard after a full moon. I couldnâ€™t even get a fish to take live shad off my hook. Anyways, it looks like I wasnâ€™t the only one who didnâ€™t do so well out on the water this past weekend, so I guess I feel a little better about it. Iâ€™ll just have to keep at it. 
Thanks for all the advice.


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## Lake Livingston Adventures (Mar 15, 2013)

A few tips that might help you out, as well as others:

When slabbing for white bass:

Make sure to keep contact with the bottom. Let the slab fall all the way to the bottom between jerks. I've always done better with short quick two to three jerk motions, rather than long raises. Let your slab fall with some slack in your line. This will allow for the slab to flutter with more action. On easy days, it really doesn't matter how you fish your lures, but on a tough day the correct presentation can be the difference in catching a few and filling the cooler. Also, one thing to remember is that the fish can be very locked onto a specific contour line or structure. That 40 feet between you and the other guy can make a huge difference.

Learning to read your electronics correctly is a very key component to consistent success. When you do catch fish, make sure you take the time to look at your graph and get a mental image of what you saw, so you can repeat it next time.


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## FoghornLeghorn (Sep 11, 2012)

You didn't have your eyes squinted right, and your head was tilted at the wrong angle. Don't let anyone tell you it isn't important.


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

I have taken take a lot of first time slabbers out the years, many who were good white bass fishermen, but who had always used some type of cast and retrieve lure, traps, Little George, rooster tail, crank baits, but had never slabbed. And many who have never fished in their life, or only a few times.

Of the two it appears to be better to be completely green to fishing when learning to slab, than to have had prior success casting baits. 
Many times I have done all I can for them and the person has done evrything I said and all the while all their friends/family are killing them and the screen is on fire, and they can not catch a fish.

It is always because they have not figured out what a hit feels like yet, once they do they get successful.
Totally naive fishermen are completely open to what a hit feels like, and when you tell them to watch their line and feel for a slight "tick" on the line or in the rod. Or something as subtle as a little more pressure, or even have the fish lift it up in the water column so you get slack, to set the hook with a sharp upward movement and reel.

Where as some one who is used to the feel of a sand/white bass slamming a rooster tail in the current of a creek or river, or a top water bait or trap thrown into schooling white bass is still waiting for a white bass to "take " the lure, they are very used to them trying to take the rod away from you when they hit.

It is strange how many different ways that it feels when a white bass takes a slab. And how many ways fish can be caught with different jigging styles.
I had a customer who make her slab do "Ballet" as she had been a ballerina at one time. I am here to say she still caught fish after most of the rest of us went cold over the school doing swoops and twirls that were different from any slab action I ever saw.
Mostly just keep with it, and if the neighbor next to you is catching fish and your not, the question to ask if you only feel like asking one is, "How deep is the water where you are?". Then move a polite distance from them to that depth and try your luck. They could be up on a shelf or rise and you are not. 
White bass use slopes, rises, humps, and structure like them to ambush shad.
The lake is full of shad, the white bass bite best in spots where they can ambush shad easily.


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## Whitebassfisher (May 4, 2007)

Of course the guides here are giving you very good advice. Don't be scared to experiment. How far you lift the slab, how quickly you lift, those types of things can make a huge difference. Not only does what the whites want change from day to day, it can change during the same day.


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## hopn (Jul 5, 2012)

Not all jerk motion is the same. While out with Loy one time, Lee spanked us all with his secret jerk motion. Needless to say, as soon as we caught on, it was ON!  PM for secret jerk motion.


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## JBuck132 (Feb 9, 2014)

This is all great advice. I think I might have under estimated white bass but Iâ€™m really looking forward to getting back out there.
Thanks again everyone for your input. Hopefully Iâ€™ll be posting pictures soon.


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## Fishin' Soldier (Dec 25, 2007)

hopn said:


> Not all jerk motion is the same. While out with Loy one time, Lee spanked us all with his secret jerk motion. Needless to say, as soon as we caught on, it was ON!  PM for secret jerk motion.


 Spanking, Jerking and secrets!! What kind of operation is Loy running now A Days?? j/k

Keep at it OP. You will figure it out.


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## Bankin' On It (Feb 14, 2013)

First I limp to the side like my leg was broken
Shakin' and twitchin' kinda like I was smokin'
Crazy wack funky
People say ya look like M.C. Hammer on crack, Humpty
That's all right 'cause my body's in motion
It's supposed to look like a fit or a convulsion


REMEMBER

No two people will do it the same
Ya got it down when ya appear to be in pain
Humpin', funkin', jumpin',
jig around, shakin' ya rump,
and when the dude a chump pump points a finger like a stump
tell him step off, I'm doin' the Hump.

or....maybe you shouldn't listen to me at all. I'm still experimenting. :biggrin:


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## whsalum (Mar 4, 2013)

When all else fails crawl in a boat with one of these guys that have done it for years. I have learned over the years the depth and bottom contour are really important when jigging. Don't feel bad, Sunday was a tough day on the jigging fisherman but the trollers did great.


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## fishin_envy (Aug 13, 2010)

I have said it before, and I will say it again. One of the best ways to get the hang of vertical jigging is to think of it like you are teasing a cat with a piece of yarn. The cat is sitting on the bottom, and the slab is your piece of yarn. Before long you will figure out what makes the cat pay attention to the yarn. Some days it my be an all out assault on your slab, where other days it might be only extra weight you feel or a bunch of slack in your line when you know you aren't on bottom. If in doubt, set the hook.


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## hopn (Jul 5, 2012)

Fishin' Soldier said:


> Spanking, Jerking and secrets!! What kind of operation is Loy running now A Days?? j/k
> 
> Keep at it OP. You will figure it out.


LOL!!!


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## fluffycharm (Jun 20, 2005)

*if unsure...*

if everyone is catching an you are not....still take a pic of your fish finder graph/chart...put down your rod...throw a cast net ...let sink to the bottom...

if it full, release fish and work on technique...

if not full, return fish finder...

:spineyes::spineyes::spineyes::spineyes:


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## TxDispatcher (Nov 29, 2011)

Bankin' On It said:


> First I limp to the side like my leg was broken
> Shakin' and twitchin' kinda like I was smokin'
> Crazy wack funky
> People say ya look like M.C. Hammer on crack, Humpty
> ...


   thanks for the chuckle :cheers:


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