FS Digest

My boyfriend has fished his whole life and when I started dating him he got me into it. I absolutely love it.

We have these two pretty large lakes near us. But every time we go fishing I can’t seem to catch anything. He even has issues getting bites, but still catches fish while I’m at zero catches every time haha. We see other people pulling up fish all day. We go out on the tracker and boat around the lake (I have no idea how those fish scanners work, but there’s always fish on the screen). I excel at creek fishing compared to lake fishing.

I’d really appreciate some tips for lake fishing. We are getting the boat ready and going out as soon as the Bimini top is installed.

The lakes we go to are Carlyle and Rend lake in Illinois if that makes a difference.

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by vngelheart

FS Digest

This is very broad... may want to start by mentioning what lures/rigs you have been using and describe in more detail what hasn't been working for you.

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by narpoli

FS Digest

So when I say I’m “newish” to fishing. I mean I still don’t know the right terminology for the lures or rigs. I still have fun not catching anything so I don’t typically ask for help from him. We get the mystery tackle boxes for bass fishing so I usually just grab something in the box and try using I for a while.

I apologize, I don’t know a lot about fishing at all.

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by vngelheart

FS Digest

No problem. I would suggest doing some research on the texas rig. It's my go-to and pretty much always catches fish. Thread a small bullet weight on the line, tie on an offset worm hook, then put on any soft plastic really. I have success with u-tale worms, senkos, brush hogs, salamanders, and craws. This rig is very versatile, can be fished many different ways (youtube and google are your friend), and can be fished weedless if need be.


Dropshot and ned rigs are also really popular, and both easy to tie up and fish. Once again, google is your friend. Learning the basics on these is pretty quick and simple.


On top of that I would recommend trying some spinnerbaits and crankbaits (longer bill makes it dive deeper, so you may want different depth cranks and it will depend on the lakes you fish).


Try different colors of baits, and different lures to see what works. Try to pay attention when you get bites on the lure type, color, weather conditions, water clarity/temperature. A lot of trial and error and you will start figuring out what works and what you have the most confidence in.

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by narpoli

FS Digest

Thank you! That was really informative, I’ll start looking into those things and try them out when we get out on the boat.

I appreciate the tips!

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by vngelheart

randypruden

Living in southern IN your coming into a great time to go, the water is warming up. good luck. there are many utube clips to watch in the mean time, do a search.

My little fishing partner

That's some really good advise! I live in Colorado & the ice is just starting to thaw on some of the lower lakes. I didn't have much luck last year, but I was reading about making my own bait using a mixture of petroleum jelly and garlic salt. I'm going to try some spinners with this bait concoction.

dclarke61546

I have been fishing for more than 50 years, last year I caught 1 that is right 1 (one) .