Skunked 2 night/days in a row at the Ontario quarry, newbie needs advice

[smokeg13]

Hi me and my dad have been to this place about a dozen times over the past few months, often starting at night and ending well into the next day. We usually catch at least a small bass or 2, or a couple panfish, my dad even caught a 7-8 lb cat one time. We don't have game plans usually we just show up with a meager tackle box and a couple of Wal Mart fishing poles and hope to catch something. However these last few days Ive put hoouurs into researching the habits and diet of Catfish and Bass in hopes of getting serious and catching some good stuff at the quarry. We showed up last night and after more than 12 hours we still had barely a handful of bites to our name. I had brought chicken liver, hot dogs and night crawlers for the cats, and shad lures, poppers, and night crawlers for Bass. We showed up as night dawned, now aware that cats are "nocturnal," and failed to illicit more than a couple bites the ENTIRE night. We bank fished the area you see just as you walk over the hill, trying new rig techniques, failing miserably. So as the early morning rolls around, we figure we might at least get some action with lures and nightcrawler. Wrong. We could see fish feeding off the top, but my lures would roll through unnoticed. We left dejected and vowed to move to different spot next time. So Id like to ask the pros:

Any tips/techniques for Catfish fishing at the particular spot? I thought we had the right bait, and time of day to fish for them, but it didn't help us.
Ditto the question but with bass please.
Any areas you can recommend fishing for either species? I don't want to know your favorite spot, I just want to know where to go so Im actually doing something right.
Finally, just what types of fish are in here in total? Weve caught cat, bass, and 2 kinds of panfish Im assuming are Craapie and Bluegill.

Thanks so much for reading guys, please help a newbie in need!

[etucker1959]

Hi me and my dad have been to this place about a dozen times over the past few months, often starting at night and ending well into the next day. We usually catch at least a small bass or 2, or a couple panfish, my dad even caught a 7-8 lb cat one time. We don't have game plans usually we just show up with a meager tackle box and a couple of Wal Mart fishing poles and hope to catch something. However these last few days Ive put hoouurs into researching the habits and diet of Catfish and Bass in hopes of getting serious and catching some good stuff at the quarry. We showed up last night and after more than 12 hours we still had barely a handful of bites to our name. I had brought chicken liver, hot dogs and night crawlers for the cats, and shad lures, poppers, and night crawlers for Bass. We showed up as night dawned, now aware that cats are "nocturnal," and failed to illicit more than a couple bites the ENTIRE night. We bank fished the area you see just as you walk over the hill, trying new rig techniques, failing miserably. So as the early morning rolls around, we figure we might at least get some action with lures and nightcrawler. Wrong. We could see fish feeding off the top, but my lures would roll through unnoticed. We left dejected and vowed to move to different spot next time. So Id like to ask the pros:

Any tips/techniques for Catfish fishing at the particular spot? I thought we had the right bait, and time of day to fish for them, but it didn't help us.
Ditto the question but with bass please.
Any areas you can recommend fishing for either species? I don't want to know your favorite spot, I just want to know where to go so Im actually doing something right.
Finally, just what types of fish are in here in total? Weve caught cat, bass, and 2 kinds of panfish Im assuming are Craapie and Bluegill.

Thanks so much for reading guys, please help a newbie in need!

In fishing for catfish, I'm surprised you haven't tried the 2 most popular catfish baits. The first one being Mackerel and the second one being shrimp. If they don't bite one of those 2 baits, they weren't very hungry!!!

[goodguy]

if we ever get any rain, hit the cats hard especially near any inlets. That is the key this time of year. Mackerel plain, or mackerel dipped in hawg wild dip bait has been my go to for YEARS..

[sumodnb]

There was a major fish die off there recently, plus its winter.

[Stinkbait]

This low pressure system that came through prolly really jacked things up for you too.
The fish will chew good a day or two prior to a low pressure system, but during is usually no bueno. There are exceptions that I can't explain, as I have seen fish go wide open during bad weather.

For the bass, you need to know what they are eating "off the top" and try to copy it.
Don't dismiss the slip bobber trout style rig for cats. Gives the bait a natural presentation and a little movement. I use a medium size split shot beneath a line through clear slip bobber.

[etucker1959]

This low pressure system that came through prolly really jacked things up for you too.
The fish will chew good a day or two prior to a low pressure system, but during is usually no bueno. There are exceptions that I can't explain, as I have seen fish go wide open during bad weather.

For the bass, you need to know what they are eating "off the top" and try to copy it.
Don't dismiss the slip bobber trout style rig for cats. Gives the bait a natural presentation and a little movement. I use a medium size split shot beneath a line through clear slip bobber.

Your low pressure comment of the fish biting a day or two before is spot on!!!! It works really good in the ocean too for fish like Yellowtail. That slip bobber rig for catfish is my go to rig in smaller ponds. I've caught 1,000's of catfish on that rig, they make a medium size slip bobber which is perfect for that kind of fishing. You can get them in only a few places, but Sav On tackle in Santa Fe Springs always has them in stock.

[carpanglerdude]

Wouldn't expect too much topwater action from the bass now. I think that location has some shad and the bass bust 'em in the fall, but it's cooled off a lot since then.

[dday07]

Wouldn't expect too much topwater action from the bass now. I think that location has some shad and the bass bust 'em in the fall, but it's cooled off a lot since then.

i have had a number of good Winter days fishing dropshot and small cranks there..but with the die off not sure how tough it might get.

[flyhigh123]

the fish on the top could be carp as well...

[zerolynx21]

I was there a few months ago and there was massive die off. There was a thick layer of (oil?) or some type of waste on the top layer of the whole lake. Hundreds of dead bass and bluegill washed up on shore. I saw one very lethargic bass, a couple bluegill, and about 50 carp left alive. I would avoid this place for awhile and let them repopulate.