OK, in a previous post I covered some of the basics of the pre-spawn and spawning activities now let’s break it down a little.The male bass makes the bed, convinces the female why she should spawn with him, actually she will spawn with several others as well. Does that make her a floozy? Anyhow, she sticks around for a little while helping protect the fry from predators but after a couple days she takes off and leaves daddy to fend for himself.
Daddy bass then spends countless days and nights defending the fry from all attackers. After awhile daddy realizes that he is starving and then the cycle of nature takes over. It is at this point that the fry must fend for themselves.
Now I’ll share some of the tips that I have picked up throughout the years for catching bedding fish.
First and foremost you have to locate them, which I already covered in a previous article. After you’ve located them you have to convince them to bite. Remember, if you can see them, chances are they can see you and will be less prone to bite. So once you do locate them back off a ways.
This is where set of polarized sunglasses make life so much easier. Pitch your offering onto the bed, sometimes the bass will leave. Be sure to leave your offering there because chances are they will be back.
Try quivering your lure without moving it from the bed. If your lure happens to be up against some type of structure “pick” at your line like you’re playing a guitar. At times this will drive them crazy and they will wack your offering. Also try just “Dead Sticking” it, which is exactly as it sounds, let it sit still. Try drop shotting soft plastics as well as Texas rigging.
Be sure to pay attention to how the bass are acting towards your lure, if they are expressing any interest at all or not. If they are at least curious about it chances are they will bite eventually, it may take 5 minutes or a couple hours. If they don’t even look at it then move on and try again later.
Basically a good site fishing lure is one you can see from a distance. White, Chartreuse and Chrome are a few of my favorites. Tubes, worms, Senkos, plastic crawfish and Lizards all have worked for me as well as chrome rattle traps. I’ve also had good luck with sunfish imitations, Sluggo type lures, hard suspending jerkbaits and crappie jigs.
Plop, plop, fizz, fizz. Yes Alka-Seltzer for bass fishing. No, not for you because you ate too many of them Vienna sausages but to convince bedding bass, or just about any bass into striking your offer. First off break it up into chunks that will fit into the body cavity of your lure. Place the Alka-Seltzer inside the belly of a tube bait or any thing else that will hold the bait, then add a small piece of sponge in the lure to hold it in place. The Alka-Seltzer will slowly disperse the bubbles. Just pitch it onto a nest and hold on, The Alka-Seltzer will trigger bedding fish to attack your offering.
The Alka-Seltzer trick is also great for pitching the baits up to grooves in Steep Walls. I’m not exactly sure why but there is just something about a bubbling lure that bass have a hard time passing up.
Also, try swimming the Sluggo type lures over the bedded bass and letting it flutter down on top of them. Do the same with hard jerkbaits and stop the lure so it suspends above the bass.
One of my best tricks, shhh, this tip is a secret. Take a Castaic Sunfish, place a 3/4 ounce sliding sinker on the line, and then tie on the sunfish. Pitch it up onto the bed, let the lure float up with the weight in the bed then pull the lure down and back up to mimic the sunfish robbing the nest.
After the actual spawn the bass will move back out to the staging areas they used prior to the spawn. Locate these areas after the spawn and you’ve struck gold. These bass are tired and hungry. They need to eat to regain their strength. I’ve found that a fast moving bait will not produce as well as a slower offering. I feel this is because the bass are tired and just dont have the energy to chase something down. This is a great time to use jigs, which I will talk about in an upcoming post.
Other good choices would be soft plastics, worms, finesse stuff, ect. Slow rolled spinnerbaits are also a good choice. Like I said, slower moving lures.
Try some of these tricks when spring rolls around and chances are you will be successful. Just please be sure to let the male go so he can continue to guard the nest.
Until Next Time, Good Luck And Tight Lines To Ya!
