find the area of the lake that has the bass in the area of the spawn cycle you like

[merc1997 Bo]

this time of the year is always a crap shoot of what are of the lake to find a bite.  table rock being the length it is will either have just one area of the lake that you can get a bite, or will have several areas that have a bite going on, but each area will be unique from the other areas.  this is the time of the year that there are several different bites going on.  some area the bass seemed to have spawned.  lots of areas where they seem to be more in the process, and then there are some areas that most bass are still in the feeding up mode.  these are the areas that i like to keep up with this time of the year.  why??  because dummies like myself have to go after the ones that are the easiest to catch.  i just do not have the will to spend an hour trying to beg one bass on a bed into hitting.  let it spawn.  put the shoe on your foot and see how you would like to keep being interrupted in the process😄.

if you learn to follow the pre-spawn bite, when the last ones to get in the process are beginning, then the first ones to spawn are back to eating again, and you can go catch them as the are hungry and will more readily bite an offering.

i know this will draw some fire, but many of those that love to bed fish are some of the same ones that throw a fit if anyone eats a bass.  just a bit of food for thought.

anyway, this is certainly the time of year that bass can be caught on just about whatever you really like to throw.  by the way, we made a short three hour trip the other evening and caught 10 on the plus side of keepers, with two of them being dandies.  all came on a jig and most bites were still in the 8 to 15 ft. range.  none had spawned.

bo

 

 

 

 

 

[tjm]

1 hour ago, merc1997 said:

i know this will draw some fire, but many of those that love to bed fish are some of the same ones that throw a fit if anyone eats a bass.  just a bit of food for thought. 

I've never chased spawning bass (or other fish) in the lakes, so, out of ignorance and curiosity; do any or many of the fish taken off the beds return to the bed and keep it up after being caught there?

[Basfis]

14 minutes ago, tjm said:

I've never chased spawning bass (or other fish) in the lakes, so, out of ignorance and curiosity; do any or many of the fish taken off the beds return to the bed and keep it up after being caught there?

I caught a male smallie on 3 consecutive flips a few days ago. The males go back with haste. I’d C&R hunt if I could.

I like seeing fish, it’s a neat deal to me. The different species have different attitudes and individual fish have different triggers.

That said, if you are in water you can’t see through, how do you know if they are on a bed or not?

[96 CHAMP]

15 minutes ago, Basfis said:

I caught a male smallie on 3 consecutive flips a few days ago. The males go back with haste. I’d C&R hunt if I could.

I like seeing fish, it’s a neat deal to me. The different species have different attitudes and individual fish have different triggers.

That said, if you are in water you can’t see through, how do you know if they are on a bed or not?

My exact thought,you don’t know, 

[Longball22]

1 hour ago, Basfis said:

I caught a male smallie on 3 consecutive flips a few days ago. The males go back with haste. I’d C&R hunt if I could.

I like seeing fish, it’s a neat deal to me. The different species have different attitudes and individual fish have different triggers.

That said, if you are in water you can’t see through, how do you know if they are on a bed or not?

I like seeing fish too, at times.  That's why I trout fish.

[Champ188]

Any fish caught in 8-15 feet this time of year is subject to be on a bed.

[Sore Thumbs]

5 hours ago, Basfis said:

I caught a male smallie on 3 consecutive flips a few days ago. The males go back with haste. I’d C&R hunt if I could.

I like seeing fish, it’s a neat deal to me. The different species have different attitudes and individual fish have different triggers.

That said, if you are in water you can’t see through, how do you know if they are on a bed or not?

There are certain ways to tell. If you are getting bites where it seems like they are on for a second or two and you don’t catch it they are probably moving your bait away from the nest. If you get bit in exactly the same spot they could be spawning. As Champ said. If they are in similar depth in a given pocket they could be spawning. Some bass eyes turn more red  during spawn too. Then of course you have the bloody or worn down, rough looking tail. I’m sure there’s more ways to tell, but those are a few. 

[tjm]

8 hours ago, Basfis said:

I’d C&R hunt if I could

Easy as can be, take out your favorite piece and get where the game is then creep and stalk til you get less than 20 yards from the game if deer or turkey or 5-6 yards if squirrel, bring your piece up and get the sights just so; then shout "release!!" and go do it again. You can hunt this way all through the regular season and then practice every day til next season by getting intimate and then pointing your hiking staff as you shout. I've been close enough to rabbits and grey squirrels to touch them if I wanted. Been about twenty feet from several deer at different times. ~12' from a coyote and 15-16' from a grey fox. I guess if you carry a rifle, maybe it's shooting rather than hunting?

I have tossed a fly into a few beds and watched the fish move it out of his territory on streams a few times, but, it was in clear water 2' deep;  I'd guess a bit different than dragging him to surface from 16' down and handling him. I could have taken every bedding fish that day and because I could see beds in the deeper water also, I quit fishing that creek and did something else for a few days. it would not have mattered if I used a stick or a round rock with a hook on it, those fish would have moved it they did move stones that I flipped in the right place.

[Guest]

here are a few pics from last nights short trip.  the one that knickmeyer is holding looks like a skinny male.  not beat up at all and no worn tails.  they bite like crazy from right at dark for around an hour and a half.  we ended up with 10 keeps in that flurry.  fished a different area than the previous night.  caught all of them the same way, 3/8 GrassJig.

bo

 

[Guest]

forgot to mention that the one pic of the bass on the carpet is showing some wear on the tail.  first one that i have caught with a wear on the tail.

bo