Thanks ~
A few thoughts come to my mind right off ~
First, when we 'mark' fish on our graph, until we catch one, we really have no idea what they are.
Often we want to convince ourselves they must be the target species, what else could they be ?
Can't answer that but I think you get the idea.
Next few thoughts revolve around 'timing', the 'mood' of the fish at the time you were fishing for them, the depth of water and the presentation.
I'd like to preface this next part with this - I have fished on, over, next to & under suspending brown bass for HOURS.
Admittedly my success rate has been pretty low.
I'll cover the few techniques that have worked (and I'm using that term very loosely) for me in a bit.
But first, let say the graphed fish were brown bass, and we both know, there's a very good chance it was.
Let's consider the depth - 18 ft over 45 ft. So they are hanging approximately one bass boat length under the surface. In my mind the depth of the water under them is meaningless. When I'm fishing smallies that are in 18 ft of water, (that's usually very clear) I need to be very mindful of my boat position and proximity to the fish. Bombarding them with tons of casts rarely sees results. In fact, it's usually the kiss of death. If I am going to get bit, I need to get a bait to them without being detected in advance. And if there is a bite coming, it usually happens right away.
I rarely 'sit on top of bass' in 18 ft and drop anything to them, because most often, they don't hang around long enough for me to do so. I need to cast to them; especially in flat calm conditions. Now add perhaps some wind & a ripple on the water and 5 or more feet of depth, could be a totally different story.
So if they were bass, and they didn't move at all even after seeing multiple baits and repeatedly refusing them, and in a competitive situation like a 'school', my thoughts are these fish are in a neutral at best, but probably a negative mood - meaning they ain't eating. #lockjaw
Almost always means tough sledding for a basshead.
As for 'techniques' to catch suspending brown bass - like so many hopeful anglers, I've tried quite a few.
This has included but might not be limited to, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, deep jerkbaits, drop shots, A-Rigs (only one season on that one so far), and swimbaits. And like I said, no a whole lot to show for it.
If I HAVE to fish for them, and I mean HAVE To, there's 4 deals I would go with.
~ Casting a spybait from as far away and I can effectively fish it.
~ Drifting a 4 or 5 inch wacky rigged stick bait under a slip bobber, again, I'm getting up wind and letting it 'drift' into the fish. If there's no wind, I may use the trolling motor to get some distance between them & me.
~ Strolling a deep diving jerkbait - with a ton of line out.
This is especially effective for covering Large areas of water early & late season.
The BR expert on this subject is right here
~ Lastly this . . .
In the response to your other thread linked below, @Jermination talks about presenting a "Do Nothing" Jig & fluke style bait above the bass. This is something I first saw the Lindner brothers doing. Before they let the cat out of the bag, they won a lot of money north of the border just sitting with that light jig hanging over the side - bass come right up and eat it. Something about the silhouette.
I have had some very limited success with this as it requires IMO a high degree of confidence & patience, both of which when it comes to this particular technique, I have precious little of unfortunately.
Finally, I've posted some pics & videos of a few brown bass here on BR, very few were caught while they were "suspended' in the manner you've described.
What that means to me, and I have no problem admitting this, is that I still have quite a bit to learn.
A-Jay
Slide Anchor & 150 ft of 3/8" Nylon Double Braid Anchor line ~
