Was out fishing my local lake the other day and it was slow. Ended up going into a few different small coves, some that I've never fished before and found one that was LOADED with bass. Anywhere from fry size to about 10 inches. I don't think I've ever seen so many in one area. There were also some panfish and minnows but I'm just curious why they were all together like this. 

Did the cove just provide all they need at the moment? Or is this possibly a spawning spot? How long will bass hang around where they were spawned?

I went ahead and tied on a crappie crank and caught a few just to get them used to me catching them later on haha. Anyone else seen this?

I see that all the time . I fish a small lake with 5 major coves . Sometimes only one will have bass and it will be loaded and you never know which one its going to be .  Its just one of those things . Bass are both predictable and unpredictable .

I don't know what it is but a couple lakes around me have what appears to be this years fingerlings and last years 8"-10" fish absolutely stacked along the shoreline all over the lake. They're fun aggressive fish but no size to em.

Coves can be one of the most productive spots!  Spawning shouldn't be a factor this time of the year.  Is it a cove where there's a creek feeding water into the lake?  Also the wind/current may have pushed the plankton and baitfish into that particular cove and the bass followed them to feed.

With so many fry in there that cove is likely good nursery habitat. The larger ones -those 10"ers- are in there to eat the fry. I would not doubt that there are some mature bass in the area too, after those "larger" bass and bluegills. It's the food chain thing going on there.

Those fry may or may not have been spawned in the cove. After they mature some, they begin to travel and large numbers will aggregate in good habitat, offering food and protection -often in the immediate shallows. They start on zooplankton, begin to eat insects, then graduate to fish by the time they are an inch-and-a-half in length. The first fish a lot of young bass will eat is each other! The bigger ones chasing down and eating the smaller ones. This cannibalism continues well through adulthood -larger bass happy to eat smaller ones. 

I spent a chunk of my summer documenting bass nursery areas for a video documentary on bass behavior. Those fry become "bass" pretty quickly -capable predators- but relatively few survive to see the next year.

On 10/16/2016 at 3:00 PM, Ktho said:

I don't know what it is but a couple lakes around me have what appears to be this years fingerlings and last years 8"-10" fish absolutely stacked along the shoreline all over the lake. They're fun aggressive fish but no size to em.

Run a baby bass colored lipless crank through there. You'll catch a lot of the smaller fish but there's sure to be some bigger fish hanging out on the edge of the school looking for an easy meal. 

Ive found fish piled up in one area before, but they were there for the fresh water being introduced to the pond via a swollen stream. 

As far as spawning? ummm that was two seasons ago, and not part of the equation in my opinion.

 Probably, either a oxygen issue, ph, wind direction or favorable temp issue. Is it possible that there was good weeds in that cove previously and they died off? Could also be that there was a school of bigger fish corralling them in there, for feeding time,..that you couldnt see.

  Any number of things could be in the works there. Mother Nature is a wonderous lady. She does things we often notice, but dont understand. All we can really do is try to remember, and learn what little lessons she provides.

  You know there was a reason for this behavior, As I wasnt present to assess this,...im banking on, bigger bass corralling them in there, and a future slaughter was about to take place.

 Just smaller fish stacked in a cove? sounds like a baitball to me.

Just based on the conditions and what I noticed I believe Paul has it right in that it is just a perfect nursery habitat. This is something I will continue to check in the next few seasons to see if it continues.

Just to clarify I didn't say anything about a spawn happening now I was just thinking that this is a spawning cove and these smaller bass haven't left since spring. Just a guess. 

Thanks for all the responses