I went to my buddy's family's pond last night. I walked up to where I normally throw a frog on lilies. There was a clear spot near the bank and a 3 lb bass was in maybe 6" of water there. It didn't move though I was clearly in its field of vision and talking. I told my buddy "there's a 3 pounder right here." It was 6 feet away and seemed to be interested in me. So I flipped my frog about 5 feet in front of its nose and it slowly swam over to it, sort of stalking. Then it crushed the frog. I set the hook and pulled it out of the sparse lilies. I weighed it and it was the 3 lbs. it looked like in the water. that has never happened to me, even during spawn, where a bass has been that easy to catch or that eager to eat something, especially a good size fish. My guess is it had been chasing bluegill at the edge and saw motion and got interested. I asked my buddy if they feed the fish there and he said no. It was a cool sight to see.

 

i didn't get another fish for 2 hrs and it was another 3 pounder, this one on a white buzzbait.

44 minutes ago, the reel ess said:

I went to my buddy's family's pond last night. I walked up to where I normally throw a frog on lilies. There was a clear spot near the bank and a 3 lb bass was in maybe 6" of water there. It didn't move though I was clearly in its field of vision and talking. I told my buddy "there's a 3 pounder right here." It was 6 feet away and seemed to be interested in me. So I flipped my frog about 5 feet in front of its nose and it slowly swam over to it, sort of stalking. Then it crushed the frog. I set the hook and pulled it out of the sparse lilies. I weighed it and it was the 3 lbs. it looked like in the water. that has never happened to me, even during spawn, where a bass has been that easy to catch or that eager to eat something, especially a good size fish. My guess is it had been chasing bluegill at the edge and saw motion and got interested. I asked my buddy if they feed the fish there and he said no. It was a cool sight to see.

 

i didn't get another fish for 2 hrs and it was another 3 pounder, this one on a white buzzbait.

I went fishing yesterday. Only thing I caught was a goggle eye out of a falling tree right off the bank. In a different spot over by the boat ramp about 2 feet or so from the bank there was a big ole bass just lingering around a tire in about 2' or so of water. My friend and I tried everything we had and it would just kinda look at the bait and as if turning its nose up at it turned and swam away for a few and then right back to the same spot. Went on off and on throughout the day with different presentations and kept getting the same results. Needless to say we finally just gave up and went home. That thing had to have been about 3lbs or so. Just wished we could've caught it to confirm.

I see it very often, especially if prey items are holding right on the shoreline. Shad spawning will almost always cause fish to be nose to the bank. When I see them like that, they're very catchable fish that strike at almost anything so long as it isn't dropped directly on them, and even then they'll often spin around and attack anyways.

4 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I see it very often, especially if prey items are holding right on the shoreline. Shad spawning will almost always cause fish to be nose to the bank. When I see them like that, they're very catchable fish that strike at almost anything so long as it isn't dropped directly on them, and even then they'll often spin around and attack anyways.

It was so close and so unconcerned with my presence, I wondered if I could have picked it up.

7 minutes ago, the reel ess said:

It was so close and so unconcerned with my presence, I wondered if I could have picked it up.

I caught one that was 4 1/4 like that one time. I cast my buzzbait behind a dock and snagged on the dock, ran the boat into the dock pretty hard, then noticed her sitting with her nose to the bank. None of the commotion even phased her, ate my Senko as soon as it landed in front of her. 

Smaller ponds  this has happened to me before. I've seen a 4 foot water snake get crushed swimming against a sea wall.right at shore. By a trophy size bass. 

We were bank fishing once and my friend just reached in and grabbed a 2 pound bass with his bare hands.

 

I fish a private pond in Dinwiddie County and one day I was walking to my next spot when I saw a nice one sunning itself along the bank.

 

I quietly flipped a Senko about five feet from her. She heard it enter the water; spun around; saw it; and swam to it pretty fast and ate it.

 

She was a nice three pounder.

 

I know I could see here and she probably saw me, too. But she was so content to just sit against the bank in the sun she ignored me, totally.

 

Add me to your list of these situations.

I was canoeing a river that had a great smallmouth population and zero fishing pressure .As I was paddling  I had a plastic worm dangling in the water and a smallmouth hit it. I made a lunge and grabbed the rod . In doing so I half filled the canoe with water .  So I got the canoe on bank emptied and all my gear out , looked in the water and there was about twenty 12 inch smallmouths staring at me . I grabbed my rod and picked them off one   by one .

 

 When people say fishing pressure doesnt effect fish , they have never fished for virgin bass . 

Good report, thank you for posting it. Bass become extremely easy to catch down here when the water levels are low in the Everglades. The bass are mostly crammed in the canal systems and will eagerly eat almost anything you throw in front of them. I have even caught 3 at the same time on hard jerk baits when the frenzy is at its highest level.

10 hours ago, soflabasser said:

Good report, thank you for posting it. Bass become extremely easy to catch down here when the water levels are low in the Everglades. The bass are mostly crammed in the canal systems and will eagerly eat almost anything you throw in front of them. I have even caught 3 at the same time on hard jerk baits when the frenzy is at its highest level.

The same happens in the smaller streams here. Nothing turns them on like a few days without a meal.