Fish the bank or site fish specific beds…what do you prefer?

[clemsondds]

This time of year, do you prefer to go down the Bank just fishing shallow with something fast and moving, or do you typically look specifically for beds? No judgement here…just curious what your favorite method is this time of year when water temps are between 62-68…can be tricky sometimes. Especially with cold fronts coming and going. 

[Choporoz]

Maybe a combination of the dirty water I usually fish, and my stellar powers of observation, but I cannot think of more than a couple times that I actually saw bass that I thought were 'on beds'.  But I don't look for them, either.  Years ago, I watched a couple elite tournaments where elites (Powroznik was one, IIRC) each spent over 40 minutes on a single fish.  Really turned me off from bed fishing.  Not at all what I'm looking to experience while bass fishing.   Even hooking a giant that has zero interest in eating, but only trying to move your stuff out of the bed doesn't interest me....doesn't feel like fishing to me.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

If people fish in the spring, they're catching fish on the bed.   With immediate catch and release, I see very little difference b/t blind vs sight fishing spawners ethically speaking.   That's assuming you don't bump a bait into a fish for hours trying to get her to go.     

 

I've found it easier to catch spawners in the blind than sight fishing them.......sight bed fishing is quite misunderstood; the vast majority of fish require quite a bit of work to catch them.    Once they get spooked which almost always happens, the job becomes quite difficult.  

 

That said, sight fishing them is one of the most exciting ways I've caught them.   Very addictive, and it's fun to run the bank with polarized glasses and see so much life on the banks.  

[Pat Brown]

I think you do whatever the conditions call for if that makes sense.

 

There are sight fishing days and there are reaction bait days even within the spawn.

 

I agree that you're going to do much better scouting out beds and then blind casting from a distance if you're really trying to catch females in an efficient manner.

[clemsondds]

4 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

I think you do whatever the conditions call for if that makes sense.

 

There are sight fishing days and there are reaction bait days even within the spawn.

 

I agree that you're going to do much better scouting out beds and then blind casting from a distance if you're really trying to catch females in an efficient manner.

That’s a good point. Just watched a good video Jason Christie put out on bed fishing. He pretty much said the same thing. He said he will focus on a bed but mostly likes to run the bank fishing fast. 
what’s your favorite bait for both? Shallow fast, I tend to stick with a squarebill if water clarity is right. And flip with a small creature (paca slim craw). 

[Mike L]

Sight fishing beds is my #1 preference every time!

There are certain things to look for to be effective but barring that, the most in my waters are located more off the bank than on, especially in stained water 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[Scott F]

I did a fair amount of spring fishing but almost always before bass were actually on beds. Once the bass are actually spawning they aren’t feeding so they are more difficult for me to catch.  I always found post spawn to be tough too. That’s when I put the rods away and go play golf until after they are done. When  I was wading, it was too easy to just walk through a bed that I couldn’t see. Just better for the bass if I left them alone for a while. 

[TOXIC]

We go to St Clair during the spawn.  In 21 years, we have experienced weather that has made the fishing prespawn, spawners on beds, post spawn and sometimes depending on weather, a combination of all 3.  Inevitably we are catching some off the beds even if we aren’t targeting specific beds and are blind casting.  Sometimes we actively target the beds because we can see them and we can see fish on them.  In our group of 7 or 8 fishermen there are differing preferences to catching.  Some like to see them and some don’t.  It doesn’t change the fact that a certain number are coming off the beds no matter if you see them or not.  Those that are  pre and post spawn totally depend on the weather and progress of the spawn.  

[Pat Brown]

I like spinnerbaits, swimbaits, Squarebills, lipless crankbaits, Jerkbaits, bladed jigs, swim jigs, heavy t rigs and casting jigs!

[DaubsNU1]

Water clarity here is generally less than a foot...it's hard to find beds unless I'm watching side imaging. I would rather run down the bank fishing shallow, as it's my favorite way to target bass. 

 

[TnRiver46]

I think I’ve seen like 6-8 beds in 30+ yrs of fishing so I have no idea 😂 

[FishTax]

I rarely see them on beds, but one time I was on a buddy's boat on Norman and we found some and watched them for probably 20 minutes. I was very intrigued watching them build the bed and interact, it was very entertaining to me. 

[gimruis]

I find it very difficult to catch a bedded bass.  My understanding is that they are not eating, they are defending and you have to agitate one into biting.  I don't specifically go out with the intention of targeting fish on beds.  If I come across one, I'll give it a cast or two and then move on.  Not really my cup of tea.

[TOXIC]

On 3/31/2024 at 12:53 PM, TnRiver46 said:

I think I’ve seen like 6-8 beds in 30+ yrs of fishing so I have no idea 😂 

Here’s one for reference, all those black spots are smallmouth beds on St Clair.  😂

[TnRiver46]

@TOXIC, the only water we have that looks like that comes out of the sink 

[Fishing_Rod]

Greetings All,

 

"It depends" is an appropriate answer. Most of it is conditional based on the weather mainly the wind conditions. If it is too windy then I'm fishing along the bank. If it is safe to be on the water then I'll work the banks for a response test. My approach is to check shallow and work out gradually from there.

 

Most of the waters in my region are on the murky side so it doesn't support too much sight fishing. I'm also not too inclined to disturb them as there are plenty of other options available (I'm a recreational angler so I'm just happy to catch pretty much everything that pulls back).

Over the decades of taunting fish, I've never really had significant success with "fast" moving presentations. I'm usually in the year round "slow" and "sort of slow" modes when using ultra lite gear which helps improve the catching user experience.

 

On those limited (really limited) occasions where I'm compelled to use a hard crank or topwater style bait, I'm more in that sort of slow approach. Again that works to support that "catching" rather than just casting. Just my $ 0.02 put in for consideration.

 

Be well, Happy April and Cheers!

[Bankc]

My local lakes are all muddy bottom with no gravel, rocks, or whatever.  And they're man-made lakes with no streams feeding them, just pipelines.  So I have no idea where the bass spawn.  It's rare to have more than a foot of visibility, so even if I knew where the beds were, I probably couldn't sight fish them.  

If I could, I would.  But if I'm bed fishing now, it's not on purpose.  

[Bigassbass]

I don't ever fish for bedding bass,  and I don't agree with anyone that thinks bed fishing is fun.  Leave those fish alone there will be lots of time to catch them later!

[Reel]

On 3/31/2024 at 12:53 PM, TnRiver46 said:

I think I’ve seen like 6-8 beds in 30+ yrs of fishing so I have no idea 😂 

Where I fish, everything in the fishing season happens faster.  When fish can spawn over a fairly long period in the warmer states, up north they do so in 3 weeks.  So when the spawn happens the fish are really concentrated.  In clear water, I regularly see 10 or 15 nests in one little bay where the water is the right temperature.  Very different!!!!

[you]

I don't see too many beds from a kayak before I'm right on top of them. If I don't spook a bedding bass, I won't try too hard to catch them. Feels bad catching more than a couple of bed bass in a year, personally. Can't judge others for it though--sight fishing is always exhilarating.

 

Sight fishing bowfin is a lot more exciting, IMO. Better fights and more 10lbers!

[Pat Brown]

A friend of mine selectively harvests every year during the spawn to make sure his bass are big on his pond and it works very well. He also sight fishes the large ones to teach them to fear people. I'm always using my eyes to try to locate bass so to say that I'm not sight fishing would be a lie. I'm using my sight to fish every day during every season.

 

As far as bedding bass:  in my humble opinion, if the bass don't move or act startled when I walk up to them, it's better that I catch them and let them go with a sore lip and an education before somebody else catches them and puts them in hot grease.  I can almost guarantee after I let them go, they're not caught again during the spawn, at least on the bodies of water I fish.

 

The fact of the matter is people are fishing for these bedding bass whether I do it or not and not everybody is compassionate and releases the big ones.

 

In general, the water clarity and the sky conditions and the wind don't really allow for much sight fishing anyway.

[CrashVector]

Pulling bass off spawn beds is for noobs imo.

[Pat Brown]

29 minutes ago, CrashVector said:

Pulling bass off spawn beds is for noobs imo.

 

I don't know. I think it's pretty obnoxiously hard and I usually get bored and just go fishing but to each their own. There are certain fish that will never be caught any other way unless you like to use forward-facing sonar or something like that. Them's the brakes!

[Woody B]

I rarely fish anywhere clear enough to sight fish beds.   I've been told that the biggest threats to Bass eggs are Bluegill and lizards so it's my belief that a lure that emulates one of those is best.  

 

41 years ago I was fishing Lake James (clear water) during the Smallmouth spawn.  A friend of mine had told me to catch the buck, put it in the livewell, then catch the big female.   I had a 12 year old kid with me.  We were fishing Texas rigged lizards.   He caught a buck, then I caught my PB Smallie (6lbs).  Both were then released.  A few minutes later I caught a buck.  He made a perfect cast to the female.  She picked his lizard up by the tail and moved it away from the bed.   I had to grab and hold him in a bear hug to keep him from setting the hook.   He made a 2nd perfect cast, same thing, except I didn't need to hold him.  His 3rd perfect cast netted him an 8 pound 3 ounce Smallmouth.  If not my favorite fishing memory that has to be in the top few.  A 12 year old nervous kid makes 3 perfect casts in a row and is rewarded by a lifetime Smallmouth.   He also did a great job landing it, by controlling it, but not getting impatient and breaking his line.   I've still got the Ambassador 5500C reel and Ugly Stick rod he caught it on.  He's a heckuva fisherman now with a super nice Vexus boat.  I need to call him and give him that rod and reel.  

[TOXIC]

Fishing beds will always be a touchy subject that there is no right or wrong answer.  I know on St Clair the spawn used to be closed and it was shown in multiple scientific studies that fishing the spawn did not impact the fishery and so the law was changed.  I can remember when a dropshot was not legal because you were not allowed to have a hook above the weight.  That was considered snagging.  We prefer to hit them pre-spawn but if you are looking for a trophy size smallmouth it’s going to be pre-spawn or off the bed.  That’s when the biggest fish are catchable.  As far as them getting smart from getting hooked that is totally false.  They are protecting turf.  They’ll return to it every time you catch and release them and they’ll bite again when you invade that turf again with a bait.  Towards the end of the spawn when you go to some common bedding areas and catch one off the bed, they have what we call “hamburger mouth” from being caught so many times.  We watched 4 guys in a boat drop a marker on a bed and make circles around it catching the same fish 5 times.  That’s not cool but it is what it is.