After years of fishing a certain lake I never could figured out a way to catch big largemouth from post spawn onward. I could find and catch good numbers of big fish during the spring but as soon as they laid their eggs the big fish seemed to literally disappear. Well after a chat with a local I started to connect the dots with some of my observations throughout the years. I have very good reason to believe that most of the bass, and the big ones specifically vacate the mostly lifeless shallows and become pelagic, suspended in open water chasing large schools of shiners, and other schooling baitfish over 30-70 feet of water. I know this lake holds lots of big fish, and now it’s my goal to try and catch schooling fish suspended over deep water that are chasing these bait balls. I have 2d, down scan, and side scan but no FFS so that might make this much more challenging. Ive never fished like this before but I’m ready to learn how to catch these bass. Any and all input would be greatly appreciated. 

I would look at your lake maps for humps and ledges as well as cruise the lake with side scan looking for other structure and cover. Mark those locations, then come back and see what shows up on sonar.

 

If that doesn't work, see Jimbo at your local tackle shop 😁

This is me, for the last handful of summers, but with only a flasher and no trolling motor.  Here's what "works" for me.

 

First, the bad news;  I don't run into schools of 4-6lb bass except for a magic week in late November when the gizzards are struggling with the temp drop.  And this magic spot is structure; a narrow funnel from 18' to a large open 25' deep flat.  They sit right on the bottom, looking up for the migration.  Which also means, my success is also dependent on me throwing uphill.  

 

Second; also not great news, I think in summer the 4-6lb open water bass (my lakes' biggest bass) are at most in smaller groups of 3-5 bass and where I've found them seems to have little to no relation to structure.  The caveat is I think these are my main targets when I fish shallow (8-12' weedlines) at night, so their open water areas during the day are not that far from interesting structure/cover that they cruise at night.  As an example, a productive point that tapers off at 23' will sometimes have a group of bass hanging out 75 yds away in 25' fow.  The food chain is healthy, so in general, they don't need to make long commutes.

 

So these guesses/observations and blind casting luck have shown me a few areas to cast to during the day for these fish.  I tend to need bigger baits to get their attention, but obviously not always.  Some favorites, large scroungers, 1.25oz and 7" armour shad or jerky j, baca burrito, 5 or 6" doesn't seem to matter that much so I use the 5 more often now because I have more gear options, 6.5"-8" flutter spoons, the 7" nichols larry spoon being my current favorite, and a 3/4oz chicken jig in bluegill.  My theory is that these bass are feeding mostly on crappie/bream that are schooled up chilling or eating fry or young shad.  So watch your lakes panfish fisherman.  You see older dudes with bobbers over the abyss, remember that spot!

 

Third up, are truly pelagic summer schoolies that follow shad.  I literally need blow ups or birds to show me where to start.  My lake is only 300 acres, and broken up into 3 "bays" of somewhat equal acreage and depth with one bigger and deeper.  I do better on the 2 smaller ones in general.  Topwater is a blast but falls apart pretty quickly.  The 77 showerblows is my fave, but it doesn't take long before they don't want to come all the way up.  If the surface is roiling, it's topwater time, but usually it's more sporadic. 

 

  This is when I try a whole mess of actions to entice a bite; small flutter spoons, swimming spoons, even tightlining jigging spoons, 3/8-1/2oz finesse scroungers, tailspinners, br head and fish, 2-3" 3/8-1/2oz hair jigs, twitch baits, and jighead minnows.  These fish seem to get really dialed in on both profile, action and maybe most importantly rof; in some ways these bass can be the most picky.  I will have rods laying everywhere with options, it gets messy and long casts are everything.  These schoolies are almost always grouped by size, less than 2lbs, 2-3lbs, and sometimes 3-4lbs.  This is probably just a reflection of the population distribution, but I think there's not enough of bigger shad/shiners schooled up to make it worth it for bigger bass to chase all day.  So my bait profiles are often in the 2-3.5" range.  Another thing, as the surface activity slows down, the school of bass seem to move less too.  Meaning you can work the last known area for awhile and still find/catch.  I'm sure your electronics would tell you, but without them this is my best practice.  Morning seems to be best, and any shade line that extends over the color line is also worth concentrating on.  Not a big fish presentaion for me, but it gives me space and fish when my favorite shallow structure is blown up by pleasure boats and terribly inconsiderate boaters.

 

scott

Watch Hackney’s video posted by Glenn on this topic. Hackney is a jig fisherman and suggest using 3/4 oz with Rage craw for faster ROF and movements to trigger post spawn early Summer big bass.

Good advice👍 from an old jig fisherman👨‍🦳.

Tom

22 minutes ago, WRB said:

Watch Hackney’s video posted by Glenn on this topic. Hackney is a jig fisherman and suggest using 3/4 oz with Rage craw for faster ROF and movements to trigger post spawn early Summer big bass.

Good advice👍 from an old jig fisherman👨‍🦳.

Tom

Thanks! That was a great video and I love fishing jigs but I’m not sure if that will translate to these fish because I’m under the impression that they are pretty much roaming in open water, not really relating to the bottom. I guess I don’t know how to target these fish specifically with a jig. 

Open water schools of bass are a tough nut to crack.

 

I encounter the same thing after the smallmouth spawn; they tend to move offshore into deeper water and are seemingly always on the move.

 

I do, however, think there is a specific population of largemouth that stay relatively shallow all season though.  They go under docks or bury into thick weeds to seek relief from the heat and sun.  Those are easier fish to target.

On 5/20/2025 at 9:12 AM, softwateronly said:

This is me, for the last handful of summers, but with only a flasher and no trolling motor.  Here's what "works" for me.

 

First, the bad news;  I don't run into schools of 4-6lb bass except for a magic week in late November when the gizzards are struggling with the temp drop.  And this magic spot is structure; a narrow funnel from 18' to a large open 25' deep flat.  They sit right on the bottom, looking up for the migration.  Which also means, my success is also dependent on me throwing uphill.  

 

Second; also not great news, I think in summer the 4-6lb open water bass (my lakes' biggest bass) are at most in smaller groups of 3-5 bass and where I've found them seems to have little to no relation to structure.  The caveat is I think these are my main targets when I fish shallow (8-12' weedlines) at night, so their open water areas during the day are not that far from interesting structure/cover that they cruise at night.  As an example, a productive point that tapers off at 23' will sometimes have a group of bass hanging out 75 yds away in 25' fow.  The food chain is healthy, so in general, they don't need to make long commutes.

 

So these guesses/observations and blind casting luck have shown me a few areas to cast to during the day for these fish.  I tend to need bigger baits to get their attention, but obviously not always.  Some favorites, large scroungers, 1.25oz and 7" armour shad or jerky j, baca burrito, 5 or 6" doesn't seem to matter that much so I use the 5 more often now because I have more gear options, 6.5"-8" flutter spoons, the 7" nichols larry spoon being my current favorite, and a 3/4oz chicken jig in bluegill.  My theory is that these bass are feeding mostly on crappie/bream that are schooled up chilling or eating fry or young shad.  So watch your lakes panfish fisherman.  You see older dudes with bobbers over the abyss, remember that spot!

 

Third up, are truly pelagic summer schoolies that follow shad.  I literally need blow ups or birds to show me where to start.  My lake is only 300 acres, and broken up into 3 "bays" of somewhat equal acreage and depth with one bigger and deeper.  I do better on the 2 smaller ones in general.  Topwater is a blast but falls apart pretty quickly.  The 77 showerblows is my fave, but it doesn't take long before they don't want to come all the way up.  If the surface is roiling, it's topwater time, but usually it's more sporadic. 

 

  This is when I try a whole mess of actions to entice a bite; small flutter spoons, swimming spoons, even tightlining jigging spoons, 3/8-1/2oz finesse scroungers, tailspinners, br head and fish, 2-3" 3/8-1/2oz hair jigs, twitch baits, and jighead minnows.  These fish seem to get really dialed in on both profile, action and maybe most importantly rof; in some ways these bass can be the most picky.  I will have rods laying everywhere with options, it gets messy and long casts are everything.  These schoolies are almost always grouped by size, less than 2lbs, 2-3lbs, and sometimes 3-4lbs.  This is probably just a reflection of the population distribution, but I think there's not enough of bigger shad/shiners schooled up to make it worth it for bigger bass to chase all day.  So my bait profiles are often in the 2-3.5" range.  Another thing, as the surface activity slows down, the school of bass seem to move less too.  Meaning you can work the last known area for awhile and still find/catch.  I'm sure your electronics would tell you, but without them this is my best practice.  Morning seems to be best, and any shade line that extends over the color line is also worth concentrating on.  Not a big fish presentaion for me, but it gives me space and fish when my favorite shallow structure is blown up by pleasure boats and terribly inconsiderate boaters.

 

scott

Wow!! That is a boatload of amazing info. 

IMO structure bass are active and suspended bass are neutral and most big post spawn females don’t chase baitfish schools. 
I know the FFS anglers are unlocking those bass.

Tom

17 minutes ago, gim said:

Open water schools of bass are a tough nut to crack.

 

I encounter the same thing after the smallmouth spawn; they tend to move offshore into deeper water and are seemingly always on the move.

 

I do, however, think there is a specific population of largemouth that stay relatively shallow all season though.  They go under docks or bury into thick weeds to seek relief from the heat and sun.  Those are easier fish to target.

In most lake I fish shallow all the time, give me a flippin stick and a frog and that’s June through September.

This specific lake is really weird though. Around the shallows there is a thin patch of pads or two (so thin you can see the bottom), a few thin bulrush’s (again, super thin)  and a couple docks. This is all in 1-3ft of water. Then the water drops almost like a cliff edge into 20-30ft. Minus a bit of thin coontail in 20-25ft there are no deep grass lines. The shallows are lifeless seeming. There might be some small bluegills but otherwise pretty much nothing. I believe the very limited shallow population is just fish under 12” for the most part during the summer. 

PS. Water is clear around 12ft of visibility. 

I'd avoid that lake and stick with the other lakes.  lol

2 minutes ago, gim said:

I'd avoid that lake and stick with the other lakes.  lol

That’s what I’ve done in the past, but I’ve had an amazing spring out there that really showed me how many big fish there is. I really want to figure them out during the summer. 

9 minutes ago, 10,000 lakes Bassin said:

I really want to figure them out during the summer. 

 

That's the spirit.  You've got more will power than I do.  I'll be watching the MN thread this season for the results.

5 minutes ago, gim said:

 

That's the spirit.  You've got more will power than I do.  I'll be watching the MN thread this season for the results.

I appreciate it. I’m ready for some fishless days but hopefully I’ll crack the code. 

Sounds like the suspended bass should be easy to meter along with a thermocline to establish the life depth zone. 
Use lures that work well at the specific depth the bass and baitfish are located in. 
MN the pelagic baitfish should be perch and whitefish, determine what the bait are so you can select color and lure profile.

Tom

Troll crankbaits.

I got out to this lake today and was able to get a picture of the bait balls on my down-scan.  20ish feet down in 25-30 feet of water. 

 

On 5/20/2025 at 9:12 AM, softwateronly said:

This is me, for the last handful of summers, but with only a flasher and no trolling motor.  Here's what "works" for me.

 

First, the bad news;  I don't run into schools of 4-6lb bass except for a magic week in late November when the gizzards are struggling with the temp drop.  And this magic spot is structure; a narrow funnel from 18' to a large open 25' deep flat.  They sit right on the bottom, looking up for the migration.  Which also means, my success is also dependent on me throwing uphill.  

 

Second; also not great news, I think in summer the 4-6lb open water bass (my lakes' biggest bass) are at most in smaller groups of 3-5 bass and where I've found them seems to have little to no relation to structure.  The caveat is I think these are my main targets when I fish shallow (8-12' weedlines) at night, so their open water areas during the day are not that far from interesting structure/cover that they cruise at night.  As an example, a productive point that tapers off at 23' will sometimes have a group of bass hanging out 75 yds away in 25' fow.  The food chain is healthy, so in general, they don't need to make long commutes.

 

So these guesses/observations and blind casting luck have shown me a few areas to cast to during the day for these fish.  I tend to need bigger baits to get their attention, but obviously not always.  Some favorites, large scroungers, 1.25oz and 7" armour shad or jerky j, baca burrito, 5 or 6" doesn't seem to matter that much so I use the 5 more often now because I have more gear options, 6.5"-8" flutter spoons, the 7" nichols larry spoon being my current favorite, and a 3/4oz chicken jig in bluegill.  My theory is that these bass are feeding mostly on crappie/bream that are schooled up chilling or eating fry or young shad.  So watch your lakes panfish fisherman.  You see older dudes with bobbers over the abyss, remember that spot!

 

Third up, are truly pelagic summer schoolies that follow shad.  I literally need blow ups or birds to show me where to start.  My lake is only 300 acres, and broken up into 3 "bays" of somewhat equal acreage and depth with one bigger and deeper.  I do better on the 2 smaller ones in general.  Topwater is a blast but falls apart pretty quickly.  The 77 showerblows is my fave, but it doesn't take long before they don't want to come all the way up.  If the surface is roiling, it's topwater time, but usually it's more sporadic. 

 

  This is when I try a whole mess of actions to entice a bite; small flutter spoons, swimming spoons, even tightlining jigging spoons, 3/8-1/2oz finesse scroungers, tailspinners, br head and fish, 2-3" 3/8-1/2oz hair jigs, twitch baits, and jighead minnows.  These fish seem to get really dialed in on both profile, action and maybe most importantly rof; in some ways these bass can be the most picky.  I will have rods laying everywhere with options, it gets messy and long casts are everything.  These schoolies are almost always grouped by size, less than 2lbs, 2-3lbs, and sometimes 3-4lbs.  This is probably just a reflection of the population distribution, but I think there's not enough of bigger shad/shiners schooled up to make it worth it for bigger bass to chase all day.  So my bait profiles are often in the 2-3.5" range.  Another thing, as the surface activity slows down, the school of bass seem to move less too.  Meaning you can work the last known area for awhile and still find/catch.  I'm sure your electronics would tell you, but without them this is my best practice.  Morning seems to be best, and any shade line that extends over the color line is also worth concentrating on.  Not a big fish presentaion for me, but it gives me space and fish when my favorite shallow structure is blown up by pleasure boats and terribly inconsiderate boaters.

 

scott

I finally got a chance to sit down and thoroughly read through this. Thanks again because that was a wealth of insight. Also fishing like this without a trolling motor is super impressive.  

It makes sense that the big girls don’t school up in big schools except for some situations, but do you ever find them mixed in with schools of smaller bass? Or are they just in smaller 3-5 fish “wolf packs” of all big fish? 
It’s also a great to know that these big ones probably won’t be out in the middle of the main basin, and might hang close to shallow area where they can hunt panfish up shallow in low light, and hang out under the schools of panfish during the day.  
 

After hearing your observations that the biggest fish in the lake aren’t normally the ones chasing shad, I might spend more time fishing the deep areas with shallow access rather then trying to chase the fish schooling on the pelagic bait( perch or whitefish or whatever they might be) in the middle of the lake. Sounds like they can be more trouble than they are worth. 

Lots of times when I’m cruising around in 20 or 30 foot of water near the shore I see hundreds of little bluegill and sunfish come up to the boat and hang around. Now I know that the big ones might be right under them! 

Forgot about Crappie as pelagic fish, the left image looks like a Crappie school neither school has any predators in the screen shot that I can determine. The right side screen shot on the left margin is worth spending some time on and may have bass.

Northern strain LMB behave differently that FLMB and tend to stay nearer to structure/cover. The baitfish are not in a tight ball indicating no predators harassing them.

Tom

 

I used to chase schooling bass and I've caught many, 5lb being the largest.  You're making way too much of it, big fish eat other smaller fish, the bass school up depending on size then chase the bait balls.  You need to read the lake you're fishing, where do you see them breaking on the top of the water, what time, and when you catch one what does it spit up, match the hatch then just go chase them! All that electronic equipment has made you dependent on watching a screen, turn it all off and go have fun really fishing.

7 hours ago, WRB said:

Forgot about Crappie as pelagic fish, the left image looks like a Crappie school neither school has any predators in the screen shot that I can determine. The right side screen shot on the left margin is worth spending some time on and may have bass.

Northern strain LMB behave differently that FLMB and tend to stay nearer to structure/cover. The baitfish are not in a tight ball indicating no predators harassing them.

Tom

 

Yeah right now they are up shallow doing their spawning business but once they drop their eggs I bet they’ll move out there. 

1 hour ago, Bigassbass said:

I used to chase schooling bass and I've caught many, 5lb being the largest.  You're making way too much of it, big fish eat other smaller fish, the bass school up depending on size then chase the bait balls.  You need to read the lake you're fishing, where do you see them breaking on the top of the water, what time, and when you catch one what does it spit up, match the hatch then just go chase them! All that electronic equipment has made you dependent on watching a screen, turn it all off and go have fun really fishing.

Ive got no problem finding them when they are blowing up on the surface but 99% of the time they aren’t I don’t know what to do then. 

I took some pictures of my graph out on the lake today. First pic is of some  activity off the end of a point during the afternoon. I only snapped a pic of my 2d on this one but on my down imaging you could more clearly make out some other fish holding to bottom below the school. I threw an 3/4oz jig and a ned rig, but no takers.
The next 2 pics are from after sunset when activity seemed to explode everywhere on the lake. The 2 picks are the same school but one pick of 2d and one of down imaging. I should mention that this is right out in the middle of the main basin and over like 80ft of water as you can see. I’m not good at reading graphs so I’m don’t really have a good idea of what’s happening here. I’d assume it’s some forage species schooled up, and maybe some predators hanging around the area, but that’s about as much as ive got. I’d love some guidance on what really happening here. As for what the forage species could be, well either crappie, possibly shiners or maybe cisco. I learned that this lake has tullibee/ Cisco in it, but I’m not sure if they would school like this, or if largemouth would prey on them. Maybe @WRB-2.0 knows something about this?

@softwateronly any tullibee in your lake? 
Thanks! 

@10,000 lakes Bassin I haven't ever seen a cisco in person and don't know much about anything regarding them.  

 

scott