I have chased commotion made by carp, snakeheads, bluegill, crappie, otters, turtles... worst was probably the evening many years ago when my wife and I spent half an hour trying to catch what turned out to be a beaver.

   When I kayak fished, I used to say chasing blowups, and chasing shad was a fools' errand.  Fishing my current lake in a boat has-been a totally different story.   I had multiple stretches longer than a couple weeks at a time when I could not catch a bass relating to cover or structure between 9AM and 7PM.  It appeared as if every bass in the lake was offshore chasing bait.  I was very successful fishing blowups and nervous bait.  Either troll towards big areas of activity, or more often split the difference between two areas within 100 yards of each other.   FFS probably would have been a big help, if I had it.  Early summer and late fall are best when the gizzard are in bigger schools and loitering a bit.  By mid-late July, the bait balls are smaller and moving.... a lot.  Chasing works, but not nearly as effective.  It is really amazing to me how fast and far feeding bass move in a very short time.  That bass that came all the way out of the water a minute ago can be 20' down and 50 yards away in no time.   But those times of big bait balls not moving fast can be amazing.  A 5 or 6 inch spoon can be launched to a bass splash a long, long way ....and they get slammed.  Spooks and poppers work, but for me, I usually get smaller fish on top in open water.  If the bass seem keyed on threadfin, I like inline spinners.  Casts a mile,  and speed and depth are easier for me to vary than other baits.  Seems the bigger bass are generally prowling deeper waiting for bait to fall out, while the 1-2 pounders tear through closer to the surface.  If on shallower flats though, Super Spook size topwater will draw big bass.  Takes a lot of patience to just sit without casting waiting for a sign.  But if you start blindly throwing, it is guaranteed something will blow up in the opposite direction as soon as your bait hits the water.

If I can reach it I cast. I've caught a couple that way this summer on a Senko and a Plopper. The Plopper has a long reach, especially the larger ones. 

If the blowup is close enough to me, then I’ll make a cast toward it. If not, I’ll ignore it. 

On 8/21/2025 at 11:28 AM, Pat Brown said:

 

I have found if you can drop anything right exactly where it happened within 2-3 seconds it’s +\- a guaranteed fish.

Every cast is a +\- guaranteed fish.

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When you see a fish "blow up" (break the surface or boil up the water)- what do you do ?

 

Pee myself a little due to overstimulation.

the previous me:  first thing I did was to backlash from the excitement.  that first cast was a hot mess.

 

the current me:  I send a topwater popper like a dang boss.  

 

If it’s in range I’ll throw whatever bait I have tied on.

 

But if I see that there are a lot of baitfish near the surface causing predators to blow up I’ll throw a buzzbait.

Cast. That’s what I’d do. Surface activity is usually a good sign that something’s stirring the pot, whether it be gamefish hitting bait or baitfish in general, always a good indication to start casting. I’ve never really had any particular area to cast at unless it’s a thick bait pod, which I usually work the outer edges. Most often, my cast is zero’ed in on the central activity. Always a good idea to have multiple rods ready to go to match the hatch, just in case. 

On 8/21/2025 at 10:50 AM, JHoss said:

Agree with most that a lot of times its not bass. But I have found single blow ups in shallow water (like around cypress trees) is very much worth casting too. A lot of time bass are fired up to feed and have something trapped. I'll usually toss a frog up there and get bit enough to make it worth it.

I agree, if it's near cover there is a higher chance it's a fish you want. In open water I find that when it's just one noticeable blow up 9/10 times it's a carp but if I see commotion and multiple small "blow ups" it's usually baitfish getting chased by something.

Throwing a weightless fluke right into a spot that just blew up has caught me two 5-pound Largemouth and a 3lb Smallie, and dozens upon dozens of smaller bass. 

 

Skipping the fluke into the spot can be good. Letting it just fall has worked. Twitching it erratically across the surface works. And everything in between too. 

Today’s me (like literally today)

 

crap, what was that? Look back, see fish all over the surface. Threw bladed jig, wake bait and all sorts of other stuff. Threw it into bait balls, pulled through them everything. Finally moved away and the first cast “away” was the same thing!

I point scope to where ever it is and if I see bass underneath or chasing the school I throw the jighead minnow and work it to the bass...  if they are chasing that means they are active bass and are the easiest ones to catch usually. I've had some bites in this scenario that were down right violent.