How do you catch these bass that just swim back and forth? I have tried throwing everything I have in their. A carolina rig lizard, texas rig lizard, plastic worm with curled tail, small and big jig, and my fat ika. I throw it in their and jiggle it a little but he just looks at it and kind of shakes his head or something and leaves.

There has always been a saying...if you can see a bass, he can see you. Either that or try different colors, what I would do is tie on a crawfish colored jig (black/orange/red) or close to it and add a pork trailer, that mimics a crayfish. Or if anything change to live bait...

If the temperatures have been extreme (like it has here) going from nice weather to cold weather, try throwing a rattle trap or shallow diving crankbait. Try anything different, also one thing you didn't mention, try to wacky rig a small worm or senko, that may get him to bite!

Good luck!  8-)

Well I assume your from NC by your name , The bass should be spawning hard there now into May . I caught my biggest bass in NC while they were spawning , I know it sounds crazy but I caught an 11 pound bass doing the same thing you said I was using a 1/2 of a nightcrawler and a small hook like you would use for bluegill.

I used the head 1/2 of the worm because it wiggles more and cast it out and let it set in the path the bass was cruising. the bass was close to the bank so I tried to hide and be still dont wear bright clothes of stomp around near the bank. The bass saw the worm moving on the bottom and I watched it suck it up and set the hook.

I will do the same thing when they are spawning if they refuse plastics , I use a 1/2 nightcrawler or even a small minnow they cant stand that in their bed . Use a strong hook but small. I had big spawning bass break a hook of mine right at the bend of the hook. I was sick because it was about a 10 pounder. Well 10 minutes later it came back to the bed and I threw a nightcrawler back out and it bit again and I caught it that time.

Yeah if they are spawning, surely throw live bait (crayfish are best because they threaten the nest and bass will eat them instantly!)

Great job BK!  8-)

I agree with John J.,  If you can see the bass, the bass can see you.  I would say see where they bass are and then go past them to the point where you can no longer see them.  This way what the bass are doing does not effect your presentation, because often when you see a bass coming at your lure you will get excited and stop your presentation.  Cast the bait to where you thing the bass are and present your lure.  Keep casting there until you get the fish.  

I would say to use some sort of crawfish or jig lure or give a wacky worm or jig head with a four inch worm on it!

Good luck

Pop-R from distance.

the two baits that i have success with on those cruising bass are fat ikas and senkos, both fished weightless.  that slow fall is super importaint.  the only other thing i would usually throw at them is maybe a trick worm or other weithless plastic, although personally i would even bother.  sometimes those cruisers are not going to cooperate and will not eat anything you throw at them.  one thing that i sometimes do is to cast well past them and then swim the senko across the top of the water very fast before killing it right on their nose.  even the best cast can spook some of these bass...

personally i dont spend a lot of time on these bass if they wont hit an ika or senko.  i used to throw everything i had at them but its been my experience that if they dont go for one of those options they are just too skittish or something.  now if the bass is on the bed its a different story and i will spend a long time on em trying different stuff to get em agitated and find the sweet spot but it dosent sound like these fish are on beds.

matt

I agree with John J.  the  problem is not that the bass are in shallow, the problem is that they see you.

Bass may not be the smartest critters on God's green earth but they ain't suicidally dumb either.

I have a theory that says, "There are always some bass in the shallows"

So fishing the shallows should pay off.

Have patience, cast to likely targets not visible fish, and most days you'll get something.

good luck and have fun

avid

I agree with what's been said, it's more about your presence, than your presentation.

The community where I live has a 200-yd long pier. About 30% of the time you'll be able to see bass from the pier.

If your presence causes even a barely detectable shift in the bass's position. they become literally uncatchable.

The only time they "might" be catchable is when you glimpse one in the distance that appears unaware of your presence.

Roger

I find that bass I can see are the hardest to catch, and the easiest to spook. I've just about totally given up on trying to catch fish I can see.

CHeers,

GK

What has always worked well for me is using a full piece of nightcrawler on a smaller hook.

I'm not so sure about the idea of bass seeing you and not biting. A week ago I'm cruising a lake 15' from the bank with a t motor and catch 20 bass on t-rig worms. We're talking, laughing and the bass still bit. Shoot, I've caught bass before at my feet when bank fishing. I'm sure most of you have hooked one 5' away as they follow the bait on the retrieve.

I'm not so sure about the idea of bass seeing you and not biting. A week ago I'm cruising a lake 15' from the bank with a t motor and catch 20 bass on t-rig worms. We're talking, laughing and the bass still bit. Shoot, I've caught bass before at my feet when bank fishing. I'm sure most of you have hooked one 5' away as they follow the bait on the retrieve.

I agree with you, we've all caught bass that were visible, quite close and appeared to be suicidal.

If you've done any scuba-diving though, you know how difficult it can be to see in certain directions

because of blind spots caused by light refraction. Whenever I catch a bass that's visible and close,

I just assume that the poor fellow was dealt a bad hand, and wasn't able to see me.

In my case though, that doesn't happen enough times for me to get excited about

Roger

I've caught bass in shallow water too, to prevent the bass from fully seeing you, wear light blue (clear day) or white (cloudy) to blend in with the sky. The best bet is natural bait (nightcrawlers, crayfish, shiners, etc.)

I would either weightless rig them for shallow water or bobber-rig them.

God bless  8-)

I caught a couple bass in shallow water today , It was a part or the member challenge here , I was bank fishing and casting paralell to the bank with a Manns baby minus crankbait . It worked well in 2 to 4 feet of water very clear water at that and spooky bass . I missed one fish that was 5 plus pounds