Spring is in the air, and the bass are spawning in many parts of the country. This offers a great opportunity to catch giant bass that are shallow and in the midst of their annual spawning ritual. Female and male bass will be shallow and doing their thing, and then the male will stick around and guard the nest, while the female bass often lingers close by and makes sure that he's doing his job properly.
Even though you can often see these fish as clear as day, catching them isn't always easy, as their job is to protect the young, and feeding is not on their mind. But, there are still plenty of chances to catch these fish with the right approach, some stealth, and these sight fishing tricks.
Stay Stealthy
One of the simplest things you can do to increase your chances of catching spawning bass is to make yourself less detectable, whether fishing in a boat or from the bank. Staying back farther until you can barely see the fish is the best approach and will increase your odds of catching them tremendously. Pay close attention to things like the shadows that you cast and noise, and make slow movements, as these things can all help to put the odds in your favor.
Also, avoid bright and unnatural colors if possible. Natural colors, camo, and even those that match the sky around you can also help you stay less detectable. Wearing a hood over a hat can also help conceal you, and the hood will give you a better view of the fish by preventing light from entering your sunglasses. Speaking of sunglasses, a quality pair is a must, and a lighter color, such as a yellow base like the violet mirror lenses from Bajio sunglasses, is a great option. Having dark lenses will make it much harder for you to see what's under the surface.
Choosing the Right Bait
When bass are guarding their nests, they are not worried about what bait would taste like; protection is their top concern. This is why baits that imitate bluegill are so effective, as sunfish are their biggest enemy this time of year.
Many great baits imitate bluegill, including flat-sided baits like the NetBait Bull Bream and the Game Changer Bait Dancin' Shad. Both of the baits are very realistic and can be fished several different ways, with the Bull Bream being an excellent choice for a Texas-Rig and the Dancin' Shad ideal for a drop-shot rig.
Some other tried-and-true choices for bed fishing are a variety of creature baits, such as Missile Baits D-Bomb, Zoom Brush Hog, and Z-Man Gremlin, which are all very effective for casting to bass. The recent trend of dice-style baits has also shown them to be a very good sight-fishing bait, and they are very good when rigged on a drop-shot rig.
Another common option is a tube, and small tubes like the Z-Man Llama TubeZ are excellent. This version is only 2 inches long and poses no threat to bass, making it highly effective. It's also made with ElaZtech, so it has plenty of buoyancy and more action than standard plastic.
No matter what bait you choose to throw to bass, you see, persistence is the key. As bass guard their area, there will usually be a spot they protect most. By observing a bass's behavior, you can see which area seems to trigger them most, and once you find that, repeated casts to the same small section will eventually get them fired up enough to strike.
Sight Fishing for Cruisers and Fry Guarders
While most of the time, "sight fishing" refers to catching bass guarding spawning beds, there is a chance to catch fish while looking at them well past that period. This could be bass cruising and searching for spawning grounds, or those swimming around after they spawn. There is also a chance to catch bass guarding their fry shortly after the bass eggs hatch. In all these instances, stealth is key, and making precise casts is crucial.
When casting to bass cruising along the bank, they can often see you much better than you can see them, so being a little sneaky and anticipating where they are going is very important. Casting a wacky-rigged Senko or drop-shot rig with a light drop-shot weight and finesse worm like a 4.5-inch Roboworm straight tail or small dice-style bait ahead of where they are going is one of the best ways to catch these fish. Move the bait slowly and quietly for your best chance to catch these fish.
If you see a ball of bass fry around a dock or other cover, the male bass will often be close by. You can catch these bass with a wacky-rig fished around the fry itself, or with a popper like the Duo Realis Popper 64 in a bluegill pattern, fished on the surface above the fry. Another good bait for catching these bass is a soft-plastic jerkbait like the Zoom Super Fluke, fished in the middle of the water column around these tiny bass fry.
Sight-fishing is one of the most exciting parts of bass fishing and becomes almost like hunting as you seek your next fish to attempt to catch. While the fish are right there and easy to see, it takes a little extra work to get them to bite, but it can definitely be done with the right presentation and gear.
