How Do I Catch Bass On Nests?

[gjones]

I'm a novice large mouth angler. Had a great but frustrating day yesterday. Saw lots of large fish but couldn't get any to bite. They were all guarding a nest. I had gin clear water with sunny conditions. I was flipping worms and lizards Texas rigged. what could I have done differently?

[nycgrip]

I had this problem yesterday. This one nest had a log right next to it, If I could see the fish it wouldnt bite, I stepped further back so the log blocked my view of the nest waited 5-10 minutes and cast, and it bit. I never bought into the fish seeing you but now I'm rethinking that.

[Sam]

^{When the bass are on their "beds" they can be very difficult to catch.}

^{The females will guard the bed and pick up your bait and toss it out of the bed.}

^{The males will circle the bed and do the same thing, sometimes by bumping your bait with their closed mouths.}

^{Here is what you can do:}

^{1. Check out the spring fishing articles regarding beding bass on this forum and read what it says to do.}

^{2. Go to various pros web sites and read what they have to say about fishing bedded bass.}

^{3. Throw a tube or lizard. They hate lizards. Drag it through the bed over and over again until you aggravate them to kill the bait.}

^{4. Return female and males back into the water so they can continue to guard the bed.}

^{Read, read and read some more. Look for various DVDs on bass fishing. Suscribe to bass fishing magazines. Join B.A.S.S. and receive their magazine. The more you can research a subject the better you will be.}

^{Start a library, too. Cut out those articles that are of interest to you and put them in file folders or a three-ring binder by subject. Then you can read them again as the seasons and weather progresses during the year.}

^{Good luck and let us know how you do getting those big ladies and their mates to hit your baits.}

[Sam]

NCY, if you can see the bass, they can see you.

Proven fact.

As for bass fishing, it reminds me of the NYC tourist that asks a native New Yorker how to get to Carniegh Hall. The New Yorker replied, "practice, practice, practice."

Take your fellow New Yorker's advice and the more time you are on the water the better you will be.

[Hyrule Bass]

i think using lizards is a great choice in baits. How fast did you fish them, i would drag them very slow along the bottom and probably weightless. you may also want to try different colors, maybe something in green with black speck...

also like has been said, the fish may have seen you, back down or off the bank and cast to the target assuming your fishing from shore, if from boat then give yourself some more distance between the target and your boat.

another bait that worked well for me on bedded bass last year was a white spinnerbait with a little red on the nose of it, using a 3inch white curly tail grub as a trailer

[J Francho]

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/dropshot-bedding-bass.html

[BrianinMD]

Lizards do seem to work well, repeated cast either dragging it thru the nest or letting it set in the middle of the nest. I got one over the weekend after about 30 cast I casted over the nest reeled my lizard to right over the nest and let it drop. She came from about 3-4 feet away immediately and crushed it.

[gjones]

Wow- I love this forum. Thanks for all of the advice!

[Aluma-Bass]

try a drop shot

[Mountain Angler]

I go with the lizards and work them nice and slow

[bman310]

We are on the post spawn right now and the males are guarding the fry's. I was doing some site fishing the other day and found a spot where the bass were just 3 to 5 ft off the shore. I was able to stand several feet off the shore and on the side of the tree yet I could still see the bass. In 20 minutes I was able to still site fish and catch 3 in that area on a drop shot, where normally I have to make a longer cast so I'm not seen or scare the bass away.

-b

[BrianinMD]

If they males are guarding fry, either a top-water, or a floating jerkbait can work well. Make it look like your bait is attacking the fry. Being in protective mode will have them attack your bait.

[justin apfel]

Another thing to do is wear certain colors. I know some pros wear baby blue to match the sky and others go for a light green color to be almost camouflaged. Also try to be a subtle as you can when working a bed, stay in one spot or your boat and cut off the trolling motor when you are locked onto a bed. Try to look for beds pretty far away, if you can don't get right on top of the bed because the fish will get spooked and it is a lot more likely that you won't catch them. Good optics are another great thing, I have Costa del Mars and this is the first season I have fished with glasses and I have noticed a tremendous difference. This spring I have found that berkley havocs pit boss works really well for bedded fish; use it with a light weight and put it right in front of their face, but make the cast subtle...if you can pitch to the bed for control of your cast so you can just slip it in the water gently. Good Luck!

[Geomendo]

When I can't get a them to bite on the nests I will tie on a white rooster tail and slowly drag it in to the nest area. You will def get snagged a lot but the male bass just can't seem to help but bite something so small and non threating. Also jiggle it wildly but try to keep it in the same spot seems to turn them more aggressive.

As was said before don't cast directly on nest the fish will spook plus you may just find the female lurking close by aswell. I got a nice female trying to drag a creature bait into nest about 10 feet from target

[general3380]

I'm not going to tell you this is a sure way to catch them...but what has always worked for me in the past (as many of others have stated above) a lizard...throw it past there bed, and slowly drag it on there bed (so pain stakingly slow you almost can't stand it). Don't give up on fish, most of the time they will eventually get mad enough they will either blow up on it or slowly pick it up. Pay very close attention to your line, I have actually had them pick it up swim off there beds and drop it. I have thrown at a bass on her bed almost 30 times before she eventually took it. Be persistent!

[bassmaster3541]

First of all, you want to stay as far away from the bed/fish as possible so you don't spook them off too much. If you get up close before you realize they are there, back off far enough so that you can just barely see where the bed is. I like salamanders/brush hogs, something in that family, tubes usually work well too. Go with something that has some chartreuse or white on it so you can see it in the water. Be patient, it can definitely take some time. Hit every spot on the bed, don't keep putting your bait on the same spot, for some bass there will be a "sweet spot" that will really fire them up.