Locating Schools Of Bass....and Getting Them To Bite.

[Jeremy Coalter]

Does anyone have a method or tips on locating schools of bass and then getting them to bite?  

 

I see Timmy Horton and other pros locate these schools of large bass and then are able to catch multiple fish from one location, from my experience I only seem to pick up random fish that are hanging off the bank.

 

I think it would be so rewarding to be able to locate multiple fish holding on structure or a ledge and get them to bite but I have been unsuccessful to date.  I have trolled around and find what appears to be fish holding to structure or one spot but have never been able to get them to bite, I'm not sure if they are bass or not.

 

I would appreciate any suggestions or tips.

 

Thanks

[Khong]

I've only seen this happen if they are intimidated by a larger predator in the lake.  E.G.: Gar, Stripers, etc...  They'll bundle up to protect themselve and ambush shad.   Most of the time, they're next to some kind of structure that lets them hide to ambush.  

 

Otherwise, i'll normally see only 1 or 2 hang out by themselve being territorial. 

[Swampstud]

Ive seen this very little visionally, 2x this year I seen a school of undersized LMB of idk 30-50 fish. Crazy since I only cought one lol. I did experience a MASSIVE school taking down baitfish from the surface on a crappy windy/cloudy day, I cought one and lost several from striking the tail of my grub. I wore out my TM battery chasing them for 2+hrs I still to this day wish id had my hd video cam with me, something about seeing 2-4 lbers randomly comin out of water completly thats got me hooked. I see it ALOT (schooling bass) on my electronics especially windy points in which I like a spinner bait or topwater worked good this mornin, got a miss on the 2nd cast, a fish on the 3rd and 5/6cast. My gf was ticked off 20minutes after launch lol

[quanjig]

It's not enough to just graph the baitfish and bass. The biggest suggestion I can give you is to look for the schools of bait that are broken up on the graph, that tells me that they are nervous and may be getting eaten!! Get a bait in there!! If you find schools of bait with what looks like bass below them, you may be able to get a bite and excite the others into feeding as well. If I find big schools of bait, I usually revisit them they the day to see if the get to the mood I'm looking for!

[papajoe222]

Locating schools of quality sized bass is both difficult and rewarding as often times schooling fish are smaller fish.  Larger fish tend to not roam around wasting energy, but will hold along structure used by baitfish. They're relating to the baifish, but don't often follow their movements. 

Bends in creek arms or points on a drop off are prime examples IF the baifish are schooling in the area.

The best advice I can give you is to put your rod down and do a little exploration watching your electronics.  If you feel the baitfish are following a creek arm or a drop off, point, etc.  Look for irregularities on that structure for fish and if the baitfish are close by, get your line out there.

[AK-Jax86]

I'm a bank fishermen it's hard to locate schooling bass. But I have seen groups of large bass chasing bait fish and what not.

Is imaging bass school no matter how big the lake or pond but I'd imagine that it happens a lot more in larger bodies of water

[Sam]

Jeremy, you have to physically see them.

 

Throw in front of and across the ball as it moves in the water.

[gravestone]

This is "pattern" fishing does always appear to be the pattern you might think it is. Example: marked a nice school of bass holding on a channel edge with blow downs near by. Put on a 3/8oz shakeyhead w/ a zoom mag. worm...Nothing...huh??? {always catch on this}the wife is throwing a T-Rig...Nothing. I put on a fat albert grub I'm in!! My school of "bass" turned out to be a school of walleye!

I fish "fishy" spots 1st ie: lillypad ,mats ,blowdowns ,ect... then if I don't get bit I rely on my electronics.

[Wayne P.]

School of 3#-7# bass.

Hooked 13 of them and landed 11 of them before they quit hitting anything I tried.

You can fool some of the bass some of the time, but not all the bass all of the time.

 

[quanjig]

Cool image of the fish in the middle of the ditch/channel! I need me some side imaging!!

[jacktgi@aol.com]

I have seen schools of small bass creating a frenzy on the surface several times.  These bass that I have seen are about ten inches long or smaller.

 

Don't believe fishing videos.  Often a half hour fishing show only has less than 15 minutes of actual fishing and takes more than a day or two to record.

 

For bass fishing I observe what I can see:  weeds, points, coves, shoreline transitions for rock to mud, etc.  Then I rely on my electronics to check out the underwater scene.  

 

 

[quanjig]

Jack, in certain parts of the country, you can do exactly what way does and has done for years, that is find the bait, catch the bass!!