Anyone Else Struggle Here

[blongfishing]

I'll be fishing and see a bass and will stay in that spot trying to catch the bass. I will spend up to an hour doing this. Do you think this is a problem? Do y'all struggle here too?

[fishinthedacks]

I personally do better on fish I don't see even if I know they are there. For some reason the ones I visually see seems like I could drop anything and it wouldn't nibble.

[B@ssCrzy]

If I see them they have seen me and I move on....unless it is during the spawn.  Then it is game on!!

[Ratherbfishing]

Apart from when they are bedding, if I see bass which are cruising around slowly and don't seem to have a care in the world, I can rarely get them to bite.  Especially if they are pressured fish.

[Jar11591]

Usually, if I see a bass and I toss a senko at it, I can get it to at least investigate. And if it stays in sight long enough I can usually coerce it into biting. Might take a few minutes and certainly doesnt always work. Longest I have tried to catch a fish I could see was probably 20 minutes. It was two bedding bass and the female was HUGE. I ran cranks through the nest, lizards, senkos, you name it. They only had one thing on their mind. That being said, I normally don't spend much time chasing fish by sight.

[AK-Jax86]

Man I am guilty of doing this lol. I also tend to stay in the same area at spots that I usually fish often instead of covering ground. Just cuz the fish were there one day doesn't mean they will be there the next. That's why I enjoy fishing from my buddy's boat because we cover everything.

[Raul]

Been there done that but ...... a lot of times I end up catching it !

 

Call me stubborn.

[mjseverson24]

I tend to do better when i cannot see the bass that i am targeting, and i don't pursue bedding fish... 

 

Mitch

[F14A-B]

I like site fishing... It's fun

[Scott F]

If I see them they have seen me and I move on....unless it is during the spawn.  Then it is game on!!

 

I feel the same way except I won't fish for bedding bass.

[Djman72]

Just remember this! If you can see the fish, the fish can more than likely see you. Gotta be stealthy!

[Swampstud]

Ive done this several times with an without success. Stealth is key imo. From a 7-8lb female comin into a small swimmin area and nosing down on a small crappie spinner to males cruising gin clear flats with reeds an flippin a jig n craw they will BITE. Keep your eyes peeled and look out as far as the water clarity will allow, you want to see them longbefore they spot you. Even walkin the bank carelesslycant turn the fish off

[Sam]

I have seen bass after the spawn and at other times cruising along the bank and neither are interested in any baits thrown their way.

 

I have seen bass in the shallows that will turn and rush to eat whatever bait is thrown into their area.

 

If we could think like a bass I believe we could solve the problem of bass hitting or not hitting our baits.

[Bankbeater]

I have had some luck doing this, but mostly I go after the ones that I can't see.

[Bavass]

I have never caught a fish i could see!

[SirSnookalot]

I'm always sight casting, my eyes are constantly roving around looking for signs of fish activity.  If I happen to spot a fish I'll make a few casts and that's about it.  I like to keep on the move, I only stay in a spot if it looks promising.  With just about every species I fish for the strikes generally come from the fish I don't see.  We get 40-50" followers all the time, they seldom hit, it's the ones that come out of the shadows at 25 mph that strike.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

If you can see the fish, they can see you. I've caught cruising fish by throwing something in front of them, but an inactive fish just sitting there (not on a bed) is a losing proposition. This makes me think just how many fish we don't see that ignore out offering. I was strongly anti bed-fishing at one point but have seen enough research to sway me the other way IF done right. Unless you quit fishing until the spawn is over, I think a good number of the fish you catch came off a bed whether you saw it or not. I think this is especially true of smallmouths. They are so much more aggressive on the bed. 

[JaxBasser]

I've never had luck catching fish I can see cruising around. Only time I can catch fish that I can see is when they are on the bed.

[blongfishing]

I've slowly gotten better and I usually don't stay if it appears to be under 3-5lbs

[Grizzn N Bassin]

I spend a few minutes on one but im pretty stealthy when i bank fish. I sometime hide in the cattails and cast in the shallows . but i just fish to how ever i feel. but generally no more than 5 minutes 

[bigbill]

Wear camo, move slowly.

We have native trout that you have to crawl up to the bank to catch.

If you can see the fish they can see you.

Walk up slowly and softly be stealthy and don't talk.

When I do it right some big mouth walks up and yells did you catch anything. Then I leave.

[SirSnookalot]

Probably all in definition but I don't define sight casting as spotting an inactive fish and trying to get a strike.  It happens from time to time and everyone has experienced, if records were kept I do believe the catch percentage would be very low.  That is not what I classify sight fishing.

 

When a fish makes a surface ripple, that fish is active.  Fish busting on bait, without a doubt those are active fish.  Spotting fish moving are active fish.  Birds working chances are high fish in the area.  Active fish are the ones that strike, sight casting is about being aware of what's going on and reacting to it.  I'm always going to be looking for the active ones.

[jhoffman]

A fish might see you, it might not, it depends on angle and refraction.

 

Its illegal to site fish the beds in PA.

[RoLo]

There's merit to the ole saw: "If you see a bass, the bass sees you".

Apparently, bass only tolerate our presence when they're not feeding, for example:

- When cruising parallel to the shoreline, bass are typically in a negative feeding mode

- When hovering over a bed, they're preoccupied with reproduction, not feeding  

Needless to say, there are exceptions to every rule.

 

On more than one occasion I've pitched a live nightcrawler comfortably off the nose of a visible bass.

Their reaction reminds me of WC Fields: "Get away kid, you bother me"       

 

Roger

[RAMBLER]

I'll be fishing and see a bass and will stay in that spot trying to catch the bass. I will spend up to an hour doing this. Do you think this is a problem? Do y'all struggle here too?

Do I struggle there?  Nope!  I figure if I've seen them, they've seen me.  I back out and look for similar water and cast to it before I get close enough to see the fish.