Catching Sunning Bass

[everythingthatswims]

   I haven't seen this in lakes before, but in ponds in my area in early spring, the fish will school up when it's warm out and sit just a few inches below the surface. When this happens, they spook when anything moves/hits the water for the most part. The only way I have been able to consistently catch them is with a fly rod, using flies size 14-18 and can usually catch bluegill, crappies, and smaller largemouth. However, when a big bass is sunning itself, I have found it to be impossible to get them to eat. Does anyone else have experience with this?

[WIGuide]

Have you tried making a really long cast past them?

[nascar2428]

I've caught them with a Senko. I  will pitch it towards the deeper water and watch them slowly move out to investigate. Once they move I would reel it back in and pitch out again. Most of the time they are just waiting for it to hit the water.

[Jar11591]

I've seen this one time. It was last fall, the lake had already turned over, and we had a fairly nice sunny day. I noticed a big bass sitting still just under the surface directly in the sun. I threw a curly tail at him, hit him in the head and he slowly swam off.

[VAHunter]

I have never caught any of those bass. This happens quite often in my area just before the fish go on the beds. The fish may be suspending from the bank all the way to the end of laydowns. I've thrown the box at that from every distance I can imagine - no luck for me.

[Hyrule Bass]

thats when i nose hook a night crawler and toss it out, most bass simply cannot resist this...

[everythingthatswims]

I have never caught any of those bass. This happens quite often in my area just before the fish go on the beds. The fish may be suspending from the bank all the way to the end of laydowns. I've thrown the box at that from every distance I can imagine - no luck for me.

Maybe it's a Virginia thing... I have seen this many times in many ponds here, as you said, right before the fish go on beds. It's easier to catch them in 40 degree water than it is to catch them while they are sunning (on most days). Eating seems to be a low priority when they are sunning

[livetofish28]

First welcome to forums there's a ton of Va guys and second get a Siebert outdoors dredge jig and make a full blown cast past them then either swim or drag it until your closer to the bass once close hop it in front a couple times and usually the suck it right in. That is my number one pattern in the spring

Tight lines

Andrew

[fishva]

I hate those guys.

Some fish just want to watch the world burn.

[georgeyew]

I saw the same thing yesterday. I was standing on a bridge over the water looking at a shallow part of the pond. I noticed lots of fish sunning there. There were several bass and lots of little fish (minnows I think) all in the same area. They were all swimming around peacefully. I threw a lizard in the area and didn't get a nibble. I begin to wonder if it would be possible to catch bass in that state. With all the little minnows around, they have the opportunity to eat them and they are not even interested. What would make them interested in my plastic lizard?

[greyleg33]

I seen these things for years, in ponds and large lakes. They often sit on top of a submerged bush or rock. This just doesn't jive with a bass hatred of light. As far as catching them, I find them extremely spooky and have never caught one.

[flyingmonkie]

Talk about an imasculating feeling!  It's one thing to go out all day and not see a fish - you can at least say that you and the fish were in different places.  When they swim around right in front of you, there's no escuse, right?!?!

 

Nine times out of ten, I strike out in this situation.  Same thing when they are slooooowwly cruising the shallows.  Obviously, there is something else on their mind.  I always give it a valiant effort though, because every now and then you get one that'll eat.  It has been my experience, however, that if they don't chase the bait during the first or second presentation (especially in the scenario when they dart off), then I usually tell myself to move on.

 

.....

 

Then I try for 15 more minutes and just end up PO'd.

[VAHunter]

 

get a Siebert outdoors dredge jig and make a full blown cast past them then either swim or drag it until your closer to the bass once close hop it in front a couple times

I do this when the fish are shallow, but the vast majority of the time around here I see them sunning inches under the surface over 15-20 ft. of water. I've thrown all the plastics, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, swimbaits, senkos, topwaters etc. at them. I'm convinced they are there to warm up. Feeding, even a reaction strike, is the farthest thing from their mind. I have never seen small bass do this, it's always good-sized fish. I always throw at them though. You never know when you'll get that first one to bite.

[livetofish28]

 

I do this when the fish are shallow, but the vast majority of the time around here I see them sunning inches under the surface over 15-20 ft. of water. I've thrown all the plastics, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, swimbaits, senkos, topwaters etc. at them. I'm convinced they are there to warm up. Feeding, even a reaction strike, is the farthest thing from their mind. I have never seen small bass do this, it's always good-sized fish. I always throw at them though. You never know when you'll get that first one to bite.

I found if you dont get them to bite a jig then a dropshot with a very small bait generally works 

[Montanaro]

From what I've read, suspending bass over deep water are not actively feeding and you shouldn't waste your time.

Even shallow if you see a bass sitting still not relating to cover you can surmise that since he isn't in an ambush location or patrolling an area he likely is turned off.

[VAHunter]

 

From what I've read, suspending bass over deep water are not actively feeding and you shouldn't waste your time.

Even shallow if you see a bass sitting still not relating to cover you can surmise that since he isn't in an ambush location or patrolling an area he likely is turned off.

 

I agree, but I still can't help myself from throwing at them.

[Montanaro]

Casts are free...I do it to.

[redux]

Sunday I saw a few fish holding to lily pads on the bank. They were really close so I lowered a Texas rig I'm front of them and they just nipped at it. I switched to a wacky rig and got two of them.

Each time they'd snap at it, swim in a circle, and stop back in the same place. Even after I caught them they went back to the same spot and stayed there. Of course they just ignored my worm then.

[everythingthatswims]

Well hopefully I can quit worrying about sunning fish, went to my neighbor's pond today and the bass were chasing bluegill on the banks constantly. I threw everything I had including a zara puppy which worked for me last year in early april, but the only thing they would hit today was a weightless finesse worm. I had trouble hooking them because they would only eat half the bait even after I gave them 15-20 seconds. Leaving a soft plastic in a bass's mouth for longer than that just worries me, I don't like gut hooking them. I bet by Saturday they will be on beds or VERY close. All the fish I saw were in 3 FOW and less, this is only a 3 acre pond though.

[jeremyryanwebb]

This happened here in South Carolina last week. I went there two days in a row. The first day there was probably 40 bass in a backwater area sunning just below the surface.  So the next day I took my friend because he didnt believe that I saw that many fish in one area.  Most of the fish would be in groups of 5 or 6 and sit in about 8 inches of water facing the bank and others alone slowly cruising just under the surface.  They were not hungry however, I was even casting well onto the bank and bringing it into the water with minimum disturbance.  Ended up the only 3 I got to bite were tiny bass.  Fly fishing has its perks and this was a time I had wished I was better at it and prepared for it.  Very frustrating.

[everythingthatswims]

This happened here in South Carolina last week. I went there two days in a row. The first day there was probably 40 bass in a backwater area sunning just below the surface.  So the next day I took my friend because he didnt believe that I saw that many fish in one area.  Most of the fish would be in groups of 5 or 6 and sit in about 8 inches of water facing the bank and others alone slowly cruising just under the surface.  They were not hungry however, I was even casting well onto the bank and bringing it into the water with minimum disturbance.  Ended up the only 3 I got to bite were tiny bass.  Fly fishing has its perks and this was a time I had wished I was better at it and prepared for it.  Very frustrating.

I fished some ponds in north myrtle beach last week on vacation (ocean was too cold, not much going on in terms of saltwater fishing) and absolutely destroyed the bass, some were even post spawn already. Caught fish on just about everything, including topwaters. Weird that your fish are still waking up from the winter shutdown/slowwwwdown.

[ww2farmer]

To be honest.............I look for other fish. Those bass, while not impossible to catch, are not easy either. Once in a while everything lines up just right where those fish chase and pounce, but usually my bait don't even hit the water yet and they spook. What I have found that sometimes works for them...............stay back where you can't see them anymore, and SKIP your lure across the top of the water at them, it seems to spook them way way less, even though it makes more of a racket....go figure.

[jeremyryanwebb]

I fished some ponds in north myrtle beach last week on vacation (ocean was too cold, not much going on in terms of saltwater fishing) and absolutely destroyed the bass, some were even post spawn already. Caught fish on just about everything, including topwaters. Weird that your fish are still waking up from the winter shutdown/slowwwwdown.

 

Yeah, the plantation I work at has 18 ponds ranging from 7-15 acres.  Some have lots of shade coverage while some are just open water, and some have crystal clear water... some are more murky.  Ive found the water temp to be as much as 5 degrees difference in ponds on the same day.  So its been kind of wierd because the bass will be in different spring stages depending on which body of water im on that day.

[CDMeyer]

I do not know where teh bass are in relation to space, but if there is open water behind them cast past them and then consitently drag a good reaction bait by them untill they either move, or hit