Sight Fishing

[fayegarnett]

what's everybody's tactic? this is my second year attempting sight fishing. yesterday, i spent more than an hour on this one bedding fish, to no avail! i tried a water melon craw, a worm, a white fluke, even a lipless crankbait. every time, the fish checked out the bait, but never committed to bite! is it because the fish was aware of my presence and knew that was a bait? should i be stealthier?

[Bluebasser86]

You really have to be able to read the fish to catch bedding fish. Guys who are truly gifted bed fishermen can tell if a fish is catchable or not just by how it reacts to their boat and bait. A very short drop shot with any number of soft plastic baits is my best bed fishing bait. 

[GADawgs]

My go to when bed fishing is a Zoom lizard.  Like Bluebasser said, it's hit and miss.  Patience is a must on bedding fish and sometimes they will never bite.

[Hyrule Bass]

lizards and creature baits are good bets. but you have to put them on that one "sweet spot" of the bed before the fish will even think about biting your bait. and yeah, sometimes you can try forever and not get bit. also, sometimes you just have to tick them off enough to bite, like keep running a spinnerbait right by them...

[Djman72]

I'll echo the above sentiments.

 

I'll tell one quick story on a bedding fish that I spent over an hour on to finally catch. She was a big one for my fishing spots, about 5 pounds. Close to shore and wouldn't hit anything. Tried jigs, lizards, spinnerbaits, cranks you name it.

 

I got frustrated and tied on a beetle spin and reeled it right into her 2 times in a row. On the third she struck that thing so hard it almost jerked the pole out of my hands.

 

Needless to say, I feel like each bedding fish is it's own separate situation. You just gotta throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks.

[Master Bait'r]

Just go get a bow, man.  

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

Bank sight fishing I use nightcrawler on #4 hook

[RanndomUndead]

Ive been working on this bedding bass for a good week now with no luck....Ive managed to get a good 40 or so bass under 13 inches though in the process

[BW208]

I have had good luck with a jig/rage craw.

[Bluebasser86]

Just go get a bow, man.  

Or a big treble hook, that seems to be a popular bait for some folks 

[SirSnookalot]

My perception of sight casting is not targeting fish on beds.  I do a lot of sight casting, I cast when I see activity such as birds, fish on bait or ripples caused by fish swimming.  

I don't bed fish for bass, it isn't my style but I do bed fish for peacocks.  Bed fishing is about teasing and annoying the fish to prompt a strike, nothing works better for me than a marabou jig, I would bed fish for bass the same way.

[fayegarnett]

watch a youtube video with Paul Mueller talking about sight fishing. he said if as soon as you drop the bait to the bed, the fish swims off, then you can't catch that fish. a bedding fish has to be really committed to the bed to be catchable. that was exactly what happened, maybe that was why i couldn't catch that fish. 

[gulfcaptain]

Ive been working on this bedding bass for a good week now with no luck....Ive managed to get a good 40 or so bass under 13 inches though in the process

Put a 6 or 8" swimbait in there.

[gulfcaptain]

You definately have to be able to read the fish as stated above.  Each one is different. I'll know within 5 minutes if that fish is catchable just by it's actions. Fish you can barely see in deeper water are much easier and normally bigger, but not always.  Sometimes smaller baits are better to use, other times larger baits. Step back next time you see one and watch the fish, see what it does, where it leaves the bed and where it returns from.  All give clues and pieces of the puzzle, you just have to put them together.

[BannedForSpamming-1234555]

I do like sight fishing for any species...

[wuchr20]

I just use football head jigs.  Woks the best for me.  Also crank baits can work.