Tips For Catching Big Bedding Females

[aeb603]

There's a local pond I frequently fish along with every other fisherman plus their mothers. In other words it is highly, highly pressured. The only reason I go is because of Big Momma. She's somewhat of a local legend around these parts. She's every bit of 8lbs and then some. To my knowledge, she has only been caught once in the last 5 or so years and I would like to add my name to the short but prestigious list of people to out-wit her. She is already on her bed and I have thrown every type of creature bait, in every color possible, and every shape and size. Does anyone know of or have any tips or tricks that I may have overlooked? Techniques? Just trying to rack my brain for something different to try. Any and all suggestions are welcomed and greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Ozark_Basser]

Don't let them see you

Try a lot of different baits

Use a soft entry

Use a color you can see well.

[Crank Bait Nut]

If That Big Girl , Doesn't Want To Bite , Your Best Chance Will Be When She Comes Off Her Bed , She Will Be Looking For Some Big Meals , I'd Throw Swim Baits and/or Jointed Floating Swim Baits. Slow Cranking Them.

 

My 2 Cents

 

Mike

[Mr Q]

My experience with bedding bass on nests involves testing what the nest cleaner does when a bait enters the nest. 9 times out of ten he will gingerly pick up the nest intruder and carry it out of the nest, then return to it. Instead of picking up the bait by the front of it, it picks it up by the tail (not a feeding "strike"}.

At other times of the fishing season, try using a larger lure of the type you think should work. Bass tend to be very economical in weighing the cost of energy (going after the meal)vs the meal size. In local ponds here, many people claim there are no large bass in these ponds because they are using lures too small for the larger bass. I have proved them wrong time after time!

[Catch and Grease]

Fish a dropshot right on top of the bed!

[Cameron211]

Had this problem Tuesday and took me over hour to catch a 5lber. Throwing senkos and craws to only one hookup and it broke my line. After doing this over and over to no more bites I went a got a chatterbait. This was only a foot from the bank. So pitched it out and could tell it dont want that anywhere near the bed. 2nd pitch finally got it hooked and caught. So probably a jig would work as well. As soon as the skirt flared up on the chatterbait it was mad lol. Just my experience. And I targeted this for over a hour

[Mike L]

If she don't want to bite she's not going too.

Now, that being said she still will protect her nest.

I zeroed in on a hog one time and she just wouldn't hit anything in and around the nest, like you I threw everything I had at her and couldn't make her mad enough to commit.

Since it was a cloudy day with no shadows I backed off, sat down on some rocks about 10ft from shore and waited. I couldn't see her where I was but I knew she wasn't going anywhere.

Every time someone would come along I shooed them away and told them what I was doing. They all understood and a few stayed, but I made them sit behind me about 10ft and to be quiet.

You should have seen 5 grown men sitting on some rocks and waiting.

I joked that we looked like a bunch of expectant fathers in a maternity ward!

After about 20min I got as small as I could and side armed a weightless, white centepede over all the clutter on shore. It hit the water about 5ft from the nest and I waited another 5 minutes or so, and then started reeling very slow and then stopping every 3 or 4 revolutions.

One of the guys sitting behind me was about 6'3". He stood and backed up slowly and following my line guided me to where the nest was.

I crawled about 3 ft to my left one time and he said you're right there keep coming..

I stopped it at the edge, turned the handle about 1/2 turn, she came off and nailed it!!

We yelled like we were at a HS football game!!

All I had was one of those spring loaded scales and it said 7lb. I swear she was closer to 8 1/2. Anyway, I released her pretty quick.

True story

Moral of the story...With all the activity around her with every mothers son trying to get her, she knew you and everyone else were there when you got out of your car.

Mike

[J Francho]

Females don't bed. It's the males that build and guard the nest. A single female will wander, briefly visit and spawn with a male, and then leaves, possibly to spawn with another male.

[aeb603]

If she don't want to bite she's not going too.

Now, that being said she still will protect her nest.

I zeroed in on a hog one time and she just wouldn't hit anything in and around the nest, like you I threw everything I had at her and couldn't make her mad enough to commit.

Since it was a cloudy day with no shadows I backed off, sat down on some rocks about 10ft from shore and waited. I couldn't see her where I was but I knew she wasn't going anywhere.

Every time someone would come along I shooed them away and told them what I was doing. They all understood and a few stayed, but I made them sit behind me about 10ft and to be quiet.

You should have seen 5 grown men sitting on some rocks and waiting.

I joked that we looked like a bunch of expectant fathers in a maternity ward!

After about 20min I got as small as I could and side armed a weightless, white centepede over all the clutter on shore. It hit the water about 5ft from the nest and I waited another 5 minutes or so, and then started reeling very slow and then stopping every 3 or 4 revolutions.

One of the guys sitting behind me was about 6'3". He stood and backed up slowly and following my line guided me to where the nest was.

I crawled about 3 ft to my left one time and he said you're right there keep coming..

I stopped it at the edge, turned the handle about 1/2 turn, she came off and nailed it!!

We yelled like we were at a HS football game!!

All I had was one of those spring loaded scales and it said 7lb. I swear she was closer to 8 1/2. Anyway, I released her pretty quick.

True story

Moral of the story...With all the activity around her with every mothers son trying to get her, she knew you and everyone else were there when you got out of your car.

Mike

hahahaha great story! laughed the whole time while reading and picturing it in my head. thanks mike

[Mike L]

Females don't bed. It's the males that build and guard the nest. A single female will wander, briefly visit and spawn with a male, and then leaves, possibly to spawn with another male.

Yes I know, you're right of course, Thank You

This fish was full, it looked like she was ready to bust open.

Mike

[J Francho]

Females locked into a male on a bed are really tough to get to bite. They never seem defensive, mostly the opposite, or uninterested. Cruisers, just beyond can be s better target.

[Ozark_Basser]

Females locked into a male on a bed are really tough to get to bite. They never seem defensive, mostly the opposite, or uninterested. Cruisers, just beyond can be s better target.

What you're saying is true, but I have caught quite a few females off of beds. Do you not think it's very likely to see a female on a bed during the spawn?

[J Francho]

Whenever I see a female on a bed, she's spawning, about to spawn, or just finished. I leave those fish alone. Males on a nest, I'll tease them, or search for cruisers.

[Kevin22]

Females that you can see near beds are tricky to catch. If they are with a male by a bed, it is very very difficult. 

 

I know its not as sporting to some, but I also fish an area heavily pressured and I do catch the bigger ones on beds that others can't get to bite. Some don't like me for it, but hey I toss them back so what does it matter what I caught it on? Anyhow, a whole LIVELY nightcrawler with a #6 hook buried in the head and 4# fluoro line (if open water, otherwise usually 8#). Let it fall in the bed or a place she is consistently swimming past, and don't move it. Just let it sit there and wiggle around on the bottom. Sometimes it takes as much as 5-10 minutes of watching for the fish to finally pick it up. When she does, get ready! That worm will go in a little, then get sucked in all the way. You have about a second to set the hook before that worm shoots back out... if she does that, then you have to do it all over again. 

 

I've tried the same technique with every plastic worm I've ever owned and they won't touch it. 

 

 

Now, fishing for females off the beds when they are just staged up and not looking to do "the business" yet is a totally different situation.. those will absolutely hit traditional baits. 

[*Hank]

Fish a dropshot right on top of the bed!

I agree,that's worked for me this year!

[J Francho]

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