Bass Tactics

[monkeyman3dee]

I was at a local reservoir in the bay area in california, anchored in a nice cove. Hooked into some trout, but while the trout bait was soaking, i was casting around some sunken trees/rocky points for bass. The water clarity was really good, i was throwing a small squarebill. near the boat, i saw 3-4 bass chasing my crank, none of them commited. Switching to a spinnerbait i was casting the opposite side, a nice looking lone bass followed the bait again to the boat and swam away. Finally was throwing a topwater in the same area, and one hit it (first topwater bite ever!) I waited a few seconds before I set the hook (i noticed i did a side sweeping hookset) but for some reason (maybe waiting too long?) he threw the hook. Rod didn't even load up. xD It was fun actually seeing the fish and knowing I was in a good spot, but frustrating when I couldnt get them to commit. in this cove they seemed to be deep and shallow at the same time

 

 

In this situation, when you locate bass, and see they are active, but will only chase baits, what do you do?

 

 

If it helps any, the spawn is pretty much over in this body of water, as they were on their beds early-mid march.

 

Thanks!

-Joshua

[WRB]

Fishing is clear water allows you to see bass you wouldn't otherwise when fishing in water with a few feet of water clarity. The bass were interested in the lures and followed them out of curuoisty, not necessarily hunting them. Why did you stop using the top lure?

Mid day bass fishing usually means slowing down if the surface water is flat, you need some wave action or some ripple on the water surface with flashy lures. Next time try a drop or slip shot rigged 5" worm in Shad color like Roboworm bait-ball and drag it along the bottom.

Tom

PS, hope you have a 2 rod stamp on your license.

[MainelyBASS]

Seems like slowing down will help quite a bit. If it was interested but didn't commit my favorite thing to do is throw back with a soft plastic like WRB said, something small and natural colored, especially if the water is clear. Drop shot, or wacky rigged senkos always trigger a bite for me.

[monkeyman3dee]

Fishing is clear water allows you to see bass you wouldn't otherwise when fishing in water with a few feet of water clarity. The bass were interested in the lures and followed them out of curuoisty, not necessarily hunting them. Why did you stop using the top lure?

Mid day bass fishing usually means slowing down if the surface water is flat, you need some wave action or some ripple on the water surface with flashy lures. Next time try a drop or slip shot rigged 5" worm in Shad color like Roboworm bait-ball and drag it along the bottom.

Tom

PS, hope you have a 2 rod stamp on your license.

Yup, Proudly sporting the two rod stamp 

 

That was my gut feeling, Next time I will switch to finesse, thanks for the knowledge, every trip helps me be a better strategist for the next one!! I will definitely take into consideration the condition of the water, now I think of it the water was relatively flat. Funny I always bring my tacklebox to fish a variety of styles, but end up being stubborn and sticking with one!!

 

The top water was a last minute cast before we were heading back to the dock!

[mwh33]

If there are a lot of trout you can always try swimbaits that are trout color. Bass do feed on trout.

Like other guys have suggested slowing the presentation down does help. I would have kept going with topwater since you did get a fish to commit on it.

[KayakBasser]

     Ive found 3 to 4 inch sections of senkos(no weight) are great for targeting river bass, especially the sluggish ones.

[*Hank]

Drop shot a Gyb thin senko or roboworm straight tail and you will get bites.

[Fisherman)]

I usually will stick to the same lure if I see them following it to the boat. Might change up my retrieve a bit and fish the area more thoroughly

[rybobassmaster]

I was at a local reservoir in the bay area in california, anchored in a nice cove. Hooked into some trout, but while the trout bait was soaking, i was casting around some sunken trees/rocky points for bass. The water clarity was really good, i was throwing a small squarebill. near the boat, i saw 3-4 bass chasing my crank, none of them commited. Switching to a spinnerbait i was casting the opposite side, a nice looking lone bass followed the bait again to the boat and swam away. Finally was throwing a topwater in the same area, and one hit it (first topwater bite ever!) I waited a few seconds before I set the hook (i noticed i did a side sweeping hookset) but for some reason (maybe waiting too long?) he threw the hook. Rod didn't even load up. xD It was fun actually seeing the fish and knowing I was in a good spot, but frustrating when I couldnt get them to commit. in this cove they seemed to be deep and shallow at the same time

 

 

In this situation, when you locate bass, and see they are active, but will only chase baits, what do you do?

 

 

If it helps any, the spawn is pretty much over in this body of water, as they were on their beds early-mid march.

 

Thanks!

-Joshua

you could try a fluke aswell .

[frogflogger]

In that situation I use - long casts - fine line - small natural colored/shaped lures

[HoosierHawgs]

If they are following your lure, but not committing, the best way to get them to commit to that bait is to make a sudden direction, depth, or speed change, which will often cause a reaction strike from the bass. With the crankbait, you can deflect it off cover, use a stop and go preentation or jerk the rod every so often. With the spinnerbait, you can speed it up, slow it down, suddenly kill it, or jerk the rod. All of these will cause a reaction strike from a following fish. Musky guys do this by making Figure-Eights or L-Turns, these may be worth a try too.