Suspended bass

[PennBass]

Went bank fishing yesterday and I could see a few really big bass hanging around a bluegill school. Every once in a while a bass would suddenly dart out and eat a bluegill.

i tried everything I had, including wacky rigs, spinnerbaits, etc. but couldn't get them to bite even when I literally hit them on the head. 

Do you guys have any luck with these fish?

[WRB]

Bluegill swimbait and stay far enough away where you can't see the bass.

Tom

[geo g]

I will go with a weightless fluke and let it slowly sink through the water column and then jerk and stop at the desired depth.  It will be an erratic presentation.  Like a dying wounded fish.

[papajoe222]

1 hour ago, WRB said:

 stay far enough away where you can't see the bass.

Tom

This can not be stressed enough. If you can't back off, crouch down.  I will even crouch down in the boat when I can back off.  The position of a bass' eyes gives them excellent vision above and to the sides. Long casts put you at the edge of, or out of their field of vision.  Be sure that your equipment will insure a good hook set on those long casts.  It's frustrating enough to see them and not have them bite. There's a much higher level of frustration when you're finally able to get bit, only to never get the hook in them.

[Fish the Mitt]

I'll reference two suggestions. One of which was articulated well by @papajoe222 above. Essentially, if you can see what they're doing. They can see you. No dice!

The other is your mention of them feasting on bluegill. If you see them actively forging on bluegill, why throw a worm? Why a spinnerbait? Unless of course it was BG colored. If you see bass eating craw, are you going to throw a minnow? Nope. You throw a craw imitation.

Remember, they will tell you what they want. If they don't tell you, sometimes you can see. In this case, you saw what they wanted. Go with it!

Just my two pennies worth anyways!

[PennBass]

3 minutes ago, SemperBass said:

I'll reference two suggestions. One of which was articulated well by @papajoe222 above. Essentially, if you can see what they're doing. They can see you. No dice!

The other is your mention of them feasting on bluegill. If you see them actively forging on bluegill, why throw a worm? Why a spinnerbait? Unless of course it was BG colored. If you see bass eating craw, are you going to throw a minnow? Nope. You throw a craw imitation.

Remember, they will tell you what they want. If they don't tell you, sometimes you can see. In this case, you saw what they wanted. Go with it!

Just my two pennies worth anyways!

 

2 hours ago, geo g said:

I will go with a weightless fluke and let it slowly sink through the water column and then jerk and stop at the desired depth.  It will be an erratic presentation.  Like a dying wounded fish.

I did try a sunfish colored zoom fluke but they weren't interested either (didn't even look). Are some fish just uncatchable?

[geo g]

3 minutes ago, PennBass said:

 

I did try a sunfish colored zoom fluke but they weren't interested either (didn't even look). Are some fish just uncatchable?

I'm sure there are some, but if you saw them attacking bait fish they will attack your bait if you find the right bait.

[Fish the Mitt]

Just now, geo g said:

I'm sure there are some, but if you saw them attacking bait fish they will attack your bait if you find the right bait.

Agree to this as well. Logic tells us that if fish are snacking on craw, you throw craw. However, there's always adjustments that need to be made. Like anything in fishing, adjustments must be accounted for. 

I think the biggest thing with your situation is the fact you could see them not interested in your bait. To me, that is telling me that it's less about the bait, and more about the fact they knew you were there. 

For instance, I fish in a kayak so I when I see fish, I'm pretty fricken close. Of course, like anyone else that close, I see fish on beds and when I see a nice one I'll try to get it. However, I 'm so close NOTHING works. I have to force myself to back off, trust that the bass is still there, and throw various things until I get a bite. If I don't get bit, I don't necessarily blame the bait. I could have spooked him, he could have moved on, etc..

 

This is literally mother natures 3-D chess game. You win some and you lose some. To many variables to blame one certain thing.