Catching shallow largemouth busting on baitfish

[Acheron1377]

So I've had a few instances down here in Central Florida where I can see bass busting on baitfish in the shallows.  I have tried various baits but can Never seem to catch any of these fish.  Do you all have anything, lure wise, that is foolproof for you when you see busting fish that works to catch them?? Thanks in advance.

[wdp]

Well, nothing is full proof. But my best baits have been a Rapala Skitter Pop, Zoom Super Fluke, or SK Redeye Shad. 

[chattooga_ basser]

Seeing that kinda action and not get a bite is frustrating as heck.

 If it looks they are trapping minnows in the shallows I usually just try a weightless Super Fluke or Fluke Jr. and mix the retrieve up. 

If they are cruising for bream, etc then a wacky worm or small swim jig. But sometimes it seems like they just won't go for an artificial with so much live prey close by.

[lonnie g]

4 hours ago, wdp said:

Well, nothing is full proof. But my best baits have been a Rapala Sitter Pop, Zoom Super Fluke, or SK Redeye Shad. 

I like the red eye.

[TnRiver46]

That same thing happens around here a lot. I don't see it too often but a lot of fellow fishermen say you can see largemouth flying through the air but can't get them to bite anything. Most of the frenzies I see are white bass and they aren't nearly as picky as largemouth 

[MGranlund]

Way up north, the only luck I've had in those situations is a swimbait.

[IndianaFinesse]

Spooks, white buzzbaits, and inline spinners.  And it sounds strange, but a white frog will sometimes be the ticket for bass that are up on the surface busting shad.

[riverbasser]

Spooks and poppers. Worked a little quicker than normal

[RoLo]

I too live in central Florida, and know exactly what you're talking about.

Mimicking the prey is not always a free ticket to success.

 

Before anything else, it's important to identify the source of the commotion

(crappies & hybrids also create dancing whitewater).  One day on Lake Winterset

(I'll bet you know where that is) I threw everything at bass breaking water (i.e. shad jump).

I threw a tiny floating rapala, super fluke, Hopkins spoon, sabiki rig

and finally made contact with a plastic worm.  By that time the blitz was over,

so I had to settle for one little knucklehead. Bass break more rules than you & I do...LOL 

 

Roger

[wdp]

Yeah, like everybody else has said, it's hard to get em to bite sometimes when they're schooling like that & busting on pods of shad. Few months ago, I saw big ones up to 4-5 lbs totally coming outta the water. I'd run over there and cast right into the school of shad & nothing. After & hr or so of this, I finally hooked up twice on 2 dinks using a Redeye Shad. It can be frustrating. ?

[SFL BassHunter]

On ‎1‎/‎8‎/‎2017 at 10:29 AM, Acheron1377 said:

So I've had a few instances down here in Central Florida where I can see bass busting on baitfish in the shallows.  I have tried various baits but can Never seem to catch any of these fish.  Do you all have anything, lure wise, that is foolproof for you when you see busting fish that works to catch them?? Thanks in advance.

A stick bait, with no weight or 1/32 to 1/16oz bullet weight.  I have caught several fish that have busted on bait and followed it up with a sticko right onto the water swirl or right around it. Almost never fails. A vibe tail worm will work well too.

 

If it's a school busting on baitfish, a topwater lure like a spook has worked good.

[Luna2406]

This year I had decent luck throwing a weightless fluke to the outside of the bait ball and just jerking it along. 

[Acheron1377]

Thanks for the responses I'll give your suggestions a try.  Good luck everyone!

[hunterPRO1]

fluke 'n' spook

[frogflogger]

I had good results with a Furbit in those situations

[Hez]

On 1/8/2017 at 10:29 AM, Acheron1377 said:

So I've had a few instances down here in Central Florida where I can see bass busting on baitfish in the shallows.  I have tried various baits but can Never seem to catch any of these fish.  Do you all have anything, lure wise, that is foolproof for you when you see busting fish that works to catch them?? Thanks in advance.

 

Wecome to Bass Resource - I also live in Central Florida.  I also posted a similar topic in October - linked below.  I battle with the same thing you are dealing with.