Finding Beds

[MikeWright]

Is there any tale tell signs to finding a bed if you can't actually see into the water and bank fishing? I want to fish beds...I just have no clue how to locate them because I can only see 3-4 feet down from the shores...or are beds everywhere and anywhere? 

[frosty]

Are you wearing polarized glasses? Those will definitely help, around here it seems like most of them that I see are pretty shallow when they are on the beds. 

[holeshot]

It has been my experience that bass make their beds almost anywhere...usually from 1 to 3 feet in depth.....often there is some type of overhead obstruction (limb, bush etc.) but not always...the most unusual bed I have found in 50 years of bass fishing was in the middle of a cove about 2-3 feet deep on top of a car hood...( have no idea where the rest of the car was...!!

 

Please remember that we need to release the fish yu catch off of a bed in that same area because this is nature's way of

re-stocking our lakes ...even if it is a fish worthy worth showing to friends, riding a fish around in your live well an then releasing it back at the ramp...is NOT a good idea..!!

[Catt]

Anything firm; firm bottom, "car top", piece of plywood, chunk of concrete, any thing firm that will not wash away or silt over too easily.

 

I seen beds from bank shallow out to 8'.

 

Texas Parks & Wildlife Department biologist Clarence Bowling says studies have shown that a female (when handled properly) will simply locate a bed and an available male in the area where she is released and complete spawning.

[scaleface]

They will bed on stumps too .

[Catt]

Ya gotta look for usual spots, sometimes lighter colored areas & look for bass as well.

[Mike L]

At a tournament on Okeechobee last weekend we pulled into an area that both my boater and I knew it had a hard shell bottom.

Believe me when I tell you there must have been 500 beds in a 100 yard area.

They were right next to each other in a line. Move 5 ft and another line. Darnest thing we ever saw, all in 1.5 to 1.8 fow. 

 

This area was 100 yards from a reed line with submerged hydrilla and emerging Kissimmee grass surrounding it. 

Crazy thing was there was only 1 female still on a bed. My boater asked if I wanted to try and get her and I said no. If you want go ahead but I'd rather leave her alone. 

This was in a B.A.S.S. Nations pro am qualifier for the State Championship so there was a lot on the line. 

 

Point is, if you don't have an area that was suggested to look for, just look for the shallowest area with a hard bottom and chances are you'll find a bed or 2.

 

 

 

Mike 

 

[J Francho]

Generally, as visibility decreases, so does the depth that fish bed.  Look for well protected flats adjacent to deep water. 

[geo g]

I have fished a number of spots in the everglades over the last month and have seen no signs of bedding in the usual spots.  The exotic population is so thick out there that the bass population must be harassed by these aggressive imports.  They are going to bed somewhere, but along the glades canals you can not throw a bait without getting hit by an Oscar, or some other import.  They are relentless right now, and will hit a bait five or six times on every cast.  It is unbelievable in some areas.  With a small crankbait, or a small spinner with small trebles, you could catch hundreds of these imports.  Bedding bass would be in constant defense mode from these aggressive fish.  

 

Beds are usually in hard bottom areas with rock, sand, or shell bottom.  The canals usually have hard rock shelf flats along the sides which are traditionally good bedding areas.  Not this year!

[hunterPRO1]

37 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Generally, as visibility decreases, so does the depth that fish bed.  Look for well protected flats adjacent to deep water. 

so a brush pile in 2 foot of water with a 15 foot drop right after the brush is probably a good bet, 

[NCbassraider]

3 hours ago, Catt said:

 

 

Texas Parks & Wildlife Department biologist Clarence Bowling says studies have shown that a female (when handled properly) will simply locate a bed and an available male in the area where she is released and complete spawning.

 

The female is not the issue.  The male protects the bed and pulling them off the beds is not a good idea.  If you don't release them immediately and in the same area there is a chance they will not return to the bed.

 

I watch the beds in my lake and the male Bass is constantly chasing off blue gill and carp that try to eat the eggs.  Sometimes when they are chasing one blue gill off another will jump in the bed and start eating so pulling them out of the water for even a minute can do a lot of harm.

[Catt]

6 minutes ago, NCbassraider said:

The female is not the issue.  The male protects the bed and pulling them off the beds is not a good idea.  If you don't release them immediately and in the same area there is a chance they will not return to the bed.

 

I watch the beds in my lake and the male Bass is constantly chasing off blue gill and carp that try to eat the eggs.  Sometimes when they are chasing one blue gill off another will jump in the bed and start eating so pulling them out of the water for even a minute can do a lot of harm.

 

From the late Ken Cook; tournament angler & Oklahoma Marine Biologist

 

Conventional knowledge indicates that the male bass builds the nest, fans it out and guards it (zealously). Generally, a good male that is aggressive and active will attract more than one female to his nest and spawn with each of them. Along with that, an active female will spawn a number of times and, in most cases, ina number of different males' nests. She moves down the shoreline making it with different males. The male sits in one spot and waits for more females to come by. I think that is sort of a hedge (on the part of the female) against an infertile male spoiling the hatch of a good fertile female. So she spread her eggs around and he spreads his fertility around. That ensures a higher success rate for that spawn.

 That is important knowledge for fishermen, because most people think that once the female leaves the bed, only the male is left. It is true that the female only guards the nest for a short time before moving away, but other females will come to that nest. The other thing to keep in mind is that this isn't a long, drawn-out process. Once the water reaches the upper 60 degrees, which is ideal, it only takes about three or four days for the eggs to hatch. I think the male will spend about six weeks on the beds as the females rotate through, but the whole spawning season happens over three full moons, bringing a new wave of spawning with get full moon period.

 Cook emphasizes that understanding the spawning habits of the female bass will significantly improve your chances of catching some of the biggest bass of the year. He believes that the female often moves on and off of the bed to deposit more eggs (hatchery studies support this claim). Few females drop all of their eggs at once. Instead, they expel a portion and then move off to a nearbybreakline, bush or grass edge.

 It is this sporadic purging of eggs and the ability to spawn with different males on several nests that keeps the annual spring bedding season from being severely impacted by large tournaments. 

[J Francho]

1 hour ago, hunterPRO1 said:

so a brush pile in 2 foot of water with a 15 foot drop right after the brush is probably a good bet, 

 

I don't know.  Is it protected?  Or does it get blasted by waves and wind?  What about boat traffic?  I tend to find quantities of beds in larger areas, though old cribs, docks, brush piles, submerged timber are good attractors.

[hunterPRO1]

It's mostly protected from wind and no boats what so ever.

 

And there is a bed there, I just found it.

[WRB]

I just watched Mike Iconelli fishing the Patomac River on the Zona show, this is a 2 part program that is worth watching. Consider both Zona and Ike are pro's they both over looked the bass were spawning during the 1st day on the water. Bed fish are not easy to detect in off color water and they stumbled onto beds the second day fishing the exact same area as day 1. This was Ike's home waters where he grew up fishing and overlooked the obvious....water temps in the mid 60's during spring.

Soft plastics fished slow or even dead sticked are your best choice during the spawn.

Tom

 

[J Francho]

46 minutes ago, hunterPRO1 said:

It's mostly protected from wind and no boats what so ever.

 

And there is a bed there, I just found it.

 

Perfect.  That's the type of place you want to look for more of.

[frosty]

4 hours ago, Catt said:

 

From the late Ken Cook; tournament angler & Oklahoma Marine Biologist

 

Conventional knowledge indicates that the male bass builds the nest, fans it out and guards it (zealously). Generally, a good male that is aggressive and active will attract more than one female to his nest and spawn with each of them. Along with that, an active female will spawn a number of times and, in most cases, ina number of different males' nests. She moves down the shoreline making it with different males. The male sits in one spot and waits for more females to come by. I think that is sort of a hedge (on the part of the female) against an infertile male spoiling the hatch of a good fertile female. So she spread her eggs around and he spreads his fertility around. That ensures a higher success rate for that spawn.

 That is important knowledge for fishermen, because most people think that once the female leaves the bed, only the male is left. It is true that the female only guards the nest for a short time before moving away, but other females will come to that nest. The other thing to keep in mind is that this isn't a long, drawn-out process. Once the water reaches the upper 60 degrees, which is ideal, it only takes about three or four days for the eggs to hatch. I think the male will spend about six weeks on the beds as the females rotate through, but the whole spawning season happens over three full moons, bringing a new wave of spawning with get full moon period.

 Cook emphasizes that understanding the spawning habits of the female bass will significantly improve your chances of catching some of the biggest bass of the year. He believes that the female often moves on and off of the bed to deposit more eggs (hatchery studies support this claim). Few females drop all of their eggs at once. Instead, they expel a portion and then move off to a nearbybreakline, bush or grass edge.

 It is this sporadic purging of eggs and the ability to spawn with different males on several nests that keeps the annual spring bedding season from being severely impacted by large tournaments. 

So basically female bass are complete tramps and will lay their eggs in any studly males nest without thinking twice?

[A-Jay]

10 minutes ago, frosty said:

So basically female bass are complete tramps and will lay their eggs in any studly males nest without thinking twice?

 

Which in my eyes is one of their most endearing qualities  ..  ..  .. 

A-Jay

[MikeWright]

Thanks everyone for all of the information, it really helped me understand d where to look more, hopefully I can catch a big mama and as directed from here I will promptly release her, does this mean I can't take a weight? Or is that too much time from the water? 

[HookRz]

The most important reason to identify bedding areas is to know where not to fish to insure successful spawns. Tournaments should be banned during the spawn. 

[Catt]

39 minutes ago, HookRz said:

The most important reason to identify bedding areas is to know where not to fish to insure successful spawns. Tournaments should be banned during the spawn. 

 

Think I'll go with what Biologist say

[TheGreatOne]

12 hours ago, geo g said:

I have fished a number of spots in the everglades over the last month and have seen no signs of bedding in the usual spots.  The exotic population is so thick out there that the bass population must be harassed by these aggressive imports.  They are going to bed somewhere, but along the glades canals you can not throw a bait without getting hit by an Oscar, or some other import.  They are relentless right now, and will hit a bait five or six times on every cast.  It is unbelievable in some areas.  With a small crankbait, or a small spinner with small trebles, you could catch hundreds of these imports.  Bedding bass would be in constant defense mode from these aggressive fish.  

 

Beds are usually in hard bottom areas with rock, sand, or shell bottom.  The canals usually have hard rock shelf flats along the sides which are traditionally good bedding areas.  Not this year!

Catch the oscars as many as you can and take them out. Help a largie out!?

[HookRz]

4 hours ago, Catt said:

 

Think I'll go with what Biologist say

If you filter for what you read in fishing magazines and from states benefiting from bed fishing tourism, that is, those with a financial interest, I agree 100%. 

[Catt]

3 hours ago, HookRz said:

If you filter for what you read in fishing magazines and from states benefiting from bed fishing tourism, that is, those with a financial interest, I agree 100%. 

 

Or you can go & spend hours going through file cabinet after file cabinet of research data at your local Wildlife & Fisheries office (they'll let ya). And you can spend hours working with Biologist on your home lake building spawning beds. And you can spend countless hours attending meeting of the Sabine River Authority learning your body of water.

 

Oh by the way where ya get your info?

[Sam]

Lots of information for you to digest above but it is all correct.

Now, to add to the issue:

1.  Bass want "hard bottoms" to prepare their beds.

2.  Look for a "white area" that has been cleaned out of debris and bottom slop.

3.  Look for a smaller male guarding the area.

4.  The female may be in the area but she usually leaves after she lays the eggs.

5.  You need polarized sun glasses to see into the water.

6.  The bass like shallow water, if possible. They spawn where they can in the waters they live.

So get in your boat; pull up the motor out of the water; put the trolling motor down; add sunglasses and a cap to block the sun and surface glare; and go real slow along the bank looking for white patches or other discolorations on the bottom.

Have fun and let us know if you find any beds.

12 hours ago, A-Jay said:

 

Which in my eyes is one of their most endearing qualities  ..  ..  .. 

A-Jay