Tips on spawning bass?

[Nunz]

Up here in MA the bass finally started making and guarding beds. I was sightfishing yesterday from shore, and could see plenty of 1-4 pounders. Trying everything from senkos, beavers, and finesse jigs to lipless, jerkbaits and spinnerbaits, i casted right to them and past them, but could trigger nothing more than aggressive followings and eventually a retreat after getting within a few inches of my lures. The only bass of the day i caught was from blind casting a weightless wacky rig into the deepest part of the cove. Any tips on how to trigger the bites? I would typically swim cranks by the bass and slow them down slightly, and would fish creature bites near the beds as if they were a craw or fish foraging for eggs, but whenever the bass came close they would retreat, as if they were scared. I saw them chasing and biting at bluegill all day too. Any advice would help, thanks. 

[ratherbfishin1]

Tie on a small tube with a small weight and just hit the bass in the nose with it and eventually it will take it.  Be ready because they will spit it out a split second later.

[Preytorien]

In my observations spawning bass are so difficult to catch that it's almost not worth it unless you see your PB or another kind of record down there. I don't even cast to them. In almost every case there's a bass a few feet further offshore that's more than willing to chase down a bait. I only have so much time to fish in a day, I don't typically consider it a good use of that time to just bang a fish on the end of his nose to tempt him to bite.

[TOXIC]

You have to get the bait into the bed and in some cases the right part of the bed to trigger them.  You can't drag through the bed and catch them.  Dropshot or tube will work.  I throw a Yamamoto DShad and let it flutter right down into the bed.  Smallmouth get totally stupid once they lock on the bed.  I had a buddy catch one on a piece of shoestring as bait.  

[bhoff]

If you are really wanting to catch a bedding fish then I would say just be patient and persistent. Sometimes I have luck with just casting to the bed so many times the fish eventually gets fed up with it and strikes.

[J Francho]

My #1 tip: https://www.bassresource.com/fishing/dropshot-bedding-bass.html

[Jlsfishing]

On 5/14/2018 at 12:50 PM, ratherbfishin1 said:

Tie on a small tube with a small weight and just hit the bass in the nose with it and eventually it will take it.  Be ready because they will spit it out a split second later.

I completely agree. I’m from the Deep South and not many ppl flip tubes around here. Just something different that the fish don’t see much can make all the difference. Be persistent!!! Some bass will hit on first pitch in but sometimes it takes multiple pitches in there to get bit. If the bass stays on bed and doesn’t spook easy, those are easier to catch. You will also notice a spot in the bed where the bass will nose down on the bait. That’s the key spot. You keep putting your tube on that spot and you will get bit eventually. 

[All about da bass]

1 minute ago, LTBAndrew said:

Believe it or not, big swimbaits (especially shaped like bluegill) are a great way to approach fishing a bed. Bring it across the bed multiple times to get the bass agitated. They don't like having that predator near their eggs, so they become very territorial and aggressive. Once they get super fired up and agitated, they'll pop the swimbait on just about every cast and start swimming in small circles. Then you pretty much have them in the boat. Just toss a tube, heavier drop shot or a jig on the bed and they'll slam it. 

I love to throw those big blue gill swim baits on the beds. They  have worked great for me this season.

[J.Vincent]

If you have tried standard plastics on the bedding site and it's not provoking a strike or pickup, then try moving a ChatterBait over the bedding site a few times. Those blades make a lot of noise and move a lot of water, and I've found this really puts the bass in a more aggressive mood. After 1 or 2 casts of the ChatterBait , you can usually see the mood of the bass change, they may even chase the ChatterBait away. If you can get them to chase a bait, then you have them prepped for the next step. Go back to the plastic tube approach and dead stick it on the bedding site. Eventually the bass will pick up the bait and move it. This can take 30 seconds or 30 minutes of alternating between these two baits, but I guarantee it will work.

30 minutes ago, LTBAndrew said:

Believe it or not, big swimbaits (especially shaped like bluegill) are a great way to approach fishing a bed. Bring it across the bed multiple times to get the bass agitated. They don't like having that predator near their eggs, so they become very territorial and aggressive. Once they get super fired up and agitated, they'll pop the swimbait on just about every cast and start swimming in small circles. Then you pretty much have them in the boat. Just toss a tube, heavier drop shot or a jig on the bed and they'll slam it. 

Yes , this is also a very good method probably one of the best, I like a ChatterBait in place of the swim bait , but the idea of provoking a defensive instinct is very similar.