Schools Of Bait In 10-15ft, How would you fish them?

[Bigfoote]

This weekend I was seeing schools of smaller fish everywhere. I stopped and jigged a few to confirm what they were. It was bluegills, yellow perch and crappie. Sometimes all schooled together.

 

I tried a jig with a grub & swimbait trailer in bluegill colors, jig in more of a perch coloring, deep & medium crankbaits in bluegill, shad and perch patterns, spinners and eventually tried a senko dropped through the school. 

 

Beside some very small bass and big crappie, I couldn't get anything to bite. I could see larger fish on the electronics around them. All my descent fish were caught flipping into the lilypads. 

 

It seems impossible they weren't feeding on them with all the schools of bait. Give me some ideas on how to hit them.

 

Water temp was 68 at surface, natural lake with weeds out to 15ft but surface weeds stop at about 5ft. Clear water, about 8-10ft visibility.

[Big Hands]

1/4 oz slab jigged off the bottom at the deep edge of the weeds.

 

If you hook something small, reel it in very, very slowly. Almost like you're not reeling it in at all. . .

[MediumMouthBass]

Try a larger live minnow, or the bigger version of the gulp minnow on a jighead, if that doesnt work a Rapala Jigging Rap in the larger sizes, a spoon vertically jigged, wacky worm, or a football jig. The larger fish there are going to have alot of baitfish to be able to feed on, so try something that is similar to whats down there, but different enough to make the bass think it may be dieing or fleeing from the bait ball.

[WRB]

Unusual to find Bluegills schooled with pelagic crappie and perch. Sounds like a thermocline maybe developing.

In this situation a 1/4 oz Shad color swim jig with a blade and 2.8 Keitech shad color swimmer tends to work.

Tom

 

[papajoe222]

IF there were bass using the schools to feed on, which is very likely, your timing was likely off.  Bass have feeding windows and although they can be caught using different approaches when they aren't feeding, getting their attention immediately after one of those windows can be frustrating. 

You didn't say how deep the baitfish were in relation to the the depth of the water they were holding was.

My choice would be something like a Razor blade spinnerbait, or a crank that won't kick out when burned, like a Speed N from Bill Norman. If you can get a reaction strike from a fish or two, it may fire up the other fish in that area.

If you suspect the bass are holding in the nearby weeds, something buzzed over their heads may do the same thing.

[Bigfoote]

3 hours ago, MediumMouthBass said:

Try a larger live minnow, or the bigger version of the gulp minnow on a jighead, if that doesnt work a Rapala Jigging Rap in the larger sizes, a spoon vertically jigged, wacky worm, or a football jig. The larger fish there are going to have alot of baitfish to be able to feed on, so try something that is similar to whats down there, but different enough to make the bass think it may be dieing or fleeing from the bait ball.

 

Oh, that's a good idea, with all the food, it might take some time to notice me.

 

2 hours ago, papajoe222 said:

IF there were bass using the schools to feed on, which is very likely, your timing was likely off.  Bass have feeding windows and although they can be caught using different approaches when they aren't feeding, getting their attention immediately after one of those windows can be frustrating. 

You didn't say how deep the baitfish were in relation to the the depth of the water they were holding was.

My choice would be something like a Razor blade spinnerbait, or a crank that won't kick out when burned, like a Speed N from Bill Norman. If you can get a reaction strike from a fish or two, it may fire up the other fish in that area.

If you suspect the bass are holding in the nearby weeds, something buzzed over their heads may do the same thing.

 

I had that feeling as well. There is so much food available and they are essentially in open water. Not much cover to ambush from, it was bright at this point too. They were about 2-3' off the bottom, in 15' of water the school would be in a ball from about 8 to 12'. 

 

3 hours ago, WRB said:

Unusual to find Bluegills schooled with pelagic crappie and perch. Sounds like a thermocline maybe developing.

In this situation a 1/4 oz Shad color swim jig with a blade and 2.8 Keitech shad color swimmer tends to work.

Tom

 

 

I have exactly that, will give it a shoot. 

 

3 hours ago, Big Hands said:

1/4 oz slab jigged off the bottom at the deep edge of the weeds.

 

If you hook something small, reel it in very, very slowly. Almost like you're not reeling it in at all. . .

 

  The ole' dead stick trick.

 

[Catt]

From what you're describing I wouldn't fish it, I would move on.

[Mike L]

12 minutes ago, Catt said:

From what you're describing I wouldn't fish it, I would move on.

Agree,

IF there is bass are on your school they’re telling you they’re locked in and sometimes they don’t want to be bothered 

 

I’d go back and flip the pads you’re having success in

 

 

 

 

Mike

[A-Jay]

Not every school of bait has feeding bass on it;

and especially not all day long.

As mentioned here already, timing might be key.

I've sat on & fished bait schools for weeks at a time waiting for bass to show.

If it's not in an area that the bass routinely 'use' IME, that bait will often go completely unmolested.

Happens on  many of the bigger inland lakes I frequent quite a bit and especially in the fall.

Did I mention I hate suspended bass ?

A-Jay

 

 

[Swamp Girl]

1 hour ago, Catt said:

From what you're describing I wouldn't fish it, I would move on.

 

About a month ago, for two days, I saw bass chasing shad. I don't have electronics, but all around me, bass were lunging after shad. I couldn't catch a single fish. I think they too focused on shad to consider any of the many lures I tried. After two sessions of failing, I fished elsewhere and caught plenty that way. 

[Catt]

28 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Not every school of bait has feeding bass on it;

and especially not all day long.

 

The old saying; find the bait, find the bass doesn't always hold true.

 

There will be times where you will find bait & no bass.

 

And there will be times where you will find bass & no bait.

 

10 hours ago, Bigfoote said:

I could see larger fish on the electronics around them.

 

This doesn't mean you were seeing bass.

 

10 hours ago, Bigfoote said:

Beside some very small bass and big crappie, I couldn't get anything to bite.

 

This is my clue to move on

[Jig Man]

Yesterday up the James River on Table Rock shad were everywhere and only gar seemed to be feeding on them.  The bass were close to the bank in 2-5 fow.  There are miles of the river with millions of threadfin shad.

[casts_by_fly]

I had this scenario a couple weeks ago.  Small natural lake, similar weed conditions as you describe.  Shad were everywhere in big balls.  I could watch them on mega live.  Later in the evening they were on the surface and you could see them individually.  There was nothing feeding on them as they roamed the open water.

 

My theory was that the bass were just hanging out on the weed edges and waiting for the schools to pass.  Anything that got too close would get nabbed.  So I ignored the schools and worked the grass edges with a shad crankbait.  In my case, a DT series across the top of the deep weeds (DT14/16).  I'm sure other options would have worked similarly.

[Cbump]

I’ve learned a lot with livescope. Like not to waste time with most bait balls. 
A lot recently I’ve seen bait everywhere. My 2D sonar shows the bait but also seems to show arches that would indicate bigger fish around the bait. My Livescope shows the bait ball intact moving around and clearly not getting hammered on by anything substantial. 

[MN Fisher]

I'm in agreement with several others here - not all bait-balls have bass chasing them.

 

Example: Yesterday I was out, saw several bait-balls on my downscan...never saw one fish come out of the weeds to 'attack' the ball. I did try running things through or over the weeds...not even one tap. I'd move on...which is what I'll do in the future unless I 'see' something on sonar.

[WRB]

The fact the bait is balled up means they are being attacked by predators. If the bait looks like a elongated cloud loosely formed indicates they are not being harassed by predators.

It’s worth a try If balled up.

Tom