Bedding Bass; Whats your best way to catch-em

[ABLE2DISABLE1]

I have done pretty much of all these tactics,and they produce.Let us know some of your secrets.

[RockvilleMDAngler]

Wacky rigged senko twitched slowly on the bed.  A tube is also killer since the tentacles keep moving even when the bait is still.

[RoLo]

It's not so much about which lure is used (she's not eating),

the key is finding the hotspot on the bed that triggers her territorialism,

then keeping the lure at that spot as long as possible.

Roger

[ABLE2DISABLE1]

Finding the sweet spot is gold, the mean time you are ticking him or her off and they eat.But when you find the spot its over, no wait time necessary. What do you do when she is on the outside of the bed,NOCK her lights out with a rig of baits to the noggin and shell eat to.Aggression goes a long way.

[RoLo]

Finding the sweet spot is gold, the mean time you are ticking him or her off and they eat.

In my experience, she will not eat anything ('him' we don't care about).

When I get lucky, she will pick up the lure, swim outside her imprinted territory,

then expel the lure. Needless to say, it's the angler's job to set the hook en route.

Roger

[Bassin_Fin@tic]

You forgot jigs.I guess a lot of anglers use them for bedding, preferrably in white. I haven't though yet. In my short bed fishing experience I have found that t rigged craws and brush hogs work very well and dropshots with minnow baits or small swimbaits on them too. Sometimes a rattle works very well too.

[Randall]

Other than a swimbait like a Mattlures Bluegill when bass are chasing away Bluegills or other swimbait that looks and swims like a fish I have rarely seen the type of bait matter much as far as getting a strike because of the way the bait looks or what it imitates.

It's all about the angle that the bait is fished and the fall rate of the bait and retreive matching the mood of the fish. Alll bass aren't the same or in the same stage of the spawn so no one thing works for all fish.

[ABLE2DISABLE1]

Your right Randoll; but in my book, if you are fishing heavy or light weights,or baits, the mood of the fish dictates the presentation of the bait, you are using. So I could toss an once on the sweat spot and that bass will move the bait.Or you could use a lite pres to coast them into biting. No threat, so it takes longer for the fish to attack or bump your bait, let alone try to eat it, or just move it.I let my baits tell me the moods of the fish when you let them eat and spit the lure.If they do not drop it right away, they'll eat it, but most cases they pick up and spit it out.So what type of response out of the fish do you  want, which depends on the bait of your choice to get the response you want.Big Bait will be sized up, then bumped or eaten.Small Bait will be engulfed, looked upon as no threat,bumped,or plain blown out the bed.It depends on what type of response your looking for.

[salmicropterus]

I like to pitch a variation of a Rattle Trap called a Pro Trap. It's the one with the pull through hook and the little willow blade. Looks just like a bluegill divebombing some eggs on the bed. Works great on bedding peacocks as well

[ABLE2DISABLE1]

And with the vibration, is a vicious strike too.

[gar-tracker]

I like to toss a grenade in the bed.

[RoLo]

I like to toss a grenade in the bed.

SShhhh, that's supposed to be a secret

For those who never attempted to finesse a cow bass off her bed, it's a lot more difficult than one might imagine.

After a while, you will indeed think about buying some dynamite, but those background checks are murder

    

Roger

[gar-tracker]

Stick an Alka Seltzer in a worm, toss it in and hold on.

[PatRI]

Matt Lures bluegill is a great bedding bait.

[Chaz Hickcox]

I will usually take a baby bluegill, a baby crappie, or a threadfin shad (all Castaic original hard heads), cast past the beds then swim it to the bed and let it sink in the middle of it.  Usually this by itself will trigger the ol' boy to strike.  I also do the same thing with a weightless wacky worm.