bass hatch

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

We've noticed in the last few days that the bass fry are out in force.  Giant clouds of them.  I've been throwing a baby 1 minus thinking it might be time to crank up a few but the crank has been fruitless.  No problems catching on senko,jig,topwaters,etc but can't get one on a crank.  This lake doesn't have a baitfish forage other than bluegill so cranks aren't a big choice here but seeing how there's a hatch I figured we should throw them a bit.  Any ideas why these won't work? Is it maybe staying too high in the water column?

[Nick_Barr]

I would go with the too high in the water column. try a spoonbill jerkbait, or a deep diving crank (use like a jerkbait). they will go deeper and look more like it was aggressively feeding on these fry so "pops" comes along and wacks the crap out of your jerkbait.

[CJHooker]

I'm in the same boat.Can't get the crankbait bite going yet.I have been catching them on a rattle-l-trap though.Have you tried that?

[bassdocktor]

I've noticed the same thing. I've tried alot of different things myself except not much has worked. The only way I've been able to get fish to bite has been if I flip a tube into or near the fry clounds. The few times I've tried throwing a crank at them I also have had no luck. Personally I wondered if the fish that are by them are looking for a more opportunistic meal. My other thought has been they don't see the fast moving baits a threat if they are still in a protecting mode. That would explain why slow or more eratic things like tubes and senkos are working.

bassdocktor

[nwgabassmaster]

If I hadn't of talked to you earlier, I would think that you were crazy!  Bass fry, this late in the year!  LOL   ???

However, I know where you are from, and although it does seem a little late for the fry to be swimming around, I believe that you are using something that is too big.

Normally, when I see a school of fry, I fish a small spinnerbait through it.  I use colors that would mimic a bluegill 75% of the time.  So, that is what I would tell you to do.  Also, try a deeper diving crankbait.

Hope this helps.   ;D

[Max-in-Mn]

"Normally, when I see a school of fry, I fish a small spinnerbait through it."

Same here, but I would imagine a medium sized jerkbait would be another good option here, I would favor the mirror sided ones like a Bomber long A.  

[nwgabassmaster]

They are, but the problem that I find is that the fish seem to run up to it, and then, leave it alone.  

The 1/4 oz. spinnerbaits that I use, I fish them fast through the school, which gets the fish turned on.  And if the fish short-strikes the lure, I will throw it back, and then fish it fast, and kill it where I got the strike.  9 times out of 10, the bass will kill the spinnerbait.

Another great lure to use is a fluke.  This will really tick a big bass off.  I caught my 2nd largest this spring, when I was fishing beds.  I caught a 6 lbs. 3 oz. hawg.  

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

THey may not be fry anymore, pardon the technical term but they are finally big enough to see in schools. Pods are more like it.

[nwgabassmaster]

I consider fry anything that is 1 cm long, up to 1/2 in. long.

If it's bigger, then, I consider it just a school of that year class.

;D  Just my thoughts.

[BassMaster]

well i've had some luck on crankbaits... just found the channel next to the bank and fish it parallel... just a steady retrieve.  also, this time of year, it is really hard to catch fish (at least here in NC)... esp. when you're fishing really aggressively... they don't want something aggressive.  they want something slow, like a slow running spinnerbait, or texas rig, anything that requires a little finnese... when bass start to get sluggish this time of year, you want to downsize everything... downsize the weight and the size lure...  this time of year is especially good to use a centipede or a french fry worm from zoom on a carolina-rig.  even though it's been in the hundreds here every day for the past 3 weeks, the fish are still in 5-10 feet of water on lay-downs... where you would think they would be at night...