Need help own how to catch this pig

[Muad Dib]

Theres a spawning pair at a pond by me. i hooked into the male the other day solid 3 3/4 lber. the female is a pig solid 7lbs. the male is on the bed and easy to target. the femaled is cruising around with the male nipping at her sometimes. so what do i do to catch this hog. she doesnt look at anything im throwing at her including all plastics. shes suspends and doesnt stay in one place for too long and just chases after sunfish. is she in pre or post spawn. i thought that the female would leave after she dropped the eggs. im thinking of using a live blue gill if i can catch them. help asap im going back out before work at 5 am tomorrow. haha

[roadwarrior]

7 lbs?

Man, I say leave her alone on the nest and go after a big bass.

8-)

[Muad Dib]

haha and 7 is conservative. lets say its bigger than the fish in my avatar. but shes not on it shes within 10-15 feet of it at all times and backs away from all lures. like she has esp. blaaaaaaah.

[BassinBoy]

I have the same situation but throughout the whole year.  I cant catch this pair of 6 pounders in a farm pond.  Your best bet will be a bluegill but im not sure if I want to do that yet because I still want to try to catch one fairly (on a lure).  Try a bluegill if you want, it will get her attention.

[paul.]

she sounds like a tough one.  i'd suggest gettin' the male interested first.  let him attack your lure or bait several times, but don't hook him.  if she's gonna be catchable, that should get her interest and eventually she will come over and pick up the lure/bait once he drops it.  i've even had the male take the bait several feet away from the nest before.  the female would follow him out to see what's going on then attack the bait when he drops it.  this should do the trick if she's gonna get interested at all.

and regarding the use of live bait ask yourself this.  do you wanna adhere to some abstract concept of fair play with this fish or do you want to actually catch her?  if your answer is the later and it's legal where you live, use the bluegill.

[yzcajunman]

id say if you have to catch her while she is spawning, use artificial bait ,  you will gain patience and learn from the whole situation.....

YZ

[NinjaFishin]

try minnow shiners. if that doesnt work I dont know what would.

[Catt]

The biggest misconception is that bedding fish are easier to catch; they actually are harder to catch than any other time of year. We are dealing with fish that is not readily and actively feeding during the actual spawn. Bass are more intent on building a nest, laying their eggs and then protecting the fry and don't feed very much during most of the spawn.

Catching a spawning bass is a specialized art, primarily, because it includes the unique challenges of fishing shallow, clear water. Not all anglers are capable of mastering this technique due to a lack of patience required.

The small plastic tube jig is the best of all spawning lures; it is deadly sight bait because it has an action similar to both a baitfish and crawfish. Rig a shad or crawfish colored 4 tube on a # 1 or 1/0 High Performance Hook (the style best suited for fishing tubes), 6 to 10 pound test clear or moss-green line and with an internal bullet weight (1/16 to 1/8 ounce). Finesse fishing experts toss the tube jig past the bed, pull it into the nest and give it subtle movements that seem to drive bedding bass into lashing out.

[Branuss04]

she sounds like a tough one. i'd suggest gettin' the male interested first. let him attack your lure or bait several times, but don't hook him. if she's gonna be catchable, that should get her interest and eventually she will come over and pick up the lure/bait once he drops it. i've even had the male take the bait several feet away from the nest before. the female would follow him out to see what's going on then attack the bait when he drops it. this should do the trick if she's gonna get interested at all.

and regarding the use of live bait ask yourself this. do you wanna adhere to some abstract concept of fair play with this fish or do you want to actually catch her? if your answer is the later and it's legal where you live, use the bluegill.

+1.  Get the male worked up the the female will be right behind.  

[Trevor in Burke]

I had a similar scenario a few weeks ago I spent 6 different trips at least an hour each time after one fish, throwing everything, EVERYTHING from wacky senko's, regular weedless senko's, shakey heads, tubes, jigs, backwards tubes, lizards, ika's, BIG worms(diff kinds texas rigged) spinnerbaits flying by or dropping on the bed, buzzbaits at night, devils horse right above it, i mean everything and then one day, first cast... rainbow trout colored 5" bass assassin, my advice, try a fluke, based on my outing, try a few different presentations, may not work, BUT IT MIGHT! 8-)

[Junebug]

Don't wait until you can see her.  You know the general area of where she is.  Spend about 30 minutes casting blindly.  Primarily because has less of a chance of actually seeing you.  Also, have you tried down sizing your bait?  Have you tried throwing brightly colored lizards?  When you can see her, try to anticipate where she is going to swim rather than dropping the bait right on top of her head, or pulling it right in front of her face.  Cast it out about 10 feet in front of her then let it sink and tighten your line but don't do anything else.  When she gets closer to the bait, begin to lightly bounce it.  Try to get her attention without startling her.  Another thing... is the water really clear?  If so, can she see your fishing line?  

Anyway, those are just some of the first thoughts that come to my mind.  Good luck.

[senile1]

This has been posted before but it is excellent information on spawning bass, especially the following points:  (1) Don't cut off their escape route.  (2) Get the male interested first, but don't hook him.  (Hawg Caller alluded to this.)  (3) Find the sweet spot on the bed.  

http://www.fieldandstream.com/fieldstream/fishing/photogallery/article/0,13355,1681003,00.html

[logger]

Just a thought? What about throwing a double rig? Something like 2 flukes, hook the male and let him swim around with it and maybe the female will get turned on and hit the other?

[fishfordollars]

Welcome to the frustration of bed fishing. Sometimes you have to cut your losses and find one that will bite.

[B-Ass-Mad]

Dynamite?

Seriously, try a small grub and spinner blade cobo fished a slow as you can (while maintaining the blade's action) - throw it past her and bring it right in front of her.

[Muad Dib]

well guys i gave it a shot today and this mamoth still is the smartest fish ive ever seen . havent had any luck on the artificials but im gonna try some flourocarbon vanish tomorrow and see how some blind fishing goings. she doesnt get this big in a town pond by being stupid. haha . i cant sleep or go 5 minutes of wondering how big she really is. !!!!!!! i have the bed bass bug baaaaaaaaaaaaaad.  ;D

[SuskyDude]

Warning: live bait for bass is illegal in new york state until the third week in june. That is all.

Good luck, sounds like a biggun in NY

[LooksLikeSinbad]

You can try a bluegill lure instead of a real one.

[Muad Dib]

good to know! ya im gonna try maybe tomorrow. otherwise there are more fish out there.

[Mike Levy]

Well at least now I know I'm not the only one to have this happen. Muy whole point that led me to this site was this type of situation happened today. Ususally I just fish for whatever comes along, but today at Lake Taghanic there was a largemouth just chillin' about 2 feet from the rocks and i swear it was watching me. No matter waht i casted in it would approach look at it and back up. NOT leave just back away and sit there. IT DROVE ME NUTS! of course my kids thought this was great fun to laugh at Dad NOT catching a fish right in front of him and that didn't help at all either but they're kids and at least thay had a good time. Well Good luck with your Bass and If i get the one from today in any future (next weekend) outings i'll post a picture of the area it was in too....

Thanks, Mike

[Muad Dib]

how big did that fish look at taghanic? just curious

[I fish]

night crawler on a jig head