Bed Fishing

[IntroC]

I was watching some tourney coverage these last couple of weeks and the dominant technique seems to have been fishing for bedded bass. I have never fished for bass on the beds and have a couple questions that I'm sure you fellers can answer or at least give an opinion on.

The first one is I seen I believe it was Terry Scroggins  that motored up to a bed and stuck a stick in the ground next to the bed so he knew where it was. Is this a common practice and wouldn't it spook the bass off the bed? And if it does spook them off the bed how long before they'll come back?

Also if you do find some bedded bass in fairly clear water how far away do you position your boat to fish them without spooking them?

Another is how do you go about fishing for bedded bass in murkier water where it may not be possible to locate there beds?

And last but not least what are the prefered baits in dingy water and what are the prefered baits in clear water situations?

Thanks

[linehand]

I'm not an expert by any means. When the bass are on the beds I generally fish with a 6 or 7 inch worm hooked weedless no weight. Toss it where you think the beds are and wait for up to 1 or 2 minutes. I don't know why but the big ones seem to wait longer than the smaller ones. I guess they try to carry the worm away from the bed. This is the only time I let em take it for a bit. I let em run for a few seconds before setting the hook.

Like I said I'm no expert but it has worked for me in the past.

[evrgladesbasser]

All the rage on Lake O recently has been throwing bright colored creature baits.. so you can see the bass take it.

As far as spooking fish, a lot of guys locate beds that may already have males on them, then wait out the girls. If you set-up before they arrive, I wouldn't think they would spook unless you do something stupid.

When it comes to distance I would assume you need to be close enough to cast beyond the bed, then work your bait through it. However that is speculation, I don't do to much bed fishing myself.

Many very good fisherman advocate fishing the areas that they hold before they go to the beds. I tend to agree with that way of thinking.

[Getfished]

I think most fishermen who fish beds usually are able to see them. Generally speaking the further away you can be and still effectively fish the bed the better your chances are. If the water is too stained to see the beds then you just have to do a little research and locate the classic areas and fish em when the temps are in the right range.

[hookingem]

Dropshot!!!! 

[Gatorbassman]

Marking a bed is common. When I find a bed with a large female on it I will mark it with a little bobber with some line and a weight on it. The bobber is places about 6feet to one side of the bed so I know were the bed is. Then I back off till I don't see the bed anymore and make repeated casts to that spot. I use everything from a swimbait to a finesse worm untill I tick the bass off enough to take the bait. This may take a few minutes or it may take an hour. You never know.

[WRB]

Generally speaking you don't need to mark a bed site becuase you are fishing near the bank on most lakes and should be able to line  up good visual references to  where the bed is located.

male bass make the bed and wait for females to come near, so you usually see a smaller male bass protecting the bed site. If you see 2 bass near the bed site, then eggs have been laid or about to laid. The female stays around anywhere from a few hours to a few days, no set rule.

Bass are not eating during the spawn, they are protecting the nest from egg eaters; all other fish, crawdads, salamanders and frogs. You can use nearly anything, so use a single hook lure. Bright colors help you see the lure, the bass don't care.

Keep in mind not all bass bed at the same time and the spawn can last several weeks at different locations around the lake.

Beds look like a small 2' to 3' clean spot on the bottom in anywhere from 1' to 20' deep, depending on the water clarity.

[Catt]

Do not ever fall into the mistaken notion that all bass spawn near the bank!

Here are the results of the Everstart Series Texas Toledo Bend, all were site fishing

1st: Todd Castledine Reactions Innovations Sweet Beaver

2nd: Lendell Martin Jr Zoom Brush Hogs and Yamamoto double-tail grubs

3rd: Cody Bird Kicker Fish Bait Company finesse worm.

4th: Tim Reneau Texas-rigged Strike King Game Hogs.

5th: Chris Wilkerson Carolina rig

6th: Joe Elkouri Berkley Havoc Craw Fatty

The colors varied but most were some shade of green

[NBR]

I don't fish beds although I am sure I have caught bedding bass from time to time. Some where I read that bass need to grow to a certain size to servive winters lack of prey.

In my opinion this makes a difficult life for young of the year even more difficult so I don't target them. Now if I lived in the south where an earlier spawn and longer growing season was the norm I'd likely change  my ways,

Based on state seasons this seems to be born out. Usually no seasons in the south and some seasonal restrictions including closing the seasons in the north.

[dhami013]

Look for over hanging bushes or trees. Usually there'll be a bed under there. Sometimes you can see it if the water is clear. If it's murky then just look for areas where there could be shade over the bank.

I like to throw a salamander weightless or Texas rigged. Salamanders are known to eat fish eggs. And bass know this. Sometimes they'll just try to kill it. And might bite off the tail or an arm. Throw it right back to the spot.

Sometimes I'll even throw a popper just outside of an area that looks bass beddish. And just try to irritate them.

As far as color goes. I just match the water color, unless it's really off colored then I'll try motor oil to a chartreuse.

[Chris]

Yeah alot depends on how hard the bottom is and fishing pressure to where they will spawn. Some even spawn deep or in stumps at times. Marking them is the best way to pinpoint your cast. With tournament guys you also need to figure in if they used a bright neon sign pointing to where the beds are they also tip off others. When your fishing beds it takes time to get that fish to get ticked off enough to nail your bait. Sometimes they just move it slightly out of the nest where easy to see colors work well to know when they have the bait. Other bass will move off with the lure a greater distance. Alot depends on how much fishing pressure the bass has. You mark the bed mainly because you want to put the bait in that bed and you pressure the bass less with you out of the bass's view. You want to fire up that bass so that it protects and defends that bed. How long it takes to get that bass hit your lure depends on the bass and fishing pressure.

[Wayne P.]

With the imaging technology, you don't need to visually see the beds, fish, or mark where they are.

I was "sight fishing" for bedding bass last year in 4'-6' depths with water visibility of less than 6".

I could see them with the Humminbird Side Imaging, getting them to bite is another thing though.

[Chris at Tech]

With the imaging technology, you don't need to visually see the beds, fish, or mark where they are.

I was "sight fishing" for bedding bass last year in 4'-6' depths with water visibility of less than 6".

I could see them with the Humminbird Side Imaging, getting them to bite is another thing though.

That's freakin' cool.  Did you save any pics you could share?