Fishing Bedding Bass

So I have been going up to the pond more frequently to catch, pun intended, the specks when they are spawning. The other day I started catching some, so they are getting ready, but I digress.

In the process of I had a couple bass hit the 1″ Rapala I was using. It got me to thinking maybe I should try a smaller bait and fish it the same way on a bass rod.

Last night I decided to give it a go, however I neglected to bring jig heads, so I had to improvise with a short shanked dropshot hook, a bullet weight and a 2″ tube. Like a dope I jerry rigged it to be weedless like a texas rig. I ended up missing 4 bass because I not bury a hook.

All of these bass hit within 5-10′ from shore. I can’t see any beds, the water is too dingy. There are beds, but they are in 1/2 to 1′ of water and tilapia I am assuming.

My main question is for those who put a lot of time on the water fishing pre spawn to spawn bass or who know period.

Is it a known “pattern” to use smaller baits for bass during this time?

I’ve thrown other baits that are bigger with other techniques and they just seem to be ignoring them. Swimming the tube with a slight jig every few reels seems to be the ticket. Part of the reason may be that the Rapala and jig would appear to match the hatch, because it resembles the size and shape of Seminole killifish, which I suspect is one of the primary prey for bass in the pond year round.

I am Jonesing to go back up there this weekend. I was pretty frustrated last night.

I’m not sure about the smaller baits being a pattern but it’s usually a reaction strike from a bedding bass. So typically I use a creature bait texas rigged, cast past the bed and crawl it back through the bed. This is no secret obviously. Something that may make sense is the smaller bait may entice the smaller male fish that are guarding beds or cruising around them that might not hit a larger bait.

Well, last week’s pattern busted. The evening I went out the fish were very active, including the crappies who seemed to be moving into the same spot they spawned last year. Over the weekend with cooler weather it slowed way down.

I now suspect the bass that were hitting my bait were pre-spawn. I also think the most readily available prey in the lake by far is a small fish called a Seminole Killifish. So I am now more inclined to think it was a match the hatch scenario.

There were a couple days in the upper 80s that I think got the fish going last weeks and possibly an approaching front, although we don’t see the swings in barometer down here. Over the weekend it was slightly cooler, but now I’ve had a few days in the mid to upper 80s, so I am going up there tonight to see what is going on up there.

It seems like we are 3-5 weeks behind last year in terms of spawning and activity. I am not sure if it is the water temps, the water clarity, water levels or a combo of all 3. It’s been slightly cooler, the water is way more dingy than it was this time last year and the water is way down.

Mplspug,

I have great success using dropshot rig and 2 inch bento minnow . They look like a real shiner. I find smaller is better when fish are bedding.

Mwal