Weird... Bed Fishing...

[Cavs1123]

I was at my pond and i say a gravel bowl swept out of the bottom. Upon further inspection I discovered a nice looking 1 1/2-2 lb male on the bed. I started casting to him but he spooked rather easily. I casted behind him and felt a "donk". I set the hooked and missed. I was fishing a Bluegill colored swim jig that Nemesis lures makes. I later tried a fluke,lipless crank,and a shakey head and still didnt get him to even nudge it! I would like some tips on how to catch spawning bass and if theres one particular bait that really makes them bite.Thanks.

Tom

[TN_Bassin]

Money bait for me lately is a black gambler tube(don't think you can buy these anymore) or a black and red brush hog. They both have been picking males and females off of bed.

When you cast to the bed and you know the fish is on it, barely twitch the bait for as long as you can. Most of the time a fish will get agitated over the intruder and eat it. Also a finesse spinnerbait produces a reaction strike when the fish is locked up tight on bed.

One of the keys to catching a spawning fish is to be slow in your presentation.

[MIbasser]

Cavs, I will use a tube as well. But what really worked for me last year was a black worm on a shakey head. Drop it in the middle of the bed and wait. Good luck and release as soon as you can.

[BigBassin144]

Tubes are very popular bait for spawning fish. White is very popular, and so are dark colors like black or maybe some of the darker watermelons and green pumpkins.

Stay as far away from the fish as you can. If he sees you, it's a lot less likely that you'll be able to fool him into biting.

BB

[carolina-rig-01]

Kevin just added a great article to the website that is all about bed fishing. There is some great information in this article that will help you a lot.

[Bender]

Kevin's guide is really good. I like using a drop shot with only about 4-6" of line between the weight and bait. Also use as small of weight as you can. You can cast past the bed and drag back into it and then let it sit. If needed you can shake it a little when sitting in there. Try a small minnow looking bait for this, it seems to make them mad and think that there is a bed raider invading so they attack.

[cassidyta]

I have had a lot of luck in the past two years with a blue gill spinner bait. It lets me bump the male or female and it also lets me drop it on the bed and shake it.

[WaffleJaw]

Been some good advice already.Remember that they will always return and stay close by on those beds...I did good with weightless senkos on a bed..Just a real slow presentation and mutilple cast to aggrievate them...Those big females are near by usually...If the male doesnt get the job done,the female may come and do it for them.And thats what we want....Any bait that looks like a egg-eating intruder should work...

[rrw4258]

A bit early for a bed, I think, but around this area a lizard has always been my go to bait for a bass on a bed. They will usually nail it hard if you hit the sweet spot on the nest.

Ryan

[awhitaker1992]

I'm with rrw, bass hate lizards, its always worked for me.

[dizzy_ghs]

I like to use a bronze colored lizard and just let it sit there.

[Justin2729]

Ive took a jerk bait like a floating rapala and put a heavy split shot sinker on the nose and it makes it dive down and hit the bottom. Making it appear that its feeding on the nest most of the time they crush it.

[bassthumb32]

If they are like they are here in southern pa they aren't locked on the beds hey there are a few beds made but they are still cruising. Wait another week and they should be locked on. Then just keep casting to the bed pick it up and cast again till they get real aggressive then they will hit.