Suspended Bass

[tony20110]

I need some advice on fishing suspended bass. What are the best baits iyo's for catching those bass sitting in 8-15ft of water? I'm thinking drop shot, deep cranks (reluctantly) and maybe the alabama rig. I've been trying spinner baits with zero luck. Thanks.

[Highhawk1948]

I have counted down Rattle Traps, jigs, and the sinking rapala. Sometimes a yo-yoing rattle trap will get them.

Right now I am using Charlie Brewer's slider system with the 3 and 4 inch grubs. Have picked up a few off of points that seemed suspended instead of actually feeding.

[keithdog]

Working a Zara Spook agressivly over their heads, especially early in the day, will often cause them to come up for savage strikes. Suspending jerkbaits can also be worked right over their heads and draw strikes. Crankbaits would be one of my first choices, but not sure I would go with a large deep diver. Bass generally respond better to baits worked above them, rather than below unless they are holding close to the bottom. A medium to medium deep diver should work very well. And like Highhawk mentioned, a lipless crank can be worked effectivly in that situation.

[doc]

A-rig.......

[DaveW731]

If fish are suspended throughout that 7ft range, then I would also go with a rattletrap as first choice and yo-yo it through the area, to maximize depth coverage. If they are closer to 8ft, I would pretty quickly switch to a medium diving crankbait, assuming spinnerbaits aren't working. If 15ft, I might go to a weighted plastic jerkbait, only because I HATE fishing deep-diving crankbaits. If all else fails and I know the fish are there, I would go finesse and toss a wacky senko with as little weight as needed to get it to the depth I wanted, then yo-yo it like a rattletrap, but much slower.

[keithdog]

Originally Posted by doc

A-rig.......

Heyyyy, great to hear from ya Doc! Hope things are going ok for ya. Sorry about temporarily highjacking the post. Back to business now.

[kennethdaysale]

Originally Posted by Highhawk1948

I have counted down Rattle Traps, jigs, and the sinking rapala. Sometimes a yo-yoing rattle trap will get them.

Right now I am using Charlie Brewer's slider system with the 3 and 4 inch grubs. Have picked up a few off of points that seemed suspended instead of actually feeding.

Try them with a 3 or 4" piece of pinched off Trick worm or some other straight tail plastic. Sometimes less is more especially with suspended fish.
Also try to match the color exactly to the water, you want your bait to essentially disappear. I don't know why but trust me on this. Last but not least.....work the thing as s l o w l y as possible just over their head and level and steady.

[Scott the fishman]

maybe try a jerk bait

[Bucketmouth1010]

I like a mann's hard nose fluke (white) with a 1/8 ounce jig head on it.

[Top Tiger]

I've had success swimming a weightless worm by them real slow. A suspending crankbait has worked too, especially at night. Just remember, when everything else fails, " The deeper the fish, the longer the fuse".

[waldershrek]

I've been having a hell of a time with suspended fish at my local reservoir (Whitney Point). Water has been 80 degrees about 30 feet deep at it's deepest and my fish finder is showing fish all over from 8 feet down to 18 feet but I can't get them to bite anything. I've tried spinnerbaits, deep cranks, shallow cranks, medium cranks, jigs, swim jigs, texas rigged plastic crawfish and I can't get them to hit anything. I had one bite on the crawfish and one on the spinnerbait in about 4 feet of water oddly enough but that's it.

I did not try wacky worming which I really wanted to because I don't currently have a rod setup for that. Can you set a carolina or drop shot rig for bass suspended between these depths? Seems like you'd have to have a hell of a lead.

[oglejust]

Originally Posted by waldershrek

I've been having a hell of a time with suspended fish at my local reservoir (Whitney Point). Water has been 80 degrees about 30 feet deep at it's deepest and my fish finder is showing fish all over from 8 feet down to 18 feet but I can't get them to bite anything. I've tried spinnerbaits, deep cranks, shallow cranks, medium cranks, jigs, swim jigs, texas rigged plastic crawfish and I can't get them to hit anything. I had one bite on the crawfish and one on the spinnerbait in about 4 feet of water oddly enough but that's it.

I did not try wacky worming which I really wanted to because I don't currently have a rod setup for that. Can you set a carolina or drop shot rig for bass suspended between these depths? Seems like you'd have to have a hell of a lead.

ive heard of guys droping a drop shot straight down, let it fall then rip it up and let it fall again, they'll take it on the 2nd fall. never done it myself tho. as for the crig i dnt think thats an effective lure for ur situation.. the leader would make it impossible to cast

[carolina-rig-01]

A drop shot or a jiggin spoon is a great option in this situation. Also if your not against the Alabama rig this scenerio is right in its wheel house too. One thing consider is why are the fish suspended at this depth? If it's because the baitfish are hanging around this depth then you can likely fish points, humps, and ledges that are this deep with bottom baits and catch fish. These fish might be more aggressive too because they will have better ambush points to attack the baitfish from. If they are suspended because of passing weather fronts or the lake level bouncing around then you might have to fish for suspended fish, and they can be tough customers.