Bedding Bass - Tools To Land The Hog 

      

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This is a subject that gets a lot of flack from different folks. If you are looking for that Bass Hog, this is the time of year that can make it or break it for you.

Bedding Bass are the easy ones to catch at spring time. You see most of the fish you catch providing the water is about 4 to 5 feet and is clear.

Another thing is the proper sunglasses are needed for this fishing trip. I recommend the amber lenses that will improve your vision.

The picture that you see are the tools that I would use when I know that the Bass are spawning.

The Lizzard , Tube Bait, and Crawdad are the ones that have never let me down when I am on the hunt for Mr. Bass Hog.

When I start off, I hardly never cast to the first bed that I come across, I like to check out the area around to ensure that I will not be going for a smaller bass when there might be a double digit on the next bed.

Use the trolling motor on low to search out the area that you are in and mark the spots where you have found beds. If you see a bass bolt off the bed, this fish is not what we called (Locked on the Bed) and will be hard to catch.

If you see a bass move slowly off the bed and then return a few seconds later, this fish can be caught. A locked on fish is very aggressive and will usually bite on the first cast.

Remember back in a earlier article I told you not to cast right on the bed but over shoot it and drag the lure up to the bed.

This way we will not spook the fish. Stay back from the bed at first to see if you can get her or him to hit the bait first then move up slowly until you can just see the fish. Again, pitch just past the bed then bring the bait over the bed and place it right in the middle of the bed. You want to let it rest in the middle of the bed.

If the fish is indeed aggressive, it will move on the lure very fast. You will even be able to watch the fish react to the bait. Once on the bed, all you have to do is twitch the lure and that usually will be all she wrote.

The bass will inhale the bait; other times you might have to tease the bass by smacking it from the lip to the gill plates. Warning, do not hit the fish past the gill plates because it will scare the fish off and it will not bite.

One thing I have to tell you is do not judge the size of the fish that you are looking at under the water. I have seen a fish that I thought was only a pound and when I got it to the boat found out it was a eight or nine pounder.

Another item I must mention is the type line that you use. Some fish are very line shy so you might have to add a leader on the end of the main line. I use braid because I want something that will get them out, and other times I will use fluotocarbon as a leader on the end of my braid. This is something you will have to play with and see what works for you in the lake that you are fishing.

Keeping the bait on the bed is very crucial, you might get a Bass Hog to change their mind after you have placed the bait on the bed. At first, it looks like they could care less and the next second they inhale the bait.

I always look for the Bass Hog on the bed in about 5 feet of water. Go to my earlier article where I show you a bass on the bed in a picture.

If the water is not clear or has a stain to it, pay close attention to any shadow that may appear at a quick glance. Don't think that your eyes are playing tricks on you. Look away then look back at the spot again. It could have been a bass that swam off then returns. Most of the time this will happen and the fish will return within minutes.

Make sure that you have the camera ready for a picture of a life time and do not keep the fish out of the water too long. The fish is trying to make future BassHogs for us to catch.

I hope that this may help you in catching that BassHog and would love to see a picture of the Hog that you do catch.

Keep the Hooks Wet!

Steve McGoldrick