Northwest Fishing Reports

I am fishing a lake where some smallies have started bedding but whenever u cast at them they spook and swin off. Is their anyway to prevent this and catch them?

cast onto the shore and pull the bait in, its the splash that is scaring them not the bait. most bait fish dont splash at all.

Try casting to the bank and crawling it in the water (if it's a weedless lure)...it's a more subtle approach


Thanks tnj...you got the post first haha

I believe the fish arent laying eggs yet but still building nests

Ya what he said:-" But also try smaller baits and stay back. Or if you find yourself spooking a fish leave it alone for 10-20 minutes, then you come back and fish that water from farther away with a different bait. But boat control is very important!!! And watch your shadows!

Agree with all thats been said. I like to use a spinnerbait and cast where I think beds would be. If they are there and your boat is way back off of them, they'll almost hit it every time.
Also if they haven't dropped eggs yet, they will be difficult to catch.

Keep the sun to your back.

Trent Hale wrote:Keep the sun to your back.

Why, so you can cast a shadow ?

Trent Hale wrote:Keep the sun to your back.

Really I thought it was the opposite you keep your shadows away from the fish:-k

Shadow cast yes ..but easier to see in depths...it needs to be more of a 45degree..but you always need to be as far away as possible from the bed...just so u can barely see your all white or chartreuse bait"of ur choice"

fishingmachine wrote:I am fishing a lake where some smallies have started bedding but whenever u cast at them they spook and swin off. Is their anyway to prevent this and catch them?

Just use crabpots and gill nets:-$ haha

Good information folks,I had a similar situation last week at Lake X with lmb...no beds that I could tell but saw
lots of greenies hanging in the shallows,only got one to charge my crankbait...then stopped and gave me
the finger...oops,I mean the fin.

With the sun to your back and the fish in front when the fish look your way they see sun not you. Its the movement fish run from. You dont want to be so close that when you look down the fish are under you, stay back. If you are casting a shadow on the fish your too close.

Trent Hale wrote:With the sun to your back and the fish in front when the fish look your way they see sun not you. Its the movement fish run from. You dont want to be so close that when you look down the fish are under you, stay back. If you are casting a shadow on the fish your too close.

I agree with you totally on your method Trent, I learned that the hard way today, But if you take your time and fish it right, It will happen for you.

Another thing I do when bed fishing is have an anchor with you. get the boat in position, and then anchor it. That way you stay off the trolling motor and don't have to worry about boat control and the motor of boat spooking the fish. Also, if the bass is real spooky I mark the bed with a bouy and then will back way off of it. Use the anchor and make longer casts. Use a drop shot and throw the bait into the bed and just leave it there.

Mark

marktfd88 wrote:Another thing I do when bed fishing is have an anchor with you. get the boat in position, and then anchor it. That way you stay off the trolling motor and don't have to worry about boat control and the motor of boat spooking the fish. Also, if the bass is real spooky I mark the bed with a bouy and then will back way off of it. Use the anchor and make longer casts. Use a drop shot and throw the bait into the bed and just leave it there.

Mark

Totally agree with Mark's d-shot techniques, another thing that has worked more than a few times for me is to literally drop the bait right onto the bed by getting directly over top of it, and then slowly back away from it free spooling your line out as you go. It's a little tough to get the hang of, but with a dropshot you can use just enough weight to keep it in the same spot and with smallies especially, if they are locked on, they will come back and get it once you've cleared out of their space.