I love to sight fish, because I've gotten to the point where if I can see a fish then I'll catch it. First I'll cover the controversial bed fishing and then cover cruising bass. My lure of choice under both conditions is a 4” silver slugo on a 5 AUX Owner Hook. By the way I’m not sponsored by either of these, just my choice of tackle.

Bed fishing slugo style: A lot of tournament anglers are against sight bed fishing and think it isn’t sporting enough. Well I’m here to tell you anyone who fishes a spring tournament and doesn’t bed fish will most likely loose the guys who are bed fishing for those 10+ lb fish. Bed fishing takes some patience and time, but with these tips it’ll cut down on the time side of this style of fishing. I’ve successfully back seated a few pros with this approach as well. First and second cast beyond the bed and work lure though the bed zone and let it rest a few seconds in the bed if possible. Note: Only for a few seconds since time is money in tournaments. Every cast after that your goal is to actually bounce the lure off the side of the fish. Remember foul hooking a bass in a tournament isn’t legal so keep the hook point inside the body of the lure. Usually the fish will become agitated from being bumped and will hit the lure with in a few strikes.

What happens if the fish spooks? Don’t give up, hang tight till the fish returns and it will. Start from step one and repeat. Some anglers will leave a spooky fish behind. I say a 5lb fish is a 5lb fish any way you look at it. If you can bump the fish once then keep your net handy because it’s pretty annoyed even if it spooks away for a few minutes. I’ve bumped fish that run for deeper water or cover and a few cast later as I work the bait through the zone the fish will surge from cover and engulf the bait.

Always use bass attractant on your lure! Bass will mouth a lure or lip it to carry it out of the bed zone and spit it out. Fresh sprits of an attractant will prevent such frustrating events.

For cruising bass it’s not a foolproof solution to the seemingly uncatchable cruising bass, but I’ve had reasonably good success use this method. First cast should be out in front of the bass and through the strike zone a few feet in front of the bass. If the bass turns on your bait then speed up your retrieve or slow it down based on the fish’s reaction and get ready to set the hook. If the bass ignores you bait, then make a second cast and bounce the bait off the fish. This will produce one of two results. It will spook and you’ll never see it again or it will turn and inhale the bait in an instant.

Good Luck,
Clint

clintb