Bed Fished Swimbait Bass

[R8R]

This is just my opinion as far as what SU deem bedfishing, fishing for a fish you actively know is bedding due to you saw the fish bedding. So if you target that fish it's actually bed fishing, if you are just fishing and you just actively caught a fish while cast and retrieve then I think that is SU thinking legit way of catching a fish for Swimbait per SU standard.

[YELOSUB]

Hell I got areas of the lake that is loaded with spawning beds, it's a shallow flat...I'm sure it's the same in many parts of the country...And with it being that time of year, the Bass getting their groove on, it's inevitable the big females you're catching are the spawning ones...It's the nature of the beast and unavoidable unless you say I'm not fishing until the spawn is over...I don't see that happening...

 

Not sure I fully understand SU's definition...Our local lakes are loaded with shallaw flats with tons of beds...You can pretty see them everywhere...So let's say I fish said shallow flats that has these spawning beds with let's say, a Deps 250 or Hinkle Shad, and I happen to catch one of those giant females that are "hanging" out in the area...Is this not a swimbait fish? If you say yes, you do realize this fish probably came from a nearby bed right?

[Volfan]

Wow... I didn't realize how similar some of these swimbaits gamers were to elitist fly fishers. If spawning fish don't count, don't fish during the spawn, just hang it up for a couple months. Or join PETA.

Edited March 19, 2016 by Volfan

[BigSlant]

The only thing I agree with SU on this particular topic is in the tourney rules they exclude "bed fishing"...whatever the definition is...by Greg stating he "bed" fished...he's disqualified from the tourney on that fish...other than that the current responders on this thread seem to agree and disagree with SU...but oh well

[Magic Man CP]

Wow... I didn't realize how similar some of these (wanna-be) swimbaits gamers were to elitist fly fishers. If spawning fish don't count, don't fish during the spawn, just hang it up for a couple months. Or join PETA.

***Please note the "wanna-be" correction to your post Volfan.

And I'm guessing any fish caught from a week-ish ago til mid June, has just got to be caught in a legitimate fasion, rt??? I mean cause after all, fishermen don't tell lies, do they??? I just don't see anyone mentioning "bed" again, if they do they're not intelligent enough to get the prize!

Edited March 19, 2016 by Magic Man CP

[G_Heikes]

Like I posted in definitive detail earlier, there are in fact MULTIPLE ways to pull a fish from a bed with a swimbait,, correct???? Ok, if we got that far and there's disagreement, I guess we can't go further, it becomes synonymous with trying to explain to a flaming liberal that guns do not kill people, PEOPLE KILL PEOPLE.

Ok, for those of us who can agree to those two things, because they're FACT and not OPINION, congratulations you've passed the competency test and may procede in helping me figure out exactly what's going on here....

Ok, if someone admits to seeing a female on a bed, (with me so far SU??), and they drop their bait, any bait for the sake of argument, onto the bed that a female is visibly laying on and "locked and loaded" (SIGHT FISHING terminology), and in their story they eluded to the fact she struck the lure to remove it from her bed. That's the most popular definition of "bed fishing" the greater fishing community would adopt.

Now,, delving one step further into the matter, if the angler admits to seeing a female on what he thinks is a bed, and she appears to be stationary, not spooking from seeing or hearing him, and he's employing a cast and retrieve method to entice her to react out of aggression, and he depicts in his story that he caught the fish without ever dropping the bait onto her bed, but rather keeping the bait in a state of continuous motion. That is in fact still bed fishing, yes??? Now this is where we're going to all need to come to agreement on.

Then there's the other way of "bed fishing". BLIND bed fishing, also popular terminology amongst guys that have been doing this a while. This is where an angler employs various tactics to catch a spawning female when he BELIEVES there's a possibility of a female being on a bed in a particular area. This is where the angler has no VISUAL evidence to suggest there's factually a fish present or not, but more so an idea or theory the angler is relying on out of experience he's culminated through research or actually having done it himself at one time or another.

Here's another example aside from the story I provided earlier in the thread. I was a field martial in a BASS elite event on the CA delta in 08'. If you ever have the opportunity to be a martial, do it, I guarantee you'll learn something, whether you yourself are a pro or not, you will learn something, maybe that something isn't anything you'll even use for yourself. I got paired with Aaron Martens, an extremely well established fisherman of many tactics, particularly finesse fishing. Aaron will sit on one loan tule strand fishing diligently for HOURS on a bed fish. Strategically placing his bait in a certain spot, twitching it, dead sticking it, in a very careful tactful way, , all the while talking aloud what's going on, sounding like a commentator for a golf tournament or something, even sounding at times like he's having a conversation with the fish. This is all taking place in approx 4' deep of water, stained with 2' max visibility. Make sense to you? Me neither. He's doing it with an IMAGINARY FISH!!!! Yes, exactly, this is taking "blind bed fishing" to dimensions the mortal man cannot even conceive doing! Try sitting on a boat, for hours with that kind of heavy action taking place, it took me back to being a kid trolling for hours with my dad, the most notable action for the greater part of the day is if/when the rod tip would twitch... yea, no thank you. But this very refined tactic pays off for the extremely successful Aaron Martens. He caught five of those apparently not so imaginary fish that day and weighed in a hefty sack well over 30#. So,, if a swimbaiter uses this tactic, "blind bed fishing", is it factually bed fishing or not??? Factually I'd say yes.

If the answer SU comes up with is yes, where do we go from there. Because if that's the case, anyone who fishes in the time period where the spawn is taking place, IS POTENTIALLY BED FISHING whether knowingly, unknowingly, or like Aaron imaginarily. Fact.

So how does one judge whether the fish that was caught, one way or the other during the spawn, is legitimate? Aside from the obvious bed fishing by way of sight fishing, tactic. It'll come down to the storyteller I guess. I'm assuming if we mention having an idea there are spawners in the area, we're guilty of bed fishing... I blind bed fish all the time during the months of Apr-June. Like my previous story, similarly to Aaron but nooo where near the level, I too have negotiations with fish that are in my mind present, but possibly not at all. I guess if my theory pays off, and 33% of those fish and scenarios aren't so imaginary, I'm guilty of bed fishing even having never seen a fish at all and that fish isn't even considered a valid catch according to SU and several other ignorant members here. I guess all the fish I catch, any of us catch are not valid then.

If that's the case, I respectfully agree to disagree.

Best thing I've read all week

[EasternMassBass]

I love when people say they don't bed fish. Are you fishing during March-June in 0-25ft or whatever? You are probably catching bedfish. I had this same conversation years ago with Larry Botroff (fisheries biologist and a genius for those who know of him.)

Exactly

[Dancran]

do you guys really not understand the difference between casting and incidentally catching a bed fish and sitting on top of a fish on a bed for hours and constantly pitching baits to it?

[swimbaitunderground]

do you guys really not understand the difference between casting and incidentally catching a bed fish and sitting on top of a fish on a bed for hours and constantly pitching baits to it?

This pretty much sums it up for us. Blind casting VS. sight fishing, if you're constantly running bank with your head looking down locatingbeds/fish then making multiple casts to them you are bed fishing. For the person that's going to come in and say what if I catch it on the first cast... Same thing

 

This conversation has gone on far too long

 

Thanks Dancran

[JeremyW]

I hate people ripping them off of their beds. There's no skill involved and they are protecting their beds for a reason!

lol this has got to be the most ridiculous thing for anyone to say . First off most the time you come up on a bed its THE male protecting the bed not the female. the bigger female's tend to sit outside the bed waiting for no sign of danger for them to move in. This is where the art comes into play its not easy to catch them unless you know what YOU are doing.

If you fishing this time a year hate to break your egos fellas you are catching bed fish unless you are fishing deeper water but either way you are still disturbing bass moving up or that are on the bed....

 

last but not least if it where easy everyone one of us would have caught a giant think about it. we all fish the bank so at some point it would of happen to us all .

 

99.% of people that think this way are people that have never stumbled on a big fish or stright up you never caught a DD and your just jealous ( typical guys )

Edited March 20, 2016 by JeremyW

[Charlestonfisherman]

_{This topic has so many different variables that it is obviously difficult to reach a definite decision, but I do have one thing to point out about this. There is a VERY distinct difference between noticing a bed fish, backing off of the bed, then casting at it and just randomly blind casting in an area where there might be a possibility of fish being on beds. The moving off is still a version of sight fishing. You saw the fish on the bed. Just because you back off of the bed and fish it without being able to see it, you still know the fish is on a bed and you are trying to catch it off of the bad.}

[evanwt99]

The criticism that G_Heikes caught for posting that picture is ridiculous. Fishing should be a judgement free zone. Everyone on here knows that if they saw a hog on a bed they'd throw on it. Live and Let Fish.

[jacksonwhite12]

The criticism that G_Heikes caught for posting that picture is ridiculous. Fishing should be a judgement free zone. Everyone on here knows that if they saw a hog on a bed they'd throw on it. Live and Let Fish.

I do admit this may be true, however if you are to catch a fish in this way on a swimbait then it has no place on this site. You can still be proud of your catch and show it off, but this site is not the place for that. Plain and simple: bedfishing is not swimbaiting. You could probably catch a fish on a bouncy ball because it is the natural instinct of a fish to move debris off of its bed or scare other fish away.

[BigSlant]

I do admit this may be true, however if you are to catch a fish in this way on a swimbait then it has no place on this site. You can still be proud of your catch and show it off, but this site is not the place for that. Plain and simple: bedfishing is not swimbaiting. You could probably catch a fish on a bouncy ball because it is the natural instinct of a fish to move debris off of its bed or scare other fish away.

Again...dumb comment...this is a site for catching fish on swimbaits...not tactics...SU made it clear in the rules that nobody can win an SU tourney admitting this tactic...but nobody said you can't post or share your story of how you caught a fish...he definitely didn't deserve an attack...and I don't believe anyone who says they've never thrown any bait at a bedding fish...

Edited May 12, 2016 by BigSlant

[Magic Man CP]

I wish someone would pm me and please tell me where all these super easy to catch bed fish reside!!!

 

I've caught a good number of bed fish in my time, mostly males or sub-8lbers, but the big females I've encountered definitely haven't been easy! In fact, I saw at least four over DD range last week on the Delta, they absolutely didn't want anything to do with anything I threw at em. I've only caught ten DDs to date, none were sight fished off beds, but I'd respect them just the same as if they were. I sure wouldn't mind getting a pic with every one I've seen, so any of you guys passing up those super easy ones, pass em along to me please! Haha