Bedded Bass

Someone mentioned to me today that the bass up here in N. KY was on the nest...is it time already?? How can I still catch fish when they are on the nest or is it pointless?

Thanks
Bill

There have been many reports of bass on the bed down here on cumberland and also on laurel lake also. but it istn pointless not to fish for them some of the easiest fishin comes when they are on the bed. It just takes a little bit of patience to catch them off the bed..

ive been seeing lots of bedding fish lately. but, most are not "locked" onto the nests simply because it is warm enough, but the fish know its not the right time of year just yet. when the fish do lock onto the nest, just take your time and you will have good results.

I've seen lots of shallow water cruising going on.......

Well the water was 66-67 in some spots on T-ville on Saturday and we caught 5 fish all day. Only 1 was a keeper. How do you fish beds if you cant see them? I tried fishing shallow water with jig and shaky head, never a bite. Caught 4 of our fish on crankbait early then the keeper came at 2 in the afternoon in the muddy water line on the main lake with a spinnerbait. I was really puzzled as to where the fish were on Sat. Anybody got a clue???? Were they possibly on the bed and I just couldnt see them thru the stained water??? I hate Taylorsville lake sometimes. I have caught some really good fish there but this weekend was terrible!!

Fish can absolutely spawn just out of sight, but they cannot spawn any deeper than the sun can reach. If the water is dirty, sight fishing can be virtually impossible. Your best hopes in that case would be making your best guess at what depth the beds are and fishing with some reaction style bait like a jerkbait right over the beds. Fish that are beginning to bed and aren't locked on are very hard to catch, best attack plan would be simply covering water and hope to draw some reaction strikes. Good luck! Drew

I agree, its totally more of a timing thing than water temps. They are up looking, but the know its not quite time yet. It does get ya exited though!

Well of the 5 fish that I caught at T'ville 3 of them had bloody fins including my 1 big keeper. Dont they usually get that when they are on the nest?

Yes, they have obviously "made a nest" but they aren't necessarily "locked" on the nest, or they may not have layed thier eggs yet. I've seen tons of beds lately, some empty, some with fish on them but they aren't locked on and guarding eggs nor fry. I'm sure some have actually spawned, but from what I have seen the majority of fish have just come up, made beds and are roaming around the nest. This cold front will surely knock most of them back down until the water temps rise again. From the forecast it wont be anytime within the next few weeks lol.

Likewise some of the fish I caught on Barkley Tues had bloody fins and their vent had some blood,I'm sure some of them had already spawned once.

Thanks for the info guys. I hope it warms up soon so we can get back to some good fishin!