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Unusual?

Early this year I prefished for a tournament. It was late post spawn, but not quite summer pattern yet.

I hooked a few fish, and had a few fish that rolled on the boat. Every place I rolled a fish I caught one on tournament day. Same spot, same bait. More careful presentation and more careful hook set.

In most of the places where I had hooked fish I got nothing on tournament day. In fact on close inspection I saw no fish, and didn't notice any spooking from the area.

All single fish close to shore tight to cover, and all hits were within seconds of entering the water. Weather was stable. Water level was relatively stable.

What would this have taught you that you could use in the future?

Bob
Aug 5
2005
Not to fish where you'd been practicing.

Seriously. I never look for individual fish on/near the shoreline other than bed fishing time, and then I'm just looking, maybe casting, but never swinging, unless I know it's a small fish.

I always look for groups of fish when practicing for a tourney. and hooking one or two from a group just helps me get a feel for what's there. If soremouthing one is going to ruin a spot, it ain't a spot I want to bother with anyway.

RichZ
Aug 5
Bob, what bass were you fishing for LM or SM? A surface bite is always an unpredictable event when and where it happens. If it is a large lake it is hard to be in that part of the water where bass are surface feeding. Forage can always be a factor or fish are using the warmer water to metabolise. Somewhere on a body of water a school of hungry fish are feeding on another school of smaller fish somewhere in the water column. I would say the forage and that/those fish have simply moved on with there feeding pattern and forage interests. Or they could have become a forage interest of a larger group of predator and temporally disburse that group of fish you had hitting. I personally like to see larger (3"-6") fish moving in a direction, this almost always indicates larger fish are just below moving them from the deeper water. (The surface is not a good place for smaller fish to hangout in.) Cast to the opposite direction that the school is moving and to the deeper end of the school and slow down your presentation. It is usual that the foodchain is what is moving the 3"-6" stuff. If these fish are just lazing near the surface chances are they are in no danger from below and they will strike. Sooner or later a larger hungry fish(s) will happen along. Even big fish fill up and stop eating. But it can be said that somewhere on a big lake a big fish is hungry, all we have to do is find her ;-) Not sure if this is the answer you are looking for but there it is. Hope it helps. -- Steve Steve
Aug 7
Well, none of these were really surface strikes. They were solitary fish in or near floating cover and submerged cover in relatively shallow water. When a bass (largmouth in this case) takes a swipe at a bait you can usually see the flash of their body.

Bob
Aug 7
.....maybe a slow sinking presentation, Slugo, sinking, countdown Rap, dartfish or those thingies Rich Z likes so much, Finnish minnows, salty soft bait, neutral buoyancy, bobber stopped rig, drop shot......? -- S Steve
Aug 8
   

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