Visibility important to bass-fishing success during the spawn

Bed-fishing success is best where water clarity is highest, Bassmaster Elite Series pro Pete Ponds said. If there’s not much clarity, it is very hard to spot bedding bass and their beds.

“I fished (Ross) Barnett growing up and it was pretty muddy, and we basically located beds by watching for swirls or movement,” Ponds said. “However, if you’re looking for bedding bass on Neshoba Lake you want to find the clearest water possible to pinpoint their beds.

“That way you spend more time fishing for the bass than looking for them.”

In addition to looking for swirls and fish movement, Ponds wants to see actual fish and beds, if possible. A quality pair of polarized fishing glasses can make all the difference in the world in being able to spot subsurface bass.

“If I find the right area with the right conditions, I want to spot bass either on their beds or cruising the area,” Ponds said. “If the bass are there then you’re in business, but if they’re not then you need to move out and try another spot or go deeper.

After locating a bass, there’s one more factor to catching that bass from the bed.

“Once you find a bedding area that is active, the key to catching those bass is very simple: Stay as far away as possible and don’t get too close,” Ponds said. “If you get too close to the bass, you’re going to scare them off or make them have a case of lockjaw — and that’s not what you want to do.”

So how do you keep from spooking the bass?

“If I’m easing through an area and get a visual on an active bed with bass on it, I’ll either mark it with my GPS or I’ll take mental notes of the exact location, and then mark it down and come back in a little while and then try them,” Ponds said.

Once set up, it’s time to work the fish.

“I’ll position the boat as far back as possible and still reach the bed, and cast just beyond the bed and work my lure back into the bed,” Ponds said. “It’s easier to catch the bass if they can’t see you, and you really don’t need to be looking at them to catch them.

“They’ll usually strike the bait pretty quick if the time is right.”

If Ponds can’t get a strike from a bass that is locked on a bed, he’ll move just close enough to view the fish and try to entice her into striking.

Though it may take quite a while to get one of the monster sows to strike, it could turn out to be the catch of a lifetime once she does take your offering.