Here in central Indiana the pre-spawn window is closing but there are still plenty of big bass bedding close to the banks. I recently fished at a spot that I hadn't been to since last summer. It took over an hour and a half to get a bite. I found a spot close to a brush pile that was producing fish at a pretty rapid rate. The problem was I was catching crappie instead of bass. So much so that I had to change baits midway through my trip because it had ripped in half from all the crappie bites.
I was having fun at that spot so I stayed put and continued to reel in crappie after crappie. Some catches came off the hook but most of them I was able to easily flip on the bank. No doubt I coulda had a cooler full of dinner if I was keeping these guys. I took some time to move to a few different spots on the water I thought would produce bass, but my strategy didn't work. I made up my mind that the bass weren't coming out to play. So I moved back to my brush pile and the crappie bite was still on fire.
After throwing back around 20 crappie, I cast my same swimbait as close I could to the brush pile. I didn't plan to let my bait fall and sit on the bottom but my phone buzzed and I took just enough time to check it. I put away my phone and gave the rod a quick flick and immediately felt a hard tug. My initial thought was I had been hung up on the fallen brush pile underwater. Quickly, my thinking changed when the drag on my reel started screaming. I knew I had a fish but was still convinced it was just a very agressive crappie. It wasn't a crappie at all.
Out of the water came a fat-fighting bass doing everything she could to get off my hook. But my hook set was good enough to stay in the right side of the mouth. Anytime I see a big fish come out of the water, my heart rate increases because I start thinking about losing the fish. I had to lip this fish quick so I jumped down to the bank, not caring my shoes were covered in mud.
It's crazy to think about the series of events that actually made this fish finally go after my bait. My best guess pointed to where my cast ended up. A bedding bass near an underwater brush pile does not want to be bothered by passing shad or bluegill. So this strike very well could have came out of agitation. Then again maybe I plopped that bait right in front of her nose and she couldn't resist an easy meal. Regardless of how she ate it, this one ended up in my hands for a few good pictures.
Sometimes it may mean losing a couple baits in those brush piles. But if you put your bait in the strike zone those big bass are certainly seeing and waiting for those immitation fish to swim by. In my case, the little bluegill had time to hit the bottom where this bedding bass may have been hiding. As soon as I gave my rod a pop, she engulfed it. My scale reading said 4lbs, 11oz. But we all know scales tend to be off every now and then. She sure felt like a 5 pounder to me. And it looked like she was carrying quite a few little ones in that belly too.
