Sight-fishing for bass is a subtle approach that’s great fun

One thing that walleye anglers generally miss out on, for most of their lives, is sight-fishing. That’s a shame, because there are few types of fishing that are more exciting, especially when it comes to bass.

Slowly cruising along in shallow bays while trying to get eyes on a fish and then landing the right cast, before it spooks, is a challenge. But there are ways to increase your odds of a hookup, which all starts with slowing down and really learning to look.

Slow down and take it all in

When the lake bottom looks like a war zone where artillery landed every few feet because the spawning beds are so thick, sight-fishing isn’t much of a challenge at all. This is true even in stained or tannic water, although that’s certainly more challenging than tap water-clear lakes and rivers.

The rest of the time, spotting fish waiting in ambush or slowly finning their way along requires patience and a dedication to really looking. A lot of people will set the trolling motor on high and blitz their way through the shallows, but a better approach is to slow way, way down.

This not only cuts down on fish-spooking commotion, but also allows you to pick apart the pockets in the weeds, the shadows under the logs and docks, and anywhere a not-so-obvious bass might be hiding.

Once you do slow down, look with intention. Of course you’ll want to wear polarized sunglasses, but you’ll also want to study the water. Learn to look for bass that are suspended in the water column, but also the pieces of a bass that might just tip you off to its presence. The black tail or lateral line of a largemouth is often the first piece of the whole fish puzzle you’ll see. With smallies, their tail is often the first giveaway of their presence.

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Learn from each sighting

Let’s say it’s early in the morning and you just picked up a cruising largemouth that stuck out like a sore thumb. He was a foot under the surface, and he looked like he was on the hunt. Great. That’s a clue that might help you spot more fish to target.

Now, imagine as the sun rises higher in the sky and suddenly your easy-to-see cruisers seem to have vanished.

The fish are now likely to be tucked into some level of cover, and your strategy should change. Nature doesn’t seem to do random very well, so every fish you see is a clue that could help you see the next one. Pay attention to what they show you throughout the day.

Reaction actions

Sometimes, spotting largemouths or smallies isn’t the challenge, but getting them to bite is. This is not uncommon, and it can be due to a variety of reasons.

You might be too close when you’re trying to cast to them, and with the boat wigging them out, they just can’t handle the extra stimuli of your lure landing in the water in their proximity.

You might stay far enough back to not spook them with the boat, but make a cast that lands right on top of their heads. Fish have a long history of getting picked off by a whole variety of birds. They are highly sensitive to aerial predation, and a soft-plastic jerkbait might not be the same thing as an osprey hitting the water beak-first above them, but the results might be similar.

If the fish spook when you cast, try to lead them so that they can see your bait land but it won’t be right on their noses.

If you feel you do need to land a presentation close to them, scale down and lighten up your offering. It’s also a good idea to learn how to feather your casts, which essentially involves using your hand on your reel to slow down the lure and place it in the water softly as it gets into the red zone.

Think of it like you want your lure to make the splash of a perfect Olympic dive, instead of a belly flop. 

If you put everything together and find plenty of fish to target, but they won’t eat, you know it has something to do with your presence, your casts, or your lure. Use the process of elimination to figure out the culprit.