Surfacing Bait fish

[RandyFish]

Guys,

I have been noticing more schools of surfacing bait fish usually around the outer edges of weedlines.

Are these bass/northerns chasing these fish to the surface?

If so -- being that I have not had luck recently in the shallows (no fall bite yet) -- should a person being working these outside weedlines with cranks in a sunfish/bluegill pattern.

I was just wondering if other guys have seen this?

RandyFish

[SCUMFROG]

Yes you should be working these areas.

[Trucker Jim]

I by no means am an expert, but I have heard/read that when ever you see that happen, you should fish the area thoroughly. I have made it a point to do this, and have had it pay off more than once. If you see the sunnies breaking the surface, you can pretty much bet the predators are nearby. If cranks don't work you might even try plastics especially if there's any structure.

[musky hunter]

Conventional wisdom says that baitfish do not surface randomly, but rather it's an escape mechanism. But it could be from a 6" bass chasing the minnows, not the trophy you envision. But it's definately worth the attempt if you see the phenomonem.

[SCUMFROG]

Bass school together and hunt. They herd bait fish to the surface so they can't get away then fest on them. So one 6" fish would not be able to make a school of bait fish surface.

I'd try to match my bait with what ever is surfacing and cast just beyond the school and let it fall under them to were the bass are schooling. I like to use swim baits for this because they most resemble the bait that the bass are chasing. Or even shallow cranks work. Any thing that is swiming out of the ordinary, and not trying to get away will get eaten in this feeding frenzy.

[senkoskipper]

Yea heres a combo that cant fail. Tie together a spinner bait, deep dive crankbait, popper, scumfrog, buzbait, and a husky jerk. Then put 3in senkos on each hook. cast pass where the bait fish are surfacing. This presentation is guaranteed to catch you fish because your offering all different presentations. This technique is so lethal its banned in 48 state tournaments!!!

[MSRiverdog]

I just gotta see you cast that, from a different boat of course

[Deitz Dittrich]

If you have baitfish on the surface, there is really only a couple of reasons they would be there.

A)they are feeding on something that is near the surface. This could be some microscopic bug of some sort, or bug hatch.. whatever...

B)There is some predator beneatch them holding in the cover below them. This happens all the way through the summer months and into the fall.. Expecially if you can find some green weeds. Much of the game fish this time of the year will be near some sort of cover or green weed... if you see fish near the surface.. its always a good idea to fish the area..

I have found this to be a great time to fish a soft plastic jerkbait(resmebles a hurt baitfish) A hard plastic jerkbait(same deal, different action) a spinnerbait and a jig of some sort.. this could include a jig and pig, a tube or a texas rig worm...

Deffinatly fish it, its not always bass that have the fish schooled like that this time of year.. could be pike, or even walleye.. But a larger fish pulling back on the end of your line is always a good thing.

[SluggoMaster]

Great post Dietz! I would like to add that if the fish are not with the baitfish, they are probably on the next large and obvious piece of structure nearby, such as a dock, stump, or down tree. I have found this to be the case with 4+ pound bass, with baitfish in the area, since they are waiting for them to swim by for a meal.

[montanagriz]

Is the topwater bite still good this late in the year?

[SluggoMaster]

The topwater bite is just getting started. I have noticed that it shuts down at a surface temp of 58 degrees.

[montanagriz]

Well, I decided to do some "research" on the top water bite this past Friday on a NW metro lake. The bite is definately on. I boated 7 largemouth on topwaters in a little over an hour. The smallest fish was roughly 2 lbs and the largest close to 5 lbs, they are definately starting to look a little chunky. The fish were super aggressive, absolutely hammering the baits. It was great fishing and one of the most beautiful evenings I've had on the water all year. It's too bad the big rain storm and cold front blew through over the weekend. I didn't get a chance to get out again, but I'm guessing it might have slowed the bite a little.