If your bed fishing and you have a fish on the bed your targeting and keep having the male picking up. Want do you do? do you pull the male off or do you leave him there and keep trying to get the lady.

I had a big girl on a bed and the male kept picking up. She picked but kept picking up short on the jig. I went to sent the hook and ended up with the a trailer. :-(

The males are there to protect the bed and get rid of invaders. The female sits pretty, your best bet would be to either present your lure closer to the female or get her aggravated enough to strike. Lastly, you could catch the male and then have an open shot at the female, that is if she's willing to bite.

I've caught the male and put him the well before and then had the female lock down on the bed. It's worth a shot if nothing else is working. Even if it doesn't work you can toss the male back and he will go right back to the bed.

I agree with what Jake said. Get the male in your well and back off the bed for a little bit and then creep back up on it and she should be locked on by then. Even if she isn't locked you still have a better chance of catching her with the male out of the picture.

-Shane

Thinks for the ideas guys. I just have been working on a fish that was a real hog. I've tried every thing and the male keeps taking the bait. She will once and a why'll take the bait but I've been going through tails like crazy. I figure she will be there only a couple of day and then be gone until next year.

ty

DZ

I'm not a big time bed fisher (caught less than 2 dozen from beds, 6 over 10#) so take this for what it's worth.

The 1st thing would be to pick a bait that's almost all hook. I usually pick a plastic that will barely fit on a 4/0 Gammie bent shank worm hook. Something with short thin side appendages and not a long tail. If the fish grabs it I want it to get the hook in it's mouth, NOT a tail! A razor blade is your freind.

2nd use heavy enough line to get the job done. I usually Bubba shot beds with 20# line.

Leave the weight outside of the nest or they'll attack it too instead of just your bait. 20-30" from the bait to the weight allows me to shake the bait all over the bed without getting the weight into the nest. This also keeps me from crushing any of the eggs that might already be dropped.

Tight lines,
Wade

Mattlures bluegill.
nuff said.

Dale,

Please, please, please, don’t catch the male!!!!

The first thing is rod, reel, and line.
---Rod: Okuma 7'6" EVX-C-761H-TEV
You need a rod with good hook setting power!
---Reel: Pfluegar Trion
---Line: 20lbs p-line.
---Lure: jig with craw, lizard (waterdog) or matt lures
Remember the bass will rip your bait apart this time of year. So using those high
end baits, might be risky

Second is boat position. Get your shadow of the nest. You want to see the nest but not be seen get as far back as you can

Third, I use 1/2 oz white jig with black craw. Flip past the nest and jig it in. the male will bite, pop it out of his mouth. Keep repeating this. The female will see the male can’t take care of the problem and will eat the bait. Next swing for the fence. I call it FREE SWINGS, don’t hold back. I can’t count how times I pop the jig out of the males mouth and before it hit the ground the female slurped it up.

z

Zach,
How exactly are you "Popping" the jig out of the males mouth without hooking it? I'm assuming not setting the hook...with the weed guard?

One thing that always helps is a big bait, if you toss thin worms or jigs in there the female will almost always ignore. Throw say a Matt gilly, super sized tube, or even a 1oz jig and that mini male may hesitate thus resulting in the females attention.

i agree with Zach the male will just keep pickin it up pull it out(dont set) until the female gets pissed and grabs the bait.
good luck
Tim

Popping

When the male picks up the bait, you use very small pulls, just like you would jig the bait on the bottom. The male will feel and taste the hook and spit it. Watch the female’s fins and body motions when doing this. Her mannerisms will change and she will engage the bait. Just because she doesn’t go for the bait doesn’t mean she’s not engaged. She will flutter her fins and tail more and you can see her getting excited. She may not eat the bait, but keep casting closer and closer. Remember, if she eats it once she will eat it again! If she doesn’t take the bait right don’t force a hook set. Depending on the way she takes it, most of the time I will pop it out of her mouth the first time to get a more violent attack the second time.

Good Luck
z

Zach

You must have been watching over my shoulder. Yesterday I was fishing the same lake. Found a couple of beds and that is want I was doing. It worked like a charm!!! I was not able to get on to the water to fish for big MoMMA but it was still fun. This was the first year I can say If i find a bed I feel confident that I will catchem for sure! It is a great feeling.

<(((((><

GO BIG

Dale,

there is a feeling, u get when you stick a toad! theres nothing better then working for a fish and getting her to bite on your terms..

good luck and stick some pigs!!!

Zach

I just hit a 10+ and I just let the male grab the lure over and over , it made the big girl move up for some fun too. Got her to go in 20 Min. It was fun,

Don.

Hey don,

are you fishing the Bass Fishing League At LMVA?



z

No I am not. Just 100%bass this year. I am not sure what LMVA is.LOL!!

Don.

lmva is lake mission viejo, your a member there right?
check it out:
http://www.calfishing.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=3&topic_id=16602&mode=full&page=2