Anglers might be afraid to spook a big bass off a bed, but St. Francisville’s Craig Graham intentionally targets the fish with his bait.
“If she’s not staying in her spot, I’ll harass her,” he said. “In her mind, her safe spot is her bed, so I take advantage of that.”
He said the goal is to make the fish so mad that it can’t help but crush his bait.
“Beat it; harass that fish,” Graham said. “Don’t let up. Beat the hell out of it.”
While some bass will definitely swim off, Graham said those fish probably wouldn’t bite anyway.
And the reality is that bedding bass aren’t looking to eat. So subtlety isn’t going to result in many bites.
“Fewer than 10 percent will pick up a bait on its own,” Graham said. “Ninety percent of the fish you’re going to have to make bite.
The ones that refuse to give ground to a plastic bait will eventually have enough, and crush the lure.
“You want to keep that fish’s aggravation level high,” Graham said. “Then you’ll put it in the boat.”
