Staring down the bass

Wouldn't it figure that on a beautiful day such as today, I'd come across a nice little patch of water with a bass staring straight up at me. Now, the few lures I was pitching today work for bass, but all were meant for other fish and bass just happened to be a byproduct of the lure.

Well this bass just stared at me. It stared at my lures, stared at my presentation and occasionally it swam in a small circle to reposition itself and then it would stare some more. But not once did it hit my lure.

Now, during this time, I longed for my tackle box and my full arsenal of bass weapons, yet, in the end, I too could only stare. I've long wondered if seeing fish actually is a jinx for catching them. Plenty of bass fisherman, especially in clear lakes, are considered sight fishermen. They spot for spawning beds or bass suspended next to structure or perched in a weed patch and they go to work, watching the bass to see what kind of reaction they get.

If I'd had my druthers, I would have worked finesse baits first, such as the Texas rig or a jig-n-pig, and then worked up to reactionary baits like chatter baits, spinner baits, buzz baits or crank baits. Of course, I did throw a beetle spin or two past the bass and managed to scare it, but only enough to make it move a few feet, regroup, and stare.

When things go wrong with the Vikings, I always say the football gods are punishing me. When a bass stares at me two feet off the shore with only days to go before the bass opener, I can only assume the fishing gods are punishing me, as well. With that said, the fact that I didn't intentionally and illegally fish for the bass should translate into a happy opener.

One last thing, I bring up site fishing because I've been on three area lakes in the last week — Washington, Madison and my honey hole that shall go unnamed — and all have been relatively clear in the shallows. Add this warm weather and the bass on most area lakes should be in the heart of the pre-spawn.