Anyone struggle catching open water bass with FFS?

[mossie3]

I've spent part of 4 trips maybe 12 hours total fishing for roaming open water bass, and bass around bait balls with not one catch, only a few hits. I've caught several I've seen moving around along the bottom while conventional fishing, and a couple of roamers while conventional fishing. But as far as specifically targeting open water fish, even at Dale Hollow, where that pattern excels, NADA.

I see nothing easy about it. Wind blowing you around, sun glaring off your graph, bass moving, bait moving, guessing where to lead the fish with a cast, getting your bait down sometimes as deep as 60 ft to them before they move off, keeping and seeing the bass and your bait in the view, knowing how to adjust the graph. My next step will be heavier heads, and freeloader twitching style baits. I see "spot lighting" and catching them requiring a lot more skill, than just going down the bank with a crankbait or jerkbait catching them. I caught 9 on the bank, 0 by spot lighting yesterday.

I'd like someone calling it spotlighting, no skill involved, unethical, not fair chase, jump in the boat with me and prove how easy it is.

[BigFishSteve]

It's not that hard. Like this.

[TheBarBack]

Fish behavior. Not everyday during every season is every fish out suspended in open water on a flat (what a sentence!). I've had great luck at certain times chasing fish around in open water following bait... but it just isn't always a pattern you can replicate day in and day out. Bait moves around, fish get tight to the bottom and patterns just change. There isn't anything easy about dialing in a pattern that can hold for days, regardless of if it's open water scoping... brush piles... punching mats... anything.

[NW.Ind.Basser]

It ain't easy that's for sure. I'd hate to even guess how many hours I've spent targeting non game fish because I thought they were bass. I've caught crappie, catfish, white bass all mixed in with bass. I've watched fish feed heavily and never got a bite. Like bed fish I guess some you can catch some you can't. I don't know the difference yet

[Mark Perry]

There were some FFS gurus that finished outside the Top 50 on Toledo. Wonder whysince it's supposed to be so easy if you are good with FFS.

[Caymas ProXS]

There are easy days, excellent days, good days, bad days, cussing days, too much time spent days, learning days, & humble days. Time spent on the water know matter what tools you’re using will make you a better angler & help you understand each situation better.

[osutodd]

I'm just learning to use my FFS. Saturday afternoon I was out and most of the day there were two to four boats fishing the open water around where I was. They would come and go. There were a lot of fish in that area, but I only saw one other fish caught in the open water. I caught one myself. First bass ever that I caught while watching it on FFS.

I did see one boat fishing the banks catch two. Then about 3:00, as a tournament was apparently ending judging from all the boats coming in, I got on a bite where they had shad pinned against the bank. Caught 16-18 largemouth and smallmouth on a ned rig in about 90 minutes. You can catch them when they aren't in a feeding mood, but when they want to eat, they eat.

But I felt a lot more confident knowing that I was throwing at a group of fish, and my bait was at the right depth, rather than just randomly casting and trying different depths and retrieves. I could see fish ignore one color jerkbait, and follow another. I could watch my Alabama rig to know I was above the fish and not below. The one I caught, I pumped it when it was right over the fish. She hammered it. Way better than chucking and hoping.

[gaston13]

I'll post pictures this afternoon.

[june-bug]

There were some FFS gurus that finished outside the Top 50 on Toledo. Wonder whysince it's supposed to be so easy if you are good with FFS.

Easy or not they are seeing and chasing down suspended fish that they otherwise would have never had a chance at. Sometimes they bite sometimes they don't. The top 10 on Toledo all had enough of them bite though.

[jerzia]

There were some FFS gurus that finished outside the Top 50 on Toledo. Wonder whysince it's supposed to be so easy if you are good with FFS.

Think of a lumberjack competition. Some who are good will win and others that are good will lose, but without a saw, none would even have a chance.

[Mark Perry]

Think of a lumberjack competition. Some who are good will win and others that are good will lose, but without a saw, none would even have a chance.

Or it's about more than just being able to use FFS.

[jerzia]

Or it's about more than just being able to use FFS.

Absolutely, skill level will usually rise to the top, my point being, you’re not in the game if you don’t adapt.

[rboren]

I would just keep trying! I bet the ones that are good at it spent way more than 12 hours learning!

[Bobby Gray]

The gurus make it look so easy on TV... Truthfully it feels to me when I start looking for them in open water, that they literally never stop moving.. sometimes rather quickly. It's a developed skill for sure. I've had a lot more frustrating days doing it then successful ones for sure. Chasing down and catching open water fish cruising for bait.. Like herding cats in a bass boat. Scoping them on a piece of cover.... way easier..

[Rider99XX]

I only struggle catching bass in water from 1" to 1000' deep. The other depths are a piece of cake.

[Schooler]

I can’t seem to master it. I have decided that anytime I go fishing this summer except for tourney practice and tourneys I am only going to carry spinning stuff and maybe a couple of bigger swimbaits and only fish using FFS. No bank beating. On the elite broadcast they said Gee spent 50 days only using FFS to learn it. I think that is what it will take to get good at it.

[Murph McB]

I’m 5 or 6 tournaments in right now, still looking for my first FFS fish . Slow learning bank beater!! Lol

[IndianaBassMan]

It's not that hard. Like this.

Crappie are a different beast, but you know that already

[Jwags13]

I've spent part of 4 trips maybe 12 hours total fishing for roaming open water bass, and bass around bait balls with not one catch, only a few hits. I've caught several I've seen moving around along the bottom while conventional fishing, and a couple of roamers while conventional fishing. But as far as specifically targeting open water fish, even at Dale Hollow, where that pattern excels, NADA.

I see nothing easy about it. Wind blowing you around, sun glaring off your graph, bass moving, bait moving, guessing where to lead the fish with a cast, getting your bait down sometimes as deep as 60 ft to them before they move off, keeping and seeing the bass and your bait in the view, knowing how to adjust the graph. My next step will be heavier heads, and freeloader twitching style baits. I see "spot lighting" and catching them requiring a lot more skill, than just going down the bank with a crankbait or jerkbait catching them. I caught 9 on the bank, 0 by spot lighting yesterday.

I'd like someone calling it spotlighting, no skill involved, unethical, not fair chase, jump in the boat with me and prove how easy it is.

I don't get this either. I fish 100+ days a year the past 2yrs. I have a great electronics system in boat. Lvs 34 on a 126sv. In 2024 I've only caught 2 bass on livescope that were roaming. All other livescope catches were from cover/structure I found with sidescan or schools I found with sidescan.

[rangerjignpig]

I am wondering how they find these open water fish before livescoping them. a few open water fish wont really show on sidescan.