Bass Watching Bedding Bluegills? 2024
hooah212002 reply :
I was watching some bluegill making nests while out fishing Sunday morning and periodically I would notice one of them chase off another nearby fish. Sometimes it was another gill, but other times it was a much larger bass. I then noticed that there were bass hanging out right nearby where the nests were being made, seemingly watching these bluegills make their beds. Never once did I see one attack. I thought it very strange that the bass would actually move when the bluegill chased them off. These bass wanted no part of anything I threw at them (but I did catch a few very pretty bluegill).
Anyone ever seen this before? Most all the bass I saw were at least 2-3 pounds, but there were quite a few cruisers that were much larger and they just left the gills alone as well.
Darren. reply :
That's cool. I've seen bass around bluegill beds, but haven't observed the same behavior (that I was aware of) you describe.
hooah212002 reply :
It's the exact opposite of what I saw 2 weeks ago when the bass were the ones doing the spawning. That made sense, at least.
Hyrule Bass reply :
ive never heard of bluegill chasing bass, sounds funny lol. what i wouldve done, is catch the smallest bluegill i could around 4-5 inches and thrown it out on a hook. the minute it bumped your line tight a few times and jerked, bass wouldve been all over it most likely...a lot of times i see them grab the bluegill its usually by the belly and then they try and swim off with it. ive caught lots that way.
i was at SML one day fishing off the dock with my lite set up and a rebel tad fry, which is a small tadpole floater-diver with rattles and one tiny treble hook. i was having a blast catching bream off the dock with it. they were hitting violently that day. i hooked one while i had just the rod in one hand and the other hand was lighting a cigarette. so it was there jerking around and a huge bass comes out from under the dock and starts swimming off with it real slowly. i opened my bail and started thinking how i could get this bass while watching it swim towards deeper water. i ended up just closing the bail and the bass spit the bluegill when it felt the pressure off my line pulling back. it wouldve been hard to hook that bass with such a tiny lure that was already stuck in the bluegill pretty good. who knows what wouldve happened if i let it swim out of site taking my line the whole time. it wouldve been a personal best for sure had i hooked and landed it. but i was happy just thinking how cool it was to see this big bass swimming away so slowly with a bluegill it grabbed by the belly in its mouth
hooah212002 reply :
I suppose I didn't think about that. All our gear is aimed at mimicking dying bait fish, so of course these bass aren't attacking healthy bed making fish. "duh" as the kids say. It's still odd that they were able to be chased away by much smaller fish, even if just a short distance.
loudcherokee reply :
I seen this exact thing this weekend at a pond I was fishing. the bluegill were chasing smaller bass in the 1-2 pound range away. there was one larger bass, maybe 4 pounds, that would sit on the bluegill nest when it chased the other smaller bass away. when the bluegill came back, it would chase away the larger bass. I threw everything I had at the bigger bass, even tapping his nose with a generic senko, and couldn't even get a reaction bite.
LC
gallowaypt reply :
On a small pond I fish, I catch good bass all the time by throwing a fluke right on the edge of the inside weed line in the middle of spawning bluegill. I have also seen huge bass 5+ come up into a foot or less of water, in the same area described above, and smash these bedding bluegill.
hooah212002 reply :
On 6/26/2013 at 11:17 AM, gallowaypt said:On a small pond I fish, I catch good bass all the time by throwing a fluke right on the edge of the inside weed line in the middle of spawning bluegill. I have also seen huge bass 5+ come up into a foot or less of water, in the same area described above, and smash these bedding bluegill.
Flukes have been my go to this year and they got me nada that day. White ice, pearl, watermelon/red flake and baby bass.
Bluebasser86 reply :
Bass do that all the time in the lakes around here. They're waiting for a bluegill to get careless and give them a chance to get it head first before they know what's happening and before they can get their dorsal spines up so they're tougher to swallow. Bluegill imitations like a Mattlures U2 or even the Storm Wildeye baits will catch some of those big bass. A bluegill colored swim jig is another good option along with bigger poppers or prop baits.
Sam reply :
Yes, this is natural in nature. Mother Nature seems to know what she is doing to help control the population.
Bluegills will attack bass beds. This is why I am not in favor of fishing beds and removing the bass. Within seconds the bluegills will attack the nest and eat the eggs.
Bass do the same to bluegills. The bass know the bluegills are getting ready to go on their nests and the bass will attack the bed if the bluegills leave the beds open.
You have the privilege of seeing the bass waiting for the bluegills to leave the nest so they can attack. What you missed was the bluegills doing the same to the bass beds. So continue to watch what happens to the bluegill beds and then see what happens with the bass beds.
As I said, Mother Nature is fantastic!
Bankbeater reply :
The bass are waiting for one of the bluegill to get careless. I think it is kind of like when lions watch their prey, and the prey can see the lions.
Hyrule Bass reply :
another scenario could just happen to be that the bass are too small to eat those particular bluegills
SPEEDBEAD. reply :
If I see this scenario, you better believe I am backing off and throwing a bluegill swimbait about 10ft off the outside edge of those beds.
You see the fish that are able to be seen. I'd put money on the fact that there are larger fish that you don't see. 
gallowaypt reply :
On 6/26/2013 at 11:27 AM, hooah212002 said:Flukes have been my go to this year and they got me nada that day. White ice, pearl, watermelon/red flake and baby bass.
Try again with green pumpkin and the tail dipped in JJ's chartreuse bud. It's a great sunfish imitator IMO.
Teal reply :
On 6/26/2013 at 9:34 PM, SPEEDBEAD. said:If I see this scenario, you better believe I am backing off and throwing a bluegill swimbait about 10ft off the outside edge of those beds.
You see the fish that are able to be seen. I'd put money on the fact that there are larger fish that you don't see.
This!!! The hardgil is a hard lure to beat in this situation.
Kevin22 reply :
We have that all over the place here. Takes a long time to figure out how to fish bluegill beds, but once you do it is very easy to catch those lurking bass. Bluegill will chase anything from around their beds, I have seen them chase a 30-40lb carp away before.
The bass are NOT there to eat those bluegill. They could not care less about those fish as you could see. THEY ARE THERE TO EAT THE SHAD AND MINNOWS THAT FEED ON THE BLUEGILL EGGS.
Try one of two things, a drop shot with a small minnow, or a shad colored jig. Fish the jig like you would imagine a shad would be acting when feeding on eggs off the bottom.
Try those two things and you will catch those bass. Concentrate on the deeper edges of the beds, that is where the bigger bass will be staging.
SPEEDBEAD. reply :
On 6/26/2013 at 11:40 PM, Kevin22 said:
The bass are NOT there to eat those bluegill. They could not care less about those fish as you could see. THEY ARE THERE TO EAT THE SHAD AND MINNOWS THAT FEED ON THE BLUEGILL EGGS.
I will have to respectfully disagree with your assessment of the situation.
While I believe they would eat a shad or minnow that happened by, there is a reason they are watching those bluegills so closely. They are waiting for one to screw up.
hooah212002 reply :
Welp, looks like I have some more baits to buy..... Thanks guys.
PABASS reply :
I have seen this in small ponds with NO Shad, No Minnows, just bluegill and bass, nature works in circles, look for smaller bluegills they are feeding on the eggs when the larger bluegill chases off the bass, bass are there for the smaller bluegills trying to feed on the bluegill beds. In all this commotion one animal will come out with a meal, small bluegill with some eggs in its belly or a bass with a small bluegill in its belly or perhaps even both..
Kevin22 reply :
Curious to what type of pond you have with no minnows? Private concrete pond? Here in Iowa all ponds have minnows of some type, be it stocked fatheads, shiners, dace, or other small bottom dwelling minnows... mostly because when stocked by the DNR they introduce fathead minnows to the pond as a first food source to the fish. They will breed and be in the pond/lakes forever.
I have never seen any body of water that did not have minnows, from creeks small enough to step over to huge lakes. Been that way throughout time, even natural small ponds that have never been touched by humans have some type of small minnow species living in them... that is how nature works.
It may not be shad and minnows that the bass are after, but they are NOT after the spawning bluegill. Too much work for them to chase down a ticked off bluegill defending its bed. Bass will always take the easiest food source, they are opportunistic hunters. It could be small bluegills, shad, minnows, crawdads, big water beetles, aquatic lizards/salamanders, and many other animals that come to feast on the eggs. Those are all easy meals when they are feeding vs chasing down a spawned bluegill that will be fighting back. I could see a small wore out female bluegill being eaten as she is moving off the bed after spawning, but even then there will be plenty of fired up males around to chase the bass off.
Revival reply :
On 6/27/2013 at 4:26 AM, Kevin22 said:Curious to what type of pond you have with no minnows? Private concrete pond? Here in Iowa all ponds have minnows of some type, be it stocked fatheads, shiners, dace, or other small bottom dwelling minnows... mostly because when stocked by the DNR they introduce fathead minnows to the pond as a first food source to the fish. They will breed and be in the pond/lakes forever.
I have never seen any body of water that did not have minnows, from creeks small enough to step over to huge lakes. Been that way throughout time, even natural small ponds that have never been touched by humans have some type of small minnow species living in them... that is how nature works.
Every pond i fish does not have shad or minnows. I actually fished consistently in 3 different states, and none of the places i fished had shad or minnows.
Fish Chris reply :
On 6/27/2013 at 12:22 AM, SPEEDBEAD. said:I will have to respectfully disagree with your assessment of the situation.
While I believe they would eat a shad or minnow that happened by, there is a reason they are watching those bluegills so closely. They are waiting for one to screw up.
SpeedBead, I totally agree with you on this. I've seen numerous bass to over 15 lbs, hanging around the outskirts of Bluegill bedding areas. Not that these big bass "wouldn't eat a minnow, or shad".... But I think they are looking for a Gill which is too busy spawning, and not watching its back....
Fish
Fish Chris reply :
On 6/27/2013 at 4:26 AM, Kevin22 said:Curious to what type of pond you have with no minnows? Private concrete pond? Here in Iowa all ponds have minnows of some type, be it stocked fatheads, shiners, dace, or other small bottom dwelling minnows... mostly because when stocked by the DNR they introduce fathead minnows to the pond as a first food source to the fish. They will breed and be in the pond/lakes forever.
I have never seen any body of water that did not have minnows, from creeks small enough to step over to huge lakes. Been that way throughout time, even natural small ponds that have never been touched by humans have some type of small minnow species living in them... that is how nature works.
It may not be shad and minnows that the bass are after, but they are NOT after the spawning bluegill. Too much work for them to chase down a ticked off bluegill defending its bed. Bass will always take the easiest food source, they are opportunistic hunters. It could be small bluegills, shad, minnows, crawdads, big water beetles, aquatic lizards/salamanders, and many other animals that come to feast on the eggs. Those are all easy meals when they are feeding vs chasing down a spawned bluegill that will be fighting back. I could see a small wore out female bluegill being eaten as she is moving off the bed after spawning, but even then there will be plenty of fired up males around to chase the bass off.
Kevin, the pond I mentioned seeing big bass hanging around the Bluegill beds, has no minnows or shad, and does not allow minnows as bait. This is also the pond I caught my 18.4 lb PB (the lake record) at.
Peace,
Fish
Mattlures reply :
bass and gills coexist. If the gills ate all the bass eggs then they would eventually kill off the bass. If the bass just went around eating all the gills they would eventually kill off all the gills. Its kind of like the lions and antelope. They can be fairly close to each other without the lions even trying to catch one. The antelope know this and they don't run away but they always keep an eye on the lions. Then something triggers the lions and its time to hunt and the antelope know the mood has changed and they get much more spooky. Bass and gills live close to each other most of the time and just like the antelope the gills head for cover when they sense the bass are getting hungry. Its a perfect balance.
Also I don't believe bass like to eat larger gills. I think when that happens its a reaction or they couldn't pass up an opportunity. If the bass are close and watching larger spawning gills, they probably know its dangerous to eat them. Now if the gills were smaller then the bass were probably just hanging out until feeding time.
mod479 reply :
Seen this as well, up north we got pumpkinseed sunnies and I've seen them gang up and chase bass out of the group of beds they were on. Also seen the smallies ambush the smaller ones while they did their thing. Dragging and hopping a melon/gold tube around the edges got me bit by a few bass, but most were just too busy watching the sunfish orgy to care.
PABASS reply :
On 6/27/2013 at 4:26 AM, Kevin22 said:Curious to what type of pond you have with no minnows? Private concrete pond? Here in Iowa all ponds have minnows of some type, be it stocked fatheads, shiners, dace, or other small bottom dwelling minnows... mostly because when stocked by the DNR they introduce fathead minnows to the pond as a first food source to the fish. They will breed and be in the pond/lakes forever.
I have never seen any body of water that did not have minnows, from creeks small enough to step over to huge lakes. Been that way throughout time, even natural small ponds that have never been touched by humans have some type of small minnow species living in them... that is how nature works.
It may not be shad and minnows that the bass are after, but they are NOT after the spawning bluegill. Too much work for them to chase down a ticked off bluegill defending its bed. Bass will always take the easiest food source, they are opportunistic hunters. It could be small bluegills, shad, minnows, crawdads, big water beetles, aquatic lizards/salamanders, and many other animals that come to feast on the eggs. Those are all easy meals when they are feeding vs chasing down a spawned bluegill that will be fighting back. I could see a small wore out female bluegill being eaten as she is moving off the bed after spawning, but even then there will be plenty of fired up males around to chase the bass off.
I don't think I have ever fished a pond with shad or minnows, I have never been out to Iowa so I cant say but here in PA we have many small ponds and the DNR does not have anything to do with these small ponds, they are typically residential owned and or golf course ponds. One thing that may differ here in the east is that most property was owned well before the government/local state had its hands in land ownership, around here most lakes where created on farm land and farmer owned land taken was over by the state. As a child I used to swim in these ponds and know them quite well.. And to add to that allot of lakes I fish do not have shad, only a few come to mind, minnows yes, but no shad..
Fish Chris reply :
On 6/27/2013 at 6:27 PM, Mattlures said:bass and gills coexist. If the gills ate all the bass eggs then they would eventually kill off the bass. If the bass just went around eating all the gills they would eventually kill off all the gills. Its kind of like the lions and antelope. They can be fairly close to each other without the lions even trying to catch one. The antelope know this and they don't run away but they always keep an eye on the lions. Then something triggers the lions and its time to hunt and the antelope know the mood has changed and they get much more spooky. Bass and gills live close to each other most of the time and just like the antelope the gills head for cover when they sense the bass are getting hungry. Its a perfect balance.
Also I don't believe bass like to eat larger gills. I think when that happens its a reaction or they couldn't pass up an opportunity. If the bass are close and watching larger spawning gills, they probably know its dangerous to eat them. Now if the gills were smaller then the bass were probably just hanging out until feeding time.
Great post Matt. Spot on, as usual. Of course, a 15+ lb Bass, can eat a pretty good sized Gill ...granted, it would probably prefer a hatchery trout over a Gill, about 100 X's to 1 
Peace,
Fish
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