Daryl Bauer, Fisheries Outreach Program Manager
Stumbled onto a video the other day. I am fascinated by predator/prey relationships especially when they include predator fish!
Not exactly sure where that video was shot. I am betting it was “down south” someplace. Regardless, the sandy substrate and quick drop right at the shore reminded me of a Nebraska sandpit. We have pits along rivers throughout our state and many have some big bass in them.
I suppose you could feel sorry for the bluegill, but predators got to eat too! Poor thing jumped clear out of the water to escape the big, bad monster yet still ended up getting ate!
That video lasted just short of a minute. However, if you like to catch bass, there are several things you could learn from it. . . .
First of all, largemouth bass love bluegills and other sunfish. Largemouth bass/bluegill is a classic predator/prey relationship. In Nebraska, some of our best bass habitats are small bodies of water, pits and ponds. In most of those waters, bluegills and perhaps other sunfish are THE primary prey for largemouth bass. To be consistently successful catching bass from those waters, you have to understand bluegill/bass dynamics.
For example, was around several central Nebraska pits this past week. Bluegill spawn was just getting started on those waters. Believe me, the bass are aware of the bluegill spawn too, especially big, post-spawn, female bass. If you want to catch some of those big bass right now, that should give you a clue about one good area to fish!
Another thing to notice from the video was not just the bluegill fleeing up onto the shoreline, but where those big bass were lurking. It is very common on Nebraska pits to find sharp drops-offs. You better believe predator fish like largemouth bass use those drops when hunting and capturing prey. They lurk unnoticed in deeper water waiting for opportunities to pin unsuspecting prey fish up against the drop. On some waters those drops will include a line of aquatic vegetation which makes it even better habitat for sunfish and predators alike.
If you are fishing a pit of some type, you should be fishing the drop-offs. Remember many times those drops are right along shore. You should not necessarily be casting out into the middle of the “lake”. Instead casts along shore, parallel to the drop, will keep your bait in the “strike zone” for the maximum amount of time. Do that and you will catch more fish, and more big fish!