Catching spawning bass when you can see them can be an easy way to pick off fish, but what about the ones you can’t see?

Matt Arey uses two traditional big fish baits – the swimbait and the glide bait – to help find spawning bass he otherwise wouldn’t know about. 

“The key with those location baits is to visually keep your eyes on that bait,” Arey said. “The reason I say that is because if you can't see that bait you don't know if you're locating a fish or not, unless that fish fully commits to it.”

Arey uses these two techniques in an attempt to get the spawning fish to show themselves. Typically, he doesn’t catch fish with these techniques, but it allows him to mark them for later – or he will follow up with something like a Senko. 

In this seminar, Arey explains how to fish and how to rig a weightless swimbait, and how to fish a glide bait. Arey opts for the weightless swimbait because it allows him to keep the bait just deep enough where he can still see the bait if a fish swipes at it. Similarly, Arey uses a slow-sinking glide bait so he can see when it triggers a reaction. 

Arey also discusses the importance of boat positioning, using the sun to your advantage, and just how to get finicky spawning bass to reaction to baits.  

• 0:45 Using Swimbaits To Locate Spawning Bass
• 4:45 Slow-Sinking Glide Baits In Clear Water
• 8:35 Tips For Locating Spawning Fish
• 9:57 How To Fish Location Baits To Find Spawning Bass
• 16:35 How To Fish A Glide Bait

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