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As the weather heats up and bass move onto their beds for the spawn, a lot of special things start to happen.

First of all, I spend a lot less time doing “grown up” stuff, and a heck of a lot more time on the water. I’m sure we can all agree that fishing is a much more productive way to spend the weekend than mowing the lawn.

Secondly, bass start to behave in that special spring way. They get aggressive, protective, and downright nasty. As a fisherman, this is a good thing. When bass are protecting their beds, that aggression means more fish on the hook, right?

Not necessarily—sometimes that aggression does not translate into more bass in the boat. Since they are not feeding, they are not taking your hooks into their mouth. In regards to topwater baits, bass will actually hit the bait with a closed mouth as it passes over their bed, never giving you a chance to set the hook.

That’s when it’s a great time to employ this simple strategy…

The Gear You Will Need

You will need two rods rigged up with different baits. First, your favorite topwater plug. This is your primary weapon.

Next, you will need another rod rigged up with a soft-plastic bait. I suggest a tiki stick super soft pro, or a Netbait BK—but feel free to use whatever works in your area.

With those two rods in hand, you are ready to take on these bedding lunkers.

The Strategy

Work the area you are going to fish with your topwater bait first. As you get strikes, you need to pay attention to what type of strikes they are.

Are they short strikes? Are they hitting the bait with a closed mouth? Are they hitting in the same spot multiple times but they just don’t give you enough for a good hook set?

If any of these are true, you immediately go to your secondary rod. In fact, anytime you miss a fish on the topwater bait, you will switch over.

Cast a few feet past the topwater strike and get that soft plastic right in the spot. Make sure to drop it right in their face, and presumably, right in the bed.

Now, to protect the bed, the bass has no choice but to take the bait in its mouth and move it. He can short strike and hit the topwater plug, but he has to suck the soft plastic in to get rid of it.

This strategy is basically a “seek and destroy” mission for bedding bass. Have fun with it, and let us know what you catch!

See ya on the water…