Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Cruising bass pack

I have a question. I was down at my pond today and I observed a pack of LMB cruising the shoreline. There was one large fish about 24 inches long, another about 18 inches, and another 9 to 11 4 to 8 inches all swimming in a pack around the perimiter of the pond. The CBG are still spawning and so are some of the LMB.

What does this behavior mean, if anything? I have viewed groups of 2 to 3, usually 8 to 12 inches exhibiting the same behavior, but never a pack this large. I have never been able to catch one of these cruisers.

This time of year, bass of similar size cruise the edge for several reasons. First, they want to spawn and instinctly search for the best place to nest. Odds are, you are watching males...probably the males who don't stand a chance to spawn because the most aggressive males have already paired off with the available ripe females.
The second reason is that they are searching for food. They'll do that. If you can see bursts on top of the water near the edge from time to time, they are feeding.
The other reason is that they are also searching for a good place to hang out. The best cover goes to the biggest and most aggressive fish. It's almost like a "pecking order" thing.
My experience has been that those fish are often pretty easy to catch, once you figure out what they will hit. I threw a plastic crawfish along the shoreline two nights ago, in search of those patrolling bass. Nothing. Switched to a Watermelon Seed colored 4" Zoom "fish doctor" and caught 20 in 30 casts. Every one was a male. There were two that were about 6 inches long. All the rest were 10-14 inches.

Thanks for the good information. I have been working to build up my forage base for the last two years since I bought the property two years ago. The pound is a spring-fed pond impounded in 1972 and had LMB and CNBG when I purchased it. The bass were a little skinny, so I added CNBG small last year and Tilapia. The Tilapia did great and several have appeared to overwinter. (They are huge "gray ghosts" visible in the clear water). I added some more last week.

Does the cruising behaviour mean that they dont't have enoough to eat and/or need more cover. I was going to add some more 4-6" CNBG this spring, but I have been catching and seeing a lot more CNBG this summer so I decided to hold off. I am also seeing more smaller fish which I assume to be CNBG, tilapia and bass fry. How can you tell if you have too many CNBG in a pond with an existing LMB population. I need to add some more LMB to the pond to get some new genetics. I think the fish in there are all from the orignial stocking.

Thanks again for the information.