With water temperatures pushing into the high 60s, largemouth bass are bedding all over the area - and they’ll never be easier to catch than they are right now.

Some people don’t like sight-fishing for bedding bass, but I’ve always enjoyed it. Maybe because it’s so easy.

You just cruise the shallows, looking for light spots on the dark lake bottom. Those are usually beds, and sometimes you can actually see the fish sitting on them.

In either situation, I like to start casting toward the bed with a four-inch Texas-rigged lizard. I use the smaller four-inch variety because it’s easier for the fish to get the whole bait in its mouth. I use bright colors like tomato or bubble gum, so I can see it more easily.

Unless you can actually see the fish hit the bait, you have to pay close attention or you’ll miss the strike. They’re usually not hitting the bait to eat it. They just want to pick it up and spit it out of their bed, so your window of opportunity for a hookset is sometimes small.

Just remember, when you’re retrieving a bait across the bottom, any variation in the path of your line is likely to be a bite. If you’re using those brightly colored baits I mentioned, you might just see the bait suddenly disappear. That often means a fish has inhaled it.

Sometimes when you find bedding bass, there will be two per bed - a small male and a larger female. You can often catch both fish if you’re willing to stick with them.

One thing that’s awfully important for a sight-fisherman is a good pair of polarized sunglasses. You can see much farther under the water with glasses than you can with your naked eyes.

When looking for spawning fish, try to key on fish that are willing to stand their ground.

If you come across a fish that spooks away from the bed and comes right back in just a few seconds, you can almost always catch that fish. If you come across a bass that spooks off the bed and stays gone more than a few seconds, you’re in for a bigger challenge.

The spawn won’t last very long, so get out and take advantage of a good situation while you can.