Pro Tips: Easton Fothergill Breaks Down Advanced Techniques for Catching Suspended Bass

The Suspended Fish Challenge: A Winter Time Opportunity

When bass suspend in the water column, many anglers struggle to consistently catch them. In an instructional video filmed on the Coosa River, Minnesota pro and 2025 Bassmaster Classic Champion Easton Fothergill shares his proven system for targeting these often-elusive fish.

"This LiveScope bite is the best follow the wintertime period," Fothergill explains. "That's when they really get keyed in on the shad and they really start to suspend and really chase shad all winter long."

The timing of suspended fish activity follows predictable patterns, according to Fothergill. "In terms of time of day, afternoon is always best. When the sun gets high, it really gets those shad positioned right, and the bass are much easier to catch when the shad are up high and you can see them really good on my forward-facing sonar."

Equipment Setup: The Technical Details

As he demonstrated during his Bassmaster Classic victory, Fothergill relies on specific equipment when targeting suspended fish. His suspended bass setup includes:

• 7-foot medium Lew's Elite Rod
• Lew's Custom Light 300-size reel
• Strike King 8-pound braided main line
• 12-pound fluorocarbon leader

One unique aspect of Fothergill's approach is his leader length: "I use a really short fluorocarbon leader just because I want that knot going through my guides as little as possible," he explains. "Every time that knot hits your guides, it can alter where your cast is going. It can change the direction of your bait, so I use about a foot-long leader because I really think that makes it more accurate."

The Patience Strategy: Wait Before Casting

Perhaps the most valuable insight Fothergill shares is the importance of patience when first spotting fish on forward-facing sonar. While many anglers immediately cast when they see fish, Fothergill takes a more methodical approach.

"When targeting these suspended fish, it can be super tempting to just cast at them as soon as you see them," he cautions. "But what I found is best is, you see them on my screen here—they're 60 to 80 feet out—and I like to just sit here and look at them for a second, just to see what direction they're swimming."

This observation period provides critical information that increases hook-up rates. "It just makes it a lot easier to make a pinpoint cast because if you throw at them as soon as you see them, you really don't know what exactly is happening."

Reading Bait Balls and Finding the Strike Zone

During the video, Fothergill demonstrates how to interpret what you're seeing on sonar, particularly when bass are around schools of baitfish.

"Right here there's a big giant ball of bait obviously, and if I go a little bit to the right of them, you can see those individual fish in the middle of the bait ball there, and they got a little bit of a pocket right there in the middle," he notes.

The key is targeting these pockets within bait schools. "When you see this, what you want to do is you want to get your bait right in the middle of that pocket if you possibly can."

This precision approach requires visualization skills when the screen becomes crowded with bait signatures. "When it's like this, you have to just visualize where your bait is because there's so much shad that you can't see your individual bait."

Adapting Weight to Fish Behavior

One crucial aspect of successfully targeting suspended fish is matching your lure weight to the fish's activity level. Fothergill demonstrates this principle when he switches from a quarter-ounce head to a 3/8-ounce after observing fast-moving fish.

"These fish are moving so fast that I don't think I would be able to hit them with that quarter-ounce head," he explains. "It's just all about gauging the fish and how fast they're going, and it's just all about reading your electronics. Based on that, that'll tell you what bait to throw."

While he prefers the lightest possible head for the most natural presentation, Fothergill acknowledges the necessary compromise when targeting active fish: "When throwing a minnow, I always want to throw the lightest head I possibly can just because I think when you get too heavy of a minnow, it doesn't float right in the water and it's not as natural as it could be."

He continues, "I always throw the lightest head I can get away with, but these fish, they're swimming so fast that I can't even hit them with that quarter head. I have to up to a 3/8-ounce head."

Surface vs. Deep Presentations: Different Approaches for Different Depths

During the demonstration, Fothergill explains how presentation strategy changes based on the fish's position in the water column.

"When I first saw him there, I wanted to make sure not to throw it right on top of his head because most likely it would have spooked him," he says about a high-positioned fish. "But then he dove down briefly, and then I just led him a little bit and swam it by him, and he came up and smoked it."

This observation leads to a practical rule for all anglers to follow: "That's a general rule of thumb. When they're up super high, basically on the surface, you don't want to land it right on top of them—it'll kind of scare them. But when they're cruising in that 10 to 15 foot range, you can land it right on top of them and it'll sink down, and hopefully they'll see it and come up and smash it."

Putting It All Together: Success Through Precision

Throughout the demonstration, Fothergill emphasizes that successful suspended bass fishing requires extreme precision and attention to detail. From boat positioning to cast accuracy to lure selection, every element must work in concert.

As he lands another quality bass during the demonstration, Fothergill reinforces how adapting to changing conditions is essential. "You got to play with your head size. You got to get to there's a happy medium always of, you know, you can hit the fish, but it's still natural. You just got to find that happy medium every day."

For anglers looking to improve their suspended fish catch rates, particularly during winter months, Fothergill's systematic approach offers a proven template that combines technology with refined fishing skills—the same approach that helped him secure his historic Bassmaster Classic victory.

"There it is guys," Fothergill concludes. "I just taught you a little bit on how to target the LiveScope fish once you actually see them on your forward-facing sonar—boat position, you know, how to make the cast and everything."

For bass anglers looking to master modern electronic fishing techniques, Fothergill's detailed breakdown provides the roadmap to catching more suspended fish throughout the winter months and beyond.