Psyching Out Post
Spawn Bass
by
Steve Quinn
Here in Minnesota, we're saddled with a very short bass season. All
winter and spring, I chat with friends across the country who tell
me how they're catching them here, or discovering something new
there. Anglers from California to Georgia can get out all year long.
Even in Missouri and New Jersey, they go bass fishing for nine
months of the year.
When opener arrives, we can't wait to get out and stick a bunch of
bass. Due to the short season, tournaments often start right after
opener, in order to fit 5 or 6 events into a mere three months. Of
course some folks can't wait and get out after some bass before the
season. This is risky, for you can be written up by a conservation
officer who perceives you to be intentionally targeting and catching
bass (as opposed to crappies, pike, etc.). This is more of a risk
for high-profile anglers, as an arrest can become an embarrassment
to your sponsors.
Focus on the Fish
The bass are in no rush for the season to begin, however. On
Memorial Day, they're typically involved with some aspect of the
spawn, which covers several weeks from start to end. In central and
southern parts of Minnesota, most of the actual egg laying is
typically finished by then. Males remain to guard the nest while the
big females have started feeding. The water often is still cool
(usually low 60s to low 70s), and lake conditions are changing
rapidly. Transitions can cause fishing patterns to change fast,
which can be puzzling to us anglers.
The first key is to determine the phase of the spawn. Last year
(2002), you may recall that even on Lake Minnetonka, the second week
of bass season found most largemouths and smallmouths still in a
prespawn attitude. Waves of fish moved in and out of bays in
response to warming and cooling trends. The heaviest spawn didn't
take place until the very end of May. Up north, things were later
still.
The relative shortness of the warm season does, however, spur
Minnesota bass to quickly accomplish their annual spawn and turn to
feeding in order to add another inch or so to their frames before
winter returns. That same eagerness to feed makes the bass fishing
in this state so excellent, compared to great waters in southern
states where the fish can pick and choose when they want to feed,
knowing that they have many months to get the job done.
Finding Fish
As the spawn season ends, finding bass is no problem. The challenge
is in finding the big fish that count at tournament time. In our
good bass lakes, the weigh-in board will reveal that almost all
competitors in the top events catch their limits. But weights will
vary from 10 to 25 pounds. Finding the big females is the key, not
plucking off late spawning small fish or nest guarding males (though
the occasional 2 1/2 to 3-pound male can come in handy).
There are three attractions for the big gals now that their annual
round of sex is done - warm water, good cover, and abundant prey.
This will keep them concentrated in the relative shallows (less than
8 feet or so) until good deep weedgrowth has developed. For
largemouths, vegetation growing on the flats from 3 to 8 feet
generally holds the biggest fish. Any fallen trees along deep banks,
sunken stumps, or rockpiles that break up weedy areas also are key.
Largemouths hold among the thick clumps of cabbage that quickly
develop at this time of year. In some lakes, you will find Eurasian
milfoil and the dark-colored curly weed known as crispus.
Big bass don't move much unless they have to, so the best areas lie
close to the bays and pockets where they spawned. Look over your
lake maps to find relatively shallow enclosed parts of the lake that
also features canals, backwaters, or bays. In these fertile areas,
underwater plants sprout first and offer the best cover for bass
that are just moving off the beds. Areas that are close to deep
water are particularly good for big fish.
Largemouths also favor inside weededges that may run parallel to the
shoreline and offer a feeding lane for fish. You will notice a band
of shallow sand that's scoured each year by ice coverage. It then
breaks to an extensive bed of mixed plant species that's hard to
fish effectively during the Postspawn Period when bass are generally
not chasing spinnerbaits, rattlers, or cranks. They will hold at the
shallow edge of the vegetation and gaze out onto the sandy clearing
for any potential prey.
On our highly developed lakes, you also have lots of docks that
often span this inside edge. Whether they lie on an edge, a shallow
weedy flat, or along a deep channel, there's no better time to fish
docks that within a few weeks of the spawn. You will find lots of
fish, but also some of the biggest fish there, since deep cover is
yet to develop. Make no mistake, when it is available, most of the
biggest bass prefer deep edges over shallow boat dock habitat where
they may get repeatedly sore-mouthed. But deep edges are not yet
developed. Moreover, the baitfish are still shallow.
Shallow bass and thick cover early in the season equate to beds of
shallow emergent and floating vegetation - reeds, maidencane, lily
pads, curly leaf pondweed, and filamentous algae. In the north
country, look for emerging wild rice, too.
One other key Postspawn area is bluegill bedding areas. Not only do
the spawning sunfish sweep out large sandy areas that provide nice
feeding edges for the bass, but the largest bass also patrol these
spots to pick off some of the cuckolder and satellite males that
surround the beds of the big parental bluegill males. Big bedding
males are not the target, but the little one that dart in and around
the beds. Whatever the case, the big bass are here with an eye to
bite.
Slow Down!
The single key to presentation during the Postspawn is to slow down.
Most bass anglers have just gotten out and are eager to find fish so
they rush here and there, making a few dozen casts and moving on.
They're the ones with the 12-pound sacks of bass at weigh-in time.
Once you find a key location such as those mentioned earlier, stay
far off the spot, make long casts, and wait for the big bite. You
may have to wade through some small fish, but you will get the big
ones as well.
You must believe that they are right on the spot or else nearby.
Without this confidence in the spot you have chosen, you will have a
hard time mustering the patience necessary to fish extremely slowly,
deadsticking repeatedly for up to a minute at a time. To fish
effectively at this time, you have to play the wind and that usually
means finding an area where it is minimal. Some days, any bait
movement hurts the presentation. You must keep your line still, not
to mention your boat. An exception to ultra-slow fishing is boat
docks, where bass generally bite rather quickly. Still, if you fish
docks early in the day, on a cloudy or rainy day, or under cold
front conditions, ultra-slow presentations will get you more big
bites under the piers as well.
Lure Options
Plastics: The slow fishing scenario described above applies to most
Postspawn fishing around mid-depth vegetation and inside edges.
Those situations call for soft plastics fished weightless or with
minimal weight, such as a 1/16-ounce slip sinker, small Mojo weight,
or Lunker City Insert Weight. The Senko-style baits are great
choices for this period, and their salt content makes them cast
farther and more accurately, and sink faster than other favorites
like the Berkley Power Slug, Mister Twister Slimy Slug, and Slug-Go.
But in shallow conditions, the slower falling baits can be better.
Rely on your heavier styles in deeper grass or when the wind comes
up. To add a bit more weight, check out the new Bait Jerker Hooks
from Falcon Lures (1/16-ounce for this season).
Here's a tip for fishing those hefty sticks, including the Tiki Stik,
Case's Magic Stik, Kinami Flash, Prowler, Slim Jim, Yum Dinger, and
so on. Wacky rigging is deadly along inside edges, by stumps, sand
flats, and other areas without thick vegetation. But if you skewer
these baits through the middle, you ruin a bait on almost every
bass. During the Postspawn Period, when you will be catching dozens
of fish, this is costly and time wasting. I slide the
appropriate-sized rubber O-ring around the bait and place the hook
in it, not the lure. Another option is a strip of electrical tape
(red can be deadly on a green pumpkin lure). then run the hook
through the tape and catch 6 or 8 fish before replacing it. Try
Falcon's K Wacky hook for this rigging, or Gambler's new Sweebo Hook
for a little extra weight. At this time, you should always have a
tube tied on as well.
Jigs: Swimming a light jig also is a terrific tactic shortly after
the spawn, and one that's really catching on across the upper
Midwest in river situations as well as lakes. A trimmed-down 1/4- or
3/16-ounce model backed by a larger plastic trailer or #1 Uncle Josh
Chunk is a top choice for getting kicker fish. Move it along slowly,
dropping it into pockets in the developing weeds. Holding the boat
back and pitching the little jig along an inside edge will get you a
lunker sooner or later.
And don't neglect those docks! All your standard baits will work,
particularly tubes, small jigs, pre-rigged worms, and Slugs. Stay
with the program and you will get some outstanding action during
this early season. There will be plenty of time to try out all those
cool new crankbaits and topwaters in a few weeks.
Have a great season!
Steve Quinn
classicbass.com Pro Staff
