Spinnerbaits, chatter baits and swimming a jig combo are popular lures and tactics that can often fool even the weariest of bass all during the spawning season. They spend the first two weeks after the spawn recooperating. The biology of the bass spawn mississippi sportsman. The spawning period provides one of the years best opportunities to catch big bass in florida, particularly for anglers who enjoy sightfishing for bass in shallow water. The largemouth prefers shallow, weedy lakes and river backwaters the same type of habitat that produces bluegills. There are so many lures and techniques for anglers to discover as the lakes waters warm, too many lures and techniques to list, that will all fool bass located in water temps of 70. When it comes to bass fishing learning how to fish the spawn can be frustrating but very rewarding. How anglers fish, and the techniques they employ, are at. Fishing success drops quickly in the spawning season. Normally the male largemouth bass will find the nest for the spawning season, this nest will be made from sand and gravel, circular in shape and quite shallow, it will also normally be around. The lakes earliest spawning bass actually some already on the beds, may be in the process of spawning, taking place all during the first to second week of april into early may.
The largemouth bass spawn during the spring months of march to june when the water temperature is around sixty five to seventy five degrees farenheight. Bass spawning season approximate dates for your area can vary with spawning taking place on large can be three weeks apart. Lake alan henry and some other bigbass factories are notorious for having a late spawn, though in some years bass will be on beds in march. Bass spawning season is very predictable, because bass do the same thing every year in three basic stages. Here are some key tactics to catching these wary bass. Spring is the heart of spawning season for most of the fish texas freshwater anglers target. You will see bass make faster transitions from winter holes to spring spawning areas in shallow natural lakes with vegetation and shallow stained water lakes. Spawning bass have you been stumped trying to get spawning bass to hit your lure. Dont jump the gun on the spawning season bassmaster. The magic water temperature for bass to spawn is about 65 degrees, but some fish will spawn before or after that number is reached.
Spawning season for the largemouth bass the best bass. Catching largemouth bass in the spawning season archives. Here in central florida, bass fishing is a yearround event. Once spawning occurs, the male will hang around to protect the fry for a few weeks anyway. Bass start to scatter along the pea gravel banks throughout the coves and construct spawning beds 3 to 6 feet deep, depending on the water clarity. Keep in mind that not all areas of a large lake will reach the desired spawning temperature range in a uniform manner. Across the country in lakes, ponds and rivers bass will start pairing up, males with females, creating the shallow spawning beds that will be their home throughout the process. Post spawn bass fishing can signal the beginning of the dog days, where finding bites is a tougher task than the previous two phases of the bass spawn. Jackpot bassin for springtime largemouth virginia dgif. How to fish the bass spawn amazing details about bass. The advantage that the spawn provides is large stationary male and female bass that are mating and protecting their eggs in easily distinguishable beds. Again, it is vital to pay attention to the habits of the bass in order to know when spawn is in full swing and when the spawning season is. Why the florida spawn should be on your bass fishing. When the water temperature climbs into the 60s, bass start building their spawning nests.
Use a 5 inch reaper when bluegill are spawning usually during and just after bass spawn. Largemouth bass aggressively feed well into the fall months. If the beds are empty, fish points and dropoffs near flats and search for suspended bass. Springtime bass fishing alabamas lay lake during the. Springtime bass fishing in march, april and may for big. The bass were coming off the beds, and scroggins found them on cypress trees in 4 to 6 feet of water just outside backwater spawning ponds. This aspect can be good for anglers since it opens up their options. Early spring is one of the easiest times to catch largemouth bass. If you can spot bass spawning beds in shallow water during the day you can successfully go after them at night, when virtually every cast will put you in the strike zone. Bass spawning season presents great opportunities to catch trophysized bass with a particular emphasis on sight fishing. Dont think of night bass fishing as a summertimeonly activity. White bass will be in the rivers or major creek tributaries. When they are bedding, or spawning, they can be caught and there are many anglers who fish for them and deliberately target bass on beds.
There are lots of opinions out there of how to catch bass during the spawn season, but do all of them work, and is it even worth it. If you are not sure what stage of the spawn the largemouth bass is in, you need to eliminate water while you determine where the fish are at. They will start to move up from deep water when the water temperature starts climbing above the 45 degree mark. Not all bass spawn at the same time, but the main part of the spawn occurs from late may to midjune, with water temperatures between 55 and 65 degrees. That may sound a bit odd, but, according to john odenkirk, virginia department of game and inland fisheries dgif biologist, a lot of very big largemouth bass are caught. Since bass are reluctant to leave their nests during this period, the bass angler has to present irritable lures to get the bass to move off the bed and feed 1. In the springtime, after the long winter season where bass live deep and feed sparingly, they make their yearly migration into shallow bays and calm pockets to spawn. When the shallows warm on sunny days, largemouth bass will move from deeper grass spawning flats into the shallows. You can fish spawning bass for a week or two on one end of the lake and find fishing spawning three weeks later on the opposite side. Spawning time for bass can be prime season for fishing. This is a key opportunity and time to catch bass and is a. As an example, largemouth bass prefer water temperatures between 6075 degrees for spawning, while bluegill spawn when water temperatures are in the 7585degree range. As the water warms above 50 degrees, bass change their primary forage to a highprotein diet. May as march and april draws to an end, most of lay lakes bass will have finished their spawned out rituals for this season.
Battle lines on this issue were drawn in the sand long ago some northern laws that prohibit it date back to the 1800s with no end to the argument in sight. When spawning season approaches, experienced anglers know they can ignore most deep offshore waters and instead concentrate on manmade and natural shoreline cover, and structure such as points, flooded feeder creeks and river backwaters. Knowing when largemouth bass spawn is essential for success, but it can be a bit of a guessing game. The main problem with spawning bass is that they fill up before the spawn and then usually do not eat as much until after the spawn is over, that is why fishing in early spring is so good for bass. The spring sun is powerful and quickly warms shallow water. Throughout may, largemouth bass can increasingly be seen forming spawning pairs, often cruising in shallow water in search of spawning sites. Then they get distracted by food and are off chasing shiners. I will start with what i consider the best season for bass fishing in florida, fallwinter season. On the lakes upper end, the fish build nests even shallower in the dirtier water. If you want to catch your biggest largemouth bass of the year, this monthmarchmay be your best bet to net basszilla.
The bass move from their wintering pattern into prespawn, and from there, a large variety of spawns occur which dictate the bass activity for the rest of year. Trolling the river or creek channel with small crank baits is a good technique. The first stage is called the pre spawn stage, when bass move toward shallow flats from their deeper wintering areas. Seasonal habits of the largemouth bass learn how the seasons affect the largemouth bass in order to catch them on a consistent basis. Ben wall, corey williams and darien craig show off some florida bass fishing fun photo by darien craig yolotek it may irritate the rest of the nation still shivering with winters chill, but the sunshine states early spawning season actually gives us all a jumpstart on planningprepping for this muchawaited time of exceptional bass fishing opportunity. The type of water you are fishing, lake, river, pond, reservoir or stream. For several weeks before they start breeding they patrol shallow water feeding aggressively as they build up their energy stores for the rigors of the spawning season. As spring advances, bass start preparing for the spawning season. There are 4 main criteria that i use to figure this puzzle out. Locate the spawning grounds and then fish adjacent areas. Here we will touch base on the different seasonal patterns of bass fishing in central florida. During spawning season you can either fish for the bass prespawn when the females are nice and fat carrying the eggs, or after when the males are guarding the bass fry. Spawning bass the ultimate bass fishing resource guide llc. If you live in northern new england and arent into ice fishing, you probably spend the winter dreaming about open water.
The largemouth bass is the most widely distributed of the black basses and occurs throughout illinois. The first stage is called the prespawn stage, when bass move toward shallow flats from their deeper wintering areas. In spring, bass are not picky eaters and devour anything available. With the vast difference in weather from sea to shining sea, the schedule of when bass spawn varies for anglers in different states. Unlike some northern states where bass fishing season is closed until after the spawn or where fishing regulations mandate catchandrelease only during the spawn, fishing for bass is allowed in georgia and.
Fishing for spawning bass among anglers, there is perhaps no more controversial topic than whether or not, as conservationists, we ought to fish for bass while they are spawning. Bass feed heavily prior to the spawning ritual because they know that during the 10 to 14 days of spawning they will not feed at all. Scroggins texas rigged a 6inch green pumpkin houdini worm with a 30 hook and pinched a tiny no. Seasonal habits of the largemouth bass the ultimate bass. By the time the water temperature in the main lake reaches 64 to 68 degrees, afternoon temperature in the back of a spawning cove could easily reach the mid 70degree range, maybe even warmer. During the early spring, male and female bass will be nesting in shallower, warmer waters, spawning the next generation.
Bass feeding is greatly reduced below 50 degrees as they become tired. A variety of artificial lures will work, but this is a good time for small jig fishing. Presenting larger baits better mimics the available forage size. The spawning season for the white bass is midmarch to late may. In fact, the entire spawning process, which involves building a nest, finding a mate, hatching fertilized eggs and guarding young fish until they are ready to be on their own, can take a little as three weeks. They often spawn in moving water in a tributary stream, but they will spawn in windswept lake shores.
When water temperatures reach the low 60s the fish will begin staging in the shallows in the same areas that they will ultimately create beds and start spawning once the water. The spawning season begins in early spring once ice is thawed. Bass are also well adapted for life in small lakes or ponds. They are known to find their home spawning ground even if it is moved to a different part of the same lake. This page covers prespawn, spawn, postspawn, summer, fall, and winter activity.