WHAT IS “PRE-SPAWN” FISHING?
How to Find and Catch Pre-Spawn Bass during this time of year before bass move up onto their beds. It’s usually late winter or early spring, but really depends on weather patterns in your part of the country. Generally, you’ll start seeing bass in “pre-spawn” mode when the water temperatures start to rise from the mid 50’s into the 60’s. Most of the time, people are late on realizing what the fish are doing, so if you think it’s almost time for pre-spawn, it’s probably already started.
The fish are working their way up to shallower water for the spawn. They will be feeding heavily to regain weight lost during the winter and to prepare for the time and energy they will spend laying and protecting eggs.
LOCATING PRE-SPAWN BASS AREAS
Multiple patterns usually happen simultaneously on complex reservoirs, and it’s our job to figure out as many patterns as possible. Lee Bailey believes that anglers tend to rush the bass in the spring. Just because it’s warm out doesn’t mean they’re all on the bank getting ready to spawn. There’s a significant lag between air and water temperature, so don’t overlook targeting deeper or more main lake bass populations during the prespawn. Lee also highlights that many bass spawn on the main lake, not just up in creek arms and pockets.
Once you’ve located a good spawning area, you can work your way to a nearby creek channel, ditch, point, or even brushpile. Docks are great places to find these pre-spawners as well. Any mixture of these types of areas are even better. These are staging areas and bass will set up in these deeper areas close by their spawning areas to wait for conditions to be prime for the spawn.
On clear water lakes these staging areas could be as deep as 20ft to 30ft. On other lakes with less clear water, you’ll be looking around the 5 to 15ft. range.
CHANGING WITH THE WEATHER
How to Find and Catch Pre-Spawn Bass during this time is changing on a daily basis. Weather has a major role in what they’re doing that day. Bass utilize staging areas due to easy access from shallow water to deep water. They need easy access to shallow water for feeding and if the weather turns cold, they can slip back into deeper, more stable water. As the days get longer and the water temperatures rise, the fish instinctively know the time is right to spawn, and they continue their move towards the spawning areas. Cloudy, warm days can really get the fish in a feeding frenzy. That’s when your power fishing presentations will be the ticket. When there is a high sky, you’ll be better off with finesse fishing. So now let’s talk about some bait selections.
Let me stress the importance of interpreting factors such as water temperature and clarity, reading the bank (different rock types), and figuring out the depth zone the bass are hanging. From there, dial your presentation, focusing on running depth and triggering attributes. Let’s just say, a jerkbait performs well on suspended bass staging to move up, while a mid-depth crankbait rummaging across the bottom triggers bass relating to bank rock. Both lures call fish in from a distance and allow you to cover water quickly.
Multiple patterns usually happen simultaneously on complex reservoirs, and it’s our job to figure out as many patterns as possible. I believe that anglers tend to rush the bass in the spring. Just because it’s warm out doesn’t mean they’re all on the bank getting ready to spawn. There’s a significant lag between air and water temperature, so don’t overlook targeting deeper or more main lake bass populations during the prespawn. Let me also highlight that many bass spawn on the main lake, not just up in creek arms and pockets.
After establishing a viable main lake bite around humps extending off of points, pivot to the bank to try to find another pattern. Bites can change daily or even by the hour on highland reservoirs. A tournament angler needs some options, so don’t obsess about getting super-dialed. Next, target bass around bluff ends and transitional banks leading into pockets. Bass will come from distinct areas with shale rock and a creek or river channel nearby. “I just need a clue” for my bass fishing day out.
Lastly, I advise just dropping your trolling motor and running the bank with a handful of your favorite baits if you’re struggling to find something. Do this to contact your first fish. The first bass is an essential clue to start refining your day on the water.
PRE-SPAWN BAITS
As I dive into bait selection, I’ll start by talking about the slower, cold water, finesse presentations. You’ll want to utilize these at the very beginning of the pre-spawn or perhaps when a cold front comes through causing the fish to be inactive. Or maybe you’ve found fish using power techniques but they become finicky after catching a few. Then I’ll move into the faster retrieved baits that you’ll start using later in the day when the water temperature starts warming and the fish start roaming shallow water and start actively feeding.
JIGS
You hear it all the time, a jig is a big fish bait. During the pre-spawn is no different, even when using a smaller profile, finesse style jig. A Jig is what I’m reaching for when I want to tie on a jig.. I like to let it sit a lot without a ton of movement. Keeping contact with the bottom, and slowly dragging it around is the best presentation.
SHAKEY HEAD
Similar to the jig, you’re going to want to fish a shakey head slowly, shaking your rod tip just enough to keep the tail of your worm moving. Drag it and repeat. The Zoom Trick Worm and the z-man Big TRD on a 1/8th or 3/16 oz jig head are fish catchers.
STICKBAIT
Next up is the Yamamoto Senko. This bait can be rigged up any number of ways and fished in shallow to deep water. My favorite way to rig the senko is weightless texas rigged. You can fish this in deeper water but it takes some patience to let it get down to the bottom. This is a killer presentation for those finicky fish.
JERKBAIT
A jerkbait is a great lure to use early on during the pre-spawn if you’re fishing clearer water. They come in many different versions that dive to different depths. My favorite is a natural shad color.
FLUKE
The Zoom Fluke is another bait that can be rigged and fished many ways. My favorite is weightless texas rigged, fished in shallow water. It’s a great presentation to fish shallow around grass, docks and laydowns.
