Spring bass fishing
Mar 26, 2020 15:48:59 #
Ken Blue
Loc: Augusta, Georgia
Hi, I'm Ken, and I am in Augusta Georgia, and very new to fresh water. I hear the spring is the best time to catch spawning large mouth bass. My question is what do I need in the way of supplies? Where are the best spots to look for them I don't own a boat.
Mar 26, 2020 16:09:07 #
Welcome to the Forum, Ken. I think we will have some interesting answers to this question. First of all, I'm not a bass fisherman, but a lot of members are, here. I personally do not believe in harassing any fish on a nest. I don't know if it is an acceptable practice when bass fishing or not. We will see. I do know that they will definitely defend their nest while spawning and I think both the male and the female do the defending. What do you think guys?
Mar 26, 2020 16:13:31 #
Ken Blue
Loc: Augusta, Georgia
I don't know, but isn't that what anglers do that's fishing the salmon run?
Mar 26, 2020 16:37:33 #
Ken Blue wrote:
I don't know, but isn't that what anglers do that's fishing the salmon run?
Very definitely, it's the same thing, and I did it as they came out of Lake Michigan to the tributaries. Lake MI. salmon's eggs do not mature and the 4 y/o salmon dies after spawning. I fly fished them and always released them to be caught many more times. Is it right? I don't know, but I could justify it in my mind and I guess that is all that is necessary.
Mar 26, 2020 17:04:20 #
Ken Blue
Loc: Augusta, Georgia
Thanks Fly Guy, I appreciate your views. However, I'm a salt water fisherman at heart and don't think can eat them if I did catch them. Definitely a catch and release.
Mar 26, 2020 17:28:46 #
The Salmon in PNW have spawning BEDS way upstream in freshwater and it is highly ILLEGAL to fish there for them. Odds of getting them to bite is slim to none anyway. We target the Salmon in Ocean, tidewater and upstream in deep holes or in currents but not in their spawning beds. The Hens have eggs and the closer they are to spawning ( time and location) the worse their meat gets. The eggs will be usually in good condition to make bait with. The Bucks meat doesn’t change much all the way until they spawn. The outside of both females and males will get darker the closer they are to actually spawning but the meat inside them is different between the two genders.
Mar 26, 2020 17:49:02 #
Once the salmon are spawning, they are usually pretty beat up and not good to eat. They may not even bite. I’d fish for trout with beads while the salmon spawned and sometimes foul hooked a salmon which I readily released.
Mar 26, 2020 18:42:46 #
Garry
Loc: Wellborn, Florida
It is hard to get bass to really bite when the female is actively on the bed. The male prepares the beds, during which time the males will just about take any offering and the females are on a preparatory feed as well. When they actively go onto the bed they get what we call the soft mouth. At his stage they will be hard to get a hook in them. I had an opportunity to watch some bass close up in some very clear water, pick up a live shiner by its tail and take it off the bed and drop it. From the feel of it I would have set the hook, and it would have torn out of the bait. That being said I found that when you guide a small Brown, and I suppose Black Bullhead catfish on to the bed you get a sudden and violent reaction and if you aren't close enough to set the hook you will probably have a gut hook. I would try to imitate one of those or use live ones on the bed. After the female leaves the bed the male tends the bed, and she goes on a urgent feed, any kind of bait will work. They like to bed on shallow sandy bottoms.
Mar 26, 2020 22:25:46 #
Ken Blue
Loc: Augusta, Georgia
All this info is awesome guys, and I very much appreciate it. So it's now spring what do I go after.
Mar 27, 2020 00:14:02 #
Garry
Loc: Wellborn, Florida
When the water temperature is between 55 and 65 degrees, largemouth bass will seek out a shallow, protected area for spawning. Lakes, especially the larger ones, don't warm up uniformly. Therefore, not all bass will spawn at the same time.
Until that time the females will be eating everything they can catch, to build up for the spawn, then go back to feeding when it is over, only to slow down when the water warms up. That is when you need to slow your approach down to match their mood. Normally mid day 10:00 am to 2:00 pm EST is when the largest fish are caught year round. What ever you can find from Dough Hannon bass professor read it or watch it
Here is one that helped me forty some years ago (I read it) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF4j7YmD5J0&t=101s Just a sample of his stuff. The man made a life of studying bass by studding them by scuba diving with them
Until that time the females will be eating everything they can catch, to build up for the spawn, then go back to feeding when it is over, only to slow down when the water warms up. That is when you need to slow your approach down to match their mood. Normally mid day 10:00 am to 2:00 pm EST is when the largest fish are caught year round. What ever you can find from Dough Hannon bass professor read it or watch it
Here is one that helped me forty some years ago (I read it) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF4j7YmD5J0&t=101s Just a sample of his stuff. The man made a life of studying bass by studding them by scuba diving with them
Mar 27, 2020 10:48:09 #
Mar 27, 2020 15:30:14 #
That you don’t have a boat shouldn’t be a problem in the spring since spawning beds are usually close to shore in shallow water. As long as you can get to areas where there is cover such as down trees, stumps, etc. The beds are often near that type of cover. A jig with a trailer, a wacky rig, Texas rig (most finesse techniques will work). Most bass fishermen will catch and release all the time but definitely during the spawn...bass aren’t that good to eat anyway. If you find the beds during and just pre spawn you will often catch two fish on each bed. The male first because he has made the bed and is guarding it. When he disappears the female will take over and will bite almost anything. I keep the male alive and if I catch the female take a picture and release them both back on the bed. We want them to spawn. Pic is during last year’s spawn.
Mar 27, 2020 17:13:00 #
Big TC
Loc: Raytown, MO.
Jm46 wrote:
That you don’t have a boat shouldn’t be a problem ... (show quote)
Let me guess, the bigger fish is the female. I thought that the big bass were because they're older. And the bass I've eaten were always good. Maybe it's the seasoning or the way it's cooked.
Mar 27, 2020 17:20:35 #
Correct. The females are almost always bigger in the Spring. She actually followed him almost to the boat when I hooked him then went back to the bed. Got her to bite about 5 minutes later on a wacky rig flipped into the center of the bed.
Mar 27, 2020 17:21:39 #
I happen to be a guy that leaves the bass alone when they are on the nests. As has been stated all the fish do not spawn at the same time. Just before the spawn both the males and females are eating heavily and they are normally in 20 30 feet of water. The male comes to the shallows first when the temp increases a little and the females are still in deep water feasting. When the male is ready he brings the females to the nest and fertilizes the eggs. They both hang around the nest for a few days and then go back to deep water the re-feast. All during the spawn I fish the deeper water so as not to bother the action itself but the females are very active. A fine time to fish but nor around the nests.
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