Fishing the Spawn-part 2 in a Series

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Finding Spawning “Bedding” Bass

In part one of the Fishing the Spawn series we discussed the technical aspects of the Spawning ritual of the largemouth bass. Now let’s start getting down to catching these finicky creatures.

The first thing to do especially if visiting a new body of water or even if visiting your familiar local water is to get a good topo. map of the lake. I would also recommend fining a map specifically for fishing. While your typical fishing map is not that detailed they will show fishing areas and some indicate the time of year which is best for each area. Look for the times of year associated with the best areas in the winter and spring “spawning time” of the year. In addition I will also go to Google Earth and find the lake in question. Zoom in on different areas of the lake, you will be surprised at how much info you can get from satellite imagery. You also may bu fortunate enough to see boats fishing in an area and find the date the photo was taken (hint, hint). Do some research on the Internet. Look for fishing reports, newspaper articles, local tournament information etc. look at the photos and see if there are any major landmarks which may be recognizable once you are on the water.

Now that you have loaded yourself with the upfront information and completed your research it is time to get on the water. Almost forgot; stop and get yourself a pair of good polarized sunglasses. This is a must and your going to need them.

As mentioned in part one of the series spawning bass will go to shallow near shore areas. Canals, creeks, shallow flats and other various nooks and coves off of the main bodies of water are the best places to start looking. Cover enough water without completely driving yourself crazy. Select small portions of the body of water at a time and eliminate them as quickly as possible. At this point you are simply looking for beds. Remember you are looking for “fanned” out circular “white” spots, look closely they are often in areas you would not think the bass will get into. Remember spawning fish prefer hard bottom areas with clear stable water. Eliminate cloudy soft bottom areas right away.

Once you have found an area with beds slowly cruise the area with your trolling motor, now you are looking for actively spawning fish. It is important to maintain a stealthy approach, keep noise and boat movement to a minimum. Once the bass can “feel” your presence they will spook and your chances of catching them at this point is minimal. If you are looking close enough the bass will make their presence known. Look for any wake the fish may provide as they are in shallow water. Look for any flash you can see, if actively spawning they will tilt and flash to deposit their eggs. Also look around the perimeter of the nest; if a male is guarding the nest or looking for a female friend they will typically circle around a radius of approx. 6 feet. If you do spook the fish, depending upon how skiddish they are and how much you actually spooked them in all likelyhood the male will return. Leave the bed and return sometime later. The female are somewhat more apt to stay away for longer periods of time but eventually they too will return.

Now that you have found an actual spawning area which is holding bedding fish make note of the surrounding cover, type of bottom, water temperature and water clarity. With this information in mind continue patrolling the body of water looking for similar conditions and start the process over again. Next it is important mark your beds if you are looking to return to the area, especially if you are searching for tournament fish. There are several ways in which to mark an area with beds you want to return to. While I do not condone all of them I will mention them in this article. Don’t make your marking so obvious that any tournament competitor will easily find your spot, ie. no large banners tied to a tree saying “catch large bedding females here”. I prefer to mark the general area on my GPS. I also carry some surveyors orange ribbon with me and will move down the shoreline or away form the actual area and tie piece of ribbon to a tree branch or other type of structure approx 20 to 30 yards away and track back to the bed with my GPS. If in an open area with grass I may simply tie a piece to some grass or head of grass that may look different from the rest. If I have my camera phone with me I will also take a few pictures of my marking for a point of reference. I have also seen other fishermen drop a white golf ball in or around each bed for ease of sighting from a longer distance and then use to golf ball as a target for casting, thus enabling them to keep a further distance from the bed. While I do not condone this method for obvious reasons; it is effective. If you use this methods please remove the golf balls when finished. I have also seen other fishermen carry a can of marking paint with them and simply spray paint the cover close to the beds. Select your personal color and keep a can with you. On the day I am fishing the area I am not opposed to throwing out a couple of weighted markers buoys  in the general area of the beds, as long as no other anglers are present. This can be especially effective if fishing a windy or cloudy day in which the beds are hard to spot and stay on top off.

Remember if you have found an area holding spawning bass, cover the entire immediate area. Not all fish are actively engaged in the actual spawning process at the same time. I have caught actual spawning fish off the bed, fish which have obviously already spawned, and fish with a full sack off eggs which have not spawned yet in the same area. If it is an area ideal for spawning there will be fish all around the area in different phases of the spawning ritual. Also remember that females may spawn 2 or more times, there is really no reason for these fish to leave as long as the water quality remains stable.

Now that you have gained some knowledge of the technical aspects of the spawning ritual, learned how to find spawning bass it is time to explore the tactics and techniques used for catching the spawning largemouth bass.