Everyone always gets so pumped up about Spring Bass fishing. Bass fishing in the spring can be awesome, and the next day it can stink. In my opinion, it is the most unpredictable time of the year to bass fish. This is the time that you need to have like 10 rods rigged with 10 different things. If you caught them on a spinnerbait one day don’t expect it to be that way the next day. But why is it so complicated.
Females are Complicated
Now before you ladies freak out on me please hear me out. A lot is going on when springtime happens. The weather is changing and cold fronts happen every couple of days. The bass will be gorging to get ready for the spawn. They are coming out of their winter hangouts and progressively moving their way shallower. When conditions change that pushes them back out deep. One day they are feeding like crazy and the next they are lockjaw and back out deep.
Once the spawn happens they do get a little bit harder to catch because they do not eat during this time. If you get in their bed and get a bite that is simply a defense measure, but not because they are hungry. The fish can pull up on the bed and a cold front can happen and the water temp can drop and they will move off the bed and wait. The shallow water temp is affected more by cold fronts and will pause the action. Honestly, springtime fishing is my least favorite time to fish because it is so unpredictable. The pattern is always changing. However, this is designed to help you. So here are some tips to better your chances.
Have a ton of baits tied on!!!
Things change daily. A couple of years ago I went fishing on a spring day and it was honestly one of the best days I have ever had bass fishing in my entire life. I caught them all day on this spinnerbait and I caught them all day. I caught over 50 spotted bass that day on Lake Lanier.
I was so excited I called my buddy and told him we should go fishing Sunday. He obliged and we were good to go. I said all you need to bring is spinnerbaits!! I think you know how the story ends. We fished all day and didn’t catch anything on spinnerbaits. The conditions were different than that Friday two days earlier and the fish had changed.
During the Spring you need to have a plethora of different baits. If it were me here are the top five baits that I would have no matter where you go in the country for springtime fishing.
1. Codaicen Wacky Rig Worm Fishing Kit
2. Berkley PowerBait MaxScent
3. Luck-E Strike Rick Clunn Jerkbait
4. Lucky Craft Squarebill Crankbait
5. Zoom Bait Fat Albert Twin Tail
6. Zoom Bait Fat Albert Twin Tail - White
Now a bonus is that same grub rigged on a shaky head with the hook exposed but int he color white for bedding bass. White is an awesome color for bedding bass because you can see it and it drives the bass absolutely crazy!!!!
I would have all of those tied on and probably five more poles with five more different things. Spring fishing is crazy like that!!!
Water temperature!!!
Water temp is everything this time of year. Find the warmer water and typically the bite will be a little better. Even if the water is dirty but warmer than that is where you want to be.
50’s (water temp) typically is pre-spawn temperature. So you may find them stacked up and biting like crazy. In lake Chickamauga this year I found the fish stacked in shallow water pockets eating like crazy. On Lake Lanier, they are on secondary points eating like crazy. You have to find where your pre-spawn fish are and target them.
60’s (Water temp) means they are going to start moving up and making beds. They will still eat while up there. However, I think that most of your strikes are defensive. They don’t want to eat but they will bite baits over and over to defend their beds.
As water temps approach the upper 60’s they will usually settle on their beds and begin to spawn. This can be a great time to catch some massive fish up shallow.
Protip: WHITE is the magic color for bedding bass. Cast past their bed and have some good polarized sunglasses like Costa’s so you can see in the water and watch your bait. You can use white wacky worms, swimbaits or grubs to get the bite. If they stop reacting to something I like to go opposite and throw something black and they will start to react to that. I have spent over an hour working on one bass on a bed.
Where to Target!!
So let’s go over some spring times places to target bass.
- Banks on the West side of the lake. Places where the sun first hits in the morning.
- Places like we stated earlier that have the warmest water. On my home lake (lake Lanier) the water and the spawn start to happen on the North end of the lake first. So I head to that end of the lake and work my way down over the next couple of weeks.
- Secondary points are a great place for bass to stage as they are getting ready to spawn. You would look for a secondary point that is close to a spawning pocket. Below is a graphic from my home lake to help you understand what I am talking about
4. One of the main things I look for in the prespawn time of year is shallow water that is very close to deep water. During this time of the year, the bass want access to deep water quickly.
5. One of my favorite spots to look for staging bass right before the spawn is the last two docks in the back of a pocket. I like to cast on the sunny side of the docks.
Where to Find Spawning Bass??
Largemouth for me are the hardest bass to catch during the spawn. They are the least aggressive. They will spawn in stained water and be a little harder to see. I like to look for them around the backsides of docks or wood. You can also find them around vegetation. They are hard to find because they can get under vegetation and do their thing and never bee seen by the human eye. Out of all the bass, the largemouth will get the most shallow. I have found them spawning where their back fin is almost out of the water. Remember you may have to work at these guys a little longer but it is all worth it when you can catch a 10-pound spawning bass like this.
Spotted Bass are a little easier to catch and a little more aggressive as well. I like to look for them in a little bit deeper water than I do largemouth. Spotted bass LOVE to spawn around the backs of docks. I almost catch all of my spotted bedding bass on Lake Lanier around the backs of docks. You have to keep the trolling motor quiet and find these fish and keep a safe distance and make your pitches. You can also cast a swimbait by the docks and see if the bedding bass show themselves. If they do you may want to present them a bait on the bottom and go to work on them. When catching the male I always like to put him in the live well so the female has no choice but to come up and defend her bed. Spotted bass have a greenish color underneath the water.
Smallmouth are by far the easiest bedding bass to catch. I have not met a smallmouth on the bed that I cannot catch. Those bass are so dumb you can catch them and release them and catch them again. A drop shot, tube or a ned rig are all great choices to use for bedding bass. Color doesn’t matter too much with these guys. You can use white or chartreuse so you can see your bait a little better. Once you are in the bed you may not feel the bite you will just see your bait moving to the side or your line will get tight. Here is a great example of me bed fishing for smallies on Lake St. Clair in Michigan.
Pro Tip: When you find a smallmouth bed but don’t see a fish that doesn’t mean they are not there. A lot of times you will see a little grass patch next to the bed or a rock and the smallmouth will be camouflaged. Drop your bait in the bed and they will appear out of that dark patch and get your bait. Smallmouth also look dark under the water (like a black color).
If you guys want to learn a little more about Pre Spawn fishing than check out this resource. There is an excellent graphic on there about when the fish will spawn and be in pre-spawn mode in your area of the country.
Also, I would be doing you guys an injustice if I did not share with you the secret Prespawn lure and more importantly color. This an awesome color in my opinion wherever you are in the country.
Alright, everyone, I hope these Spring Bass Fishing Tips help you catch more bass. If you haven’t already subscribe to our newsletter. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram.
