Ask The Pros
Weather Q. and A.
How Do You Know When It’s the Spawn?
Q. How do you tell when the bass start spawning? Winter is almost over in my neck of the woods and I’m getting anxious to start fishing again. The spawning season for bass is usually a good time to fish because they’re looking for food, right? I’m in Illinois and any tips or help would be appreciated!
Mark Moersch
A. Here’s a good way to tell: when the leaves on a willow tree get the size of a mouse's ear, the bass are on the beds.
Connie Kilpatrick
Southern Pro
A. I also live in Illinois (Northern Illinois). Typically the bass up here spawn in or around the month of May. It all depends on the weather patterns (temperatures), but usually it is in May.
JT Bagwell
Midwestern Pro
A. One of the things I always key on is the nut and fruit tree blossoms. When they start to bud and the first white and pink fluffs appear, that's a pretty reliable sign that things are starting to warm up. This typically will tell me that the water temps too are starting to climb, and the bass are now beginning their transition to the shallows. This is a period when they definitely gorge themselves and the big girls are fattening up after their winter diet plan. This is a great time to throw lipless cranks, jigs and plastic swimbaits.
Once they do get on the beds though, and this can occur any where when the water temps are from 60-68 degrees depending on your location, the spawning bass become very visible and easy to catch in the shallows. At this time, they are not so much interested in feeding, but become very territorial and will readily fend off predators that come looking to raid their nests. This is SENKO time my friend! Don't leave home for the lake without ‘em!
Andy Cuccia
Western Pro
Winter Fishing
Q. I live in Washington and I’m able to catch some good bass here in the warmer weather but when winter comes my success rate takes a nose dive. The warmest water I could find last time I was out was 39 degrees. I’ve tried tube jigs, jig and grub, slow chrome crankbaits (I talked with Larry Nixon and he said that's what they do down South when the water is cold), slow firetiger crankbaits, slow rolling spinnerbaits, suspending stickbaits, and slow retrieves and fast retrieves on lipless crankbaits. Nada! What do you suggest? Get back in my igloo and wait until spring?
Bob Larimer
A. I would have to say in your position you are going to have to think outside the box. When the water temps are below 45 degrees, you are going to have to look deeper and cover water more efficiently. One technique that has become famous with the Western Bass Club in Seattle is Rev. Rigging. Using a three-way swivel, tie your main line to one ring. On the other ring tie a line to a ball weight (1-3 oz. depending on depth, commonly used for saltwater or a Quickdrops sinker if you are using 1 oz), then on the last ring create a leader line with a small jerkbait or jointed crankbait. Drag this rig around your favorite spots and in deeper water - around those spots like you would drag a double tail Hula Grub or a Carolina rig. This technique is a viable way to catch bass in the winter up here in the northwest.
Nick Barr
Northwest Pro
Shallow Fish in the Fall?
Q. Is it true bass move into the shallow waters to feed, To prepare themselves for winter?
Tina
A. Yes, it is true that bass generally move to the shallows in the fall of the year (the exact timeframe will be dependant upon your particular part of the country) when the water temperatures start to cool and the lunar phases tell them that winter is around the corner. They do this because in the winter months their metabolism slows with the cooler water and they feed more infrequently. There is also a reduction in their natural forage. They need to “fatten up” for the winter. For bass fishermen this is one of the prime times to catch that trophy bass.
Scott Hammer
Mid-Atlantic Pro
A. There are catchable bass shallow 364 days a year. In the fall bass will migrate towards the backs of creeks to gorge themselves on shad, then as the water gets colder the fish and the shad will move back into the main lake areas for the majority of the winter. Now that doesn’t mean you can’t catch fish in the creeks shallow because you can. Bass will also be shallow in the middle of the winter sunning themselves on rock shorelines.
Bass are like humans; when we get cold we turn on the heat. When a bass gets cold it gravitates to thermal refuges like shallow water that warms faster than deeper water. Rocks conduct heat and also make the surrounding water a degree or 2 warmer than the main channel water which in turn make rip raps a great place to fish during the winter time of the year.
Mike Bucca
Southern Pro