When do spotted bass spawn

A lot of times the spots like to bite the tails of plastics and the skirts of jigs instead of inhaling the entire thing, and the success rate for catching these fish only increases when you have the trailer hook. May is the main spawning time for spotted bass on Lanier.

The water temperature increases from degrees to 63 or 64 degrees. They usually spawn after largemouth and are even seen spawning into June on the main part of the lake. The reef poles, which we will discuss later, are huge spawning areas for large, main-lake fish. Anglers want to work a shaky-head worm combination up very shallow around the rocky reef poles for the big spawning fish. These fish will be in less than 5 feet of water, and they will be spooky, therefore it is pertinent to be stealthy in your approach.

Any natural color, like a green-pumpkin pattern, is best in the clear water. He will take this technique and fish in 5 feet of water or less around reef poles and catch fish all day long.

These late spawners will be extremely shallow and aggressive around the hard bottom reef locations. As fish are transitioning into the postspawn, he likes to use a topwater lure.

His bait of choice is the Reaction Innovations Vixen. He likes to throw this on lb. The fish head to cover, but they can be called up because they can see the baits from the depths.

As the suns get higher in the sky, he likes to take out either a topwater lure or a jerkbait, and the fish will rise from 10 to 15 feet to come grab the baits. Ryan said not to run up close on these fish because they are spooky and will get run off easily. He reiterated that because the water can be so clear, you need to rig your reels with gear that you can cast far, which will enable you to have more success on those sunny days.

He likes these because they often sit with 15 to 25 feet of water off to their sides. This allows a wide range of bass fishing lures to have a chance this time of year. The male guarding the nest will often be very aggressive in protecting the bed, so it is sometimes relatively easy to get one to bite. That is not always the case, and sometimes it takes repeated casts and a stealthy approach to catch spawning bass.

Some of the best lures to use are soft plastic crawfish, jigs, and a drop-shot rig. Each of these appears as a threat to the bass and can be fished slowly around their beds.

Close menu. Buy a 3 mo. Work baits fast to trigger bites. Where spots hold along steep rocky breaks, work lures parallel to the bank or break, with each cast progressively deeper. In warm clear water, they're known to rise from 15 feet to smack a bait on or near the surface. Fishing at night is another option for spotted bass in summer. After dark, worms, grubs, and finesse jigs work well around brush and stumps, along with spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and bladebaits. Fall and Winter Patterns: Since spotted bass don't tolerate extreme cold as northern largemouth and smallmouth bass do, their aggressiveness in cool and cold water is surprising.

Along bluff banks, spots may suspend between 20 and 30 feet in southeastern waters, sometimes deeper. Shad also have shifted deep at this time, attracting voracious spotted bass. It's often critical to find baitfish before starting to fish. If bait doesn't show on sonar, concentrate on rockslides along bluff banks, transitions from bluff to more gradual shoreline, and bank cover like boulders or fallen trees.

Where timber remains along creek channels, spotted bass may hold in tree branches 10 to 30 feet off bottom. They're hard to pick out among the limbs, even on top-end sonars. Texas-rigged worm, grubs, and hair jigs drifted through the school usually tempt a few biters, but spots soon become wary.

Jigging spoons imitate shad well, and excel for working deep structure. Experts watch from above on sonar, testing the reactions of fish to various jigging motions. When one is hooked, schoolmates often accompany it upward. In some cases, winter spots hold deeper than 50 feet. Pulling fish to the surface from this depth is known to cause barotrauma, physiological damage to tissues caused by rapid change in depth. At times, fish float on the surface, their eyes and gas bladders distended.

In other cases, fish may swim away but suffer less obvious problems. Because spring is their spawning season, many states or counties enforce a closed season on the Spotted Bass at this time. We at Bassfishing-Gurus.

Other than butt design, there are few differences between a baitcasting reel and a spincasting reel. Spinning reels are easier to cast but the drag system is not all that good and when catching large Spotted Bass, a good drag system is used. For the beginners the spinning reel is a good reel to start with. Baitcasting reels have backlash issues when not cast properly. However at some point the baitcasting reel is the way to go and offers a better experience.

If you plan to fish for many years instead of just for a few weekends a year, go with a baitcasting reel. A good 8 pound test line is recommended for the Spotted Bass. Good value, easy to use Humminbird fishfinder. Click here for reviews and best prices on amazon. Therefore, try streams and rivers with fast moving water. Smallmouth can also be found behind brush or other debris and where rocks breach the surface, creating oxygen rich water.

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