Down in the Grass: A Prespawn Technique for Big Bass

It’s the “Boo! Gotcha!” moment of bass fishing, but the thing about largemouth bass is that they don’t like to be startled. When something suddenly bursts into their short-range vision, that something usually gets inhaled.

That’s why grass ripping is such a productive technique, especially for first-quarter pursuits.

“In the prespawn, I think a lot of times, fish will move into a drain during the overnight hours or midday and not really be actively feeding because it’s cold,” says longtime pro angler Keith Combs, who’s lived his entire life in Texas. “These can be very tough fish to catch.

“Those darker grass bottoms warm up faster so those fish will move in there. They’re not feeding, but a bright lipless bait — I use reds and chartreuse a lot — with all that sound and that crazy action of that bait ripping free, that triggers a lot of fish.”

Case in point: Just this January saw Cody Stahl employ a grass ripping game plan to win the Kissimmee Chain Bassmaster Open in central Florida. That event did not allow forward-facing sonar, but Stahl was familiar with the area from previous visits, so he dialed in the thicker clumps by fishing through the area.

Locating the Good Stuff

In a traditional southern reservoir scenario, Combs said it’s hard to beat a drain lined with hydrilla. From his Sam Rayburn home waters to the Tennessee River, he knows he can trigger prespawn bass over clay, rock or gravel bottom, but he favors a grassy drain because it creates predictable target areas.

“I like a drain or a channel that runs through the area, because it creates an edge,” Combs said. “That’s not necessarily where I’m fishing, but it helps concentrate the fish."

Other promising spots include humps that were exposed during the low-water season, but submerged by spring rains. Also inside grass lines that grow with rising water present good grass ripping zones.

“I also like stumps; it’s just an irregularity in the grass,” Combs said. “They’ll move to that stump for warmth and it might be some place they’ll eventually spawn.

“If you get into an area with a lot of stumps, that may not be as good, but your isolated stumps are where they’ll spawn when the water temperature gets right.”

When he’s searching a promising grass area, Combs trusts his Humminbird 360 to find those stumps, inside edges and any gaps and holes where fish may settle.

“If it’s colder, you need to make multiple casts to the same area,” Combs said.

Best Baits

The lipless crankbait rules this game and Combs favors the Strike King Red Eyed Shad. He’ll also keep a Strike King Red Eyed Shad Tungsten 2-Tap handy, as different sound profiles can make a difference, especially on pressured fisheries.

“A 3/4-ounce lipless bait is a very good slow crawling option, but if the fish get really shallow, the 1/4-ounce is a better option,” Combs said. “I don’t like throwing that one when I’m targeting big fish because of the smaller hooks, but it can be effective because I can fish it shallow.”

Combs complements his lipless baits with a Strike King Thunder Cricket vibrating jig. Both can trigger reaction bites, but fish preference often varies day to day.

“If you can catch them on the Thunder Cricket, you want to do that because it tends to get bigger bites and it’s a nearly 100 percent hook-up ratio with a single hook, versus treble hooks.”

Combs fits his Thunder Cricket with a Strike King Blade Minnow for a subtle look, but if he needs to slow his bait and increase its profile, a Strike King Swim'n Caffeine Shad gets the call.

“I’ll take the 5-inch version and cut it down to 4 inches because I like that larger boot tail,” Combs said. “It makes the bait roll back and forth and I think that’s a really big thing when I’m fishing it slow.”

Tackle and Tactics

As Stahl noted, the right tackle is key, not only for wrestling big fish out of the grass, but also for the forceful snapping action that pops your bait free from the grass and quickly “cleans” the bait, so it looks appealing to the bass it surprises.

Stahl used a 7-foot, 5-inch Fenwick World Class extra-heavy, extra-fast rod and an 8.1:1 Abu Garcia STX casting reel carrying 20-pound fluorocarbon. That setup, he said, gave him maximum bait control.

“This technique definitely requires concentration,” Combs said. “It appears like you’re just casting and reeling it back, but nothing can be farther from the truth. You have to feel the grass and vary your rod height to just barely touch the top of the grass and occasionally snag it.

“At the beginning of your cast, you may feel the bait coming over clay or sand, then you feel the grass. You don’t want to be constantly bogging in the grass. If you do, you need to adjust your rod height.”

Noting that he also uses the grass ripping technique during shad spawns and the fall feeding, Combs said this presentation requires the right “feel,” and that’s something that only comes with experience.

“You really have to put your time into and learn all the little details,” he said. “But once you do, this is a technique that you can use year-round.”

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