Prespawn Particulars

The world loves superlatives. Biggest, brightest, baddest, sparkliest. (Each to their own).

Bass fishermen are no different, as evidenced by the general inclination to call the prespawn their favorite season. Why? A handful of superlatives.

Heaviest.

Shallowest.

Most accessible.

Indeed, this time of year sees the most personal bests achieved with plenty of incredible days yielding chunk after chunk after chunk. That’s because the bass prespawn finds the fishery’s largest females moving to the shallowest areas in preparation for the spawn.

Of course, most of the spawning occurs in the really shallow spots, but while bed fishing can offer slam dunk potential, prespawners generally display more consistent aggression. Moreover, with the standard “covering water” strategy will afford far more opportunities than parking on particular bed fish for 5, 10, 20, 30, 60-plus minutes.

Positioning Principles

Depending on weather patterns and your best estimation of prespawn progress, the dependable plan starts toward the outer third of a spawning pocket or creek (farther in with warmer conditions). Trace “the ditch” and look for the prominent contour breaks, points, shell bars and gravel bars along the way.

These are the staging points where prespawners pause to feed and pace their progression. On grass lakes, a carpet of vegetation makes the route more secure, but thicker patches, edges and rocks or stumps amid the grass represent high-value targets.

While tracing those prespawn migration routes, give an occasional look to the open water depths. As recent tournament seasons have shown, modern forward facing sonar technology has opened up a whole new frontier of prespawn searching.

Conventional thought once held that all the fish followed the same prespawn route, a lot of fish spend most of their year in the middle of nowhere. Essentially, they suspend in deep water and move up to spawn when they’re ready.

Bait Bits

Considering that the fish are on the move, covering water with reaction baits is prespawn 101. Topwater walkers often excel during the first hour of sunlight, while your hollow body frogs and buzz frogs will draw crushing strikes offer sparse grass and pads.

Throughout many of the nation’s natural and manmade lakes, two of the most productive prespawn search baits you can throw are the lipless bait and the vibrating jig. Both perform well in open water and the typically low/sparse grass levels common to early spring.

Ticking the tops of vegetation and periodically dipping into the foliage to intentionally snag and rip the bait free triggers instinctive bites. Bladed jigs also do a good job of bumping their way along riprap, stumps, cypress knees and laydowns.

Opinions vary on why the big gals bite those reaction baits so aggressively. Some say it’s their appetite—the need to pack on calories to hasten egg development and fuel themselves for the spawning fast. Others may contend that it’s a generally irritable disposition that drives them to snap at anything buzzing around their space.

In either case, you really don’t want to be a bluegill this time of year. Bass hold a deep, instinctual mandate to attack these plump nest-raiding sunfish, which later present a constant threat to developing fry.

Choose prespawn colors accordingly and remember, tipping bladed jig/swim jig trailers, flipping baits and wacky worms with a little chartreuse goes a long way in selling the ruse.

Super Sized: Don’t hesitate to swing big with a hefty swimbait or glidebait. Suffice to say, a prespawner bold enough to attack an 8- to 10-inch profile is the one you want. But even that jumbo offering only attracts followers, that pinpoints key areas and creates clear targets for follow-up shots with a jerkbait or wacky rig.

The Mighty Minnow: On the opposite end of the spectrum the jighead minnow is hard to beat for user-friendly presentations to those open-water fish. Generally following the shallower prespawn routes, these deeper fish won’t always tolerate a boat sitting over them for the deeper “moping” or “Damiki rig” presentation, but that minnow casts well and with a pendulum fall or a steady reel, that little package is a real closer.

Target Acquired: While keeping your foot on the trolling motor defines much of the prespawn strategy, don’t overlook the occasional rest stops. Bass are moving toward their spawning destinations, but it’s not a 24/7 swimathon.

Taking a few minutes to flip/pitch, skip prominent structure along the prespawn route keeps the whole deal honest. Your numbers will likely come on the move, but big ones taking the occasional breather typically respond violently to Texas-rigged creature baits, jigs, or wacky-rigged stick worms falling past their face.

Weather Factors

Prespawn fish take their cues largely from rising water temperatures. Even if a serious late-season front knocks ‘em back a good bit, the general seasonal progression is moving toward warmth and stability. Along the way, a few relevant points merit mentions.

Overnight Lows: A day’s worth of sunshine will warm the key areas, but cold night can erase a lot of the progress. Good news is that it’ll take several consecutive nights of dipping temperatures to significantly stall the prespawn parade.

Watch the weather closely and as long as you only see the temperature declining a few degrees off the recent trend for a couple of nights, you should be okay. When those dips plunge 7-8 degrees or more and/or those drops last for several days, it’s time to pull back and play a slow, finesse game.

Daily water temperatures will tell the true tail. So, pay close attention to the ups and downs.

Wind Woes: Spring winds are the assumption, but amid the search for leeward areas, consider the big picture and note that strong winds can push plumes of colder main lake water into creeks and pockets.

Chose your spots accordingly and avoid those with adverse wind exposure. Even if your fishing targets remain reasonably protected, a chilly influx can disrupt the prespawn movement.

The fish probably won’t completely vacate, but their march toward spawning grounds will likely suffer disruption. Back out, check deeper zones and you’ll likely reconnect with fish that are simply smart enough to know when to call “time out.”

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