Spring Bass Fishing

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Zach Semago

Spring bass fishing is around the corner for some (enjoy it Texas) and a faint figment of the imagination for others (anyone up north). Regardless, every state will eventually have their spring bass spawn for both Largemouth and Smallmouth bass. Spring is probably voted the most exciting time to fish for bass. Many large bass seem to appear out of thin air on the spawning beds and then cease to exist the rest of the year. The popular trophy bass legend Dottie, the 25 pound unofficial world record was frequently seen on her spawning bed, but never again the rest of the year. Big bass in small, concentrated areas of water means a lot of fun. But it is not as easy as it sounds. There is a lot of knowledge on the subject of the spring bass spawn. Below are my experiences specific to spring bass spawn locations.

Bass Spawn Temperatures

Bass eggs develop quicker in warmer water, so bass naturally want the water as warm as possible for their spawn. Bass like to spawn in shallow bays which soak up the sun rays most effectively relative to the rest of the lake. The northwest side of the lake is usually the warmest part of the lake. Looking for shallow bays on the northwest side of the lake can’t be a bad place to look for spawning bass.

The premium spawn temperatures vary from region to region, but expect at least some bass to spawn as soon as the water temperatures get to 65°. At 60° the males can be found scouting spawn beds looking for the best spot to defend the nest from sunfish and other predators. These males typically do not grow much larger than two pounds. While the males search for nests the females wait for the right time in the depths, probably no more than 150 feet away. From 55° to 50°, when the water is a bit colder, the fish tend to stage nearby (like in a creek channel or on an adjacent point to a spawning flat) waiting for the waters to warm up. It is not that unusual for fish to move back and forth between staging areas throughout the day. The best fishermen will check and recheck typical spawning flats and holding zones throughout the day, it is only a matter of temperature before they run into the fish. When the water is much below 50° the fish hang out on main points in deeper water close to the spawning flats. The image below is a place I’ve fished spawns before and had great results (click image to enlarge).

Extra Spring Fishing Tips

Lake surface temperature is not equal to deeper water temperature. For example, a trolling motor takes the surface temperature at 61° on a warm spring day. This would mean the bass are on the beds. But this temperature is only the surface temperature, three feet below the water hasn’t soaked up those sun rays and is still 57°, thus the bass are still hanging in deep channels. For this reason some trolling motors have two temperature gauges, one at the surface and another at the base of the motor 2-3 feet below.

These temperature estimations are not absolute. Depending the region, the optimal temperatures may change. Also, Largemouth bass have evolved in such a way that schedules the population to spawn at different times. For example, some bass will spawn at 60° and others will spawn at 68°. This evolutionary defensive mechanism protects the population from natural disasters. Say, for example, a very bad storm front comes through after all bass lay their eggs–the water temperature plummets and all males leave the nests, leaving all eggs to be eaten by predators–the spawn is a disaster. This is why not all bass spawn at once. All bass will spawn over the period of a few weeks to cover for drastic circumstances. I’ve frequently read that the largest females tend to spawn earlier than the rest of the bass.

Spring Spawn Weather

Weather is obviously a big factor for the spring spawn. Keep in mind warm rain will be much more effective at increasing the water temperature than sunlight will. Spring is often a time of cold fronts and unstable weather. The fish will be moving back and forth between spawning and staging areas for weeks. In general though, wait for a few solid days of sunlight and head for a shallow bay! I prefer to search for bass on the beds in the afternoon, giving the sun a few extra hours to warm up the shallows. Dark-bottomed bays heat quicker than lighter colored bays, because the dark color soaks up the heat more effectively like a black car will heat up quicker than a white car left in the sun. Dark-bottomed, shallow, and calm bays, adjacent to large lake points and deep water are ideal spawn locations. Also, lots of shoreline structure is essential. Weeds, brush, logs, laydowns, docks, or anything else the bass will find helpful in defending the eggs against predators are prime bed locations.

Nisqually River Chum Fishing Report

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Zach Semago

Last Sunday (1/15/2012) I took a fishing trip with a bunch of buddies out to the Nisqually river to hit some winter run Chum. We fished on the indian reservation just south of Du Pont. My friend, Alex, and his dad have fished the river many times and knew the details of each and every hole we floated by in the drift boat. Alex was very confident about the potential for the day. After a cloudy and rainy winter, it was 8a.m., sunny, and we were drifting down the river!

Gear:

Each of us in the boat had two rods. The first rod equipped some drift fishing gear, and the second rod was equipped with a large shallow diving plug. One of those all-purpose ones that doesn’t really look like much of anything. Fifteen pound test or so on both rods.

Fishing:

After 45 minutes of no bites our guide Alex is still calm and confident the fish are around. He tells us his favorite hole is still downriver–where he wants us to spend hours anchored up letting the plugs flow in the current…well we got to the apparently infamous hole and two boats were already in the hole and into fish as well.

We decided to try some other places further down the river. That’s what we get for drinking the night before and getting the late start! Drift fishing lost us nearly all our hooks and swivels on trees and snags, so we stopped and fished a spawning bay for a while. We caught two nice fish among the four of us, and about fifteen more dinosaurs that were on their last leg and clearly post-spawn. I caught the big fish of the trip (me below with the fish), but the fish was not looking so sharp. This particular fish I caught on the fin. We weren’t trying to snag with our drift gear but caught a few in odd places anyways. I also caught a dead fifteen pound fish off of the bottom–the friends had some laughs over that. We had some good fun, and getting out on the water in the winter to catch up to 10-20 pound fish is awfully refreshing for a guy who usually just sticks to bass.

My old dinosaur Chum, the biggest of the day

What was the most irritating today was the Indian netting boats going by every ten minutes. We were angered as we watched these nets bring in anywhere from five to thirty bright, silver, fresh Chum salmon from the river time and time again as we meagerly played with the nearly dead fish that already spawned. Needless to say, once the Indians were on the water fishing dies down. I hear the natives can only net this river Sunday-Wednesday so the best day to take a trip is Saturday where the new fish have had the most time to get up river without being netted. Six people died on this river last year so be careful, the current was pretty quick in some spots.

Preparing for Your Fishing Trip

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Zach Semago

Success is where preparation and opportunity meet. – Bobby Unser
Preparation in life, just as in fishing, will bring home success more often than not. While you cannot prepare for some circumstances in life, fishing preparation we have pretty much nailed down. Here are some techniques both new and old that will put more fish in the boat.

Figure Fish Location: Maps & Seasons

First thing is to conjur a general idea of where the fish will be. If you are reading this I assume you know a thing or two about the fish you will be pursuing. But if you don’t know your target species, research the seasonal movement of the fish, as it is integral to predicting fish location. Once you know the fish’s seasonal tendencies the next step is to study a detailed map of the lake. Try to isolate 100-200 yard patches of water that should be holding fish given the time of year and species. Pick 3-4 spots you would like to check out. If you don’t have a topographical map, Google Maps is a great tool to geographically dissect lakes. The satellites provide surprisingly high resolution detail. Be very observant of the water seen via Google maps—some obvious structures seen on Google Maps will be invisible on the water! Google will pick up things like underwater humps and shallow reefs when the naked eye will miss them.

Weather is important when fishing. Pretend you are at home and it is freezing cold or god awful hot outside—you are not going outside unless you have to. If you went outside, you only would want back to comfortable temperatures as soon as possible. Fish behave this way too. Fish move very little when the water is too hot or cold–they stay ‘inside their homes.’ Remember water takes longer to heat and cool than does air. A bad cold front at night will drag water temperatures down well into the following day no matter how sunny it may be. So when the day is sunny and warm the fish may still be in “cold mode” where they are chilled and inactive deep in the weed beds. Best practice is to pay attention to the previous couple days weather, and, to put it briefly, cold slows the fish down, sun speeds up activity (cold-blooded animals roll with the punches). In Washington, three consistently warm days is my trigger to hit the water.

Get a Pulse on the Fish: Fishing Sites and Reports

Fish behave a certain way in theory according to the weather and season. Theory will often fail because of extraneous factors. These extraneous factors like baitfish, migratory birds, or even spawning of other fish can sometimes be figured out through fishing sites and posted fishing reports which give you an idea of how fish are actually behaving now! These sites offer free information and usually pictures! I think fishing report aggregator tools online are so powerful I am making one myself!

Don’t be out Tying Knots of the Water

I know it is a luxury to own as many as ten rods, but if you own even two rods I advise outfitting them with different lures. Make your rods diverse. Here’s an example to make my point clear. What happens when a bass strikes your top water bait but misses and won’t bite it anymore? (You are going to throw a worm or finesse bait at it—Quick!). Easy if you setup a rod ahead of time. But wait, you didn’t setup your rods ahead of time so you have to tie on a new worm to another rod, throbbing in adrenaline you pull the knot too tight, break the line, and have to start over! After three frustrating minutes you tie the knot again and cast back towards the hungry bass. By then she’s gone. Sound fun? Quickly changing lure presentations puts more bass in the boat and calls for pre-tied rods. Tie on a few different lures, and have some method to the madness. I like to have a few rods dedicated to fast moving lures and a few rods dedicated to slower moving lures. I will always have a flipping stick on board for those thick brush bass.

Bass on the Move

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Zach Semago

A few months back I was standing on a cliff edge overlooking a small lake somewhere in eastern Washington. It was early summer and all the beautiful, but of course I was interested in what I could see in the water from the cliff top. What I saw taught me a lesson about bass fishing and I’m going to share with you what I saw and more importantly what I’ve learned.

My Aerial View

I was on a tall cliff edge that dropped straight down into the water where there was a narrow channel about 5 feet wide that separated this cliff from an expansive and thick weed bed. This thin channel ran about 100 feet along the cliffside, separating the weeds from the cliff all along the way. I had an aerial view on all of the habitat from the cliff-top, which allowed me to view a peculiar bass behavior. After studying the area for a bit I found about four 2-3 pound bass swimming together along this channel. At first I figured I lucked out to see them and they were just moving to another ambush spot. But the bass continued swimming along the channel, and when they got to the end of the channel–they turned around and swam back. I watched these bass swim this 100 foot channel together 3-4 times before I left. Below is a conceptual drawing of this scenario.

As a fisherman, I would have given this area 1–at most 2–casts and moved on (a little confused because the spot looked so good). The reality could have been the bass were in the area I was casting, but due to movement, were there 2 minutes ago and moved too far away by the time I cast. Bass often have a reputation <--(see Food Usage/Selection section) for hiding in an ambush spot and waiting around to strike at unsuspecting prey. While this notion can be correct at times I think it is more of a guideline than anything. Bass are opportunistic and behave by what works best. In this case, these fish found it most beneficial to take the calorie loss and swim the 100 yards back and forth looking for prey. Time and time again I have seen bass lazily swimming along in circular repeated paths. This kind of bass movement happens more than we like to give it credit for.

Bass Movement and You

Bass on the move leads to the idea that occasionally we just get lucky and run into fish! Or other instances we are casting to the right place at the wrong time. How would you like to know that at one of your recent fishing trips you were in the right area, just didn’t hang around long enough to cast at the right moment? That bucketmouth was just in the area five minutes ago! Or perhaps the bass you caught on that dock really wasn’t laying in ambush, but rather on a designated path it commonly follows and you found it at the right moment.

This is not to say all fish are on the move, but what makes fishing so tough is we really don’t know until we’ve amassed hundreds of hours on the water. Pros likely know like the back of their hand when is a good time for fish movement versus lay in wait ambush techniques. This article was designated as food for thought. Perhaps other (not easily seen) patterns are at play under the water. A good way to take advantage of bass on the move is to find the areas they will likely move to and from. From my channel example, grab a heavy bait and cast it as far as you can down the channel and hope you have increased your chances of reeling into the fish! Also, give the spot a few extra casts keeping in mind some fish will rotate back into the area. Sure, this style of fishing takes a little bit longer to fully cover an area but that decision is yours to take. Some Pros say they can fish a 100 yard strip of water for a whole tournament instead of jetting around all over the lake. Pros say that because of reasons like bass movement.

5 Essential items for a Fishing Trip

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Zach Semago

1. Polarized Glasses

Polarized glasses, with a type of lens that reduces the reflection of the water, allow you to see deeper and more clearly into water. I’ve caught many more fish because of polarized glasses. Polarized glasses allow some to become proficient at “spotting”–scanning a given area to see if fish are lurking nearby. Spotting is very common in the spring time for bedding bass but can be used year round for many species. I’ve spotted in lily pad fields and small channels before with great luck. If you anchor up on a spot and slow down and just watch the water, usually fish you had assumed to not exist will creep into view. You can pick up polarized glasses at any sporting good store and gas stations usually have a few pairs as well.

2. Scale and Camera

You never know when that trophy fish is going to bite–and you damn better have something to prove it when it does. Depending on the fish in the body of water it is nice to have a medium/small scale (say 15 pound maximum) in addition to a larger scale that caps at 75 pounds or so (in case you catch that Goliath catfish or muskie). A camera will always be nice for these occasions. When alone it is difficult to picture the fish and give justice to the size. The best technique for taking pictures alone that I’ve seen is laying the fish next to the rod and reel so the viewers have a sense of the fish’s size versus the rod and reel. You are either going to take my advice and have both of these with you fishing, or you are going to eventually catch that lunker and kick yourself for years for not having some kind of proof. Have these items! Also I should mention my whole site is about fishing reports, and people enjoy checking out your catch so get those pictures to post!

3. Needle Nose Pliers

These little dewsies are a necessity no matter the activity. But for fishing I suggest you buy a pair and always keep them in the boat. Time after time on the boat I think to myself, “Wow, that would’ve been awful if I didn’t have pliers on board.” Awkward hookups on fish deep in the throat or in the gills call for a handy pair of needle nose pliers. Pliers also help for fish with small mouths, when it is difficult to get your hand inside to dislodge the hook. Also pliers are great for catfish with their tough gummy mouths that seem to cling to the hook.

4. Snacks

Keeping the belly happy is essential while on the water. Once you satisfy the man on the inside your fishing effort will be its best. I usually go with some kind of nutrition bar or whatnot. I also enjoy eating sunflower seeds, because they provide some protein and are amusing to split and spit (I don’t know why). Always have some water on board. A simple water bottle can go a long way on a hot summers day with the sun relentlessly beating down on your shoulders. There’s one final particularly tasty beverage I occasionally like to have a few of on the boat, but I’m gonna save it for a future article.

5. Have a Game Plan!

Catching fish is about correctly predicting their behavior. And you have to guess it, so have a predetermined plan. Tie up the correct lures ahead of time and also give yourself a backup plan in case the primary plan goes bust. Preparation not only will make you more successful, but make you more efficient on the water. Your game plan should help you cover water more quickly and isolate active groups of fish. All things considered a good game plan increases your effective time on the water–something we all wish we could do.

Fishing Seasons: Northern Versus Southern Waters

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Zach Semago

Over the past 2 weeks the leaves finally changed here in Texas. This being my first year in Texas I am surprised by the late onset of fall. In Washington, where I’ve lived my whole life, fall came as early as September. While this discrepancy is initially odd for me, I was pleased to get a few more good months of fishing in before winter’s grip squeezes the bite out of the fish. I even caught three largemouths on buzzbaits on December 1st just to say I could! Over the past week however the weather has shifted to rainy with very cold nights. This cold front is probably the point where my fast moving lures retire until next spring. Texas has a peculiar set of seasons—8 month summers and short lived other seasons. However what seems peculiar to me is normal to Texans. This experience has reminded me that all fishing seasons are relative to location. Prespawn bassin in Texas happens months before the sun blesses northern waters with spawning temperatures.

In the spirit of changing seasons, I’d like to talk a little about what the season dates are in the calendar year and how they change as geography changes. The biggest difference between seasons is comparing southern (TX, AZ, NM, LA, etc.) waters with northern waters (MN, WI, MI, etc.). The dates below are not what dates people consider summer/fall/winter/spring but rather what the fish consider the seasons according to the temperatures. Get ready for a glimpse at the fish’s calendars!

Northern Water Seasons

Fishing seasons in the north are evenly spaced. From December to April is considered the winter period where fish lay largely inactive in deeper water. Unless you are ice fishing, I advise not fishing during this period because the only thing you are going to catch is a cold. Sometimes as early as April spring starts heating up the waters and getting the fish moving. April – early June is the typical spring period. Once the waters hit 50 degrees the bass are moving into the spawning shallows (they usually spawn at 60 or so). Summer typically lasts from Late July through early September. Somewhere in the September to October period is the fall period where the famed fall turnover happens, but that is for another article.

Southern Water Seasons

Southern waters (especially the southwest) are much hotter and dryer than the north. Logically this means short fall, winter, and springs with long summers. As I mentioned earlier, Texas fall is short lived and typically happens for 6 weeks around October/November/December. The winter runs between December and January. Spring for southern waters usually starts in February and quickly progresses into summer in April.

Other Useful Season Notes

One important note is that these typical seasons represent an average. Seasons are elongated or shortened every year for one reason or another (maybe a long cold front or drought). This year perhaps the fall was so late because the summer was one of the hottest in Texas history. Bodies of water that are neither north or south will usually have a mix of the north/south water seasonality. I will make a detailed chart in the future to best represent these trends across the US.

All fish act differently depending on the season. When in doubt of what season the fish are in, remember to keep the fish’s frame of mind. It doesn’t matter that it is December 1st, it has been a hot year and the temperatures keep coming in consistently warmer than usual—fish probably are still holding a fall pattern. Temperature and rainfall are all the fish know of and use to change behavior. Watch these two weather indicators and you will come to a beneficial conclusion on fish seasonality.

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