Find the bait fish, you have found the bass
The pre-spawn period is a favorite of many bass fishermen. Bass are hungry at this time of year, and some of the biggest bass in lakes and reservoirs across the country move shallow in preparation for the spawn. For this reason, the pre-spawn offers the best chance all year of catching a trophy bass.
Lake Mendocino-Prespawn fishin’
The pre-spawn period is just starting on our hometown lake. Water temperature is the deciding factor.
Generally speaking, prespawn begins when water temperature is between 50 and 58 degrees for small mouth bass, or between 53 and 63 degrees for large mouths. Right now the water is running in the mid to upper 40’s to low 50’s by the afternoon.. But bass may begin to invade shallow water even sooner in some cases, so it would be wise to start fishing early in the season rather than start later and risk missing some fun action. During the pre-spawn, bass are actively moving between deep and shallow water to feed, often several times a day. The best places to fish often feature structure that runs from deep water to shallow water. Look for areas that have rocky points, or where there is a tree that has fallen into the water, anything that is different. You’ll find them. The sunny side of our lake is the best place to start fishing especially during the morning hours. The bait fish will often seek out water that is just a bit warmer. Find the bait fish, you have found the bass.
Bass can winter as deep as 50 feet, and come to shallows less than 5 feet deep during the prespawn. Bass feed heavy during the pre-spawn period, foraging on energyrich baitfish and crayfish to bulk up for the energydraining spawn season.
One of the keys to catch more bass is to try to imitate what they feeding on as closely as possible.
Crawdad colored jigs really work well this time of the year. Some of my favorites are Watermelon/candy colored Baby Brushhogs and grass seed colored Sweet Beavers. Crawl and hopping them along the bottom SLOWLY.
Shad, perch and bluegill are also what the bass are feasting themselves on right now . Use lures that match them in color and size. Try slow reeling a swimbait or crankbait like a medium size Rattle Trap, Chrome with a black back. I have hooked hundreds of bass with this lure. It is one of my old “go to “baits. Here are a couple more baits that work for me on our backyard lake . First, try a suspending
jerkbait. Add long pauses to your retrieve with jerkbaits, allowing them to sit perfectly still in the water. Secondly, throw a spinnerbait. Gold blades with a chartouse skirt or white skirt with silver blades. Fish a spinnerbait like you fish a crankbait. Make long casts at different angles, covering a lot of water. The advantage that spinnerbaits offer over crankbaits is that they can be fished in deeper water. During the pre-spawn, bass are more likely to strike out of hunger rather than aggression, so triggering reaction strikes is rarely necessary. Take your time and throughly fish an area before you move on to another spot.
I hope this information is helpful…
Thank’s for reading and remember to keep it reel! Don — 4REEL Fishin’