The pre-spawn period for bass comes at the tail end of winter when spring has only just arrived and the days are getting a little longer and vegetation is just greening up. This early spring, pre-spawn period can be great for bass fishing, but success will take some work. During this period, bass are still "waking up" from their overwinter in deep waters. They are also more difficult to catch unless you put a lot of bass-catching science to work.
Know Bass Behaviors
Bass are habitual animals who display distinct behaviors during the year. Half of successful bass fishing is understanding bass behaviors. During the pre-spawn period, bass move from deep waters to the shallow waters in the lake. They will congregate along specific terrain features such as underwater "highways." They will feed in a particular way as well. Study all these behaviors carefully by reading about bass behaviors in books, magazines and online sources.
Finding the Highways
If ever there was a time to use a fish finder, a lake terrain map and a thermometer, pre-spawn is the time. Study a lake terrain map and use a fish finder to find bass "highways." Theses highways are created where the lake bed suddenly drops from 10 to 15 feet of water to 20 feet of water depth or more. Look for these features and depth changes. If you don't have a map or a fish finder, use a thermometer attached to a line to take temperature readings of the water around your boat. The change in depth along a bass highway will be indicated by a sudden drop of temperature by a few degrees.
Slow Down
Bass may still be "sleepy" from the effects of cold water, so you will want to take it easy too. Slow down your retrieval after casting so a lazy bass will be interested in the slow lunch you're offering. If you retrieve a lure too quickly, the bass may simply shrug and let the opportunity pass. This makes sense biologically: food sources, such as shad and crayfish, will also be slow during this period.
Lures for Pre-Spawn
Because the bass may still be in deeper waters, brightly colored lures can be more effective. Use lures in the yellow, orange and red color palette to correspond more closely with the colors of crayfish. Catching big bass during pre-spawn is common, so be ready to catch a large bass by using 20 lb. test line and a stout rod. Throw a big lure, like a large jointed minnow crankbait, that goes deep and has a lot of action even when run slowly.
Structures and Covers
At the same time you're working the bass highways, also look for good "structure" and "cover" in the area. Bass prefer to congregate near structures like downed tree limbs, stumps, rocks and other submerged items. Bass also love the cover provided by vegetation like water grasses and other "stick ups." Search for these features visually, on terrain feature maps or on your fish finder screen. Work the covers and structures with a thorough casting pattern.
References
- The Ultimate Bass Fishing Resource Guide: Fishing the Pre-Spawn
- "The Bass Angler's Almanac: More Than 650 Tips and Tactics"; John Weiss; 2002
- "Roland Martin's 101 Bass-Catching Secrets"; Roland Martin; 2008
- "Kevin VanDam's Bass Strategies Revised Edition"; Kevin VanDam, Louie Stout and Judy Purple; 2010
- "Fishing Essentials for Dummies"; Peter Kaminsky; 2002
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