By
Water Temp: 57-66 F Long awaited Spring
warming is forecast for this coming weekend. Bass have been poised all month on
the edge of the flat waiting for warmth that will trigger the spawn. Looks like
it will finally happen. There was some largemouth bass nest building and
spawning in the northern lake early in the month but the big smallmouth spawning
event is still to come.
Austi
n Kimber
with Bullfrog Bass caught from shore.
Sight-fishing for aggressive bass that have just spawned is exciting. Male bass
that guard fresh eggs on the new nest will attack anything that comes close to
"his nest". Aggression peaks for two days post-spawn and then tapers
off each succeeding day after that. Timing the trip to coincide with actual
spawning ensures a memorable trip. That will happen this weekend and beyond.
Catching bass is not all that technical in these conditions. Basically anything
that swims near the nest is fair game. The lure choice is then determined by
confidence of the angler. Past success with a certain lure, technique or
presentation should determine how to fish during the next week. If it worked
before it should work even better now.
For beginners perhaps the easiest and most effective bait is a
weightless plastic bait like the Zoom Fluke or Yamamoto Senko. Toss the
bait beyond the nest, retrieve until it is over the nest and then let it slowly
descend right on the rocks. The male bass will take it on the way down or pick
it up and carry it off the rocks. Catch the male bass off the nest but then
release it to protect the eggs from predation. If bass are to be kept for
supper, keep the females or those fish not on nests. In the bass world, males
determine the survival of the next generation and females are excess fish to be
harvested.
Crappie will be spawning at the same time. Crappie will nest in thick cover and
the male security guard will often be a very black color. Release the black
fish and those caught on nests to ensure the survival of the next generation.
Use small plastic or hair jigs on very light jig heads (1/16th - 1/32nd ounce).
Place them about 4-feet under a bobber to present the bait at a steady depth
and a slow speed which crappie prefer.
Brian Walters
with stripers caught at the Dam
Striper fishing is red hot in the channel near the Dam. Use anchovy bait for a big catch of
adult fish prowling the canyon walls. Try the dam, Buoy 1,
Striper fishing is even better in the backs of canyons around brush piles that
harbor small sunfish. Both adults and juveniles are hanging out in the backs of
canyons. Find them by fishing reaction baits like a lipless vibrator or jerk
bait, on the shallow edge of the canyon near deep water. Cast to the shoreline
much like fishing for bass. Stripers, bass and walleye
are sharing the same habitat. A hooked striper is usually accompanied by
5 others trying to grab the bait from its mouth. When one striper is being
played cast behind the hooked fish to catch the school mates.
Jerk baits like pointers,
bevy shad, and Bomber long A's work well, as do plastic grubs and tubes and
spoons. Use your confidence lure. The fish will love it too.