Now’s the time of year when many people start looking at postspawn fish. What happens when we fish this transition period? I think we make it a little tougher than it needs to be; the main reason being we don’t really understand what fish do during the postspawn.
I call it the P-Funk – the postspawn funk
This time of the year most people’s thoughts focus on bottom-bouncing techniques thinking they’ll trigger bigger strikes, but I believe that is the wrong approach for this period. I think that way because of the nature of the fish themselves in relation to the baitfish they target this time of year.
I think the biggest misconception most people have is how the fish position themselves. Yes, bass are cover-oriented fish, but there is so much going on after the spawn that I believe their focus changes. I believe they still use cover, but they are focused more towards the surface and the shoreline.
Instead of looking to present lures that fall fast and hit the bottom, I’ve found more success targeting these fish above their heads because that’s the direction they’re looking.
When you think about what they’re doing right now all of their forage bases are up in the water column. The shad spawn, the herring spawn in those lakes in Georgia and the Carolinas, the bream beds throughout the country — all of their forage is either shallow or happening above them.
With that said, I think the best thing to do is target the fish where they’re looking. So, I tend to focus on topwater and baits that ride above the fish — and then slow finesse techniques that tend to hover and not fall to the bottom quickly.
If I’m in the shallows and looking at fish that are around bluegill beds, I’ll tend towards frogs. The Spro Bronzeye family is my favorite in one of the good shad colors like Clear Chartreuse or Speck. I go with the Bronzeye Pop 60 if there’s a little chop on the water and the original Bronzeye 65 when it’s calm. I designed a rod for Cashion Rods for the technique; it’s the John Crews Frog Rod, a 7-foot Heavy Fast action rod perfect for the frogs. I pair it with an 8.1:1 SEVIIN GS reel spooled with 50-pound-test Suline X-Plasma Braid.
When I’m chasing fish in more open water, a walking bait tends to be a better approach. I like the Spro Walking Haint 125 because I can make long casts and cover water quickly.
Something I’ve done for a while, that approach was kind of on display at Lake Hartwell when some of our field was using bigger glide baits to trigger reactions. When the fish are looking in an upward position and there is a lot of bait around, sometimes making a bigger presentation above them such as a glide bait like the Chad Shad can be a big difference maker.
My other approach is the opposite, and that is to slow down completely with finesse presentations on spinning gear. I tend towards more wacky rig presentations and usually fish them weightless. If the fish are not responding to fast-moving baits, a Missile Baits Magic Worm will give a good, slow fall. The Missile Baits 48 tends to be a little heavier and give a little bit more speed to the presentation if they are reacting to a little bit faster fall.
Having the right approach to difficult fishing situations can make a lot of difference at the end of the day and during the postspawn. Targeting fish where they’re looking will make a big difference for you.
