It’s that time of the year when things can get a little tricky because the fish are in all stages of the spawn. It’s that period where there’s been some good weather and some fish have spawned early, some fish are just getting to that point and some of them are not there yet.
So you have a mix of things going on between postspawn, spawn and some late prespawners all going on at the same time. How do you go about things and capitalize on opportunities?
What I try to do this time of the year is give myself an opportunity to take advantage of anything that goes on during my day. In doing that, I choose some techniques that help me capitalize on all phases of the spawn.
Here are a few tricks that help me do that.
One of the most popular ways to fish during this period is the wacky rig. It’s an approach that will certainly help you catch a few fish and sometimes some good ones. However, while that is an effective tool, I believe there are other techniques that will be more versatile and effective.
One of my favorite things to do this time of the year is what I call “heavyweight flipping.” It seems bass get so tuned into what they’re doing that it can take a little extra to get their attention. One approach I like is to go with a heavier setup that seems to trigger bites as the bait rockets pass them.
I’ll often pick up a Cashion 7-foot, 6-inch Flippin’ Stick and a SEVIIN GX reel in 8.1:1 gear ratio and spool it with 25-pound-test Sunline Shooter Fluorocarbon and rig it with a bigger weight. The key is to select a 1/2- to 3/4-ounce tungsten flippin’ weight, and I like a 5/0 Gamakatsu Heavy Cover Flipping Hook. I match it with a Missile Baits Destroyer in Green Pumpkin Flash or a DBomb in Green Pumpkin Red as my baits of choice. I make stealthy pitches to areas I think they are bedding and let the lure fall quickly, hitting the bottom hard.
There’s something about that bait falling so fast past them that it seems to trigger strikes when it hits bottom hard. This is an especially good technique when fish are bedding and you can’t see them. With this technique it’s important not to move too quickly. I fish this thing as slowly as possible because if they don’t strike on initial fall, I shake it and rattle it around a little.
One of my other tricks is a drop-shot rig. It’s a regular drop-shot rig on spinning tackle, but I’ll upsize my leader size to 10- or 12-pound test, and I tie a long, 20-foot leader to keep some stretch in the system. The Missile Baits Magic Worm is the deal here in Magic Pumpkin Red if the water is stained or it’s overcast, and in clear conditions, I like Watermelon Violet.
For this rig, I chose a Cashion Icon Drop Shot Rod and GX Reel from SEVIIN, and I use 16-pound-test Sunline Overwatch braid as my main line. My hook choice is a Gamakatsu GFinesse light wire Worm Hook in cover. I like a short, 6- to 8-inch leader in this situation, and I pitch it around cover and docks and finesse it through the areas.
The real key here is, once it is in the water, to deadstick it. Don’t shake it and wiggle too much. This whole rig is at its best with this approach, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve caught fish this time of the year going behind others.
If you’re getting short bites or real light bites where a fish doesn’t take the bait fully, it’s okay to downsize your soft plastic. Here’s a situation where I’ll use a really small drop-shot bait like a Missile Baits Bomb Shot with a little No. 2 drop-shot hook, and they will suck it in better.
The last trick I’ll share is to use a trigger lure when they are in their beds. This is effective when the male is the aggressor or maybe the eggs have been laid and the female is just kind of lying around waiting and watching. This is a time to upsize the bait to something that makes the female respond.
I’ll rig my Megalodon swimbait from SPRO with the hook removed because I don’t want to hook and lose the fish in close quarters on a heavy bait. I’ll use the big bait as a trigger to get the fish fired up and then put my regular stuff back into the bed after she gets ready to strike
These are some of the tricks I use to help me put a few more fish in the boat during these funky spawn transitions, and I hope they help you too.
