Post spawn pointers

We all know that time of year, fishing was hot, and now just the weather is hot. All the bass that remain in the shallows are lacking in size, if you have the tenacity to pick them out of the algae blooms. This happened recently at my favorite pond, I couldn't go a day without pulling 20+ bass of respectable size and then i went back yesterday at the start of my weekend and fishing was beyond butt. The 5 dinkers I did catch weren't worth the bad sunburn I acquired. All of the shoal areas that i was pulling fish from previously are now dominated by large spawning schools of bluegill and event eh more dependable deeper brush piles failed to put out anything. I had the feeling that i was actively paddling over deep bass while hopelessly probing the shorelines that had been so productive up until Friday. It was strange that not even the males had stayed, let alone their hefty baby mamas. How do I find and target these deeper fish? Will my jigs and senkos work? When will the shallow game pick back up?

A lot of the easy bites we get in the spring are due to territorial aggression. That aspect of the equation is diminished when the bass are firmly into summer patterns.

For the fish, feeding takes on a primary significance as the water warms and the metabolic rate of the bass continues to rise. The issue then becomes one of presenting a bait at the moment that feeding activity is occurring.

Smaller bass feed almost constantly, because they are growing rapidly yet are limited in the size and composition of the meals they can consume. Invertebrates lack the the energy density of oily-fleshed fish that larger individuals typically target, yet a large percentage of the meal consumed by sub-mature bass consists of insects and crustaceans.

In searching for larger bass, one method is to concentrate your efforts on the low light periods of dawn and dusk. These are peak feeding times for the mature individuals, and allow the bigger bass to utilize their preferred feeding strategy of the ambush to maximum effect. They can consume larger prey, and so will get a big meal in before returning to a resting area to digest and conserve energy.

I actually don't use this method often, because I don't like getting up early.

I have learned over the years that the VERY biggest bass in any given system are going to be in predictable locations during the periods of reduced activity, and I will target them in those areas. Big bass set up shop in (or near) dense cover or in areas where there are sharp differences in the topographical relief. Areas where the contour interval is rapidly changing enable large vertical movements, and give the bass a sense of security.

Identify and target prime locations persistently. I have found jigs and slow moving plastics best for this. It is not a numbers game, so be forewarned. You must be on the best spots at a time when the bass is willing to resume feeding activity or becomes annoyed with the intrusion of your offering.

The hottest part of the day will put the bass into predictable locations. Take advantage.

SS

Any kind of soft plastics that have a dark color along with a a bright shinny glitter to it or in the evenings just plain dark colors do well. I like to look for deep holes in between weed beds and cast in there more often then not a big ole' bucket mouths laying in there :thumb:

Excellent stuff!

Indeed. Love this forum!

Green Punkin said:

We all know that time of year, fishing was hot, and now just the weather is hot. All the bass that remain in the shallows are lacking in size, if you have the tenacity to pick them out of the algae blooms. This happened recently at my favorite pond, I couldn't go a day without pulling 20+ bass of respectable size and then i went back yesterday at the start of my weekend and fishing was beyond butt. The 5 dinkers I did catch weren't worth the bad sunburn I acquired. All of the shoal areas that i was pulling fish from previously are now dominated by large spawning schools of bluegill and event eh more dependable deeper brush piles failed to put out anything. I had the feeling that i was actively paddling over deep bass while hopelessly probing the shorelines that had been so productive up until Friday. It was strange that not even the males had stayed, let alone their hefty baby mamas. How do I find and target these deeper fish? Will my jigs and senkos work? When will the shallow game pick back up?

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Post-spawn is quite possibly the hardest time to catch bass so you are not alone. Jigs and senkos definitely work during the post-spawn. I would switch to a wacky-rig on deep docks as fish recuperate from the spawn. I just fished a tournament in these conditions and was able to win this way.

I've always done well with my popper from pre-dawn 'til about 10AM post-spawn.