Tips & Techniques
The Other Spawns |
 |
May,
2009
By
Tom Redington
For much of the springtime, bass are preoccupied with reproduction and
less concerned about eating. By late spring and early summer though, the
mating rituals have wrapped up and bass go on a feeding binge to make up
for lost time. This eating spree happens at just the right time because in
coincides with a tremendous amounts of prey moving into the shallows to
spawn. From mid-April through much of June on Lake Fork and similar
Southern lakes, bass relate to spawning shad and sunfish (bluegill, red
ears, etc.). For an angler looking to catch a lot of big bass quickly,
following the shad and sunfish spawns is a great place to start.
The shad spawn across Lake Fork at different times, normally starting
sometime in April in the upper ends of the lake and continuing through
much of May on the south end. Shad typically spawn on the clay banks and
grassy shores on Fork and you’ll be able to find these areas with a little
scouting. Look for spawning shad during the first couple of hours in the
morning. If they are there, you’ll normally see thousands of shad flicking
on the surface. In addition, many fish eating birds will also be in the
area, such as egrets and blue herons, feasting on the shad.
Once you’ve located spawning shad, the bass are pretty easy to catch until
the son comes up and the shad move out. Baitfish imitating lures with
silver or white color schemes are best, and I try to match the size of the
shad—typically 2 to 5 inch threadfin shad on Lake Fork. Double willow
spinnerbaits and chatterbait style jigs with 3.5” Live Magic Shad trailers
are great for both numbers of fish and some big ones as well. The big fish
are actively feeding but can be boat shy, so I like to throw these baits
on low diameter 33 lb Fluorohybrid line on a 7’3” Dobyns model 733 rod.
This combo allows for long casts and still has plenty of power to horse in
big fish one after another without having to constantly retie when the
fish are eating like crazy. Topwater lures like poppers and walking baits
also produce lots of fish, as do shallow running crankbaits. As the sun
starts to rise and the action slows a bit, swimbaits and soft plastic
jerkbaits will produce a few more fish by fishing slightly deeper.
Swimming 3.5” and 4.5” Live Magic Shads or 4” and 5” Hyper Worms on 3/0 to
5/0 Ultimate Swimbait Hooks from Lake Fork Trophy Lures will catch active
fish. If a swimming retrieve won’t work, use a stop and go action and let
these plastics slowly fall to the bottom. The look of a dying shad is
often too much for a hungry lunker to pass up. For the soft plastics,
Albino Shad or Magic Shad are both killer colors.
Sunfish spawn for a longer period of time (several months), and even
better, bass chase their finny little nemesis all day long, regardless of
the weather conditions. Sunfish beds look like smaller versions of bass
beds and are normally built in large clusters resembling honeycombs. Look
for these beds in hard bottom areas around small timber, weeds, and lily
pads—often near the same areas where bass spawn. If you find an area with
bedding sunfish, you can be certain that bass are nearby. While the little
panfish are distracted by spawning rituals, bass lurk around these areas
and pick off easy meals with regularity.
Unlike the early morning spawning shad pattern, match the hatch with
sunfish imitating baits and you can catch bass all day from their spawning
areas. Bulkier baits that match sunfish’s squatty shape are normally best.
Spruce these lures up with bright bluegill colors like orange, chartreuse,
and purple and you’ll have a great panfish imposter. 3/8 oz Mega Weight
jigs in pumpkin pepper/green or black/brown/amber colors with Hyper Freak
trailers in Bama bug or watermelon candy/red work great. Just add a little
chartreuse and orange highlight with a dye marker and you’ll be in
business if you pitch these to grass and wood cover around sunfish beds.
Try both hopping and swimming retrieves and let the bass tell you what
they like best. If the wind blows or if it is overcast, I’ll cover a lot
of water in these areas with fat bodied shallow running crankbaits with
wide wobbles. I throw these on Dobyns’ 705CB/Glass medium heavy fiberglass
rod with 28 lb PowerSilk mono. The Dobyns rod is exceptionally lightweight
for a fiberglass pole, yet it still has a slow action that allows bass to
fully engulf your crankbait and stay hooked up during the fight. At the
same time, the low stretch PowerSilk maintains good feel of your bait
while it scurries through shallow cover. In addition, brightly colored
noisy topwaters like poppers and prop baits attract big bass around the
beds, even on sunny and calm days. For a true trophy, try big bluegill
imitating swimbaits around the beds. There are a number of hard bodied
swimbaits that will work, as will brightly colored soft plastic swimbaits.
Swimming a 4.5” or 5.5” Live Magic Shad in the barfish, tilapia, or the
limited edition hot melon and candy corn perch colors with a stop and go
retrieve is a great way to catch a monster in the early summer.
Late spring and early summer is the bass’ equivalent to an all you can eat
seafood buffet and they’re starving hungry. Bring some yummy fixings like
Lake Fork Trophy Lures plastics and likely find a lot of hungry patrons.
If I can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 (days) or
972-635-6027 (evenings) or e-mail me through my website,
www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com.
Tom Redington is a full time bass guide on Lake Fork & a FLW Tour pro. He
is sponsored by Ranger Boats, Mercury Outboards, Dobyns Rods, Diamond
Sports Marine, Lake Fork Trophy Lures, Costa Del Mar Sunglasses, Minn
Kota, & Humminbird.
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