Bass fishing in the spring

[lacivic99]

Does anyone fish for spawning bass in the spring? The bass in central Florida just started bedding with this dip in water temps, so I'm curious about your techniques. What flies do you prefer?

It's one of those rare opportunities to score a 5+lb bass in shallow water, lending itself well to the delicate presentation of fly fishing.

 

[jr spey]

Does anyone fish for spawning bass in the spring? The bass in central Florida just started bedding with this dip in water temps, so I'm curious about your techniques. What flies do you prefer?

It's one of those rare opportunities to score a 5+lb bass in shallow water, lending itself well to the delicate presentation of fly fishing.

I fish for pre-spawn bass, but would never consider fishing for bass, or any species really, that is actually in the process of spawning or guarding a nest.

 

[Meadowlark]

Absolutely positively yes. I'm fortunate to have 5 ponds on my place and the spawning bass is the best time of the year to get great action on big fish.

I haven't seen them bedding yet here but it has to be just a matter of days...maybe hours.

I like large flies that tend to really aggravate them and generate viscous strikes. Big buggy rubber legged monstrosities . If you have shiners, match the hatch.

Our best so far is this 27 inch 12.5 pound whopper!

Go get 'em!

 

[huronfly]

When steelhead season starts to taper off here in the spring they get replaced with big spawning bass.

They will literally hit ANYTHING to protect the nest when they are on the spawn. That is why our season does not open until late June. Not very sporting or challenging if you ask me... also the ethics of catching spawning fish are a little concerning.

 

[philly]

They don't really start spawning up here until May. I won't target bass sitting on a nest. Don't have a problem targeting bream though. I caught this one the week before Memorial Day last year. Still in shallow water but probably post spawn.



I was actually fishing for pan fish and it came out from under one of the boats tied up on the dock behind me.

 

[karstopo]

Largemouth Bass (Micropterus
salmoides)
Largemouth Bass Reproduction and Spawn
Fishing for Spawning Bass


“However, studies indicate that fishing during the spawn, even if specifically for trophies, does not appear to harm the bass populations. Obviously, taking a spawn-ready female from the bed will, if she dies, reduce the numbers of young bass produced. But bass produce thousands of spawn every year, leaving the surplus millions of juvenile fish to become food for other species – so numbers aren’t an issue. Further research has shown that if a big female hasn't spawned yet and is released in good shape, then it is likely she will spawn.”
From the Berkley link.

The smaller Males guard the nest. The females lay their eggs and move to another nest to spawn again or go deeper to recuperate.
It’s a myth, especially for southern areas, that fishing for bass during the spawn is detrimental to the bass numbers and ability to maintain population.

On the relatively shallow oxbow I live on, the bass have evidently just built a few nests on the shallow sun exposed north shore. This according to one of the bass guys on the lake. I used Balanced leeches and deer hair divers last year during the whole spawn sequence, Late February through April. Both worked great.

 

[karstopo]

When steelhead season starts to taper off here in the spring they get replaced with big spawning bass.

They will literally hit ANYTHING to protect the nest when they are on the spawn. That is why our season does not open until late June. Not very sporting or challenging if you ask me... also the ethics of catching spawning fish are a little concerning.

That the smaller males attacking the lure as it comes near the nest. The bigger females are long gone once the eggs are deposited. Females during and after the spawn are very difficult to target and unlikely to eat.

 

[brownbass]

Cast a crawdad type fly up on the nest and watch for the male guarding the nest to pick it up and move it.

Bill

 

[jr spey]

When steelhead season starts to taper off here in the spring they get replaced with big spawning bass.

They will literally hit ANYTHING to protect the nest when they are on the spawn. That is why our season does not open until late June. Not very sporting or challenging if you ask me... also the ethics of catching spawning fish are a little concerning.

A little? I expect comments like some of these from the bubbas of the world, but really didn't expect it from flyfishers. I hope there are more of us, huronfly.

 

[karstopo]

This 8 pound female went for an olive deer hair diver March 19th of last year. It wasn’t on a nest, because if one would read the research, females don’t remain on a nest once the eggs are dropped. I just fish the shorelines with divers and hope for the best. I might try the Balanced leech if the deer hair diver isn’t getting it done.

.

 

[huronfly]

That the smaller males attacking the lure as it comes near the nest. The bigger females are long gone once the eggs are deposited. Females during and after the spawn are very difficult to target and unlikely to eat.

The majority of these fish I mention are 2-5lb, big females. But these are pre spawn fish... I can't fish for "during" the spawn, as the steelhead are gone by then, so I have no justification on being out there as bass season is closed, and game wardens aren't stupid.

Maybe I jumped the gun on chiming in on this thread, as I have only experienced the pre-spawn aggression.

 

[jr spey]

By definition, though, you are fishing for POST spawn females. I haven't said a word against that. I'm well aware of the research. However, research has nothing to do with ethics. And research is often proven wrong later in time. I just don't think it's ethical to fish for spawning fish.

 

[tpo]

This 8 pound female went for an olive deer hair diver March 19th of last year. It wasn’t on a nest, because if one would read the research, females don’t remain on a nest once the eggs are dropped. I just fish the shorelines with divers and hope for the best. I might try the Balanced leech if the deer hair diver isn’t getting it done.

.

Karstopo, how do you fish the balanced leeches, vertical jig, cast/ retrieve, under an indicator, or other? Thanks.

 

[huronfly]

I have just one more thing to add - I realize every ecosystem is different, but there are lakes and rivers here that have been invaded by the round goby, a spawning bass's worst nightmare. The male bass is constantly battling off these little egg eaters, and if he is pulled of the bed then those gobies are right there waiting to gorge. Many nests are abandoned once the gobies move in, for me, its another reason not to pull males(or females) off of a nest.

You may not have gobies, but it doesn't take long for other scavengers to find a pile of eggs or a cloud of fry to move in on.

 

[karstopo]

Karstopo, how do you fish the balanced leeches, vertical jig, cast/ retrieve, under an indicator, or other? Thanks.

I fish them with floating fly line, no indicator, and fluorocarbon leaders 8-11 feet long or so. I’ve cast them from shore to the deeper water, parallel to the shorelines, and from a boat in deeper water towards the shallow shoreline or to surface feeding activity out deep.Basically, I’m doing some variations on a overhead/sidearm cast and then strip/pause retrieve. They are not weedless. Where I fish, it’s submerged brush and logs that is the main issue. But the snags aren’t a terrible problem and I can see some of them to avoid getting hung up. In a boat, I can go over and get free from the obstruction. Shoreline fishing is a little more of a problem. 15# tippet is strong enough to bend out the Gamakatsu and owner size 1 or 2 90 degree jig hooks. I then bend them back into shape. Not ideal, but it works for a couple of hang ups.

Fish hit them mostly on the pause. In deeper water, I often let them fall for a length of time to get down towards the bottom. Nothing I fish is over 10 feet deep. Seems like finding the depth to fish is pretty key so I try some different strip/pause cadences to get the right one. Once I get a fish, I try to mirror that presentation going forward. I briefly tried an indicator at one point, but I don’t like casting or fishing with indicators as a rule. I think that’s how Balanced leeches are often fished, suspended under an indicator. I’d try that fish them under an indicator if the strip/pause wasn’t so consistent in getting an eat.

 

[Meadowlark]

“However, studies indicate that fishing during the spawn, even if specifically for trophies, does not appear to harm the bass populations."

The above is a statement of fact.

Here's another: I built my own ponds, stocked them, and managed them to raise big trophy bass. People casting dispersions should perhaps educate themselves before making complete fools of themselves.

It is another fact that most private ponds(including each of my 5 ponds) suffer from over population of bass rather than under. Bass must be removed each year in order to maintain the balance of the pond. Of course, the same people casting uneducated dispersions haven't bothered to educate themselves on that fact either.

I'll manage my ponds how I see fit and absolutely, unabashedly and proudly fish them before, during, and after the bass spawn. Thank you very much.

 

[huronfly]

The above is a statement of fact.

Here's another: I built my own ponds, stocked them, and managed them to raise big trophy bass. People casting dispersions should perhaps educate themselves before making complete fools of themselves.

It is another fact that most private ponds(including each of my 5 ponds) suffer from over population of bass rather than under. Bass must be removed each year in order to maintain the balance of the pond. Of course, the same people casting uneducated dispersions haven't bothered to educate themselves on that fact either.

Nobody cares what you do with your own stocked ponds. You are missing the point.

I was making an argument based on conditions that I have seen in some waterbodies, as I said, every ecosystem is different! It may not pertain to you.

 

[karstopo]

The whole ethical thing during the spawn had never really come up for me.There was a time many years ago the lake I now live on was closed for about 6 weeks to bass fishing during the spawn. The closure was related to the spawn and was done at the behest of the association and the personalities that ruled the board at the time and not based on any biological reason.

But if it hurts a particular fishery or lake for regional things like the gobies mentioned or some other biological condition, by all means shut it down then. As far as being somehow unfair, isn’t the whole thing of fishing trying to fool the fish into striking something that resembles natural forage. Sometimes that’s process is easier and sometimes harder. Personally, I don’t target nests where I fish because I can’t normally see them from a boat in our somewhat cloudy dark water.

A school of bass destroying Shad is an easy target. Is it unethical to cast an offering into the school? How about outside the time of the spawn and a sighted bass lurking about next to a log. Make the cast on target, get the fish, it’s about automatic. Is that unethical?

On the spawning beds, it’s the males that guard the nest. They will attack or move something that’s come into the area of the nest. No doubt a predator of eggs could move in and eat up the eggs while the male is in the process of being caught. And that might be a problem in an area where bass have a hard time. That’s not the case where I live. Bass are the dominant predator and have remained that way in great numbers year after year in spite of the heaviest fishing pressure occurring during the spawn.

So it could make sense to close the season in a region or lake where bass struggle. I guess targeting the males on the nest in those spots could cause trouble for the fish.

I’m looking to get the pre and post spawn females. They aren’t on the nest except during the egg drop fertilization time. They don’t eat during that. They don’t eat for a time after spawning until they recover from the energy expended.

I guess the research could be wrong, but that’s all we have besides whatever traditions you may or may not follow. But to call it unethical to target bass during the spawn seems to be more of a traditional idea than one based on the biological needs of the fish, at least in its core range and in healthy systems. It’s no more automatic catching the fish than any other situation I mentioned.

If it isn’t any different than other sight fishing opportunities on bass and doesn’t cause any measurable biological harm to the fishery and could in fact help the fishery with an over abundance of fish, then I can’t get the hubbub about fishing spawning bass. I’m not talking trout or any other species.

 

[ddb]

If you avoided fishing spawning fish, there would be no steelhead, or salmon fishing during their spawning runs. Or Pike and Musky fishing in the shallows during their spring 'spawn'. Crappie and gills too. Smelt?

With CAR, IMO the damage done to bass populations by fishing them on their beds is greatly minimized and despite ever increasing fishing pressure on the bass they are doing very well.

But as the man said "Ethics is ethics" and we all make that call for ourselves -- not for everyone else.

ddb

 

[jr spey]

If you avoided fishing spawning fish, there would be no steelhead, or salmon fishing during their spawning runs. Or Pike and Musky fishing in the shallows during their spring 'spawn'. Crappie and gills too. Smelt?

With CAR, IMO the damage done to bass populations by fishing them on their beds is greatly minimized and despite ever increasing fishing pressure on the bass they are doing very well.

But as the man said "Ethics is ethics" and we all make that call for ourselves -- not for everyone else.

ddb

Well, I was going to avoid getting back into this, but... Steelhead and salmon are fished for during their spawning much like bass and muskies are fished during their spawning time. However, you don't fish for bass, ethically in my opinion, while the fish are actively spawning and you don't fish for steelhead or salmon while they're actually on the spawning gravel. I figured out last night after shutting down that some of this is semantics. Fishing during the spawning period is OK if it's early prespawn or post spawn females that are off recovering after spawning. I don't think you can ethically fish for males guarding the nests as in my mind that's still actively spawning. And it's not easy to say that all bass populations are doing just fine. We have tournaments on some of our best smallie waters in the north from the first weekend of the season and every weekend until well after the spawn is done. These huge tournaments catch a lot of fish and DO NOT release them immediately, but rather later is the day well away from where they were caught. You can, and I have, fished the entire week after one of these events and found very few fish where they ought to be. It's really having a serious effect on the bass populations in those waters. I think it may mean that many smallies simply do not spawn at all. Yes, some of this is a tournament problem, but scheduling tournaments during the spawn demonstrates the long term problems with fishing during the spawn. I make the analogy to bird hunting. In most states, it is legal to shoot quail, grouse, woodcock, and pheasants on the ground, but most hunters do not consider doing so as ethical.