Jon’s Tips to Catch Bass in All Stages of the Spawn

January 15, 2018

It’s the off-season, so Jon put together “crib notes” for anglers who come up to Nestor Falls Fly-In. People like that Smallmouth Bass fight back, the way they come up out of the water, and all that. But the real trick is to know how to hook one! The strategy changes based on what stage of the spawn Bass are at:

1. Pre-Spawn – Look for Smallmouth Bass on drop-offs and secondary points. Fish topwater swimbaits, jerkbaits, or crankbaits on isolated boulder patches.

2. Spawn – Find a shallow north-facing bank to look for the beds. (When you wear polarized glasses, it looks like meteor holes in the ground.) The bigger the bed, the bigger the female is that spawns on it. 7lb female has a 2 ft diameter bed. Look in ¬Ω foot of water to 15 feet of water.

3. After the Spawn – You’re going to have fry guarders. The big females will move to the first break to feed, the first drop-off where there’s deep water off the spawning bed. Look for a tapering gradual slope and then a crazy drop-off. You’ll want to parallel that and fish it!

Jon is about as happy to share Smallmouth Bass fishing tips as he is to go fishing! Before you head out, you’ll have to catch him at the base and talk Bass over a beer or two.

More Good Articles

Emergency Smallmouth Bass Baits – Tom Allen came up to fish at Nestor Falls Fly-In and talked Bass with Jon

Catching Smallmouth Bass on Surface Lures – Mike Hutson’s quick tips for a surface strike