Sight-fishing for trophy bass during the spawn requires stealth and the ability to properly execute the cat-and-mouse technique. (Photo courtesy of Z-Man Fishing)
February 04, 2025
By Shane Beilue
One late-February day after a warming trend, I launched my boat then quickly killed the engine and drifted into a protected pocket a few yards from the ramp in order to tie on some lures and prepare for a day of bass fishing. As the boat slipped farther into the brushy cove, I glanced around for signs of bedding largemouth bass and noted a couple of smaller males cruising the area.
Less than 10 minutes later I was done rigging half a dozen rods and moved to the front deck, intent on fishing my way out of the little pocket. That’s when I saw the trophy bass. It was like seeing a 180-inch buck suddenly emerge from the woods. My adrenaline was pumping hard as I attempted to estimate the weight of the bass, which looked like a submarine parked next to a laydown limb in 4 feet of water. My guess was 8 pounds, but “buck fever” can play tricks on one’s judgment.
One of the lures I’d tied on was a white Yamamoto Yama Craw with a 1/4-ounce slip sinker, which I pitched with shaking hands toward the massive bedding fish from 20 feet away. She immediately nosed down on the bait but only grabbed the pincers of the faux crawfish. A swing and a missed hookset left me further rattled. But a couple of pitches later, she approached my soft plastic again, and this time it disappeared in her mouth.
The battle around the shallow brush was short-lived but intense, and I eventually pulled the fat lady onto the boat. She immediately went into a running livewell, then was quickly weighed and returned to the water. My initial weight estimate had been low; the big female pulled the scales to 9 pounds on the dot.
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FISH RESPONSIBLY Fishing for spawning bass provides great fun and excitement, but it also demands increased responsibility from us anglers. Spawning time is precisely when the big female bass are most susceptible to being caught. And if allowed to flop on the boat carpet or kept out of the water a little too long, their odds of survival plummet. Fish care must be top of mind. That means placing the caught bass in a running livewell while getting the camera ready, being quick with the picture-taking, then gently placing the fish back in the water to ensure those trophy-bass genes will live on in your favorite reservoir.
TIMING THE SPAWN With the introduction of forward-facing sonar, many anglers are now casting to specific fish they see offshore while staring at their fish-finder screen. However, the original skill of sight-fishing, by visually locating bass bedding in the shallows, has been around for decades. Like many other techniques, sight-fishing is a little more complex than it looks at first glance, and it requires the angler to figure out the proper approach based on the circumstances. Some insights into the places to search for bedding bass can help you decide your plan of attack.
Across the Southern U.S., the arrival of spring and the subsequent bass spawn falls across a wide range of dates. In the warmth of South Florida, bass may be spawning as early as January, while the higher elevations of West Texas often delay adequate water temperatures for spawning until mid-April.
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Many anglers have long associated the start of the spawn with the arrival of the first full moon after a spring warming trend, but other environmental factors have a greater impact than the moon phase on the bass’s willingness to spawn.
Nighttime air temperatures, the amount of daylight and cold rains directly affect water temps, the primary driver prompting bass to begin laying their eggs.
Water temperatures observed during midafternoon can be deceiving, as they can rise dramatically during a warm spring day, only to drop back to the mid-50s with the cold night air. It’s better to gauge the water temperature when launching the boat early in the morning to get a more accurate assessment. When the water temp is consistently at or above the 60-degree mark at sunrise, the spawn is imminent.
THE SPAWNING RITUAL Once spawning begins, a lake’s bass population will spawn in waves over the course of several weeks. When choosing locations to look for spawners, consider their progression throughout a body of water as back-to-front and shallow-to-deep. The first spawning fish will be in the reservoir’s warmest water, which will be in the shallowest areas in the backs of creeks and coves protected from cooling winds. As spring progresses, the front of creeks and the lake’s main body warm up, as does the entire water column, allowing bass to spawn across more areas and at greater depths.
Male bass are first to arrive on the scene to fan out a spot the size of a large dinner plate on hard or gravel bottom. The displacement of sediment makes the beds lighter in color, contrasting with the surroundings and quite visible from several feet away. When visually searching for beds and spawning fish from a boat deck, it’s helpful to note that the beds are usually located in direct sunlight, frequently next to some sort of submerged structure, such as a tree limb or bush.
While male bass prepare the beds, females can often be spotted cruising along shorelines within close range of the bed they will ultimately choose. These big “cruisers” (females will be larger than the males) aren’t hunting for food, but rather trying to decide on a place to eventually lay their eggs. They are hard, though not impossible, to catch. Repeatedly casting a weightless stick worm in front of them offers the greatest chance at getting one to open her jaws and mouth the bait out of reflex.
Once a female commits to a spawning site, she’s likely been over the nest for only a few hours, which affords the best opportunity to get her to pick up a lure presented right under her nose.
Gently placing a bass caught during the spawn back in the water can help ensure those trophy-bass genes will live on. (Shutterstock photo) PLAN OF ATTACK Many of the big largemouths will spawn in secluded, out-of-sight places. That can make the fish difficult to pinpoint (particularly if the water isn’t very clear) and potential chances easy to overlook without close scrutiny. A subtle tail movement, a quick flash of the white underside or a brief glance at part of the dark, oblong back may be the only signs that tip you off to a bass’s presence.
Should you find a male and a female largemouth paired up on a bed, take into account that the male will likely be the more aggressive of the two and attack your lure first. Once you catch him, the agitated female will typically take the artificial on subsequent pitches to the bed.
After a spawning bass is located, boat positioning is critical. While working down the shoreline, take note of where the bass is situated while allowing the boat to drift quietly beyond it for several yards. Be sure to keep the use of your trolling motor to a minimum to avoid the unnatural prop wash and sound. Though not always possible, try to have the sun at your back to reduce the glare on the water and make spotting fish easier.
It’s important to keep the boat downwind from the fish while also remaining as far away as possible. If your boat isn’t equipped with a shallow-water anchoring system, use stake-out pins or try quietly dropping an anchor or tying off to a nearby tree or bush. You’ll be far more successful staying put while presenting to a bedding bass than making constant position adjustments with the trolling motor.
Pitch your lure well beyond the bed to prevent spooking the guarding fish. If the bass swims away each time the soft plastic drops into the bed, leave the bait there and wait until the fish comes back. Once it returns, work the artificial with subtle shakes of the rod tip, prompting the fish to clear it out of the bed.
If the bass immediately noses down to the bait as it lands in the bed, you’re in for a quick catch. Should the fish totally ignore the lure, however, continue making multiple presentations as required. There is often one particular area within the bed that a bass will defend more aggressively, so land the bait in different spots to gauge the response.
Remember that spawning bass aren’t taking a lure out of hunger, but rather to protect their bed from intruders, so reaction lures, such as spinnerbaits, will have very limited appeal. A topwater or jerkbait worked slowly over the bed can occasionally draw a strike. A Texas-rigged soft plastic pitched into the bed reigns supreme, however, as the bass will remove any potential threat loitering within the perceived boundaries of their spawning site.
Since you spend most of your time searching for fish, targeting spawning largemouths often consists of long stretches of boredom followed by brief periods of incredible excitement. The thrills come as you play a game of cat-and-mouse with the quality bass you find on their beds, observing their reactions to coax a take. It’s a challenging endeavor, but one that is bound to produce some of your most memorable fishing moments.
A Texas-rigged soft plastic lure pitched into the bed during the largemouth bass spawn is an effective tactics. (Photo by Shane Beilue) TACKLING SPAWNERS Weapons of choice for big, bad, bedding bass. While an array of soft-plastic body styles will work, I prefer a craw imitation rigged on a 4/0 flipping hook with a 1/4-ounce slip sinker above it. Several versions available are designed to float, which allows the claws to stand upright when the weight rests on the bottom, making it easier for the fish to inhale the lure.
I rely on white craws almost exclusively because they are easier to keep track of from the boat deck. Since the take of a bedding bass is frequently subtle, it’s easy for the bite to go undetected if you don’t see the lure well in the water. I can keep tabs on that white craw with my eyes and, when the lure suddenly disappears, I know it’s time to set the hook.
A heavy-action flipping stick, at least 7 feet 3 inches in length, is required for good hooksets and to handle the larger fish. A fast, 8:1-retrieve baitcaster gets the line back quickly between pitches. And while many anglers choose heavy braided line, I prefer 20-pound fluorocarbon to minimize line visibility, which sometimes prevents bites from suspicious, spawning largemouths.