How To Avoid Fishing Beds During The Spawn

A couple of incidences got me thinking about an approach I often use when heading out to my favorite bass haunts throughout the spring season…

Though springtime and bass equate to cruising the shallows in search of fish around spawning flats for many anglers a few of us take a different approach when starting our trips…

Best part of this approach… it avoids putting more pressure on bedding bass!

What’s so different about my approach?

I tend to start each day on the water by focusing on transitional fish with a buzzbait rather than focusing on those up on the flats partaking in the spawning ritual!

This approach was originally developed when fishing several reservoirs of the Rocky Mountain west and has also been used successfully on lakes in the mid-west and up into New England.

Now it’s time for an example…

Looking at the map of Johns Pond on Cape Cod (Mass) provided below, my day starts by heading to the southeast corner of the pond and positioning the boat over the 10 foot contour.

Using Jerkbaits Throughout the Spring

When many bass anglers think about suspending jerkbaits, the cool to cold water periods come to mind.

Although jerkbaits have their place throughout the entire open water season, spring is one time of year where they definitely shine. 

There is no doubt that one of the best known bass anglers of all time, Kevin VanDam (KVD) is a master when it comes to fishing jerkbaits; one of his go-to baits throughout the spring!

Take a few moments and listen as KVD discusses his approach when fishing jerkbaits from the prespawn right until the end of the post spawn periods...

Jig Skipping Tips for Beginners

Developing the skill of skipping baits under docks, overhanging brush and into lay-downs greatly enhances your bass catching days on the water. 

Though many bass anglers first learn to skip using a spinning combo with fairly light line (up to 12 lb test), the use of baitcasting gear with heavier line is required when trying to skip into dense cover; a much more daunting challenge for many of us.

Though admittedly more challenging, skipping lures like jigs can become second nature with the proper gear and practice as bass pro Gary Klein points out in this W2F video...

Swimming Weightless Grubs for Bass

What do most anglers envision when someone mentions a curly tail grub? Jigheads, tough conditions, and panfish? 

Perhaps but truth is these simple looking baits catch bass of all sizes, under a variety of conditions and have been doing so for decades!

Every angler is probably familiar with the common methods of fishing grubs (jighead, drop shot, split shot). There is one presentation however that is not often discussed ... rigging the grub on a weedless-style hook and swimming it near the surface through shallow cover. 

It can be deadly!

Take a moment as the guys from W2F give a great on the water demo on rigging and presenting a weightless grub for shallow water bass!

Though Kyle mentions Yum curly tails (which I'm not sure is even made anymore) in the video, a few other suggestions would be 5" grubs from Yamamoto, Kalin, Mister Twister or Big Bite Baits. 

If you really want to get fancy and up-size the rig, try Kalin's Mogambo 6" curly tail just remember to up-size the hook too!

Downsize Baits for More Spring Bass

Fishing for bedding bass provides many anglers their best opportunity to catch a trophy bass. Though spawning bass are usually easy to spot against their fanned-out beds, catching them can often be frustrating …

Most bass fisherman revert to standard bass baits (jigs, worms and sometimes topwaters) when fishing for bedding bass and more recently specialized sinking worms and soft-stickbaits.

Depending on the stage of the spawn, bedding bass can be aggravated into striking or moving “conventional-sized” bass lures.  Much of the time, however, bedding bass will refuse most of the normal-sized morsels dropped into their liar.

When encountering those times when bass are reluctant to strike normal-sized offerings, down-sizing your lure selection increases success for bedding bass!

Three Mini-baits To Cure Bedding Bass Blues …

Over the years, I have found these three bite-sized morsels can turn hesitant spawner into an aggressive defender of their bedding territory …

The eighth-ounce jig and trailer combo …

Try using this down-sized version of the jig ‘n pig favorite of most bass anglers.  With it’s smaller profile and slower fall, this mini-morsel can often trigger strikes causing bass to pounce on it once it enters their lair …

A “Fuzz-E-type” grub on a eighth or sixteenth ounce roundball jig head offers not only the smaller profile and slower fall but the added advantage of being far different than most baits dropped into their beds …

Over a decade ago, the Yamamoto Senko re-ignited the bass angler’s interest in sinking worm-type baits after introducing the four and five inch version of this great bass bait.

Boasting both a slow fall rate and enticing wiggle during decent, the sinking worms on the market today are a staple in every bass fisherman’s arsenal. When bedding bass resist the longer sinking minnow offerings, switching to the shorter, stubbier, three-inch version can be just what the doctor ordered for that bedding trophy bass strike!

Other small baits can work equally well on bed fish including a 3.5" hellgrammite rigged on a Ned-style jig head which was dragged through a bedding fish's domain. This bass just couldn't stand the little hellgie invading its turf!

So remember, sometimes downsizing pays off, not only in numbers of bass but quality fish too!