How to Get Post-Spawn Bass to Bite

The post-spawn period can be a perplexing time for catching fish consistently because of the bass's funky disposition immediately following the spawn. This doesn't mean you can't find them or get them to bite, but you must factor in lake conditions when determining where to fish and which lures to use.

Your search should begin near the spawning areas, which generally are shallow, hard-bottom flats and where water temperature is in the high 60s and 70s.

The exhausted females are first to leave the beds, backing off to slightly deeper water and some cover, which could be a row of stumps or grass beds between the beds and the first major drop-off. They're not in a feeding mood, although they will take a lure that falls into their faces.

Most post-spawn bass will move onto the points, especially the major points at the mouths of spawning covers. However, when they move and how they get there will be influenced by water conditions. For example, the water in reservoirs usually is stained from spring rains during the spawn, then clears shortly thereafter.

If the water remains stained and rises, bass will be drawn to the banks and hold on wood. If the water is dropping, they'll seek refuge in off-shore cover such as creek channels, deep weedbeds or timber. If the water is clear, they make their migration to the points more quickly.

Water clarity also affects which lures are going to work best. Because the fish are on the move, you want search lures that enable you to cover water quickly. On the other hand, they must be baits that can be finessed or fished in the primary strike zone longer because the bass are passive until the recuperate.

If the water is clear, I like worms rigged wacky-style, soft jerkbaits, suspending jerkbaits and slow-rolled spinnerbaits. If the water is stained, I opt for crankbaits with rattles or a spinnerbait with a lot of thump in the blades and work them tight to wood lying around the banks.

On Lake Norman near my home, it's not uncommon for shad to get up on the shorelines, especially rocky banks, about a week after the spawn. That's a good time to tie on a buzzbait.

Once bass get onto the points, fishing can be fabulous. They will gang up there, and you can fill a livewell quickly.

I prefer clear, falling water for probing major points after the spawn. That's when I tie on a crankbait and a Carolina rig and begin dredging the bottom. In most cases, the bigger bass will be found on the best piece of structure that has cover and baitfish. This is when a Carolina-rigged lizard is tough to beat because active and passive bass will bite it and you can cover water faster.

However, if the water remains high, post-spawn bass will stay on the banks or pull to isolated cover in the middle of the bay. Jerkbaits or noisy topwaters fished over the cover can draw strikes.

Lakes that have grass beds provide another option. The fish will often spawn on the flat close to the inside of the grass line. Once the spawn is over, they migrate to the deeper side of the grass bed where they can be caught on crankbaits and plastic worms. Key areas would be points of the weeds that come closest to deeper water.

Of course, there is another solution for those who simply don't like fishing for post-spawn fish. Not all of the bass in a lake spawn at the same time, so you can probably find some fish still on beds.

As tough as fishing may seem during post-spawn, bass can be caught if you find the areas they're using and apply the proper lures and techniques.

BASSIN' Magazine April 2003