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Going Deep in the Name of Bass Research
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photo: Mike Johnson

(3) Females Are Smarter
As if I were telling you something you did not already know (or your wife wouldn't tell you): The female bass is wary. The male bass is stupid. Diving close to the latter was a piece of cake; getting near the former was much trickier. I had to move slower, more deliberately. Understand that if you hook and catch the male bass, the female partner will not eat. You might as well write her off. Catch the female first, however, and the male will still eat. In fact, you can catch him two or three times in a row; he won't quit.

The lesson: Ladies first. Try to catch the female before the male. That might not necessarily mean casting at the female first; see No. 4.

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Comment on This Article

At 2:06 PM, 2008-12-03, billybobjoe said:
Good then, more spawning bass for me to catch... Mark comment offensive

At 7:07 AM, 2008-12-03, tarolroa said:
caracor Mark comment offensive

At 1:00 PM, 2008-11-25, semion.dowl@gmail.com said:
herbomart : the ultimate destination for all health needs Mark comment offensive

At 11:08 AM, 2008-04-18, Jesse Gossett said:
fishing spawning bed is unethical?! you say. not fishing is unethical. quit apologizing for fishing. if your not a predator your prey. Mark comment offensive

At 6:28 PM, 2008-04-16, Mari said:
as you say the tournaments during spawn is not good, but then i want to know when they are ok. i've seen many end of tournments when the bass are released just to die anyway. not good at any time. Mark comment offensive

At 2:23 PM, 2008-04-16, Bill said:
i live at lake havasu, az. they are having bass tournaments every week for over a month. i strongly oppose these tournaments during spawn for all the obvious reasons. Mark comment offensive

At 1:20 PM, 2008-04-16, Wayne said:
fishing the spawn is as natural as hunting the rut. there's not a significant difference if you ordinarily practice cath and release. Mark comment offensive

At 12:13 PM, 2008-03-06, skitter said:
i fished spawning beds once in my life and still feel bad about it!!! this is a bad idea to disturb the spawning fish !!! i know that some anglers dream about catching a lunker but that's definitely not an ethical way o do it. Mark comment offensive

At 11:34 AM, 2008-03-01, Rick O said:
why on earth would you promote the removal of bass protecting spawning beds when you know full well this leads to predation of the eggs? very disturbing. Mark comment offensive


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Spawning dates vary by region, but they are always closely tied to water temperature. Find out from your local fisheries manager when you can expect the following temps, and plan your days accordingly.

PRESPAWN: Right around when the water reaches 60 degrees Fahrenheit, males move to shallows and start making beds. Females are bulking up. Use crankbaits, jerkbaits, and ¿¿¿¿swimbaits.

PRIME SPAWN: When the water hits 62 degrees, especially around the full moon phase, it¿¿¿¿¿¿¿s prime sight-fishing time (assuming the water is clear). Soft-plastic worms and jigs can elicit angry strikes.

POSTSPAWN: As the water warms into the high 60s and low 70s, the females move away from the beds, and the males stick around to guard the fry. Males are susceptible to the same jig or soft-plastic annoying baits. Females get selective¿¿¿¿¿¿¿try soft plastics in natural colors and hard-bodied jerkbaits in slightly deeper water.

POST-POSTSPAWN: The fish are eating, getting themselves back into form. Soft plastics and swimbaits work well on dropoffs and in deeper water. --K.D.

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