Fishing the Spawn

[Ignobilis Lunker]

Hi Guys,
Whats the general principal when fishing the spawn. Deeper or shallower? I have always thought that Bass move into the shallows to spawn, but the a mate of mine told me to fish slightly deeper to target larger specimens. Is this correct?

Thanks in advance for the advice!

 

[Ant01]

Hi,

Definitely fish the shallows, the slighter deeper water can be fished pre-spawn when the females start patrolling the shallows.

 

Regards

 

[Parasite]

Hello,

Again I support the theory of fishing the shallows. You can always tell if your fish is on the nest. The male although smaller will have a red colour tint on the bottom of its tail, this will indicate that he is sitting on the nest fanning the eggs. Some people remove the male and release him some distance away. The theory is that the female which is the larger of the fish normally hangs around away from the nest. As soon as the male leaves the nest she will come onto the nest allowing you to target her. These fishermen are deemed "home-wreckers".

 

[big one]

Hi guys

I fish a venue Saturday the fish was beginning to spawn I saw I few bass on the nest as the water was crystal clear I did manage to catch a few of the spawning fish but is was I very frustration day on the water because I could see 4kg + fish swimming in pairs of 2-4 I followed all around the dam but didn’t manage to catch the dam fish!!!!Any advice to catch the cruising fish I tried everything plastic, reaction bites, top water finesse nothing worked

 

[HennieS]

Hi Guys
The subject of fishing spawn is a very big subject with lots of theory and tactics!It also depends at what stage you hit the water always remember the basic about spawn there is 3 phases pre spawn, spawn and post spawn. Pre spawn is when the females move into shallow water +- 5 ft to 10ft. This is ussually a very good time to fish as the fish fatten up before they move onto the nest.During this time you will ocasionally find them very shallow fanning nests.
Spawn is when the females are on the nest. They are very wary and gentle whilst on the nest. Also take a massive amount of patience to catch them! The tactic that works the best for me is to irate them. I do this by gently dragging the lure through the middle of her nest which eventually makes her aggresive and she would grab the lure. You will also find that she will gently pickup the lure and just move it out of he nest, not good enough for a strike. She will eventually get irretated and take the lure. Most people after throwing 3 or 4 types of lures at the give up anglers also tend to think to finesse is the way to go, that is not necessary true. Most of my success comes from husky suspending jerk bait and a Jig. I remember a comp where I have spend 4 hours on a 3.9Kg fish at Witbank but I got her and won the comp because of that fish, time well spend!
The third phase is post spawn that is when the females have dropped their eggs. The males move in to protect the nest and they ussually easy pickings. The females will retreat to deeper water to recover, you find structure in 10ft of water close to the nest and you will find avery lean and hungry female!

My 2c worth!