By Scott Norton
Spawn season came but those who dared fought the angry skies for the prize. Nothing can test your will like the flooding we experienced during spawn season. The lakes and rivers were swollen and fish got pushed into new terrain. Spots that were once too shallow to boat in were now deep and full of active spawning bass. This can be very rewarding to those that fought with nature as lots of us found ourselves being the only boat for miles in all directions. Catching bass was on during and in between fronts. Most people thought the lakes would be too muddy to sight fish but moving up in elevation you will find that the water was quite clear.
Keep in mind that, before you plan a day like this, some preparations will have to be made due to the risk of your boat taking on too much water during the hardest of rains. I planned as well as I could, but I still found myself dealing with the water causing short circuits in my electrical switches. Be sure that your bilge pumps are working and you have plenty of charge in your batteries. Those of you with older boats know what I mean. You don’t want to find yourself in a bad situation and, believe me, it can happen fast. Don’t forget your rain gear as well. Heavy wind and rain will expose the weakness of your gear. This is where you get what you pay for. After all, it’s all about being comfortable.
Bass were very eager to feed and the fishing pressure was very minimal. I found that running spinner baits and brush hogs through submerged brush worked out well for quality bass. Some anglers don’t like to bed fish because this is a critical time for them to replenish the population so, for those anglers, they would like the secondary points. Bass were all over the lake, since we had an unusually long winter, which caused some to spawn later than usual. I found that most anglers thought these bass were already on main lake points when they were in the middle of their spawn. Interesting stories of triumphs and failures were told at the boat docks at the end of the day.
This year was all about hard work and planning. Being able to learn and adapt was a must, even for advanced anglers. It’s good for these processes to happen to make your decision making grow with your experiences. After all, where’s the fun in it if there’s no challenge.
Scott Norton is a native of Western North Carolina. Born in Asheville, NC, he is a long time avid hunter, angler, and weekend warrior.