By Scott Norton
This time of year, bass are looking to feed up for the up coming spawn. You will notice lots of drastic changes during the transition. If you’re in a reservoir system, water levels keep fluctuating during the rains effecting the water temperature and the bite itself. You will also notice these fish stay on the move as well. One day they will relate to a certain area and the next day gone. This is the challenge for new anglers learning the techniques and clues to put them on fish.
Clues to look for are skinny or fat bodies, red lips, and tails. What does this all mean in relation to the features on a lake to fish? The clues not only tell you where these fish are but they will tell you what they are eating. Starting in the spawn flats and working the secondary points to the main lake points, you’ll see fish in different stages of the pre-spawn. If you see bass with the head of a large fish and the body of a smaller one they are probably just coming in to feed from winter and will feed heavily soon. These fish you will find on points leading into the spawning areas. You can catch them with slow moving baits, such as a jerk baits, small swim baits, A-rigs, and crank baits. If you run into bass with a red mouth they are more than likely feeding on crayfish. Feeding on the bottom causes their mouths to be red and sore. Couple that with a fat body and that tells you they are feeding aggressively. My favorite bass to catch is in this stage and for good reason. The big females are looking to intake iodine to break loose their egg-sacks so they feed in the coves with creeks flowing in them, while the males will be on the points next to them feeding on shad. It’s a great pattern for the big ones in this stage. If you see a bass with a red tail you have reached the spawning bass and they will be on beds. The tails are red because of the nest making process. Like the bass with red lips these bass get their tails beet up on rocks.
The water level will change with in-climate weather and so will the water temperature. Use the clues to put you on the fish and then use temperatures to tell you how fast your retrieve will be. Many anglers love this time of year because there’s more of a hunt or a puzzle happening. It can be very exciting for new anglers to discover how to unlock the puzzle of Mother Nature for the first time and build on their skills. This will be a good chance for a lucky angler to get giant bass mixed in with the smaller ones as well. Enjoy this time of year and good luck.
Scott Norton is a native of Western North Carolina. Born in Asheville, NC, he is a long time avid hunter, angler, and weekend warrior. He is a member of Southern Raft Supply’s prostaff team representing them in his Jackson Kayak Coosa FD.