By Scott Norton
Now that we have gone through the spawn, we will begin to see a difference in pattern because the transition to summer is now developing. Bass spawn in different waves so you will find that bass are scattered about for this reason. Soon after the spawn, there’s a period where the females are in a funk so you will most likely start catching lots of small males called ‘fry guardians’. If you catch these bass, make sure you put them back in the same areas so they can protect the next generation. Bluegill cannot wait to feed on fry and without the guardian, they are fair-game. To ensure good future fishing practice being a good steward of nature so let nature do its thing to retain balance.
When bass are all done with spawning, then we will focus on the shad spawn, which is very exciting to experience. This is only for the anglers who show up early and go home late. In low light, the shad go very shallow where there is rock to do their thing. Bass catch on to this and feed very heavy for easy food. You will want to use shad imitators up shallow and then back out deeper as the bite dies off.
Once the sun is up, switch to bluegill imitators. Now that bass are occupying the same areas as bluegill, they will become the primary forage for those bass in that area. If you are targeting bass offshore, the forage will be shad and crayfish. Once the spawn cycle is over you, will find bass that will either go deep or shallow and they will stay there all summer. This is the time you will find schools of bass in both places. If you know how to fire up a school, you can load the boat up in a short time. Bass in the shallows will Wolfpack with other similar sized bass to chase and ambush prey to satisfy their hunger. If you have good clear conditions, you will be able to spot these aggressive fish working together. Getting them fired up can be a fun time for all especially when you get a bait right in front of them and watching them compete with one another to get at it.
This is a fun time in the season where you can catch bass in so many different ways. They will be most aggressive from now until the summer slowdown. Power fishing is at its best right now. Concentrate on baits that have a reactive action that cover more water. You only want to go after the most aggressive fish in the school. Do not spend too much time trying to catch bass that are not in the mood. I hope this helps, so get out there and have some fun and introduce new people to the sport.
Scott Norton is a Western North Carolina native. Born in Asheville, N.C., he is a long-time hunter, angler and weekend warrior.