Bedding Bass Facts

WHEN DO BASS SPAWN?
Scientific research is a wonderful thing. It keeps scientists and researchers off the welfare roles. But in the fishing world at least, the results of research done in an environment strictly enough controlled to satisfy the scientific community, so often contradicts on-the-water observation, that it can prove meaningless, or worse yet, misleading. Take spawning bass for example.
In most published reports based on the results of scientific studies, the range of temperatures at which largemouth bass spawn is rather narrow — typically from 68° F to 74° F. This would be valuable information — if we fished for bass in test tanks and controlled environments. In the real world though, observant anglers often find largemouth on the beds in water temperatures ranging from the high-fifties to the low-eighties.
"Preferences" exhibited in stable and ideal conditions in a controlled experiment just don't stand up when the bass is limited to the conditions that exist in the only environment it knows. If there are more bass than suitable spawning area, they'll spawn in waves, with some coming in earlier than researches tell us they should, and some coming in later.
WHERE DO BASS SPAWN?
They may also make use of areas and conditions well outside the definition of prime spawning areas. The plain fact is, that a bass' world ends at the shoreline of the body of water in which it lives ... what they do and when they do it is controlled by the conditions available in that world.
Bass can't use conditions that don't exist in their environment, and they will adjust their behavior to accommodate the conditions they live in. Because those bass that make the best adjustments to the available spawning habitat contribute most heavily to the gene pool in that population, the traits that are most accurately tuned to the conditions available in any specific body of water eventually become the norm for bass that body of water.
Anglers aren't confined to one body of water though, so we need to be flexible enough to adjust to the conditions we encounter — or more precisely, to recognize and adjust to the way the bass have adjusted to those conditions — as we travel from lake to lake in the spring. Keep in mind that spawning site and timing "preferences" are not hard and fast rules, and that spots similar to those that the bass seem to seek out for spawning in one lake might not be the best available option in another lake.
There are generalities and tendencies that can guide us, but specifics must be researched on the water, with the only research tools that matter ... a rod and reel. It's also important to not get too hung up on a specific "pattern". Nature rarely narrows the gene pool so drastically as to leave only one successful behavior tendency in the population. Variety in chosen spawning conditions and timing ensures survival of the species under more different potential environmental catastrophes. So expect to find several, markedly different spawning preference patterns on any given lake.
Largemouth tend to choose spawning sites that are protected from wind and wave action. Usually that means in coves. But we've all seen plenty of bass spawning in main lake areas, too. In general, bass that spawn in main-lake areas spawn deeper than those in coves. Perhaps the depth offers enough respite from wind and wave action. Whatever the reason, it's much more common to find beds against the bank in less than a couple feet of water back in protected areas than in wide open areas.
The first wave or two of bass to hit the beds usually spawn in coves. Main lake temperatures may still be too low or too unstable when conditions in protected coves with limited deep water available are prime. Bass that spawn later may be main lake oriented, although some bass will often be found spawning very late in the spawning period, in some of the most protected and isolated backwaters on a lake.
There's also a marked tendency for bass to spawn near solid, bulky objects when they are available in suitable spawning areas. It makes sense on a theoretical level ... building a nest next to a stump, log or rock gives the bass one less direction to worry about when fending nest marauders away from the bed. That logic would lead us to believe that spots between two such objects would be even more likely to be chosen as spawning sites, and that seems to hold true as well.
This affinity to bed near cover doesn't extend to weed beds or bushes though. Cover like this protects and camouflages panfish, allowing them easier access to the nest, rather than providing the bass one less direction to worry about. But as always, the bass must use what's available in their specific environment, and when the most suitable spawning areas on the lake are weedy or brushy, they will nest there.
When everything else about a spawning site suits their needs, bass also seem disposed to choose nest sites where some type of overhead cover results in broken light penetration patterns. While they'll rarely build nests under dense or solid overhead cover that blocks sunlight from reaching the nest, a site directly under an overhanging bush or willow tree, or partially under the corner of a dock is common.
HOW TO CATCH SPAWNING BASS
Sight fishing
There are two methods of catching bedding bass. One ... perhaps the more common one, is to put the electric on its highest setting and run down the banks in prospective spawning areas, slowing down to cast only when you actually see a bass on a bed. According to Shaw Grigsby, who is recognized as the pro angler who has brought this technique to its highest level, "Unless I happen to spot a really big fish, I don't even waste my time casting to fish that spook off the bed ahead of the boat, or spend any time trying to tempt a bass that won't bite within the first time or two I put my tube lure in the bed.
"There's plenty of bass that are protective and aggressive enough to go around. I figure it's a better game plan to keep on the move, and find more bass. But I will come back through the same area later in the tournament," Shaw continues, "because some of those bass that are at that spooky or skittish stage will probably stand down and protect the nest a few hours later or the next day." Grigsby's choice of lures for bed fishing is no secret ... a tube bait (Luck Strike G4) rigged on a High-Performance hook, with a 1/16 or 1/8 ounce internal weight.
Other pros take a different approach. "I guess I've been spoiled by smallmouth," Terry Baksay explains, "because they're so much easier to catch off the bed. You can park your boat right over a smallie's bed and drop a tube bait or a grub in front of him and he's going to bite it eventually. You almost can't spook them off the bed, and even when you do, if you just sit there a minute or two, he'll be back and ready to bite.
"When I'm fishing bedding largemouth and I see fish flashing off the nest ahead of my path as I pull along the bank, or find that most of the beds I'm running across are empty, I often find it productive to fish the beds instead of the bass. I'll back off the bank, slow down and fish a motion bait like a Slug-Go, casting at any light spot I see on the bottom or any spot where there's a high likelihood of being a nest. Sometimes you find out there's a lot more bass in that cove or along that bank than you see if you only fish the ones that will stick on the bed no matter how much noise and commotion you make."
An additional benefit of Baksay's method becomes obvious where there are a lot of docks in a spawning area. Weaving in and out of the docks can be time consuming, and cuts seriously into the efficiency and ability to cover a lot of water that the technique relies on. In those situations, it's usually at least as productive to fish from outside the docks, and make longer casts to the likely spots, without actually checking to see of there's a bass holding on the bed — or even if there's really a bed there in some cases.
High Percentage Targets
Obviously, you should fish any fish that you do see and that don't spook away from the boat. But you can catch a lot of fish off less obvious beds without getting practically on top of them, by casting to the spots that are more likely than most of the shoreline to hold a bed. Check out Figure 1. In this typical spawning cove, we'll start all the way in the back corner, and pick out the spots that you can't afford not to toss a cast at, even if you don't see a bass on a bed.
[A] Underneath the overhanging branches of that partially submerged fallen tree, there's almost surely a bed. Perhaps bass find the camouflage afforded by the broken light patterns resulting from above-water cover like this to be an aid in protecting the nest. Or maybe they just like to get in places that are difficult to cast to. Whatever the reason, it's a high-percentage target of the first magnitude.
[B] Stump on a point in about 2 feet of water. Not a lot needs to be said about this one ... it's a no-brainer.
[C] Transition where steep (but not too deep) bank meets flatter taper of point. there's almost surely a bed or two in there somewhere, but even if not, it's exactly the kind of spot a big female waiting for the mood to strike her is likely to hole up. Worth a few casts whether you see a bed or not.
[D] There's lots of rocks on the flatter, southeastern shoreline of the cove, but if you don't get bit at D, where there's a clear spot in between several rocks, Don't waste a lot of time casting at every one of them. Note that the other spot where there's a bed sized spot nestled between a couple big rocks, under the end of the tree near the mouth of the cove, is also labeled D. Despite the presence of the tree overhead, it's pretty much the same to the bass as the other D.
[E] Very shallow stump. If D had fish, this is worth a shot or two in passing ... certainly worth cruising nearenough to be sure whether there's a bed there or not.
[F] Deep stump. Depending on water clarity and how late into the spawning season it is, a stump in five feet or more of water might have a bed tucked in next to it. But more likely ... it might have a bed right smack on-top of it. That's doubly true if there are spotted bass in the lake.
[G] The reason that this rates a separate callout from the rocks underneath the tree is that you should check the tree trunk itself ... especially if there's a decent sized limb junction or stob a couple feet beneath the surface. It's not at all unusual for bass to bed right on top of wood that's not even in contact with the bottom.
[H] The point at the mouth of the little side cut might be the best spot in the entire cove. Expect to find a bed or two on it, but spend a few minutes even if you don't. The steepest break from a flat-firm bottom potential nesting area into a channel is right there, and that channel leads into protected waters. This could be where most of the fish that spawn in the cove hesitate for a spell on their way in and out.
[I] Big stump in very shallow water, back in an isolated little side cove. The more protected the area is from wind and wave action, the shallower fish are likely to bed in it, so this is definitely worth the time to check out.
[K] If the end of that dock is a floating section with anchors, the one that's on the end of that point is a high percentage target whether you see a bed there or not.
[J] If there are any bass bedding on that narrow shelf right at the shoreline on this steeper bank, you can bet your bottom dollar that there will be at least one bed partially under that dock, and the corner where it meets the bank on the more protected side is the most likely spot. I'd fish that corner whether I'd caught or seen a fish anywhere else in the cove!
Spring is upon us, and there are more aggressive bass in shallow water right now than at any other time of the year. Arm yourself with a bunch of tube baits or your favorite finesse lures and a bag of Slug-Gos, and have at 'em. If enough fish are willing to stick tight to the bed to keep you busy, cover water and cast at as many as you can. If not, don't be afaraid to hit the high-percentage spots without actually spying the fish. And have fun ... the hot, shallow action will be over all too soon, and then it'll be 10 months of working for every bite you get before it starts all over again.