By Terry Battisti
Special to BassFan

Post Spawn can be one of the toughest times of the year for anglers. The fish have moved from the easy-to-target shallow cover to more obtuse structure that can be hard to locate. Fish on rivers or impoundments that have current are, however, a lot easier to deal with. It’s all about the current, defined breaks and hard bottom.

In this installment of Tour Tips, we contacted former Elite Series angler and Tennessee River guide Jimmy Mason to talk about his approach to post-spawn fish. Here’s what he had to say.

Follow the Fish Out

“On river impoundments and rivers in general, right after the spawn the fish will move to the deepest structure of the year right off the bat,” Mason said. “The males may still be guarding fry in the shallows, but the big females will move off to recover on breaks closest to their spawning flats.

“The obvious structure is associated with river bends that have flats, a bay or a high spot associated with them. Look at where the fish spawned and then find the closest ledges to them.

“This is where good maps and good electronics play a big role,” he said. “It’s easy when the fish first move out deep because all the obvious spots hold fish and you can find those on pretty much any map. But after the fish have been deep for a bit and all the obvious spots have been hit, you need to find the spots that aren’t so obvious. This is where good mapping software comes into play. For this I use my Humminbird 1198si units and Navionics Platinum Hot Spots chips to help me locate the not-so-obvious breaks or other structure.”

Another key piece of equipment Mason carries in his boat is a set of buoys – at least a dozen.

“This way I can pick a depth, say 12 feet, and throw them out over a hundred-yard stretch. This allows me to actually see the subtle irregularities of a break that I can’t see on a map or my electronics. Each year the current changes the bottom of the river or even some of the lakes and you have to be on top of those changes if you want to continue to do well.

“In fact, every year I delete all my waypoints on one of my units so it makes me keep an open mind. You have to go out with a fresh look at things every year. I have my boat rigged with Humminbird units at the console. By having one unit without previous years' waypoints, it helps me to look for those new sweet spots.

“You also have to pay attention to the bottom composition,” he said. “A hard bottom is a must and it doesn’t matter if it’s a shell bed, gravel or pea gravel. But, like I said before, mussel beds and even places with pea gravel can shift from year to year. Don’t think that the hot spot you found last year is going to produce this year – especially if they’ve been pulling a lot of water. Your hot spot could have been moved downstream or in some cases it’s completely gone.

Another type of area to look for are current eddies.

“These are areas generally associated with a bend in the channel where the water actually moves back upstream. Areas like this, because of the decrease in the overall current, can sometimes show you exactly where a shell bed is and you can confirm the hard bottom with a deep-diving crankbait or a jig.”

So what is deep and what is shallow?

“It all depends on where you are on the river or reservoir,” he said. “Upriver deep is going to be shallower than down at the dam. For example, here on Wheeler, Wilson and Pickwick, deep water upriver would be in the 8- to 10-foot range. Mid-lake it would be 15 to 18 feet and at the bottom part it would be 18 to 20 feet.”

Tactics

“This time of year is all about being able to read fish on your electronics,” Mason said. “Depending where they are with respect to the lip of the break will determine what type of mood they’re in. If they’re on the lip, they’re feeding. In this instance a big deep-diving crankbait like a No. 6 or No. 7 Fat Free Shad can’t be beat.”

His favorite crank colors are foxy shad, foxy lady, chartreuse blue back, and citrus shad.

“If you see the fish are off the lip or below it you’re going to have to work for them. That’s when I’ll switch to fishing a football jig or a big worm. For the jig I prefer a 3/4- to 1-ounce Booyah football jig. Here on the Tennessee River my favorite is a three-color jig that has black, blue and green-pumpkin strands with a green-pumpkin Yum Craw Papi trailer.”

For the big worm this time of year he uses a 10-inch Yum Mighty Worm in plum color with a 5/8-ounce Yum Pumpkin Head jig. If there is big brush, he uses the same worm and rigs it Texas-style with a 5/0 hook and a 3/8-ounce Elite Tungsten worm weight.

“If you see the fish are suspended away from the lip of the ledge, you might be able to get them with an umbrella rig, but that isn’t the best lure for post-spawn. Generally I’ll come back in an hour and see if they’ve moved onto the ledge.

“This time of year is all about the current and the more of it you have, the better off you are – current is the dinner bell. Generally the current gets stronger as the day goes on. I watch what the dams are doing every day. Not only do I do this at home, but I do it in the boat with my phone – it’s that important. You want to be on your best areas when the current is running its fastest.

“On days where the current isn’t that strong you’ll often catch me chasing barges,” he said. "The barges we have here on the Tennessee River are big and they throw a lot of water around. The water from their wake creates a lot of current and at times that may be the only current there is.

“An important aspect of fishing the current is to cast upstream, let your bait sink to the bottom and work it back to the boat. You’re essentially washing your bait over the bottom. Same with fishing a crankbait. Cast it upstream and work it back to the boat. The fish are accustomed to seeing their dinner come from upstream and they’re already pointed that way in order to hold on the structure.”

River tactics don’t differ too much when it comes to large impoundments that draw a lot of current like Guntersville or Kentucky Lake. But there are a few key points that Mason suggests to improve your odds.

“On lakes like Guntersville that have a lot of current influence, you’re fishing pretty much the same types of structure, but there’s another factor that can play a major role in your efforts. That’s grass,” he said. “The best spots are the points of grass that have a hard bottom that lead to a ledge that goes into the main river channel.

“Just like on the river, look for a bend in the channel that has all these features and you’re bound to find the fish.”

As an added bonus, Mason mentions something else that comes with the season – the shad spawn.

“This time of year the shad start spawning shallow so you can have the best of both worlds,” he said. “First thing in the morning I may fish shallow to take advantage of that, then move deep as the day progresses. On lakes that have grass, the fish will be up in the grass first thing then move off as the sun gets high. On the rivers, I’ll look for gravel shorelines or rocks."

Notable

> The equipment that Mason uses for his crank fishing is an 8-foot Dobyns 805 CBRM rod with a Lew’s BB1 reel (5.1:1 ratio) and 12-pound Vicious Elite fluorocarbon line. He uses a Dobyns DX745 rod with a Lew’s Tournament Pro reel (6.4:1 ratio) and 15-pound Vicious fluorocarbon line for the jig and worm.

> If you’re interested in booking a guided trip on the Tennessee River impoundments, feel free to contact him at www.jimmymasonbasspro.com.