Think Big And Bold For Pre-Spawn

By David A. Brown
Special to BassFan

Who cares if people scoff at the Alabama Rig; Darold Gleason’s not afraid to throw the flashy attention-getter — especially when late winter/early spring has the big mama bass feeling the urge to advance and the need to feed.

Recognizing the seasonal wisdom of showing fish sizable meals, the Toledo Bend guide said it’s all about going big and bold. Sure, there will be periods when downsizing can help; but considering the fish’s need to pack on calories in advance of their most important annual event, it’s better to step on the gas and only throttle back when needed.

“I like the Alabama Rig when the water is clear and cold,” said Gleason, who fishes the setup along the edges of hydrilla in 8-12 feet. “I feel that in cold water during the pre-spawn the big females eat less, but are willing to eat bigger meals. The A-Rig looks like a bulky meal for them.”

Flipping the Switch

Heartily agreeing with Gleason, Bassmaster Elite Series pro Gerald Swindle looks forward to the pre-spawn transition period because the mood of fish will often take a dramatic turn, relevant to weather patterns. Water temperature certainly matters, but he’ll first take his cues from changing air temps. As the Alabama pro notes, it only takes a few warmer nights to start shaking up the scene.

For example, if overnight lows have been dropping into the 30s and a mild warming trend starts holding that level to the mid-40s, Swindle expects to start seeing – make that “feeling” – a significant difference in his bites.

“I like throwing a jig in the pre-spawn and when they first get to the staging areas, the bite is really soft and spongy; but after they’ve been there three or four days and they’ve started feeding, you start hearing guys saying, ‘Good Lord, I had a bite where he thumped it so hard it scared me to death.’

“That fish’s mode has kind of changed. He has adapted to the warmer water, he’s getting active, he’s starting to feed. Pay attention to the bite and you can tell how far along that pre-spawn is.”

Visibility also matters here and, as Elite Series pro Greg Hackney notes, the dirtier the water – winter rain runoff, commonly – the more important those big and bold presentations become in terms of a fish’s location ability.

Moreover, consider the impact of pre-spawn feeding competition. It may not take the same form as the fall gorging, but with staging bass given to clustering outside the spawning bays, grabbing meals leaves no room for indecision. “Aggressive” and “intrusive” are highly marketable traits.

Clearly, a cold front’s stifling influence makes swapping big-and-bold for slow-and-subtle a necessary move. But when conditions remain stable – even if that still means a frosty morning – pre-spawn bass know what they need and, suffice it to say, they’re not sweating the figure this time of year.

Here’s a few more ideas for flipping the pre-spawners’ switch with an all-out assault on their appetite:

> Blade Runners: When Elite Series pro Mark Menendez is targeting pre-spawn bass a 3/4-ounce Strike King Scorcher spinnerbait gets the call. Burning the bait for maximum reaction, a trailer hook is essential for preventing missed opportunities.

“I want a free-swinging trailer hook; I don’t want one that’s stationary because a lot of times, it will give you that second chance that you might not otherwise get,” Menendez said. “If you have one that’s stationary and a fish comes from the bottom, he may knock that trailer hook out of position and you’re still not going to get him.”

In chillier conditions, maybe following a cold front, Elite pro Russ Lane will slow-roll a spinnerbait across the bottom. But what if he needs to reach a little deeper than the currently productive bait wants to run? Simple: Lane adds a pinch-on weight to the spinnerbait’s arm to drive it lower.

> Getting Cranky: Because pres-pawners tend to group in particular zones before spreading into the spawning grounds, covering a lot of water is the best way to break down larger areas and pinpoint packs of hungry bass. Particularly effective for those holding around rocky breaks, points, chunk rock and anything hard; crankbaits blend sight, sound and vibration for maximum appeal – even in surprisingly chilly water.

“When those fish really start getting active, I’ll try to reach them with a deep-diving crankbait,” Swindle said. “Even though the water’s 52 or 53 (degrees), they will bite it. Some of the best days I’ve had on Lake Guntersville were when the water was 51 or 52 degrees and I was throwing a big DD14 and a DD22.”

As Swindle observes, crankbaits may seem a little much for early pre-spawners, but don’t let the cold water fool you. A toned-down presentation could yield pleasant surprises.

“If you’re getting aggressive strikes on a jig, swap up and try a big crankbait,” he said. “You won’t be burning it; you’re just trying to get the bait to the bottom and slowly reel it.”

When the game starts moving progressively shallower and bumping around secondary points, logs and laydowns turns the focus to square-bills, consider how an upsized offering such as Strike King’s KVD 8.0 or the Rat-L-Trap Echo will interest fish looking for hefty snacks.

> Shimmy and Shake: Few would question the boisterous appearance of a lipless crankbait, but don’t hesitate to send this pre-spawn favorite into action even before those warming trends crack the whip on staging fish. (Tip: show the fish a variety of sizes and integrate silent and floating baits into your game plan.)

> Swim Team: Negotiating laydowns, tracing dock perimeters, probing rocky edges, pushing through isolated hydrilla clumps ¬ a swim jig does a good job in these scenarios. However, make sure you’re offering the fish a profile worth their effort. That means full skirts and bulky swimbait trailers.

And speaking of swimbaits, FLW Tour pro Jimmy Reese is rarely caught without a big one on his deck. On the California Delta, Reese aggressively probes tules with a topwater frog, but keeps a 7-inch Osprey Talon in easy reach for the right situation – essentially, the mouths of tributary creeks, rivers and the outside edges of spawning flats.

(Note: Reese also likes a wake-style swimmer like the Uncle Manny Minnow and the MS Slammer.)

> Spreading Out: Getting back to jigs, Lane’s a fan the 3/8-ounce Buckeye mop jig paired with an oversized trailer like the Big Bite Baits Real Deal Craw.

“I’m making short casts to staging-type cover next to deep water,” Lane said. “I’ll target things like channel swing banks with a short point or laydown. That mop jig gives the fish a big profile that’s easy to catch.”

Elite pro Casey Ashley agrees: “That skirt makes that bait fall just a little slower and then when it hits the bottom, it flares. So it has a really big profile and that’s going to get you the bigger bite.

“When I throw a mop jig, I always throw straight brown with a green pumpkin Zoom Super Chunk. That’s a crawfish all day long. I don’t care if the water’s crystal clear or if it has a little stain, or you can even throw it in muddy water. It’s the most natural color you can throw.”