By Jonathan LePera
Special to BassFan
When the post-spawn season rolls around, there are three things you can count on: Taxes, Russ Lane and crankbaits.
“It’s my favorite time of year,” Lane says. “Around central Alabama, the fish are just getting out and haven’t been messed with.”
Cranking Logic
Lane prefers his signature series SPRO Fat Papa crankbaits because of how quickly he can get the bait to the bottom to create a reaction bite instantly and ignite the school. Bass that have been on beds are in a protecting mode and not really feeding. Upon moving offshore, especially in the South, they’ll recover from the spawn.
“They’ll bunch up in places where it’s conducive for a little wind or current to bring the bait in where they don’t have to work as hard to ambush shad when they come by,” Lane said. “I play the odds that they’re going to be on a subtle or steep drop where that current crashes into the hardest part of that structure. If you’re in a creek where current isn’t going to be a big deal, you need to take wind into account because they’ll feed on that windy side of a hump.”
Mapping 101
Lane looks to water clarity to determine the depth he’ll target but he’ll start in the backs of creeks and work his way out. If yor post-spawn fish shallow, pound on them, Lane says. Anglers are racing against rising water temps that will drive them offshore.
“On Day 2 of the 2010 Bassmaster Elite Tennessee Triumph on Kentucky Lake, I hit a place and caught 26-03, the biggest bag of the day,” Lane recalled. “I knew in relation to where those fish were in the back of that creek, they weren’t going to be there long. I fished there all day the next day and got 12 pounds. I should’ve moved out to the next drop or gone to the main lake.”
He timed it just right at the 2014 Toyota Texas Bass Classic at Lake Fork, where he finished 3rd. With the lake down a foot and stable water temps in the 70s and strong south winds, he found the mother lode in 10 to 15 feet of water. While most of the field fished deeper, obvious main lake spots, Lane found a shallow spot with stained water that coughed up more than 100 pounds of largemouth.
One-Two Punch
“If I catch seven or eight in a row, and the action slows, if I’m throwing a silent bait, I’ll throw one with rattles,” Lane said. “If your bait has rattles, those fish get conditioned to that sound and can tell it’s coming before it gets there.
“I’ll pick up a silent bait and it sneak up on them and reel it a lot faster to get in their face before they realize it’s there. That’s how you get them to react to it.”
He’ll also switch colors from a Fat Papa 70 in nasty shad to a radically different tropical shad pattern. Presentation is paramount.
“I’ll grid it off in my head, and then keep changing angles,” he added. “If that won’t work, then I’ll throw a (Big Bite Baits) Kriet Tail Worm or a Buckeye football Jig. Change colors, change baits, and change angles.”
Lane emphasized that chartreuse needs to be part of the color palette on your cranks, especially in the South. Hook size and their composition can also dictate how deep the Fat Papa 70 runs. Using black Gamakatsu #2 hooks instead of bronze helps it to dive 10 to 12 inches deeper. Swapping the rear hook for a red one is a confidence deal and if depth is the goal, Lane has the SPRO Little John DD at the ready.
Geared Up
> Lane throws this crankbaits on a 7-foot heavy-action Castaway Skeleton composite rod and prefers Sunline Super FC Sniper or Sunline Reaction FC fluorocarbon line in 10- to 16-pound depending on conditions. On his cranking reels, he replaces the stock handle with a Hawg Tech cranking handle with Winn round grips to reduce fatigue on those long cranking days.
