Prespawn bass fishing is quickly approaching for much of the country. While our friends to the north still have a ways to go, lots of states are warming up and the bass are chomping at the proverbial bit to move towards shallow water. Of course, when they move towards the shallows they’re hungry, active and perhaps most importantly, much easier for anglers to catch.
I’ve heard all kinds of theories about when and why prespawn bass move shallow. To be totally honest with you, I’m not sure I buy into one theory over any others. I’m not a biologist and I don’t pretend to be, so I try to take environmental cues from surrounding wildlife each year and make my own opinion.
You can read articles and learn plenty about bass fishing but as the old saying goes, there is absolutely no substitute for time on the water and close attention to detail. I believe that nature and wildlife act as one cohesive symphony. I can’t explain it and I know it sounds painfully lame, but I’ve noticed a lot of things in my area that always—no matter what—coincide with the first push of shallow prespawners.
These occurences may not line up exactly the same for you, so that’s important to understand. This kind of stuff all revolves around your geographic location. What’s more important, however, is the need to pay attention to your surroundings when you first start crushing those big bass in the prespawn period. That first good day you have this year, I want you to put your rod down for a little while and look around. What are the birds doing? What about the plants? Which ones are blooming and which ones are still dormant? Has the grass turned green yet or just the clover patches?
I’m well aware that this may be a little “out there” for some folks and I totally get that. But I want to run through some environmental cues that, for me in the Southeast, always indicate awesome prespawn bass fishing.