Prespawn Or Spawn In Va?

[RVABASSIN]

Hey Guys it's me rvabassin. For the first week I April I will be fishing all week at small private ponds (I have permission) and maybe some other body's of water. I was hoping to get you guys take about what pattern I should focus on. I think it is either prespawn or early spawn. What do you guys think?

[basscrusher]

Definitely not spawn...water temps are still in mid to upper 40s.  Might not even be prespawn...fish are still in winter mode all the way down to Kerr in southern VA (where I fished the past 2 days).  And the weather this week looks to be COLD, with snow forecast for tonight.  Might sound crazy, but the first week of April might still be winter here in NoVa.  Bring slow moving baits.

[Darren.]

When the dogwoods bloom, spawn on!

Taint happenin' down on the peninsula yet. Maybe some staging going on, but the water is still in the 40s.

[Teal]

The highest temp ive seen on Gaston is 48 and the average temp is around 46...this time last year, the water temps were much higher ...but its been so cool...

Its gonna be soon, but its still just a bit cold...

[Sam]

Fish slow and deep.

 

Try your spinnerbaits and crankbaits.

 

Take a swimming pool thermometer with you and check the pond's water temperature.

 

The bass are still deep. Today's and tomorrow's snow and air temperatures will keep water temperatures steady in the 40's and maybe down a few degrees.

 

The bass will be staging and holding to cover and structure so you have to find the drop offs, bottom structure, rocks, changes in bottom (mud to sand to rock to clay, etc.) and as the water temperature warms up this week they will start to move to the prespawn areas.

 

Remember, they love shad and crawfish along with bluegills so match those colors with your baits.

 

Try a crawfish colored lipless crankbait along with a white/chart. spinnerbait with Colorado blades. Throw a Bandit 200 in shad or a KVD 1.5 or 2.5 in Sexy Shad. Try to hit the bottom with your bait if possible.

 

The bass will tell what they want at what speed and depth. It is up to you to find the pattern for the day.

 

Other patterns may work like the Carolina rig; a Texas rigged worm; a brush hog pitched and flipped; a jig and pig. Who knows?

 

One more suggestion. Don't worry about hitting the pond before sunlight. Take it easy and go around 8:30 or 9:00 to allow the water to get some sun and heat up a degree or two. Fish the sunny side (north and west) first.

 

Bites may be slow but they will be eating after the front passes and things calm down. Then they will wait for the water temperature to hit 50 to start moving up and then in the 60s to hit the beds. Just watch for the Dogwoods to bloom and they are on their bed.

 

As the Dogwood blooms start to pop out you will know they are starting to move up to the spawning areas.

 

Post pics!

[RVABASSIN]

Thomas guys! I'll be looking to get some prespawn fatties!

[chrisdm3]

Caught 5 today at briery creek on shakey heads in 5-6 ft of water the water temps were 46-48 with alot of sleet and rain

[RVABASSIN]

Do you think they were staging or still in winter mode?

[Wayne P.]

Last week I was fishing in 51-53 degree water and bass were roaming in less than 8' in the Southern part of the state.

 

Yesterday the areas we fished were 61-72 degrees and we caught some on beds on the hot side of Anna.

 

Definately a good idea to carry a thermometer to give you a guess of the persentation speed of a pattern.

[chrisdm3]

Hard to tell because they werent holding on cover and most of the people that I know are there caught them in 15+ft of water

[quanjig]

Just because its cold, don't be fooled into thinking that the fish will be all that deep. Take it from me as I have been learning the hard way the last two Sundays' tx's on the res! Fish can be had in shallowish water. It may take repeated casts but look for cover near deeper water. It's not always about water temperature but the length of the day that gets these fish looking to get shallow! Some of the bigger fish are probably a little further along than you think.

[soccplayer07]

well said, Quan 

[Sam]

RVA, as you catch the bass look at their color.

 

If they are silver then they have been deep and are starting to move up to the staging flats and then to the beds.

 

The definition of "deep" is different for each body of water.

 

If a lake's deepest part is 20-feet then that is the "deepest" part. Another lake may have a 50-foot deep area, etc. So to say the bass are "deep" means that they are holding above the thermocline waiting for warmer water so they can move up and spawn and feed.

 

Ponds may have a deep area of only 6-feet. So the bass will be "deep" in 6-feet of water.

 

The bass will relate to the water depth based on water temperature and the weather. If you have a sunny day the bass will run to the shore to feed or float in a place to sun themselves enjoying the warmer water.

 

As Wayne posted, he fished the Hot Side of One Fish Anna and the water temperatures were warm enough to put the bass on their beds. The cold side of One Fish Anna has the bass moving up to the staging areas, waiting for the memo that the Dogwoods have bloomed to move to their beds.

 

It really doesn't matter. Just go out and do some fishing with the understanding that your challenge is to find the bass and then establish your pattern.

[OneFisher85]

Can someone please tell me if a bass boat with a larger than 9.9 motor is allowed on Briery creek lake as long as you only use your trolling motor? And would it even be worth it with only the trolling motor?

[flyfisher]

Can someone please tell me if a bass boat with a larger than 9.9 motor is allowed on Briery creek lake as long as you only use your trolling motor? And would it even be worth it with only the trolling motor?

I have seen plenty of boats out there with larger motors just using the trolling motors. I don't see why it wouldn't be worth it but it can get windy so make sure your batteries are charged up and you should be good to go.

I was out at a pond/lake here this past weekend and surface water temps were reading in the 47-50 range so it is getting close but I couldn't find them, all I caught was a pickerel.

[Wayne P.]

RVA, as you catch the bass look at their color.

 

If they are silver then they have been deep and are starting to move up to the staging flats and then to the beds.

 

The definition of "deep" is different for each body of water.

 

If a lake's deepest part is 20-feet then that is the "deepest" part. Another lake may have a 50-foot deep area, etc. So to say the bass are "deep" means that they are holding above the thermocline waiting for warmer water so they can move up and spawn and feed.

 

Ponds may have a deep area of only 6-feet. So the bass will be "deep" in 6-feet of water.

 

The bass will relate to the water depth based on water temperature and the weather. If you have a sunny day the bass will run to the shore to feed or float in a place to sun themselves enjoying the warmer water.

 

As Wayne posted, he fished the Hot Side of One Fish Anna and the water temperatures were warm enough to put the bass on their beds. The cold side of One Fish Anna has the bass moving up to the staging areas, waiting for the memo that the Dogwoods have bloomed to move to their beds.

 

It really doesn't matter. Just go out and do some fishing with the understanding that your challenge is to find the bass and then establish your pattern.

 

"One Fish Anna". LOL. We caught 62 bass

[NHBA Charlie]

"One Fish Anna". LOL

Our club fished a social event on March 16th and 14 members had limits of keeper bass. Three more had 4 keeper fish. Most of the top 14 had well over 20 bass each. Anna is no longer a lake that does not give up fish.

NHBA Charlie......