What's you're strategy for post spawn?

[RippinLips57]

Hey everybody the river I fish is in post spawn right now or that's what I was told lol the waters close to 80. I'm a lil new to bass fishin always been in the salt but I was wondering after you launch you're boat what do you target first like little canals,docks,grass mats,wood,etc... I know every lake, river don't have the same features but I can get an idea where to go and where I should be goin on throughout the day and also give me an idea of what you would throw, Just kind of want an idea of what some expirenced people would target first. Thanks Ya  

[RoLo]

Bass burn a lot of calories during the rigors of reproduction, and making matters worse, 
they lose their interest in food during the actual spawn. For those reasons, the post-spawn is a time

of replenishment and building back up, when the big girls are back on the feed (2nd only to the pre-spawn)

 

Although bass may be feeding heavily during the post-spawn, it's also a transitional period when bass

are widely scattered, a time when location and depth can be sticking points. In our experience at least,

the post-spawn season offers the best topwater bite of the year, with the possible exception of early fall.

When you combine a 'topwater bite' with 'scattered bass', it's pretty tough to beat a topwater lure

that offers wide area coverage. While everyone else is throwing hollow frogs and buzzbaits,

my go-to topwater lure is a soft swimbait (e.g. Gambler Big EZ). Toss that sucker smack in the heart

of spatterdock pads and surface clutter that would bog-down a Buzzbait. Unlike the stop-&-go retrieve

of a hollow frog, the soft swimbait is retrieved nonstop which provides faster area coverage.

I rig the Big EZ on a 3/16 oz keel-weighted hook, but only to prevent the swimbait from rolling over,

and maybe add a few feet to the cast length.

 

Roger

[RO_Watkins]

I'm with Roger in the top water. I spend $15+ a week on zoom horny toads during the post spawn. In my experience the bite can go from feast to famine bad vice-versa in a matter of seconds. I love fishing weedlines and drop offs on river banks during this time. One of my absolute favorites for post spawn is to fish the river in the middle of the day and throw against the current, parallel to a shaded bank and work a frog back towards you with the current. Top water or just slightly below surface with A TON of action. When the bait hits the shade it will sound like land mines going off for all the strikes. Can also be a good time to try/learn new lures and presentations, a lot of feeding going on. Good luck to ya! 

[RippinLips57]

I haven't really been throwin top water lately but I'll have To give those horny toads a try, how do you rig them, weightless?

[RO_Watkins]

I typically rig them on a 3/0 ewg hook, weightless. I always bury the hook tip so they're weedless.

 

I will occasionally put a 1/8-1/4oz bullet weight on and Texas rig them if I want to sink quicker. You can fish that top water too, actually makes it a little louder. Can be the ticket sometimes.

 

[Catt]

My first concern is how far away from the spawn are we!

 

The first couple week directly behind the spawn I don't expect to much, then a gradual increase in numbers & then size goes back to normal.

 

Post spawn bass travel the same structure/breaklines back out that they traveled to reach spawning areas. 

 

As with pre-spawn big momma moves first followed by less dominate females & then males. The smaller females & males recuperate first & start feeding first accounting for numbers.

[WRB]

River bass fishing in Alabama means to me you have both spotted bass and northern strain largemouth bass. Spots and largemouth don't usually hangout together so 2 different area preferences. Not being the best at River bass fishing I tend to target wing dam breaks or anything that breaks up the current flow. Spots like current and very aggressive bass, largemouths don't like current preferring eddies or slow moving water with some type of cover, brush, trees, docks, shade. Spots like gravel bars, boulders, wing dams, deep grass beds, channel swings, rip rap similar to LMB just deeper faster moving water.

80 degree water is summer period for bass, no longer post spawn so everything can work.

Tom