Is the North Side Always the Starting Point for The Spawn?

[OCdockskipper]

Just about any information you read about fishing the prespawn & spawn recommends concentrating on the north side of the lake initially, to take advantage of protection from cold north winds and less shade from the sun that is low on the horizon.  

 

I went out on my home lake today and found the fish beginning their move into known prespawn areas, nearly all of them fat females.  However, more of the fish I caught were on the south side of the lake (about a 4 to 1 ratio).  As I thought about it, I realized that was consistent with what I have experienced on my home lake over the years, the fish move up on the south side first.  In thinking it through, here is a possible explanation I came up with:

 

1. Orange County consistently gets afternoon onshore winds and very few cold storms.  Since our beaches are south facing, that means the predominate wind direction is from the south or the west and only rarely from the north.  That makes the south side of the lake more protected from wind than the north;
    
2. Being a smaller lake (100 acres), there is not a huge difference in water temps from one side of the lake to the other.  The lowest temps today (an overcast day) were 54.5 and the highest were 55.3, and the cloud cover kept them steady all day.
    
3. Being an "urban lake" (surrounded by houses), there are not a lot of trees right at the waters edge, so the sun is high enough on the horizon to warm the south side just as much as the north side.  The water temp variances I saw today weren't dictated by the north/south sides of the lake.

 

I'm curious if Tom or other So Cal anglers have had the same experience as this or if this may be an outlier based on the lake itself.

[TnRiver46]

I’ve never thought about N or S when fishing. For every thing you read about bass behavior, there’s thousands of bass doing the opposite

[Hawkeye21]

I think that's more of recommendation than anything.  You're looking for where the water warms up first.  Since bass usually start spawning when water temps reach a certain point it makes sense that they would spawn on the warmer areas of the lake first.  The north side of a lake usually warms up first because the sun hits it early and often throughout the day but there are more factors than just that.  I think that's a good place to start looking and then venture out to other areas.

[dgkasper58]

4 hours ago, Hawkeye21 said:

I think that's more of recommendation than anything.  You're looking for where the water warms up first.  Since bass usually start spawning when water temps reach a certain point it makes sense that they would spawn on the warmer areas of the lake first.  The north side of a lake usually warms up first because the sun hits it early and often throughout the day but there are more factors than just that.  I think that's a good place to start looking and then venture out to other areas.

Agreed. Find the right conditions would increase your chances- but there are always opportunities else where.

[Catt]

Depending on the size of the body of water all the bass do not swim to the north side of the lake.

 

The recommendation is that the north side should warm quicker.

[MittenMouth]

I'm on a smaller lake in Michigan for most of my "close to home" fishing and I do the best on the north side of the lake early in the year where its shallow for a while before the drop.  I've also done alright in back pockets in other areas but its really water temp that drives the behavior.  Look for rocks that can absorb heat and factor that in as well.

[Dirtyeggroll]

Nvm

[WRB]

When reading about bass behavior it's predominately about the heartland region of the country where rivers run north to south. Man made impoundments are created by building a dam at the south end of river valleys where the water is deepest. The north end therefor is shallower if the main lake body runs north to south. Man made impoundments are not simple topography and rivers meander and feed by smaller rivers, streams and creeks draining the water shed, each having shallow and deeper waterways.

Shallow wind protected water areas warm faster then deeper wind blown areas and it's the warmer wind protected areas the bass tend to spawn at wherever it is located.

How far will bass travel to find warmer wind protected areas? The answer it depends on the impoundment. 

Where I fish in SoCal bass lakes are small, about 2 to 3 miles long, compared NorCal lakes and heartland hill land and high land reservoirs that are 30 to 70 miles long with multiple arms. The bass in lakes Castiac and Casitas move around from the deepest water to the shallowest water regularly like bass do in a small lake. At Casitas the shallow wind protected water is predominately the northeast shoreline and the northwest shoreline where the major spawn starts early. The south end deeper water areas the spawn tends to start later.

Tom

 

[Hammer 4]

In the local park lakes/ponds I always hit the north side in the morning, maybe except for Hot summer days. I also do the same on good sized lakes, and had good success. 

[OCdockskipper]

3 hours ago, WRB said:

When reading about bass behavior it's predominately about the heartland region of the country where rivers run north to south.

Tom

 

Lake Forest II runs east to west (a little bit of a N/S angle to it) and is fairly narrow, so one side of the lake is basically north facing while the other side is south facing.  Not much difference between the top end and the bottom end as far as depth, it was pretty much bulldozed fairly uniformed.

 

The coves on the south side tend to be more protected, the onshore winds have to go over the houses along the shore before dropping back down to water level.  By the time they reach the north side of the lake, they are low and blowing into the coves on that side, making those areas less protected.

[WRB]

Regarding sunlight exposure would favor the west side as the sun rises in the east setting in the west. Wind direction is basically west to east unless low pressure followed by high pressure, changing predominate wind direction. High pressure winds are clockwise north to south, low pressure the opposite. 

SoCal mountainous terrian the high pressure wind gets compressed down through the canyons where reseviors are located so we get Santana high winds between 35 to 70 mph as a result....wind is a big issue during the spawn so bass seek wind protected areas.

Tom

[BassNJake]

Maybe its just me but I'm always looking for the route they take to get to these spawning areas and are fishing them way before any have pulled up to bed.

 

I'll find several of these areas and run to them trying to pick off pre and post spawners making their way in and out of these spawning areas

 

Rarely do I fish for bass that are on beds anymore

 

[NHBull]

On my lake in New Hampshire the North end is usually 5 degrees warmer in May and spawn is earlier there.

[Dens228]

I think warmer water areas start up way before pre-spawn.   I won big bass at a tournament in April last year.  It was cold, water was cold, every few casts I had to dip my rod into the water to get the ice off the guides.  Everyone was fishing the deeper water.  The sun was just starting to hit the northwest corner of the lake that happens to be a flat that is between 3 and 4 feet deep.  I went to that corner and began running a chatterbait past the submerged trees and caught my big bass.  Three feet of water, water temp was 38. Water temp everywhere else was lower 30's. 

[J Francho]

The northwest side of most waters gets the most exposure to the sun, therefore warms up first - sometimes.  That's where all the myths begin surrounding bass behavior.

[CaptMikeStarrett]

I have found the South side of tidal creeks to be very good. Also the North side of tidal creeks to be very good. I feel it depends on water clarity first / and what the bottom of the creek is made of. Clear water and Black mud on the edge of pee gravel being the first area to find prespawn LGMouth. But if the creek is three creams in your coffee and pee gravel then the North side has the LGMouth.

 

Tidal rivers are my favorite. Heck I spent 6 hours waiting for the tide at one lake..

 

Capt Mike