A tough time of year

[CJ]

Well some of them have spawned and some of them haven't.Hard to tell if a majority are coming or going.I had a great pattern going on some pre-spawn fish but it has died down.I followed those fish to catch 4 consecutive stringers over 15lbs.Those fish have disappeared,well some of them got relocated temporarily.The fish seem to be scattered from main lake ledges and points all the way back to extreme shallows.The problem is,what are a majority of them doing?I have been fishing inbetween(ledges and points inside the bays).I have been targeting fish that are coming and going.Yesturday I fish a tournament.Went to one of my hot spots and caught a 5 lber. on the second cast.Then couldn't get another bite.Went to another good spot,one keeper.I ended up with only 4 keepers from 4 different spots.I have caught fish with and without eggs.I just can't find any stacked up anywhere.And to go along with that,they weren't biting well at all.The fish I caught only hit the lure very lightly(it was a finesse lure).What do you do when fish are scattered out everywhere and want a small slow presentation?Anybody ever experience this Tough Time of Year?

[Curado]

During the post spawn when the fish are scattered; I like to cover alot of water with spinnerbaits. I've also had luck fishing points with a Spook. C-riggin points is good too. And maybe throw a senko in some grass beds.

[Landinlunkers]

Fishing points with Carolina rigged french fries is my favorite post spawn pattern.

[CJ]

I agree fishing a c-rig is one of the best post spawn presentations.Only a fraction of the fish are in the post spawn.I really haven't ever experienced what is going on.I have caught pre-spawn and post spawn fish out of the same areas.Some fish are spawning some are pre-spawn and some are post spawn.To break it down I am talking about a specific day where they are scattered and not biting well.Crankbaits,spinners and most power style presentation aren't working well.How do you slow down when you need to cover alot of ground?

[Randall]

I do well this time of year slowing way down but only hitting the best parts of the structure I am fishing. I dont fish an entire point but only hit the sweet spots with a very slow presentation. Yesterday I got two big fish by fishing a senko weightless in ten feet of water off a points. Thats slow fishing but I was only on each point for five minutes of so. I only made about three casts to most points. I also caught eight fish on a dropshot. I also use a dropshot to get a slow moving bait straight to the target area fast and leave it there for a few minutes while working it real slow. I concentate all my efforts fishing slow on only the very best places and moving around alot more than I normally would. I only got one fish on any one place I fished but caught ten with a couple of good ones by not wasting time by putting my bait in less productive areas.

[George Welcome]

You might not have to cover quite the amount of ground that you think you do. For one thing, slow presentations are probably going to work best until the spawners are up and active. A female post spawn spends a day or two hanging near the nest and then moves off to recover. Seven to ten days after spawning she starts feeding to recover strength and vitality, and in many cases that is right next to the spawn areas.

[Matt Fly]

Most fish don't leave the spawning areas after spawning for a few weeks.   Alot will stay in the same areas to feed.    As long as the shad, minnows and blue gill are relating to the shallows, most bass will still be in the areas.    As with prespawn, the shallows will continue to heat up and its usually the summer heat in Texas that finally drives some of the bass back deep.    Just remember that the bluegill spawn is fixing to happen, and as long as there is an easy meal in the shallows, the bass won't be far away.   And shad are still spawning shallow in the early mornings, so target the shallows early.

Most bass suspend off bottom after spawning for a week or two to rest.

3X floating C-rig or drop shots are easy methods to persue post spawners that are in recovery mode.   Once actively feeding, anything from topwaters, assorted plastics, cranks, spinners and jigs all produce.

[CJ]

Randall,George,and Matt,Those are all things I have been considering.I think if I take ya'll's advice and gel it,I'm gonna get on to something soon.Thanks guys! CJ

[.ghoti.]

Back off to the first drop off from the spawning flat and fish plastics slow. The bigger females are there resting from their labors. They will be ready to eat anytime. ?Tough time of the year? This is agreta time of the year. The tough times are when you cast out your bait and it bounces off the water.

[senile1]

This weekend I ran into a similar problem.  I tried a couple of lures and finally went with a spinnerbait but I slow-rolled it and in some places I was yo-yoing it.  I discovered a number of bass on wood in the nearest drop-off where the water was 9 - 12 feet.  Most of these were only dinks and up to 2 lbs.  I switched to a c-rigged lizard and fished the same areas and caught some bigger fish with the biggest being a 6 lb 3 oz.  

[5bass]

CJ,it seems like we're fishing the same lake.Some have spawned out,some just trying to spawn etc.....I'm not sure if your lake has docks or not but where I'm at,docks are plentiful,to say the least.When I go post-spawn fishing,I always look around shallow first to see what I can see but if nothing is happening I go to the first docks beside any spawning areas and continue on the docks until I run into some fish.You'll find that one day a shallower string of docks will be best,the next day the deeper docks hold fish better and once you figure out which docks are the good ones,you can eliminate the "dead" ones and nail down your pattern.

A senko is my first choice when fishing a dock but if I find that the fish are on the bottom instead of suspended,a jig will get me down there faster and we all know what a jig does to a bass.

If the docks arent happening,I immediately go to any points in a major creek and start crankin'.I'll put on a deep diver and back way off,throw it up in the shallow water and scrape it down the point real slow.If there are any fish on that point,there will be a few aggresive fish that will hit the crank.That will clue you in on whether or not to settle down and carolina rig the area thoroghly.The c-rig will catch fish that the crank won't.