Post Spawn

[stratoscaster]

 I haven't posted in a couple of years due to starting a new business, trying to keep the other half happy (translation; working around the house) and LOTS of fishing.

 I'm sure some if not most are in the middle of, or are waiting on the spawn to begin.  Being in the Panhandle of FL. the spawn has wound down.  The water temp is around 72* and the beds are empty.  I've been fishing hard for the last month and a half or better.  It's been a great spring catching double digit numbers (20 plus one day last week) of fish on multiple days.  The largest fish being just over 8lbs.  Every year around this time I think I must be getting alot better at this sport only to realize it's the time of year it's not me.

 My goal this year is to beome a become a better fisherman year round.  Lets start with the post spawn.  I'm bad about beating the banks.  I need to gain more confidence in backing off the banks and fishing different techniques.  Where should I start?  The lake I fish most often is a shallow (avg. 6ft. or so ?) 30 acre, spring fed, man made lake.  It has a couple of 10' deep ditches that are 10' wide and 75 yards long.  Not a lot of grass, thanks to the large carp that were added.  A hand full of docks.  There are lilly pads, some isolated and some larger areas.  The lake is spring fed which means more often than not the water is very clear.  As I said before the water temp. is around 72*.  There are large areas of 5' to 6' flats that have little to no cover or structure.  

 I could continue to fish the same techniques (wacky rigged senkos) I almost always fish and catch fish but as I said I'm looking to beome a better all around fisher.  I sometimes throw spiinerbaits, crankbaits, topwaters, Texas rigs but more often than not I end up throwing the wackey rig toward the bank.  I know you guys can help me take it to the next level.  Lets hear it.  

[roadwarrior]

Well, if I were fishing in Florida, I would take my cue from George Welcome. Visit his website and you'll see he only suggests a few lures/baits:

Chug Bug, Rat-L-Trap, Senko, Swimsenko are the mainstay, but here's his list:

Suggested Florida tackle (although not restricted to), would be:

Various plastics in dark colors (Yamamoto Senkos in 5" are highly recommended)

4/0 Offset Worm Hook (We Prefer Gamakatsu)

Small Barrel Swivels For Carolina Rigs (#10)

Bullet Weights (3/8 Ounce Is Most Common For Carolina Rigs)

Storm Rattlin' Chug Bug 3.5" 3/8oz (Chrome & Blue, And Your Other Favorite Colors)

Any Of Your Favorite Top Water Lures

Bill Lewis 1/2 Ounce Rat-L-Taps (Chrome Blue w/ Orange Belly, Craw Dad, And Fire Tiger)

Buzz Baits (White, White And Chartreuse)

Spinner Baits (Fire Tiger, White, etc:) (Terminator T1 3/8 oz With Thumper Blades work extremely well)

Flukes (Watermelon, Salt And Pepper, ) (Zoom Salty Super Flukes work well)

Line of choice: (17-20 pound test recommended)

Hard Jerk Baits (Bomber Long A (B15A) 4 1/2" Shiner Pattern)

http://www.imaginationbassin.com/

8-)

[Glenn]

Well look what the cat drug in! Welcome back!!  Haven't heard from you in a long time.

The rest of the country in spawn?  Not in my neck of the woods.  Been snowing for 4 days straight now.  Water temps are in the low to mid 40's.  The bass are still in their winter patterns right now (I know - in March!).

But if I were you, I'd break out the floating worms right now, and fish them over the weeds near deeper water (remember "deep" is relative).  The outside edges of those lily pads would be a good start.  Hit those docks too.  Tubes have been especially productive for me during the post-spawn.

[stratoscaster]

Well look what the cat drug in! Welcome back!! Haven't heard from you in a long time.

The rest of the country in spawn? Not in my neck of the woods. Been snowing for 4 days straight now. Water temps are in the low to mid 40's. The bass are still in their winter patterns right now (I know - in March!).

But if I were you, I'd break out the floating worms right now, and fish them over the weeds near deeper water (remember "deep" is relative). The outside edges of those lily pads would be a good start. Hit those docks too. Tubes have been especially productive for me during the post-spawn.

Thanks for the welcome back and the replies, it's good to be back.  I wish there were some weeds in this lake but the carp keep that from happening.  As far as the lily pads go I've had some luck with them, it's mostly the isolated patches where I've found the fish.  And as for  the docks, that's where at least 50% of the fish are coming from.  I got a 5# plus buried under a dock that's about four inches above the water Saturday, so the docks have been good to me.

 I'm going out in a few minutes to give it a try.  It's 75*, bright and sunny which may make it a little tougher.  The barametric pressure seems to be dropping so we'll see.  Did someone mention snow? 8-)  I will most defenitly try a tube today. I will also try the floating worm.  Thanks again and I look forward to hearing more post spawn thoughts.

 BTW, I did check out GW site.  Thanks RW.

[IdahoLunkerHunter]

Welcome back! It is kind of weird seeing post-spawn reports coming in, especially when my water is still 38 degrees and ice on most of the bays.

[WRB]

You fish low land reservoirs or natural lakes that don't have the typical highland or hillland features most bass fishermen have experience with.

Pre spawn is the transition period between spawning and early summer. Think of recovery period; pre spawn bass are not happy campers for a about 2 weeks after spawning. Unlike the deeper reservoirs, your spawn period doesn't last for months, it's over quickly for the majority of the bass.

By now the bass may be early summer period, focus on those presentations. Early/late low light periods with a few mid day feeding times. During active times, use reaction lures; spinnerbaits, lipless crankbaits, buzzers, jerkbaits, frogs. Inactive periods go the the slower saturation type lures; senko's, soft slow jerkbaits, swimbaits ( slow sinking blurgill or golden shiner), jgs, T or C-rigged or slipshoot worms. Work those channel breaks throughly and learn everything you can about what structure there maybe and target cover near the structure breaks. Structure in your case could be soil changes; sand to clay areas for example.

Night fishing; if the critters allow you to be out at night.

WRB

[Catt]

I don't care what the water temperatures are the bass may not have spawned yet; on Toledo Bend I found temperatures in the upper 60s to lower 70s and the vast majority of the bass aint even on nets yet.

So don't assume the bass have spawned

[stratoscaster]

I don't care what the water temperatures are the bass may not have spawned yet; on Toledo Bend I found temperatures in the upper 60s to lower 70s and the vast majority of the bass aint even on nets yet.

So don't assume the bass have spawned

 Catt, I'm not assuming.  There are empty beds all over the place, where as a couple of weeks ago these same beds had bass on them.  I've been wrong before and I'll be wrong again but in this case I'm pretty sure.  The water temp was almost 74* this afternoon.  The good news is the bass are still biting.  Not like they were though.

 I'll keep my eyes open for any late spawners and let you know if I see any.  I can't imagine all of the lakes in the Panhandle are on the same schedule so with any luck I'll get to fish another lake and if so I'll report on that as well.

 WRB, you bring up some good points.I never really thought about it that way.  This little lake is right on the beach so things may be even more different than we think.  I tried a frog today with no takers but the summer bite is right around the corner.  If the weather doesn't do anything crazy in the next week or two I believe we will be into the summer bite.  As for the night fishing, very soon. ;D

 ILH, thanks and hang in there the ice can't last forever.  Down here we a month and half of spring, seven months of summer, a month and half of fall and two months of winter.

[Tin]

Any form of cover (like those few docks or lilly pads) or structure (those ditches) that are near areas where you see a large concentration of beds will hold fish. I would focus on the pads by either swimming a jig over them or pitching plastic/jigs into them. Letting them drop, dead-sticking, shaking, then repeat. If the pads do not produce then I would throw lipless cranks parallel to the ditch edges and find where they intersect. Where they meet could be a sweet spot. You can also cover water quick with a drop-shot or Carolina-rig.

If all else fails, it is only 30 acres... Go out on a windy or cloudy day and throw a lipless crank or spinnerbait until your arms fall off to find those fish. If you find a concentration, slow down, figure out why they are there.

[Catt]

Dude I aint saying you're wrong it's just food for thought

[stratoscaster]

Dude I aint saying you're wrong it's just food for thought

 Didn't take it that way.  Actually the water was a little clearer yesterday than it has been and you could see empty empty beds in 5' or 6' of water as well as in the shallows.  Like I said I'll keep watching for any more bass on the beds.

 Tin, the problem I have with going out throwing blades and cranks around is I always end up throwing a worm at the bank.  It's not like I don't catch fish, which is sort of the problem.  Since I know I can catch fish wacky rigging shallow that's where I end up probably 50% of the time I'm on the water.  I pitch at the pads a lot but I would like to become a more versatile fisherman.  I've hardly ever thrown a Carolina rig and never did the drop shot thing.  These are the things I intend to work on this year.

[Tin]

Dude I aint saying you're wrong it's just food for thought

Didn't take it that way. Actually the water was a little clearer yesterday than it has been and you could see empty empty beds in 5' or 6' of water as well as in the shallows. Like I said I'll keep watching for any more bass on the beds.

Tin, the problem I have with going out throwing blades and cranks around is I always end up throwing a worm at the bank. It's not like I don't catch fish, which is sort of the problem. Since I know I can catch fish wacky rigging shallow that's where I end up probably 50% of the time I'm on the water. I pitch at the pads a lot but I would like to become a more versatile fisherman. I've hardly ever thrown a Carolina rig and never did the drop shot thing. These are the things I intend to work on this year.

That is 90% of peoples' problems imo. Get off the bank, force yourself to fish offshore stuff. The fish are less pressured and you will probably see an increase in your average size. It's not all about catching fish in my book, it's learning. And by getting off the bank you will learn to fish off-shore stuff and catching fish while doing it, you will increase your abilities. You will also be able to use what you learn on this lake and apply it to others.

[roadwarrior]

That is 90% of peoples' problems imo. Get off the bank, force yourself to fish offshore stuff.

I'm in 100% agreement with Tin.

8-)

[Tin]

That is 90% of peoples' problems imo. Get off the bank, force yourself to fish offshore stuff.

I'm in 100% agreement with Tin.

8-)

Get the f out of here!!!!   ;D

[huntnful1]

here is a pretty good example of why getting off the bank is a good thing. Although this was on a pond it is still the same concept of trying something new. Me and my buddy were fishing out of a bot on one of my ponds and catching fish off of the bank on chatterbaits and senkos. At about 2 hours of fishing we had about 10-15 fish. I was throwing a chatter bait and then I decided to just turn around in my chair cast at the dead middle of the pond. I hooked up right away. Two more hours later me and my buddy were up over 100 bass with back to back to back fish and what not. It was definently the best bass day of my life and all thanks to a little change up. So just try it for one whole day and stay strong.

[stratoscaster]

That is 90% of peoples' problems imo. Get off the bank, force yourself to fish offshore stuff.

I'm in 100% agreement with Tin.

8-)

Yea, me too. That's what I'm talking about. It's like an addiction. I know I'm going to catch fish on the bank. I'll just have to force myself to fish deeper. Maybe we should form a support group, BBA, Bank Beaters Annomyus (sp?).

[Fish Chris]

Around these parts, by the time the post spawn is here, these fish are totally shell shocked ! They have seen pretty much every lure on the shelf, and the ones that were going to be caught, pretty much already have been.

So, I'm not sure how well this would work in Florida.... Or, how open minded you are about trying "anything" legal.... But if I find big fish that won't even look at a swimbait, I'll fly-line a live crawler (or even a wad of them) at it. I have found fish in the post spawn that would not even look at an artificial, but have caught a good number of those (up to 14.1 lbs) on crawlers.

Still not the giveaway that live bait bashers might have you believe, but at the right time and place, this can work.

Peace,

Fish

[JeremyM]

strato....what lakes are you fishing in the panhandle? I'll be down there on the 28th for a week, plan on fishing Juniper and Hurricane Lakes. Are those in your area? And if so, any recent reports?

[stratoscaster]

Around these parts, by the time the post spawn is here, these fish are totally shell shocked ! They have seen pretty much every lure on the shelf, and the ones that were going to be caught, pretty much already have been.

So, I'm not sure how well this would work in Florida.... Or, how open minded you are about trying "anything" legal.... But if I find big fish that won't even look at a swimbait, I'll fly-line a live crawler (or even a wad of them) at it. I have found fish in the post spawn that would not even look at an artificial, but have caught a good number of those (up to 14.1 lbs) on crawlers.

Still not the giveaway that live bait bashers might have you believe, but at the right time and place, this can work.

Peace,

Fish

Chris, if I thought it would help me catch a 14# bass I would eat a wad of live crawlers myself.  Seriuosly, this lake doesn't recieve that kind of pressure.  It's more about me getting away from my comfort zone which in turn will make me a better fisherman in the long run.

Jeremey, I'm not familiar with those lakes.  I've heard of them and believe thery're NW of Panama City Bch.  There not really the kind lakes (sort of small I believe) that you get reports on.  We'll be heading to Lake Seminole on the 26th and returning around the 1st of April.

Everyone will be happy to know, or maybe not, but any way I fished my little lake this evening and forced myself to stay away from the bank.  I fished some lily pads in the middle of the main lake (I use that term loosly).  It was still only 3 or 4 ft deep but hey it's a start.  Caught a dozen or more in a couple of hours.  Nothing more than a coupl pounds.  I'll continue to work on it.