Spawning Tips

The spawning season for bass fishing in Florida is from November through the end of April. Usually the heaviest spawning action is in late February through March.

To find the spawning fish, look for sandy type bottoms. A little silt which can be easily moved to expose the sand is OK as well. Reeds, lily pads, Kissimmee grass and hydrilla can all hold spawning beds. Look for small semi circular patches of sand in and around the cover. If you see very large crater type beds, these are tilapia and often the bass are not in that area due to the bedding competition with these non native fish.

If you spot a fish on a bed (or maybe 2 fish, the female and male), note the location and back away as far as possible but still maintaining site of the fish.

My favorite all time lure is the tube bait (Gitzit style) for sight fishing beds. Put one of these on in clear/smoke with silver glitter and rig it similar to a Texas rig (no weight). After your lure is rigged, put a small splitshot at the head of the bait. Cast or pitch the lure beyond the bed, then move it to the center of the bed with your rod. Once in the center, jiggle the rod tip i.e. don't jig the lure up and down but just make the lure wiggle. Watch the fish and if he approaches, watch your line! Many times you will not detect a strike, but will see the line twitch. When this happens, reel in the slack and set the hook as quickly as possible. If you are too slow, the fish will move it off the bed and spit it out before you even know what's happening.

For bigger fish (4 lbs +) I like to use a ribbon tailed worm in redshad, craw imitation, brush hog or a sweet beaver in your favorite color. Just Texas rig it and work it similar to the tube bait.

The Largemouth Herald with a Healthy Female from Bed 01/02/09 Caught on Sweet Beaver and Released

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