Bass Fishing Tip of the Week 02/24/08: Bass Fishing Patterns for Spring

Bass fishing spring patterns start as early as February. Water temperatures from 70F on up denotes that spring pattern fishing is here. So how do you catch bass in the spring in Florida? Let's look at the key patterns that exist this time of year.

Pattern #1- The obvious pattern is spawning or bedding fish. These fish will find cover near the shallows. The type of cover varies from lake to lake. Reeds, cattails, pads, timber, Kissimmee grass, eelgrass and peppergrass are the most likely spots for bedding cover. Look for sandy bottoms, or sandy patches near these types of cover in the 2 to 4 foot range. You'll often spot the "buck" male bass near the center of the bed. The female maybe near, often just beyond the bed. Sight fishing is the best method for catching these fish.

When approaching the bed, keep your shadow from covering the bed. A side approach maybe necessary if the sun is directly behind you as you face the bed. Also, keep your eye to the side of the bed looking for the larger female. Try to either flip or pitch a worm or tube bait beyond the bed, and work it toward the center of the bed. Sometimes the bucks are very aggressive and may take your lure before even getting it to the bed, so be well prepared for this and be quick to set the hook as they will let go as soon as they drop it off outside of the spawning area.

Tube Baits

Zoom Trickworm Junebug

If a female is present, try to coax it 1st. The reason for this is that if you catch the male, the female will often leave in search for another partner. I used to catch the buck 1st, but through years of fishing, this method seemed to create the situation that I spoke of where the female wonders off. It is very difficult to get the female 1st, as the male will often pick up your lure. If that happens, gently pull on the line or let the male drop it off the bed then go back after the female. If the male continues you may have to catch it, but release it as it will often go back to the bed, but will be more unwilling (but may still be aggressive) to take your bait. Another tactic is to present a larger lure that the buck won't hit, but is something the female can inhale.

If neither fish is interested, try moving the lure to the center of the bed and gently quiver the bait with a light jiggle of the rod tip. Try not to move the bait off the bed, but jiggle the tip so that the tubes appendages or the worms tail quivers. You can tell if this gets their attention when they start looking right at the bait with head forward and tail up.

If the lure is not readily visible, you will need to be a true line watcher. Any tick or motion of the lure means it's time to set the hook.

Pattern #2- Not all fish spawn and maybe in either a pre-spawn or post-spawn pattern. These patterns are similar in that the water depths the fish use are often in the 5-8 foot range near the spawning grounds. Diving crankbaits, rattling cranks, Texas rigged worms and hard jerkbaits are the key to catching these fish. Try to find submerged cover and fish it thoroughly. Tick the cover with the cranks and rip the hard jerkbait through the cover. Work Texas rigged worms into the cover and hop it once the cover is reached. Shadraps, rattletraps and Husky Jerks are my personal favorites for this type of fishing.

So if you want to do more catching with less fishing in the spring, try these techniques to be a successful bass angler.