Photo Credit: Randy on topix.com

by WNJ Correspondent Matt McCann

Spring is the most active season for bass, and it’s probably the most active season for bass fishermen as well. The weather is not too hot or too cold and it’s nice to get out after a long, cold winter. This is a great time of year, and probably the easiest time of year to catch bass.

What the bass are doing:

As the winter ice melts and early spring arrives, bass start to move around and eat more frequently. The more the water temperature increases, the more active the bass become. They feed a lot during this time to prepare for the upcoming spawn. Eventually the bass move into the shallows to build nests and begin to spawn.
 
The males will stay by the nest and defend the eggs from sunfish and other small creatures that love to eat bass eggs. The females retreat to slightly deeper water to recover from the spawn. They are less visible and slightly more difficult to catch than the males, but are usually significantly bigger than the males.
 
Typically, bass spawn in New Jersey anywhere from April until June. Bass will spawn in smaller lakes first because they warm up faster. Larger lakes take longer to warm up and so bass may spawn later. Also keep in mind that not all bass in a lake spawn at the same time. In a single lake, some groups of bass may be in pre-spawn mode while others may be spawning or already finished. After the eggs hatch and the hatchlings are on their own, the male bass retreat to deeper waters with the females.

Spinnerbaits work well during the pre-spawn.
Photo Credit: bassdozer.com

Lures and techniques:

Crankbaits, jerkbaits, and jigs are great early spring lures. Spinnerbaits also work well when the water temperature increases a little more as the bass are in pre-spawn mode. Right after the bass spawn, you can often see the males guarding the nests in the shallows and chasing away bluegills. During this time, soft plastic tubes and lizards are very effective.

These lures stay in the strike zone and can be dropped right near the nest to entice the bass to bite. You can also fish them a little deeper to catch the bigger female bass. Another great lure during the spawn is a topwater popper in colors that mimic a bluegill. You can float this lure over the nest and the bass will chase it. Bluegills are always trying to eat bass eggs and the male bass will go after your lure since it imitates a bluegill.

When bass are spawning, it’s very important to practice catch and release in order to sustain future populations of bass in a lake. Treat your catch gently and release it back into the water as quickly as possible at this time of year, especially females full of eggs and nest guarding males. The longer you take a nest guarding male out of the water, the more likely that bluegills and other creatures are having a feast on the un-guarded bass eggs. The less bass eggs, the less future bass in the lake.

June brings in the post-spawn period, and it commences a slight lull in the spring fishing frenzy. The bass are tired from all the energy spent spawning and defending the nest. They won’t bite as easily as they did before, but you can still catch them by altering your techniques a little. This is a great time to use soft plastic jerkbaits and topwater lures. Shad spawn at this time of year and bass love to eat the small hatchlings. These lures can imitate shad and will trigger reaction strikes from the bass in the slightly deeper water.

Soft plastic lizards are very effective when bass are on their nests.
Photo Credit: lurenert.com

Matt McCann is a New Jersey native and specializes in freshwater and saltwater fishing in the Garden State.

Previous Stories:

• Fishing the Garden State: Seasons of Bass Part 1 - Winter
• Fishing the Garden State: Battle of the Fishing Superstores
• Fishing the Garden State: The Wonderful Winter Warm Up
• Fishing the Garden State: No Respect Around Here 
• Fishing the Garden State: The Annual Run
• Fishing the Garden State: Don't Take any Lip!
• Fishing the Garden State: The End of a Jersey Legend?