"Cast past small open areas and bounce the worm through." - Got it. All open areas or is it better to concentrate near banks, under trees, center of the lake??
"Once the weeds grow tall enough to form a mat on the surface, it's a blast to bounce Senkos across the top and watch 'em come up through the weeds." - Anything to aim for, or just blast everything?
Is there any rhyme or reason to choosing a bait? Worm, lizard, crawfish, other plastic? Buzz, popper, crank, etc.? So far in the places I've fished, weedless plastics are pretty much the only option.
I have heard that lizards eat bass eggs and that bass can be very aggressive during the spawn to lizards...is that true?
Is it important to use a hefty line while fishing in thick weeds? It seems getting broken off could be very easy.
I don't know if I'll need to worry about this, but is there any way to predict what depth to fish at, other than trial and error?
That's enough for now.
Mostly you have to start fishing and learn these sorts of things through trial and error, but I'll try to answer your questions...
ReplyDelete"All open areas or is it better to concentrate near banks, under trees, center of the lake?" - fishing from shore you'll be working close to shore. The open areas I describe could be as small as a salad plate. Trees and submerged structure add to the appeal. Bass lie in areas where they can hide in ambush so you'll find them around "stuff" and not out in the open water. My rule is "if you're not getting hung up you're not fishing where the fish are." If it's sunny, the shade under trees can be good.
"Anything to aim for, or just blast everything?" - Everything, again focusing on the open areas and other transitions or structure.
"Is there any rhyme or reason to choosing a bait?" - Fishing from shore you'll be fishing over the weeds, so weedless plastics and scum frogs are the only option. If you find yourself on weedless lake or a boat then the answer is "it depends."
"I have heard that lizards eat bass eggs and that bass can be very aggressive during the spawn to lizards...is that true?" - People often use lizards during the spawn but just about any bait will work. If anything gets into the nest the bass will pick it up to move it away, not necessarily because it's going to eat it. If you don't set the hook, they'll relocate the bait and get back on the nest.
"Is it important to use a hefty line while fishing in thick weeds?" - not in my opinion, I use exclusively 8-10lb. If I was a tourney guy and had money on the line my answer would be different. 8lb is enough to pull bass through cabbage plus it's not too hard to break when you snag logs...you should be snagging logs from time to time. Otherwise "you're not fishing where fish are."
"is there any way to predict what depth to fish at, other than trial and error?" - Once they start spawning you should focus on areas near shore. Big bass can be found in VERY shallow (less than a foot) water. If you know of submerged transitions (such as a drop off, rock pile or weed line) those can be good places regardless of depth. Bass winter at greater depths, so prespawn fishing is tough without a boat.
Your fish came shallow and was female, so I'm confident the spawn is taking place right now in your area. It will be done within two weeks. Ours hasn't quite started yet, but they should getting busy any day now...
It's easy for me to say those things. It's another for it to make sense to you...so go out and practice.
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