How long does the pre spawn for bass last?

The spawn can last for months based on the water temperatures in the bodies of water where the bass live. In Florida, the first places where the bass will spawn is in the extreme shallows. The bass need 60 degree water to start to spawn and the sun will heat the shallows 18 inches deep or so first.

As more of the water column continues to heat up the spawn will occur deeper and deeper. The male bass will be up on the beds for or five days before the females arrive to spawn.

On large bodies of water the spawn in one big body of water can last for a few months. The length of the spawn really just depends upon the size of the water that you are fishing and where you are in the country.

Where do you find pre spawn bass?

You find pre spawn bass on ledges and in the transition areas between their deep water winter hang outs and the shallows where they will eventually be nesting. Your job is to survey your body of water and figure out where the bass will eventually lay their eggs.

They will be looking for protected areas that are relatively flat that are adjacent to deeper water. The bass will move up onto the shallows on those sunny and warm days to feed and then retreat to the deeper water. Dark bottoms absorb the sun’s energy better than light ones. This means that those areas will be warmer than areas with lighter bottoms.

Big rocks are another spot that pre spawn bass will be drawn to. Those big rocks will get heated by the sun and warm the surrounding waters near them. Just a couple of degrees makes a big difference between finding pre spawn bass and not finding pre spawn bass.

Dark, floating weed mats are another good place to find pre spawn bass. They sun will heat those weed mats and the bass will hug the underside of them to warm up. When you are fishing those weed mats your jig or whatever you are fishing with will often get hit right as it punches through the mat or right as you are about to pull it up through the mat, so be ready.

How do you catch pre spawn bass?

Pre spawn bass are super hungry. They have most likely spent the winter not eating very much in a lethargy to conserve energy. Now that the water is warming up they snap out of their lethargy and want to chow down to restore their energy reserves in preparation for the spawn.

The best way to target pre spawn bass is to target the warmest spots in your body of water first. This means that you should focus on those areas that are receiving the most energy of the sun. Stay away from shady areas and windswept areas of the water that you are fishing.

The 2 or 3 degree difference in water temperature might be the difference between catching a ton of pre spawn bass and catching no bass. If you start shallow and work your way deeper, then you can figure out the temperature range of the water that you are fishing in. Once you find that water temperature sweet spot, then try and find more areas within the sweet spot.

What do pre spawn bass eat?

The quick answer to what do pre spawn bass eat is; anything that they can fit in those bucket mouths of theirs. It’s the truth. Bass will eat snakes, ducks and other water fowl, baby alligators, rodents, crawdads, any fish that fits in their mouths, frogs, bugs and lots more creatures that I am forgetting.

After a long and cold winter, the bass are famished. They need to recoup their depleted energy reserves that they used to survive a winter with very little food. When the water starts to warm to above 50 degrees the bass move from deep water towards the shallows to spawn and they are hungry.

What are the best lures for pre spawn bass?

You can pitch anything in your tackle box during the pre spawn and the bass will most likely eat it. They are starving and need to feed constantly. The problem with pre spawn bass is figuring out where they are staging at.

They will be somewhere between the deeper parts of the lakes and ponds and the shallows. They are often in schools so if you find one then you can catch a few of them if you stay on the school.

Crankbaits and spinnerbaits are great search baits for pre spawn bass. You can cover a lot of water with those baits and you will probably need to cover a lot of water to find the fish.

Red crankbaits are great for pre spawn bass as they will often be relying upon crawdads for survival. The crawdads hibernate in the winter and come out of their burrows in the spring and bass just love them.

If the water in your area is clear, then a translucent crankbait will work the best. When the water is stained a more opaque crankbait is the better choice.

Spinnerbaits are even easier to choose. Get yourself a white one and you are all set for bass fishing for pre spawn bass. You can get a black one if you are fishing in very dirty water but a white one is all that you really need.

Does the male or the female bass make the nest?

The male bass get stuck with the nest building responsibilities in the bass world. They have to find a suitable spot and dig out the nest with their tails. The nests can be as big as 3 feet across and the male bass will diligently protect their nest.

The female bass will often spawn with multiple males and deposit eggs in multiple nests. This spreads out the risk of losing all of her eggs to predators. She will lay her eggs and then move to deeper water nearby to replenish her energy levels by feeding voraciously. Creating and carrying eggs is biologically taxing and the females must consume a lot of calories in order to survive the egg laying.

The males will guard their babies and kill anything that gets near the nest. Evolution has turned off the male bass’ feeding urges this time of year to protect the babies from being eaten by their fathers. Cannibalism is a big cause of baby bass mortality because once the bass get a couple of inches long the feeding urge is turned back on and the males begin feeding with abandon.

The baby bass are safe for a while from their fathers but after the feeding urges are activated again it is best for the small fry to stay away from all large bass. The males are starving and will eat just about anything after the spawn.

Do you like how to bass fishing articles like this one? If you answered yes, then sign up for our email list because you will receive a new how to fishing article every week. SIGN UP TODAY and you will also receive a FREE online bass fishing course too.