When do louisiana bass spawn

Many of these stumps aren't visible, and anglers typically blind-cast with spinnerbaits to the bank so they can pull them to the shallow side of the stumps. This presentation puts the spinnerbait right in the strike zone without disturbing the bass too much. These lures work equally well on the Mermentau and Calcasieu with the main difference being that the shallow water is closer to the bank at the Calcasieu River because the canals over there are deeper right off the bank.

Moving farther north, bass in the eclectic waters of central Louisiana aren't that much different, in that they can sometimes be found spawning as early as February, just like the fish below them. However, conditions would have to be nearly perfect for them to move on this early. It's more likely that they won't spawn until March. Though most central-Louisiana bass are waiting until March, Trimble said, the fish at one lake will be spawning as early as January, because a hot-water discharge keeps this venue relatively warm through the winter.

The biggest challenge for central Louisiana anglers lies in adjusting to periods of high water. Bass will do one of two things depending on the speed at which water rises: If quickly, they'll stay on their beds, which, being in deeper water, become harder to find; if slowly, they'll push as far back into the newly flooded cover as they can get, thus making locating and catching them a difficult proposition.

The second reaction will also be seen if the water comes up quickly and stays high for a while. While the spawn might start a few days earlier in south and central Louisiana than in north Louisiana, region's bass also typically wrap up their business in just a couple of weeks; compare that to the north Louisiana fish, which -- according to West Monroe angler Kenny Covington, winner of multiple regional tournaments in northeast Louisiana -- can spawn in their corner of the state for six weeks. Up here, I think the spawn is more a product of the photoperiod and lunar phase than water temperature, because I've caught spawning bass in water as cold as 53 degrees.

Caney Lake and Bartholomew Bayou are the best lakes in the region for actually being able to sight-fish for bedding bass, but Covington pointed out that he doesn't equate fishing for spawning bass with sight-fishing, even though bass on the beds are spawning bass. The lakes in northeast Louisiana are generally large enough for anglers to find bass in different parts of the lake in different stages of the spawn.

Take Lake D'Arbonne, for example: Bass are usually found spawning first up the Corney Creek and Little D'Arbonne arms while bass in the main lake are still in a pre-spawn pattern.

Once bass in the main lake start their spawn, bass up the arms are in a post-spawn pattern. Once you get a fish to show itself, you can then target that same fish with a Senko or a Texas-rigged lizard. In Covington's view, the main source of any delay in northeast Louisiana's spawn will be extended periods of cloud cover. Without the sun, bass will delay laying their eggs, as they wouldn't get the required amount of sun for incubation.

Bass around Shreveport are notorious for deciding to move into shallow water all at once to spawn. As Local Lake Guide Service owner Sid Havard from Simsboro put it, "You'll be catching bass on a jig in 5 feet of water one day, and the next day you will hardly get a bite. Then you look up there in the shallow water and your guess that they moved on you is confirmed.

Every day I fish during February and March, I'll zigzag from the deeper water to the shallow water until I get a bite; then I'll stay in that same depth the rest of the day.

After reviewing his fishing log, Havard can pinpoint March 10 as the date by which most bass in northwest Louisiana waters will have moved into the shallows to spawn.

Although bass are generally thought of as pretty easy to catch during the spawn, Havard said, this wouldn't be the case at least for the first couple of days. Bass at Bistineau especially are prone to cruise a lot more often than not, and, Havard offered, a well-timed cast with a sinking soft-plastic bait like a Senko can quickly turn what many perceive to be a tough bite into almost a sure thing. While many northwest Louisiana waters will have spawning bass by March, Havard explained, the lakes that don't have acres of cypress cover overhead will generally be the first lakes to turn on; the cypress-studded lakes take a little while longer to warm up, as they stay in the shade for most of the day.

As we learned at the top of this story, spawning fish aren't necessarily caught fish -- but if the insights shared by these expert anglers are put to use, they can put us all just a little bit ahead of the learning curve.

Give a Gift Subscriber Services. See All Other Magazines. After a cold front moves through, bass will not seek deeper water, they move into heavy cover. Therefore flip the cover with jigs and worms. If you're getting bit but not hooking up, you're probably attracting bedding bass that are just moving the bait, but not taking it.

Use gitzits to catch bass off beds. When a bass angles down to your bait on a bed, watch his pectoral fins. Use bright baits on beds because bass don't care about the color. You need to see the bait and the strike so use a bright color. Use a 5 inch reaper when bluegill are spawning usually during and just after bass spawn. If the beds are empty, fish points and drop-offs near flats and search for suspended bass. Post spawn bass typically are tough to catch.

They spend the first two weeks after the spawn recooperating. After that, they start feeding again. Post spawn generally doesn't happen to an entire lake or at the same time due to differences in water temperature. Use a topwater bait such as a Zara Spook, even if they're 20 feet deep.

Bass will also suspend under floating docks and log booms just after the spawn. Use a jerkbait, then use a jig on the second pass. As the water temperature climbs into the 80s or 90s, largemouths must conserve their metabolic energy, and will move around less. Look for them to associate strongly with cover in feet of water, where they can hold and ambush prey. Reservoir and lake bass move off-shore to deeper channel ledges, points, open water rockpiles and drop-offs, where they await schools of baitfish and intercept them as they pass.

Just how deep they go depends on particular factors of each lake or reservoir - current, structure, temperature, oxygen, and availability of food. The larger fish tend to go into deeper waters, while the smaller fish may stay in relatively shallow areas.

Even in the heat of midsummer, however, bass often return to shallow waters to feed in the early morning, evening, and late hours. Even so, they are rarely found in shallow waters in the middle of the day, especially when the sun is bright and the wind is calm. Schooling behavior begins to occur as bass feed heavily in short bursts, then move back to their holding stations to conserve energy.

This is the time of year when a bass' attention is focused on feeding. Therefore stock your tacklebox with crankbaits, jigs, spinnerbaits, worms, spoons, topwaters and finesse lures.

Search for submerged weedlines with your depthfinder and concentrate on the inside edges in the morning and outside edges in the afternoon - the more erratic the edge the better. Look for isolated patches of weeds and fish those first.

Fish all types of weeds until a pattern is developed. Bass will be in an ambush mode, and won't chase your lures. Floating worms, senkos, shaky heads, tubes, and light weighted Texas rigged soft plastics are a couple of examples of what one would use to interest bedding bass. Fishing for bedding bass in clear water can get tricky, but observing a big girl inhale ones lure and hanging on for the much-anticipated battle is well worth the effort.

Utilizing different techniques and lures for the different water conditions is a must to maximize productivity. Although the different temperaments of bedding bass can make for some challenging times, the pay off can be a trip one will never forget. About the Author: Trey Blocker is a pro angler and freelance outdoor writer in southern Louisiana. He competes in the Bass Master Weekend Series, other local circuits and charity tournaments. Trey owns his own lawn and landscaping business named Blocker Landscaping and loves to cut grass and catch bass.

Pro Angler Chris Seals securing a nice female.