Spawning bass are here!!!!

mannychee · #1 03-12-2012, 09:48 PM

Hey everyone, just a little update since I've been hitting the beds at saguaro as much as possible lately...Large largemouths are spawning in full force at saguaro. look for fish in the back of coves, they spawn in gravel substrates look for round shaped clearances with clam shells in the middle. you can find them spawning anywhere between inches of water and about 15 ft (as far as you can see) The deeper fish are messed with less by anglers and are usually more aggressive toward presentations. The big deal is to find fish that are actively protecting the nest. You will see cruisers that are looking for partners, you will also see fish that are not yet in protect mode, skip these. It will get to a point where I know right away if we have a good chance at hooking up or if the fish will just swim away. Obviously, for flies this is very tough but we have had them eat heavy weighted flies that can be dropped fast and stay in the same spot with little shakes of the rod tip. It is very tough because there will be a specific point in the bed where a fish will react by biting the fly, once the fly is out of this point, interest will fall.
Another technique that came into play today revolves around finding the tulle patches in the back of these coves. Inspect them well from far looking for beds at the base of the tulles. I had a 6lb female chase out a "swimbait Fly" 6"+ weightless streamer that mimics a small bass. She gave me some chances that I could not turn into hookups, but I landed her 4.5 lb male that was guarding the actual nest. These fish in the tulles are much better to target for fly anglers than the ones at 10+ feet. I imagine sunfish patterns might also get the same response. Things will also get easier for us as the season progresses, next is the time when the fry will hatch and the fish will strike big streamers that come into the area. Also don't be scared to grab a spinning rod and learn some valuable lessons on bed fishing behavior, these fish will teach us so much by observing their reactions. Cover water, present your flies to as many fish as possible and good luck. I can try to answer any specific questions and I learn more every day I go.
Hanging on this fish is a swimbait fly with a last minute trailer hook I made at the lake. I do have a good clean method for removable trailer hooks that must be tied into the fly