Sight Fishing and the Spawn

[bsp]

Hello all! I decided to start this thread as a way to share your favorite lure(s) for sight fishing and the spawn. I will share the two lures I have found most prductive for this and then say why. My hope is that everybody can learn from each other about this difficult time to catch fish. So here I go.
#1 Best Lure: This would have to go to the 1/2oz white jig with matching trailer. The one I use is made locally in California, and I am not aware of any big chain store that carries it. There are three things that make it excel at sightfishing. First of all, it is a bright color. This means that I can see it and I can tell when a bass strikes. When sight fishing you see the strike most of the time and actually never feel it. Most of the time when I have been hit the line did not move at all and i never felt any tension. The only thing that happened was one second I saw the lure, and the next it was gone. If I had been using a natural color I would have never known I had gotten bit. The second most important thing is that it has NO weedgaurd. This is very important because when you are bed fishing the lure is on the bed in a weed free environment. You simply do not need it. If all your sightfishing jigs have weedguards just cut them off and you will notice an immediate increase in your hookups. The final thing that makes the white jig with trailer the best choice is the trailer. I use twin tail grub trailers because when I am just barely shaking the jig these trailers move in a manner that drives bass crazy! They wiggle ever so slightly and when a bass gets close to the jig the movement of the water caused by the bass causes these thin, supple trailers to move even more. This is often just what it takes to make a bass commit to the bait.
Sorry to be a bit long winded but I remember how hard it was to start bed fishing and I want others to have a better first time than I did. Feel free to post criticisms, compliments, or your own experiences. I will post my next bait later.

[FishinFrenzy]

BSP,

Well for pre-spawn I absolutely would have to go with jerkbaits; Rattin' Rouges to be exact. I like to concentrate on the deeper water off shore near the spawning beds where I usually find them staging awaiting the right conditions to move up in the shallows. Actually, Rattlin' Rouges are one of my favorite choices throughout the year too. For sight-fishing during the spawn I usually go with a 4" Powerbait Lizzard Texas rigged with the lightest bullet weight I can get away with. I've always heard a lizzard or a waterdog is a natural enemy as they like to eat the eggs off the bed. A lot of times the bass will just pick up the lizzard without inhaling it, move it off the bed a foot or two, and drop it. In that case I'll bite an inch or more off the head-end of the lizzard and try again until it is small enough so they have no choice BUT to inhale it. I'll twitch the bait up to and on the bed like it is foraging for the eggs. The bass normally can't stand it. For color it depends on the clarity. Like you, I'll sometimes use white if the water is stained but I prefer junebug, red shad, pumpkinseed/chartruese and watermelon/red flake. If I don't have luck on the lizzard I sometimes try a small (2-3") soft jerkbait minnow like the Slug-o, Bass Assassin, Power-Slug or Fin-S with a bit of weight inserted inside the body. If I don't have the segmented stick lead weight I'll use small nails cut to length. They work great but eventually start to rust but they are extremely cheap to replace. I cast the bait well beyond my target and very slowly work my way to the edge of the bed and then just barely inch it towards the center where I'll stop it and twitch it until the bass gets frustrated. I land the fish as quickly as possible to reduce the stress and release it at the exact location after a photo shoot. Sight-fishing...Good times!

[skunked]

Guys,
Thanks for the information. Unfortunately, I don't think it is of any use here in Hawaii. Largemouths are not very common, so I don't think you can go out specifically targeting spawners and catch many. You'd be very lucky just to see a single pair on a bed.
When I was at Lake Fork in Texas, we saw about 20-30 spawning pairs on beds. The tactics employed were very similar to what you described.

[Stan Wright]

I started using the big white plastic lizard after seeing the guys at Lake Fork using it. So easy to see white. My guess is the peacock bass and largemouth bass have a lot in common. I like something weedless for the peacock bass because they usually spawn way back under the brush and logs, or on the edge of the California grass. I hate geting all hung up every other cast. (very often that happens when fishing with less experienced anglers.... even with worms rigged Texas style weedless... oh, and those vicious "monkey fish" up in the trees too.... don't ask, you wouldn't believe it.)

If the nest is in a clear area, a sinking jerk bait is a sure thing.

I have the most fun with a weighted marabou streamer fly. I love to see a big fluffy white or yellow or pink bundle of feathers flutter down into a nest. Drives the fish and anglers crazy.

[FishinFrenzy]

I started using the big white plastic lizard after seeing the guys at Lake Fork using it. So easy to see white. My guess is the peacock bass and largemouth bass have a lot in common. I like something weedless for the peacock bass because they usually spawn way back under the brush and logs, or on the edge of the California grass. I hate geting all hung up every other cast. (very often that happens when fishing with less experienced anglers.... even with worms rigged Texas style weedless... oh, and those vicious "monkey fish" up in the trees too.... don't ask, you wouldn't believe it.)

If the nest is in a clear area, a sinking jerk bait is a sure thing.

I have the most fun with a weighted marabou streamer fly. I love to see a big fluffy white or yellow or pink bundle of feathers flutter down into a nest. Drives the fish and anglers crazy.

Stan I was thinking about the same thing ...My guess is the LM and tuc have a lot in common. If you don't mind, in your experiences, at what average depth have you found the tucs to bed at? Also what do you think the date range of the spawn is at Wilson?

[Stan Wright]

I'm sure they are a little deeper in some parts of the lake, depending on how steep the banks are, but the ones I see are usually in just a few inches of water. A foot deep or less. With water visibility at 3 or 4 feet, it is easy to find them.

Then this spring it rains from time to time and the water level rises 3 feet over night and water visibility drops to 6 inches.... you can see how it's been tough fishing lately. I'm wondering how much water temperature might have to do with spawning. In years past we've seen spawning peacock bass from late Feb all the way into July. This year they don't seem to be into full spawn yet. Only a few are holding tight and guarding the beds. Most are just hanging around and move off into deep water when you approach them.

[FishinFrenzy]

I'm sure they are a little deeper in some parts of the lake, depending on how steep the banks are, but the ones I see are usually in just a few inches of water. A foot deep or less. With water visibility at 3 or 4 feet, it is easy to find them.

Then this spring it rains from time to time and the water level rises 3 feet over night and water visibility drops to 6 inches.... you can see how it's been tough fishing lately. I'm wondering how much water temperature might have to do with spawning. In years past we've seen spawning peacock bass from late Feb all the way into July. This year they don't seem to be into full spawn yet. Only a few are holding tight and guarding the beds. Most are just hanging around and move off into deep water when you approach them.

I've had the same problem with the fish moving out of sight when I approach as well. The last time I was out (Wed) was the first positive sign of activity in 3 trips. I had a really nice tuc roll up and flash at my Senko twice but not take it or anything else. Visibility was about 12" I guess but I didn't take the water temp so I'm not sure what it's at. The water seems warm enough to me but then again I'm not a bass so I guess to them it is cold. Hopefully with a couple of nice sunny days without rain will get them active again.

[OO7:BASSINASSASSIN]

The tucs I have seen are active but they are not in schools, maybe one to three of them. I have seen them aggregated around cover also. They must be eating well because they have huge knots on their heads and fat bellies on them. I also notice this time of year there a lot of sickly ones swimming around. The real bad ones are black in color. The ones that are not to bad are kind of grayish on the dorsal side instead of green.

[FishinFrenzy]

The tucs I have seen are active but they are not in schools, maybe one to three of them. I have seen them aggregated around cover also. They must be eating well because they have huge knots on their heads and fat bellies on them. I also notice this time of year there a lot of sickly ones swimming around. The real bad ones are black in color. The ones that are not to bad are kind of grayish on the dorsal side instead of green.

007,
Does the size of their humps on the head depend on how much they eat or is it a seasonal thing, let's say during the spawn?? I was just wondering because in OK & TX the large bluegills get sort of a lump as well but I have only noticed it during the spawn.

[skunked]

Only the males develop the humps and only during spawning season.

[bsp]

Lots of species of fish develop unique color patterns and/or physical as well as attitude changes during the spawn. Largemouth females develop a unique color to them, a bit like a watermelon, when they are about to lay their eggs. This is when they are at their fattest. I do not know if this is the case for tucs but for largemouth you can determine if a bedfish is going to bite your lure or not. The rule is if the fish stays on the bed when you either drive/ walk by it or get really close to it then it will bite your lure. If not then your best bet is to go find another fish. This is my personal experience, but I hope it helps.

On another note I have to rethink my next favorite bait that may be useful for tukes because I cannot imagine a tuc attacking an accurate life-size bluegill imitation...

[OO7:BASSINASSASSIN]

I have seen some tucs nesting and a few guarding fry balls but I do not target them. Maybe their stomachs are big because they're gonads are getting big. According to the booklet on freshwater fishing written by the state, the male develops a large, fatty hump(the blue booklet not the yellow one).