Photos by David Brown
They're just about ready
to go. Big female bass are waiting for the right combination of water
temperature, sunlight and moon phase to usher them shoreward for the spring
reproduction ritual. But first comes the staging period known as prespawn. This
can be a time of great opportunity or great frustration – all depending on your
game plan. We asked Delta pro Zack Thompson for some tips on prespawn success
and he offered these thoughts on locations and tactics:
In the prespawn,
Thompson mainly looks for areas off the main river channels. Dead end
sloughs and flooded
islands top his list of likely big-bass areas.
"I look for areas
that will still have decent depth, 2- to 4-feet even on the low tide. These
flats can be along the tule berm islands or along the levee walls. The key is
small flats with hard bottom and protection from the force of the main current.”
Once he locates areas of
likely spawning activity, Thompson will pull out and target the prespawn fish
just on the outside of these areas. The areas adjacent to the flats along the
grass lines or rock levee walls are optimal. Intrinsic to dialing in the
highest opportunity, he said, is looking for something that stands out from
surrounding habitat.
"The delta is a
fishery full of subtle changes," Thompson said. "I look for the areas
where contours
converge or vegetation
quickly changes. It can all look so similar until the subtleties can be
found."
BEST BAITS
Thompson typically employs
a trio of baits when targeting prespawners. First up is the ultra-limber
swimbait Little Creeper Trash Fish swimbait, which he said is highly effective
for staging females. Thompson rigs his Trash Fish on a 6/0, keel weighted
swimbait hook that slides smoothly through any grass or tules along the breaks
adjacent to the spawning flats. He throws the swimbait on
17- to 20-pound
fluorocarbon with a 7-foot-6 medium-heavy rod and slow rolls it anywhere there
is a
depth change and
vegetation edges.
"The bites can range
from a slow loading up of the rod to a bone-jarring take," Thompson said. "The
Delta is synonymous with
aquatic vegetation; so choosing a bait that will work for you in heavy grass is
a must and the Trash Fish is a proven producer."
Thompson will alternate
the swimbait with a lipless crankbait. He likes rattle baits in the open,
flooded islands where expansive open water and large grass beds attract lots of
fish. In these areas, he notes, covering lots of water is imperative.
"The fish will spawn
wherever there is a hard bottom and the water will not get any less than 2- to
4-feet on a low tide; so it is more cast and cast until you can get a bass to
commit," he said.
Thompson's third prespawn
bait – one he calls a real Delta killer – is a wacky-rigged Senko. He fishes the
6-inch bait on 40-pound braid and rigs it on a CHT tackle Double Wacky Hook,
which has an o-ring for holding the bait on and two points similar to a frog hook.
"I will fish the Senko
in the grass, along the levee walls and anywhere I have caught reaction fish
and want to saturate the area," he said. "The most important tactic with
the Senko is to let it fall on a slack line and watch the line to detect
strikes. You will get more bites when it falls freely."
WHEN IT'S RIGHT
Although Thompson said
that no tide stage is universally better than another; daily ebb and flow in
undeniably important during prespawn. "The thing anglers need to keep in
mind is that, as they prospect during prespawn, take note of what the tide is doing
when you find active fish and if you want to have similar success in that area
again the tidal period will be a factor. Always try to re-fish areas when the
tide is similar."
Of the various prespawn weather conditions,
Thompson said that a warming trend can't be beat, although that usually means
some wind. Cold fronts don't necessarily shut down the Delta bite; because here,
a good population of northern strain crosses with Florida bass, so the fish are
able to adjust to wind and dirtier water.
"The biggest tip I
can give when a spring cold front rolls through is to move out a bit and don't
be afraid to fish aggressively," Thompson said. "Too often I hear
guys slow down and miss out on big bags that come in on cold front days. Those
who are willing to fish aggressively with baits like the Trash Fish can find
big success. Just remember to pay attention to the tide cycle and when you got
bit where and plan
your days around those
same windows of opportunity. "
Read more from David Brown
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