Pre-Spawn Aggression

   With the coming of spring comes the bass spawn. As males prepare nests females fatten up. The warming trends that hit central Texas around mid-February can really motivate the black bass species to prepare to spawn and while the fish move from the relatively lethargic life of the depths during winter, to the shallower cover of spring we see some trends that can be easily highlighted.

    Being a river fisherman predominantly of the meandering streams of a drought-stricken Central Texas means I'm a creature of familiar habits that work consistently. If you're hitting the Comal or Guadalupe Rivers from a kayak take note of a few things:

• ensure the water has been warming for a few days. Don't expect a cold-blooded animal to be quickly reinvigorated by one day (or a few hours) of sunlight. It can take days for them to get the energy associated with warming themselves.
• just because it's cold in the air outside, doesn't mean the water is. If the last few days had a warming trend and the temperature suddenly drops one night. The fish might still be active in the cold air next morning. Water will take a few days to cool down to an air temperature.

   Take advantage of the trends in the weather- not the weather of the moment (if you have the luxury of a relaxed schedule- if not learn to force the fish to bite on your only day off).

Back to river...

   I had the chance to get my kayak wet a week after Valentine's Day. The weather had been warming for a few days, and while I hadn't noticed the pre-spawn aggression in Comal County yet, others were indicating that there rivers had "turned on." Water temp at Cypress Bend was in the high-60s. Air temp at 45 degreees and quickly rising. Direct sunlight early in the day on the southern bank meant I wanted that bank first.

    I focused on the shallow river's edge, casting from the center of the river to the edge. Anywhere an obstruction offered a slack pool area behind it along the south bank I casted. I chose a weightless Zoom Baby Brush Hog in watermelon/red flake on a 1/0 offset worm hook on 6# mono. You all will recall that this is one of my local go-tos. I'd cast and allow the plastic to fall to the bottom giving it about 10 seconds before a slight upward twitch and slow fall. On my fifth cast, without any warning my line began to run and my drag clicker ticked away. I took the advice of a saying I had recently heard- to hookset a running bass, just lean into the rod. I tightened my drag lust a little and leaned away from the fish. I could feel the hookset smoothly and she jerked her head. She leapt twice on her way in and when I landed her I made a few quick observations.

At 17" this was a respectable bass.

It was a female who was plumper than most fish of the running Guadalupe.

It was early in the morning, one of my first casts, the bite was on the fall and immediately began to run the bait.

All signs pointed to the pre-spawn aggression of female black bass. I hoped my day was going to be good... and it was.

   12 bass and 3 hours later I had a few more statistics to share. Out of 12 black bass, 11 Largemouth and 1 Guadalupe bass:

• 1 was male (LMB) and 11 were females. 
• All females took the bait on the fall of the cast or the first or second twitch up. The male took it on a run back to my boat.
• All the females were plumper than typical bass of the winter (indicating they had begun heavy feeding prior to that day)
• All the females were caught in shallow (< 5') recesses behind obstructions along the bank in slack water, especially if there was cover present like a matted grass/algae bed or a fallen tree or branch.

    

All in all I didn't have much time to fish but it was on fire. I didn't have much more to share than those notes and a few more pictures. Go catch some.

She was caught right behind that Cypress tree.

Check out this chunker. 

She was caught right under that algae mat behind the fallen branch and Cypress roots.