Recently I went fishing during the spawn and saw a BUNCH of big beat up females from the spawn but none wanted to bite. Does anyone know a good bait to use when times are tough? What’s your go to bait. And how do you fish it? Thanks! 

Neko rig and flick shake on spinning tackle. Keep the flipping sticks in the rod locker. About the only reaction baits I throw in the post spawn is a frog, and a soft jerkbait. Spinner/chatter baits, swim jigs, cranks, etc...will come back into play later, but this is mostly finesse time for me. 

Thanks guys! I will definitely try out those options 

Post spawn ,  those big females stop at  the first points of cover away from their spawning areas . Sometimes at the mouths of coves . I think its the easiest time of the year to catch a big bag . One of my favorite lures is the Bomber Long A minnow or the the discontinued Bomber Prop A . I have a lifetime supply of those Prop A's .Theres a lot of retrieves that work .  Let it set still, short twitches ,  straight retrieve or the one I caught my biggest 6 bass limit on twitching it as fast as I can and still having it at the surface .