OmegaDPW Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 I've normally fished for crappie in the colder months but this year the ponds I fish are pretty sparse with crappie and I've just targeted bass or bluegill. The weather for GA has been very cold this winter with numerous days in a row under freezing and recently the temps have fluctuated from 30's in the morning to 76 being the high one day this week. Outside of the freezing temp days with no luck, I've caught pretty nice bass. I went fishing yesterday morning and the temps were 42 degrees with a slight wind. I caught three bass and every one of them fought harder than ever before- jumping out of the water trying to shake the hook and pulling drag out of the reel. It made you think they were monsters but each were 2.5-3 lbs. Is this typical pre spawn? Do the temperatures fluctuating so wildly have anything to do with it? Or is just coincidence that all three fought harder than any other fish I've caught out of this pond before (started fishing it in October of last year)? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king fisher Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 Sometimes it's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulVE64 Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 They kinda do go crazy in the spring 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Team9nine Posted February 4 Super User Share Posted February 4 Coincidence... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User WRB Posted February 4 Super User Share Posted February 4 Pre Spawn is water temperate dependent not air temps but both are related. Pre Spawn is generally for LMB water temps between 50-58 digress at the depth the bass are located. Fight is also dependent on how big the lure is and where the bass was hooked. Pre Spawn bass are in their top physical condition vs Post Spawn when the bass are weakened from Spawning. Tom 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OmegaDPW Posted February 4 Author Share Posted February 4 2 minutes ago, WRB said: Recspawn is water temperate dependent not=air temps but both are related. Pre Spawn is generally water temps between 50-58 digress at the death the are located. Fight is also dependent on how big the lure is and where the bass was hooked. Pre Spawn bass are in their top physical condition vs Post Spawn when the bass are weakened fro Spawning. Tom Thanks for the detailed answer. Just for some more info, all three were caught perfectly in the jaw and I was using a 6.6 M rod with 6lb test. Two were with weightless stickbaits and a 4/0 EWG hook and the other was caught on a split shot lizard with a #2 EWG. With the temperatures being in the high 70's last week, the water would have been definitely warmer than what the winter fish were in. All were caught fishing from the bank and the deepest part of the pond is approximately 8 feet or so. These were all caught in maybe 5 foot of water and parallel to the bank. I'm also located about an hour over the Florida line, so pretty far south. Could any of this mean spawning season is close? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User WRB Posted February 4 Super User Share Posted February 4 Signs the Spawn is about to start or has started is larger female bass cruising along the bank looking for bed sites and bed site the male bass have made. A bed site is usually a clean circular bottom spot in wind protected area with usually something nearby like a bush, log, dock post etc., in about 1’ to 5’ deep or deeper if the water clarity is good. The male bass will on or very near the bed protecting it. Tom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Catt Posted February 4 Super User Share Posted February 4 My opinion you're dealing with pre-spawn. You need to know the water temperatures to determine pre-spawn & spawn. Like @WRB mentioned pre-spawn is somewhere in the in the low to mid 50s. Once you have water temperatures watch your night time temperatures. When the night time temperatures exceed the water's temperatures you will really see temperatures rise. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OmegaDPW Posted February 4 Author Share Posted February 4 @WRB and @Catt Thank you both. The water clarity is terrible in this pond. You can't see anything 5 inches from the bank. It won't be very accurate, since I can only take a temp from the bank, but it'll give me an idea. I'll head out there again next weekend. 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazoo Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 Lots of good information being shared here. Thanks for starting this discussion @OmegaDPW. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User PhishLI Posted February 5 Super User Share Posted February 5 3 hours ago, OmegaDPW said: I can only take a temp from the bank, Cast one of these out and you'll know your water temps. Stream Thermometer - Green - Ramsey Outdoor 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User WRB Posted February 5 Super User Share Posted February 5 Depth of light is needed to warm and hatch eggs/ bass fry. If water clarity is poor means the bass spawn shallower. Tom 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RipzLipz Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 @PhishLI If you use those, do you have an estimated length of time for it to give an accurate temp reading? Would be perfect for my 2 man boat, just hanging over the side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User PhishLI Posted February 5 Super User Share Posted February 5 4 minutes ago, RipzLipz said: do you have an estimated length of time for it to give an accurate temp reading? All it takes is a minute or so to soak. Cast it out or drop it down to depth then reel it up and read it quickly, 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User WRB Posted February 5 Super User Share Posted February 5 digital thermometers are close to instant reading, mercury thermometers require time in minutes to adjust to the surrounding water temps, ie a pool thermometer. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Catt Posted February 5 Super User Share Posted February 5 8 hours ago, WRB said: If water clarity is poor means the bass spawn shallower. Tom Yes sir 😉 Off colored water warms faster, which means the pre-spawn/spawn happens sooner. We're talking ponds so you don't need temperatures that far off the bank to be fairly accurate. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Sam Posted February 5 Super User Share Posted February 5 13 hours ago, WRB said: Pre Spawn is water temperate dependent not air temps but both are related. Pre Spawn is generally for LMB water temps between 50-58 digress at the depth the bass are located. Fight is also dependent on how big the lure is and where the bass was hooked. Pre Spawn bass are in their top physical condition vs Post Spawn when the bass are weakened from Spawning. Tom X2. And remember, as you approach the 62* spawning WATER temperature, the smaller male bass become more active, preparing the nest for the females so the "dinks" will fight like crazy when hooked to fight off the bait to return to their spawning duties. Also, the bass will start to look for warmer water to make their nests. Just go out and have some fun while the rest of us suffer through low water temperatures. Post some pics of your catches. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyclops2 Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 Most MALE fish are always a faster fighting fish. Opening day of stocked trout in N J. A stocked area trout takes the 3 corn nibblets on a full speed run goes 150 feet in a couple of seconds. See the flash of silver. WAHHHOO It was a male carp. Fantastic speed runs. Let him go. 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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