I’m curious how many of the anglers here at BR caught their personal best during the prespawn? 
If you didn’t catch during that time of year how much do you think she would have weighed full of eggs? 

Yes for both small jaws & largies.

No, I caught my NY PB in September. She was over 23” long and only weight 6-3. Full of eggs could put her easily at 8lb+ in my estimation. 

I think of my 5 biggest bass, two were in the summer, two were in the fall, and only one was during the pre-spawn. 

 

Maybe I just suck at pre-spawn fishing 🤣

I'm working 14 hour days, sometimes more during the prespawn.     

 

Gosh I can't wait to retire.

No. Caught my PB last June. It was super skinny for how long it was (4.2 lbs and ~22 inches long.) Definitely not a pre spawn bass. 

Yes for both;

 

Over 6lb smallie in Lake Michigan, IN in the last week of March 2025

Over 9lb LM in Lake Murval, TX in the first week of February 2022

** 6lb+ NLMB in SW MI has been March, April, June, November**

 

scott

2 hours ago, 10,000 lakes Bassin said:

I’m curious how many of the anglers here at BR caught their personal best during the prespawn? 
If you didn’t catch during that time of year how much do you think she would have weighed full of eggs

NC, overall PB, 9lbs 9oz I caught in December. I don’t believe it was prespawn but not outside the realm of possibility.

 

NY, TX, MO PBs I all caught while they were prespawn. 

No.

 

Almost all of my giant bass are from summer patterns.  I catch some fat ones in the cold when the winter isn't frozen surfaces - but never the biggest fish and never my PB and bloated bellies? 

 

Heck around here, you catch them out of just thawed water in January here with bloody tails and empty bellies.

While I'd say 2/3's of my better fish locally are pre spawn chunks,

My PB Brown bass came on September 12th and the PB Green bass came on November 11th. Although not a local resident fish.

A-Jay

PB LM was pre-spawn. #2 LM was December, #3 LM was an August fish. PB SM was caught in Sept. #2 & #3 SM were late fall fish. The best time for catching big's for me has been when the water temp starts with a 4 or 5. The exception to that is night fishing.

My PB came in August and my other citation came in early April.

Most of my better fish each year come during the prespawn on jigs and spinnerbaits.

My last 5 PBs - two prespawn, two postspawn/summer, one fall:

5.97lb - 6/24 

5.73lb - 5/2 (Prespawn)

5.50lb - 8/10

5.50lb - 5/7 (Prespawn)

5.24lb - 9/17

 

And 6th place bass was an October fish. 

 

I fish many more postspawn/summer days (late May-Aug) than prespawn (Before mid-May) or fall (Sep and later), but summer accounts for only 2 of my top 6 fish.   

 

If I had a cooperating work/life schedule, I'd concentrate 2/3 or more of my fishing in March-May and Sept-Nov.

 

I think basically fish are pre spawn and spawning and post spawn when they want to be and not all at the same time and you catch 'pre spawn' fish during all 4 human seasons.

 

Pre spawn fish are fish that are full of eggs and food and preparing to lay - those fish are generally uncatchable without advanced electronics regardless of season because of how small our lakes are and how aggressively those fish are targeted.

 

You're generally more likely to catch fish when they're post spawn or on their beds because believe it or not - those fish are generally less pressured AND they tend to hit lures even when they know better which those prespawn fish do NOT have to do.

 

But I think I have caught fish that are prespawn in July and fish that are Post Spawn in January.

 

The point I'm trying to make is THE LARGEST Florida LMB bite the easiest NOT in cold water.  Regardless of which part of the spawn she happens to be in during those months!

I went to look it up to be sure. It was September. I have another fish that's so close they're sort of co-PBs. That one was caught in July. 

Yes, the last two PB’s for sure. I would think gives them and extra half to full pound? 

Yep all 5 PB LMB caught in pre spawn using hair jigs w/ pork trailer.

19.3 lb lake Castaic, March 1993

18.6 lb lake Casitas, February 1981

17.6 & 17.4 lb lake Castiac February 1991 

17.4 lb lake Casitas, March 1992

Tom

Nope. 

 

Caught my PB in the middle of summer, small pond in NE Missouri...on a weightless Rainbow trout colored Slug-Go. Three pounds larger than any LMB have landed to date.

 

Cannot imagine what that fish would have weighed in pre-spawn.

45 minutes ago, WRB-2.0 said:

Yep all 5 PB LMB caught in pre spawn using hair jigs w/ pork trailer.

19.3 lb lake Castaic, March 1993

18.6 lb lake Casitas, February 1981

17.6 & 17.4 lb lake Castiac February 1991 

17.4 lb lake Casitas, March 1992

Tom

Did you catch any close to that size other times of the year? 

Caught a lot of DD size bass over the decades using swim baits in November through January, a few in May night tournaments but nothing over 16 lbs, mostly 10 lb to 12 lbs., 15.2 lbs was my last big swim bait bass in 2012 at lake Casitas.

Tom 

PS, biggest bass I ever hooked was in May 1993 but broke it off on a rocky ridge.

Nope, mine was caught in mid-July on a Spinnerbait.  As for your second question I really don’t know.  I’m not sure how to estimate how much she would have weighted in the prespawn.  

September.. 

 

I will say almost all of my really big fish have come before 7am. 

BTW, the fish in my profile pic was not caught prespawn. It was in October. It looked like it swallowed a softball and I believe I caught it twice about 40 yards apart.

No, where I live, bass season is closed during pre-spawn

Yes more or less. It was early prespawn.