gah. I cant believe it is march already!!

I am loaded up and headed out tomorrow to my lake that I have affectionally nicknamed, "my kryptonite". the lake is full, and looking beautiful.

I am going to get there early and hammer the coves, and shallow waters looking for bass feeding to pre for a session of hot bass loving.

it is my most difficult lake. its deep and deep. I skunk there often. bums me out. but unfortunately, it is my closest big lake. it is a short drive.

Water getting into the upper 50's = Pre Spawn?

I think it was Catt that would say that once they spawn they are already into the next pre-spawn. They spend a year getting ready for the next spawn.

More timely to your question, if the water is in the 50’s the fish are somewhere between winter and beds. For me, when the water hits 50 the activity picks up steadily and probably more importantly the sun and days are getting steadily warmer. The progression accelerates most every day and it only takes a couple sun days to really push them shallow. Also remember that the surface water on your graph is warm but the lower levels are still cooler. That means shallow water might pull them up but also that if you find them deeper still then they might be a little slower than you think.

Either way, 50 degree water and I’m on the water as much as i can.

Great question! The answer is: It Depends. Let me explain:

Glenn's answer is right on. I live way north and we can't fish pre spawn because the season is closed. But I fish for crappie. One Spring day you're only catching crappies, then all of a sudden the next day the bass show up in the same spot. Most of the time these spots are deep water ( 20 feet) close to shallow water ( 3 feet).

15 hours ago, Reel said:

Glenn's answer is right on. I live way north and we can't fish pre spawn because the season is closed. But I fish for crappie. One Spring day you're only catching crappies, then all of a sudden the next day the bass show up in the same spot. Most of the time these spots are deep water ( 20 feet) close to shallow water ( 3 feet).

I think shallow spots next to deep spots can produce year round. It can give the fish a better way to regulate body temperature. If they start to get too hot or cold, they can swim up or down. Also has something to do with the bait. But anywhere theres shallow water near a steep dropoff, could be a prime fishing spot

water was up to 62 in some spots. I assume muddy waters heat up quicker because of the darker color.

dirtiest water ever. zero vis. my cranks would come back with the hooks loaded with tiny sticks. moving my kayak thru the water was like bobbing for apples. I was clunking on semi-submerged stuff.

the parking lot was flooded. I parked on dry land, and eased my kayak into the water directly from the asphalt.

total skunk for Me..and all the bass boats around me. I took the opportunity to catch up on an audiobook. hahahha

1 minute ago, Darth-Baiter said:

water was up to 62 in some spots. I assume muddy waters heat up quicker because of the darker color.

dirtiest water ever. zero vis. my cranks would come back with the hooks loaded with tiny sticks. moving my kayak thru the water was like bobbing for apples. I was clunking on semi-submerged stuff.

the parking lot was flooded. I parked on dry land, and eased my kayak into the water directly from the asphalt.

total skunk for Me..and all the bass boats around me. I took the opportunity to catch up on an audiobook. hahahha

Tough conditions! You're absolutely correct, clear water is slower to warm. Don't sweat this though. Pre-spawn isn't some short window of opportunity. When bass are on beds that means there are some bass on the way to the beds and some bass who are done and leaving the beds. My "pre-spawn" tactics remain my tactics for two or three months. I fish the "highways" going to and from the spawning areas. You've obviously got flooding. Let the fish and the conditions settle down a little and get used to each other and hit it again.

Thanks @BigAngus752 !!

the bass boat guys were, "hey, what book are you listening to?" we dang near started a book club out there. the group skunking, was a nice team builder. ha.

21 minutes ago, Darth-Baiter said:

water was up to 62 in some spots. I assume muddy waters heat up quicker because of the darker color.

dirtiest water ever. zero vis. my cranks would come back with the hooks loaded with tiny sticks. moving my kayak thru the water was like bobbing for apples. I was clunking on semi-submerged stuff.

the parking lot was flooded. I parked on dry land, and eased my kayak into the water directly from the asphalt.

total skunk for Me..and all the bass boats around me. I took the opportunity to catch up on an audiobook. hahahha

Sounds like a storm came through. That can be tough as you saw. Around here, that first day after a storm washes in junk is rough. When the fish are used to really clear water, the sudden change to no visibility shuts them down quickly. Two summers back I thought I was going to be onto a great day- the lakes had been low and we just got a big rain. That should flood the bank with water and fish, right? Not when the water looks like chocolate milk after having 6’ visibility. It’s different if they are used to 1’ visibility and it goes to 3” but 6’ to 6” shuts them down for a hot minute.

Also, that warm 60 degree water that just flowed in isn’t what they are used to. They have been sitting in the low to mid 50’s and that’s the temp their bodies are at. They will move up to that warmer water, but that color is going to slow them doing it for a minute.

On 2/28/2026 at 4:56 AM, Reel said:

Glenn's answer is right on. I live way north and we can't fish pre spawn because the season is closed. But I fish for crappie.

This was me too for most of my life living here in Mn. Closed season from now until mid May.

But not anymore! It’s open for C & R until May 22 right now.

We will have ice for at least another month but that’s beside the point. Say goodbye to crappie fishing!

Isnt pre spawn the day after they spawn? Or does post spawn last until they spawn the next year ?

This is what we're dealing with in my neck of the woods. Warm today, then way colder tomorrow. Then skipping spring and going straight to 20+ above average

At least in Texas, 55 degree water is going to be early respawn, 57 it's definitely on. IMO for big fish it starts earlier than most people realize.

Guess it's regional,

I start catching pre-spawn bass when water temps reach 52* but have to admit, hate dark stained water.

Too use to fishing clear water here.

Throw a big spinnerbait 😄

What do we technically consider the "prespawn"? The definition I found is when the migrate from their winter hangouts to feed heavily in preparation for the spawn, typically when the water temps range from 50-60 degrees.

I'm sure a lot of northern anglers find the same thing that I do, they start much earlier than 50* by that definition. We've had temps in the mid 40's for a few weeks now with the constant cold fronts slamming us and erasing any warming the water has done. Still, the fish are shallow, heavy, and feeding. It's not what I'd condsider a late-winter/coldwater period because of their activity levels and locations. I think a lot of people wait too long and miss the prime prespawn feeding times.

They certainly weren't feeding like wintertime fish yesterday despite the nasty weather.

21 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Isnt pre spawn the day after they spawn? Or does post spawn last until they spawn the next year ?

It's kinda like Christmas. For 364 days, it's an upcoming holiday. Then it happens. But once it's over, it's coming again in 364 days.

Merry Christmas to you too

Warm and rainy all week here. Let’s gooooo

On 3/1/2026 at 9:35 AM, BigAngus752 said:

You're absolutely correct, clear water is slower to warm.

Interesting.

Do you think bass will gravitate towards the dirtier water when it's really cold?

Assuming it's not like crazy crazy dirty.

OK back to work I go. 43 days until 4/15. Not that I'm counting...

42 minutes ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

Interesting.

Do you think bass will gravitate towards the dirtier water when it's really cold?

Assuming it's not like crazy crazy dirty.

OK back to work I go. 43 days until 4/15. Not that I'm counting...

Nothing is black and white with these fish. Please keep that in mind. So....consistently "really cold" dirty water, no. But let's say that the lake is warming for spring for a few days in a row. There has been some runoff and there is water that's dirtier than the normal clear water (but not cold chocolate milk with garbage floating in it) and there are distinct lines where the clear and dirty water meet (and HUGE bonus points if the rain was a warm rain!). I'm thinking two things:

1. Bass want warmer water in the spring and dirty water warms faster in the sun than clear water.

2. Bass are ambush predators.

I will be still be concentrating on the "highways" to and from spawning areas, but I will start where the dirty water meets the clearer water. If there is a definitive line where they meet, the bass will sometimes cruise the edge hoping to ambush baitfish in the clearer water. If no luck, then I'd be moving toward the spawn areas in the dirtier water as long as recent weather has been a warming trend. Remember, however, that fish are still responding to the previous few days of weather so the first day of warm up may not result in much bass movement. They may still be deeper and/or wanting a very slow presentation. If they are responding to a warming trend (and longer daylight hours) they may be moving up and want moving bait. Or I'm completely wrong about all of it and I go home with one dink to show for the day. Good luck!

On 3/2/2026 at 12:15 PM, bowhunter63 said:

Warm and rainy all week here. Let’s gooooo

THAT's what I'm TALKING about! Heck yes.

Up North here I generally find them start to get active around 45-48 during warming trends, but it's usually closer to that 50-52 mark that I find them actively starting to push shallow in the right conditions. Usually that first day it breaks into the low 50's during warming trend where there is some significant wind...lights out. But even before that they're moving in the channels and along the deeper breaks to be near those shallow areas they will eventually move up to.

I hit the pond today and I always fish the dock, and there was no sign of any fish, not even bluegill, so assuming they're on the banks?