Im in Maine. Mainly SM but some LM too on the lake I fish. Water is a little high and 70-71 degrees.

I did good pre spawn and spawn but was off the water for a few weeks with all the constant rain. Ive been out twice this week and feel like I have no idea where to start witht he changes on the lake water height and temp.

Any basic patterns to look for that go with post spawn temps ?

Im a lost dog all of a sudden. :-/

Thanks for any input.

Mark

    Try fishing points close to spawning flats with Carolina rigs.

Same conditions here is southeastern Mass. Had been doing well with the Rage Tail stuff, then they "went off their feed".

Been using the ShakE2 jig head from Mega Strike with excellent results. I am using Strike King finesse worms and Strike King caffein shad in baby bass and smokey shad colors.

The SK finesse worm seems indestructible. Caught 12 bass on one and it still looked like new, but for a few scuffs. No tears. The material will not go on the barbs of the jig unless you heat a needle or pin and pierce the head lengthwise to a dept of about 3/4 inch.

It's soft and stretchy, but resists going onto the barbs or twistlock type holders.

Rig weedless as shown in article below.

http://www.insideline.net/weeklynews/2009/09-0330-shakey.html

I'm fishing them in the rocks, in four to five feet of water. The pond I fish is shallow, averaging about six feet deep, with three spring holes of nine feet. I'm finding them on the outer edges of the rocky shelf.

The wacky jig head is also catching them in the same places. Try the three and four inch senko type of worms. Other types may work as well or better, but I haven't tried them yet. The smaller sizes seem to get more hits from even the larger bass.

Scroll down to the wacky jig head. It's a small hook, and looks flimsy, but it catches the big ones just fine. After several fish, if you're like me, you'll probably lose the weed guard wire.

http://www.insideline.net/weeklynews/2009/09-0415.html

ShakE2 or wacky jig head. Fish 'em slow, allowing them to tick the stones. Slight twitches and occasionally very short jerks have worked well for me.

Vary your retrieve until you find what the fish want, then stick with that.

The shad on the ShakE2 head can catch them on a fast retrieve off the bottom. I've caught a couple this way, by accident, when I've brought the lure back quickly at the end of the retrieve.

You never know.

Almost forgot. I'm using braid, ten and fifteen pound test (Power Pro), with a twenty pound Seaquar leader of about seven feet. I tie it directly to the braid with an Albright Special knot. I use that length because it allows me to retie several times before needing to replace the leader.

When it gets down to about three feet, I replace the leader.

Some good stuff here thanks. Im going try to get out tonite and try a few things based on this stuff...

The lake max's at about 30' and mostly SM. Ive done well earlier in 6-8 and/or even shallower with Senkos and LC jerks. Maybe I am stuck in my previous life LM mentality too much.

Thanks again for any and all input guys.

Mark

Try fishing points close to spawning flats with Carolina rigs.

I HAVE A QUESTION? WHY WOULD IT MATTER WHAT TYPE OF RIG YOUR USING? REALLY. YOU DONT THINK IT WOULDNT BE SOMETHING THAT YOU ARE DOING, SAY LIKE MAYBE NOT OBSERVING YOUR SURROUNDING AND CONDITIONS.

I am not trying to be an ***, just trying to understand where your coming from. Thing is, I have no problem landing Bass on any type of rig. I land Bass every time I go out. Not to boast, but its just expected of me and myself.

GOOD LUCKS TO YOU IN CATCHING THE "BIG KAHUNA."

Try fishing points close to spawning flats with Carolina rigs.

I HAVE A QUESTION? WHY WOULD IT MATTER WHAT TYPE OF RIG YOUR USING? REALLY. YOU DONT THINK IT WOULDNT BE SOMETHING THAT YOU ARE DOING, SAY LIKE MAYBE NOT OBSERVING YOUR SURROUNDING AND CONDITIONS.

I am not trying to be an ***, just trying to understand where your coming from. Thing is, I have no problem landing Bass on any type of rig. I land Bass every time I go out. Not to boast, but its just expected of me and myself.

GOOD LUCKS TO YOU IN CATCHING THE "BIG KAHUNA."

FishKiller,

No need for caps here really. We hear ya.

His response is actually exactly they type answer I was looking for.

I wanted 'What would you do?" replies and appreciate his reply as well as yours. Its all good. No right or wrong answers on this one.

Anyways, You keep catching them, I'll keep learning , and everyones happy here. :-X

Mark

Try fishing points close to spawning flats with Carolina rigs.

I HAVE A QUESTION? WHY WOULD IT MATTER WHAT TYPE OF RIG YOUR USING? REALLY. YOU DONT THINK IT WOULDNT BE SOMETHING THAT YOU ARE DOING, SAY LIKE MAYBE NOT OBSERVING YOUR SURROUNDING AND CONDITIONS.

I am not trying to be an ***, just trying to understand where your coming from. Thing is, I have no problem landing Bass on any type of rig. I land Bass every time I go out. Not to boast, but its just expected of me and myself.

GOOD LUCKS TO YOU IN CATCHING THE "BIG KAHUNA."

:-? :

It doesn't matter what type of rig you are using, I gave him my advice where to fish and a extra tid bit to go along with it.

:

(In case you had trouble figuring it out, the extra tid bit is telling him what rig I would be using.)

Smallmouth spawn in slighly colder water than largemouth and completely different locations and bottom make up.

Generally the water temperature at the depth (1 1/2' to 8') needs to be around 58 to 62 degrees for smallies to spawn, following the cold water period. Largemouths 62 to 67 degrees is common in most lakes. Smallies prefer gravel clean bottom areas, Largemouth more wind protected back of coves, near some type of cover.

Post spawn the female bass leave a few days after laying eggs and move to the first area with deeper water (first break line). Smallmouths prefer rocky areas, largemouth like wood and weed cover on or near the first break close to the spawning area.

Each wave or group of spawning bass will be in post spawn for about a week, then transition to their summer locations.

Lures that are slow moving or easy to catch within a small strike zone are good pre spawn choices

WRB