Since our northern counter parts are lamenting the 2007 season us Southern boys are getting hyped for some of the best fishing of the coming 2008 season.

Pre-spawn is the time when the fish are in transition from the cold winter and moving up to shallow water to get ready to start their spawn. These fish are hungry, moody, and restless. Bass are on the move looking for their spawning beds, their metabolism is changing. The question is "Where are they? Where are the warmest spots on the lake and how is this weather front going to affect the fish?

I believe it's all about timing; the bass are going to get rid of those eggs no matter what. Here on Toledo Bend the bass will start their move up as early as mid January and the spawn will run through the end of March and even as late as mid April. Bass will go to pre-spawn even if the water is 35 to 40 degrees.

What does it take to make for a good staging location?

There are 2 things that I consider when looking for staging areas. The first is the 3 to 5' flats that are closest to my winter holes. The second is spawning locations that I know about from previous years.

Toledo Bend is not a natural lake, in reality it is a flooded canyon; What this means is that the lake has a lot of flats out in the middle of the lake and when the lake is low these high spots can be great spawning locations

I try to keep it simple; spinner baits, crank baits and Rattle-L-Traps for the most part. Spinner baits I use a white ½ ounce double willow leaf. Crank baits I look for baits that have a tight wobble to them and the Rattle-L-Traps I use both a ½ and 3/4 ounce each. For me the key is that I want to be able to just tick the tops of the grass and that is what determines the size of baits I use. As for the reels I use a 6:1 ratio for most everything, but if I am going to slow role a spinner bait I may go to a slower 5.0:1 ratio. It makes it easier for me to keep it down on the bottom. As for the line and rods I consider the situation, water clarity, depth and of course cover plays a big factor in what is needed for the situation.

Catt you are absolutely right. November through April are the best of times. The flats close to the deeper holes are right on.  Lucky for us most of the weekend anglers are beating the banks. They never pressure the right areas.

Great post - Thanks!   I'm one of those unfortunates, here in the Northeast, who must endure the long frozen water period. I envie you folks down South. To be able to fish open water in January has got to be a true joy in the life of any fisherperson. I'm not a hard water fisherman, so I have to sit in front of the boob tube, watch re-runs of the In'Fisherman and wear out some BPS & Cabela's catalogs. I will also clean & re-lub reels, re-arrange my tackle boxes (several times!) and read the fine posts here. "Anticipation!"

How is the water level holding Catt?

Do they draw her down like they do Sam Rayburn in the winter to anticipate the spring rains?

Good post as usual.

Matt

Thanks to global warming my favorite lake hasnt froze for the past 2 years. I dont think thats good environmentally but I can fish in the winter  :-/

Lake level: 167.78

Lake temperature: 60-62 degrees

North Toledo is stained, mid lake is slightly stained to clear and south Toledo remains clear. Recent rain has stained back portions of major creeks.

Best patterns: Rat-L-Traps over shallow grass, Berkley's Frenzy Mid Diver and Deep Little N in Blue/chartreuse and shad patterns, Stanley's Wedge spinner bait with double willow leaf blades and white/chartreuse skirts, Texas and wacky rigged Senkos & Berkley Gulp Sinking Minnow. my bigger bass are  being caught on Oldhams Jig-N-Craws in 15-25'.

Cold fronts are making deep water patterns improve with such baits as tailspinners, jigging spoons and drop shots in 25-40'.

So would this time frame for you folks be the equivalent to our much shorter "fall feed" up north or is this more of the beginning of pre-spawn??

Pre-spawn.

In south Texas, I'm told they only have three seasons: July, August and summer.

8-)

Here in Southeast Texas/Southwest Louisiana we will go from fall to winter to spring by the end of February. Pre-spawn can start as early as mid-January, earlier than most people realize.

There are no set reasons for pre-spawn as far as I know; I realized how early that pre-spawn movement started, because somewhere around mid-January every winter, I'd lose my deep fish. What I mean is that I quit catching them deep. I'd be catching them on jigs out in 20-25 feet of water and all of a sudden those fish were gone.

It took me a while to realize what was happening; those fish were just starting to move shallow. The bass would come out of that deep water and start moving shallow, and water temp had very little if anything to do with it, contrary to what people believe. Most of the time, when these fish came out of deep water, the water temp could be anywhere from 49 to 50-degrees and they'd leave those holes for shallower water - 5 to 10-feet. That's when Rat-L-Traps and crank baits started catching so many fish.

The whole spawn occurs much sooner than people realize - they're still out there fishing deep when a lot of the fish have moved up close to the spawning ground, with some actually staging. I think what causes pre-spawn is when the female gets full of eggs - those eggs start swelling, and if you've caught many fish in December you know what I'm talking about. Around January those eggs start swelling and the bass have an instinctively move shallow, even though the spawn doesn't occur until (on T-Bend) sometime between the last week of February and runs until the middle of April.

I think what's misleading to many anglers is when they read articles about the spawn most of these articles mention water temperatures of 60 degrees but this is surface temperature. Bass do not lay eggs on the surface! 60 degrees is a generalization, it could be 55-65 degrees depending on your lake. This would mean pre-spawn would start around 45 degrees which is a lot sooner that many people think.

There are no set reasons for pre-spawn as far as I know; and water temp had very little if anything to do with it,

contrary to what people believe.

Catt, that's an unpopular view, but I fully agree.

In my opinion at least, water temperature is little more than a coincident symptom (a handy yardstick).

For example, goldenrod is blamed for hayfever that's caused by ragweed, simply because they both bloom together.

Bass are known to spawn in water temperatures between 55 and 75 deg F, which is not exactly sticking-a-landing.

I've always believed that the spawn is innately tied to "photoperiod", no different than the vegetable kingdom.

That is to say, as long as the trend of day-length is rising, spawning is possible, but ends when the days grow shorter in length

If that were true, the potential spawning range would extend from December 21 (Winter Solstice) to June 21 (Summer Solstice).

States like Florida seem to support this theory, where the bass spawning period commonly extends from December to May.

Also in Florida, there are some lakes and rivers with underground springs that maintain "year-round" water temperatures

of 72 degrees F. Regardless of year-round 72 deg temperatures, bass living in these waters spawn unerringly once a year.

Roger

These fellas are preaching words most people pay for when you go out and buy books about bassin',....listen up people

Exactly Roger, look at Power Plant Lake where the temperatures stay warm year round but the spawn still takes place; We need to keep in mind these terms are generalizations and are not carved in stone.

Take for instance you always hear about fishing north banks but north banks doesn't necessarily mean the north end of the lake. Look far banks that are protected from the north wind, that doesn't mean every fish in the lake is going to seek out that area, but fish that are in that area will be more active and much easier to catch.

I agree with most of what you guys are saying.  I'm usually fishing rattletraps for prespawn fish by early Feb. even though some fish can still be caught on jigging spoons deep.  However, I'm not sure about water temp not being the major driver of the start of the spawn.  I've been one of those guys that hits Fork and other area lakes hard waiting for the first fish to move up.  I've done this every year since 1988.  What I've seen time and time again is that the first fish will be on the beds after a warming trend of at lease a few weeks.  Sometimes this is in Feb., March, or April depending on how cold the winter was.  The very first males appear near 58 degrees in the upper ends of the lake.  Then a front will blow in and cool the water temps 5 degrees or so and the fish move back out to water a few feet deeper.  When the temps rise again the fish move back onto the beds.   As some fish finish their spawn others are starting, usually a little farther south on the lake where the water is becoming warmer.  There are exceptions to this, some lower lake creeks spawn early maybe due to warmer run off or ?   The local power plant (hot water) lakes spawn around the end of Dec. into Jan.  I don't see this related to hours of daylight or moon phase as some suggest.  Also, we sometimes have a secondary spawn in the fall.  It's never anywhere near as large as the spring run but it usually happens when water temps have again returned to the 60's whether that be in Oct. or Nov.  This is JMHO, thanks for an interesting thread.  big

On any lake or stream the spawning ritual is never a simultaneous event. During the heart of the spawning season,

there'll be bass in the pre-spawn, spawn and post-spawn stages, at the "same" time and in the "same" lake section.

Humans are warm-blooded animals, and if our bodies can't maintain a core temperature of 98.6 deg F we die.

Fish are cold-blooded creatures whose core temperature can run the gamut without causing any harm to the fish.

For that matter, there's no evidence to suggest that fish feel discomfort in "any" water temperature, cold or hot.

Although bass may not be uncomfortable in icy water, the cold water lowers their metabolism which causes a change in behavior.

Cold water suppresses their speed of movement, their appetite, their digestion and so on. But none of these things cause pain.

During the dog-days of summer, bass are wide-eyed and bushy tailed, they move faster, digest their food more quickly,

eat more often and gain the most weight. On the downside, the warmer the water the less dissolved oxygen it can hold.

Oxygen deprivation causes altered behavior in fish but this is a separate phenomenon and not the result of thermal discomfort.

Roger

?Question?

I read somewhere that bass are more likely to bed on a western bank or shallow flat than the eastern side.  Is there any truth to this?

One more for RoLo,

What would you say is the major tell for spawning activity on Kissimmee?

One more for RoLo,

What would you say is the major tell for spawning activity on Kissimmee?

Kissimmee? - Rock on brother

The first requirement before a bass can spawn is its eggs must go through a gestation period which is the time required for the eggs to fully develop, until this length of time is reached that bass will not lay its eggs regardless of water temperature. Water temperature is only part of the equation not the entire equation; again look at power plant lakes where water temperature has been taken out of the equation and yet the bass still spawn on cue every year.

?Question?

I read somewhere that bass are more likely to bed on a western bank or shallow flat than the eastern side. Is there any truth to this?

I've never heard that one, but apparently someone believes that the morning sun favors spawning activity

Leeh, I never visualize bass in pursuit of a set of conditions, instead I believe that bass react in a predictable way

when those conditions come to the bass. Over the course of an annual cycle, all conditions come to all parts of the lake.

Roger

One more for RoLo,

What would you say is the major tell for spawning activity on Kissimmee?

Funny you should ask, I live practically across-the-street from the Big-K (13 min from Camp Mack).

As you probably know, the spawning season on Kissimmee can last as long as six months, and that's almost half a year ;D

Due to central Florida's windy winters and unstable springs, spawning activity is generally a roller-coaster ride.

Unfortunately every year seems to be different from the last.

I personally prefer the February/March period, especially during a warm front right after a sharp cold-snap :o

The hydrilla was coming back quite nicely on Lake Kissimmee, but then they launched a brutal spray program.

Finding hydrilla today is like it was after Hurricane Charley, like finding hen's teeth.

Roger

Early Pre-Spawn:

Individuals or groups of bass begin making short reconnaissance trips into coves. Only when the water temperature is stable for a couple of days will any appreciable number of bass remain for long. Look for bass on main lake and secondary points

Mid Pre-Spawn:

Bass leave deep water drop-offs and enter protected coves; the majority of these fish will be males. The weather and water temperatures will still be unstable. Look for bass on feeding flats adjacent to deeper water.

Pre-Spawn:

Weather and water temperatures have became stable and large fluctuations of bass are now present in shallow water. Start looking for a solid bottom, Bass avoids soft, muck bottoms; instead they prefer to spawn on hard sandy bottoms, gravel or rocky banks, large boulders or even a fallen log or lily pad root.

Keep in mind pre-spawn bass will be looking to feed before they start looking to spawn

Early Pre-Spawn:

Individuals or groups of bass begin making short reconnaissance trips into coves. Only when the water temperature is stable for a couple of days will any appreciable number of bass remain for long.

Keep in mind pre-spawn bass will be looking to feed before they start looking to spawn

This is something we learned by trial and error. We have a cove that is about 1-3 ft and takes up a good 15% of the acreage of the entire lake. This is the first place we go at ice out. Being the first water to warm (we assume), it is the first water to get any craws lethargically coming out of hibernation (we assume).

Fish come in and leave in waves of simialr size. You will hit 2-10 fish that look identical in the next 1/2 hour and then nothing. Gone. But hang tight, another recon group will be along eventually. If the first fish this time is 4 lbs, chances are the next few will be too,...and then nothing again.

This goes on for the warm window of the day (this is why we assume it is heat triggered) dawn and dusk,...nothing back there (or nothing feeding anyway)

For a few years, swimming a light jig seemed to be the winning lottery ticket. Last yr, after hitting on a Fluke, jig,senko and spinnerbait,....I realized it ain't so. I think these fish are willing to eat anything vulnerable at this time. They are in there to feed and warm up and if they see the food, they are in the mode to eat it.

Reading what Catt wrote in quotes brought me right back to that cove,8 months ago. Can't wait to be there again this April, it's a GREAT way to come back from a bad bout with cabin fever!!

Next step is to venture further up the line and find where they are hanging out in between trips to the back cove.  That one is still eluding us.

Don't misunderstand what I'm saying here, temperature has a lot to do with the spawn but it is not the only guiding light. Gestation period, water temperature, water depth, water clarity and moon phase all have to be factored in. I believe gestation period triggers the pre-spawn urge for bass to start moving out of winter habitat and into creek coves.

In my personal option if you want to catch that bass of a lifetime forget bedding bass and target pre-spawn fish. With bedding bass you are dealing with a bass that is not readily and actively feeding, where as with pre-spawn bass they are feeding on every thing. I would be willing to bet 90% of the anglers here don't have the patience required to fish bedding bass.

Give me pre-spawn bass anytime  

Don't misunderstand what I'm saying here, temperature has a lot to do with the spawn but it is not the only guiding light. Gestation period, water temperature, water depth, water clarity and moon phase all have to be factored in. I believe gestation period triggers the pre-spawn urge for bass to start moving out of winter habitat and into creek coves.

In my personal option if you want to catch that bass of a lifetime forget bedding bass and target pre-spawn fish. With bedding bass you are dealing with a bass that is not readily and actively feeding, where as with pre-spawn bass they are feeding on every thing. I would be willing to bet 90% of the anglers here don't have the patience required to fish bedding bass.

Give me pre-spawn bass anytime

Absolutely, I'm right there with you, I was solidifying your previous points with my own experiences. The fish we hit back there wont be dropping egg for another 6-10 weeks yet and they won't be doing it back there. They are back there feeding on the first critters that are waking up from a long winter. Temps in there can be 2-6 degrees different than the main lake for a few peak hours per day. Dark, silty bottom with sparse weed patches, protected from wind, it warms quickly. I think the sluggish food source (waking crays) trigger major feeding. Mother nature doing her stuff.

In my personal option if you want to catch that bass of a lifetime forget bedding bass and target pre-spawn fish. I would be willing to bet 90% of the anglers here don't have the patience required to fish bedding bass.

Right On, Catt

What's more, I wouldn't be surprised if 90% of the trophy bass that were believed to be taken during the spawn

were actually pre-spawn bass. Taking a cow bass off the bed is rarely an accident, it's an art that requires a concerted effort.

As Catt pointed out, Pre-spawn is King because during the spawn and post-spawn periods the cows are in a negative disposition.

In the same vein, rather than subdivide the spawning season into three subdivisions (pre-spawn - spawn - post-spawn)

the angler would be better served if he put the "pre-spawn" period under a microscope and broke it up into three subdivisions:

Early Pre-Spawn

Typically coincides with water temperatures in the lower 50s, but varying.

Both cow and buck bass are emerging from their winter torpor, and would be best described as agitated and spooky

yet quite catchable.

Mid Pre-Spawn

Typically coincides with water temperatures in the upper 50s, but varying.

Both cow and buck bass are noticeably active and more aggressive. Bass are highly mobile during the middle pre-spawn,

and trade freely back-and-forth between relatively deep and relatively shallow water.

Late Pre-Spawn

Typically coincides with water temperatures that sandwich 60 degrees, but varying.

During the "late" pre-spawn, both cow and buck bass are less mobile and more aggressive...it's Party Time!

Weather permitting, bass now adhere mostly to the spawning flats in 1 to 3 ft of water.

This is a very brief period, but since all bass do not spawn at once there's usually a generous overlap of sub-seasons

that provide the angler with a few weeks of late pre-spawn activity. The one bugbear during this time of year

are the frequent cold-fronts which quickly dampen the activity on the shallow spawning flats.

In any event, the late pre-spawn is trophy time (60 deg area), when the savvy angler puts in max hours on the water.

Roger