For many bass fisheries across the country, the post-spawn is upon us. This means fish have made their beds, laid their eggs, and tiny little fry are beginning to hatch. The good news for anglers is that the big bass are still lurking nearby in the shallow water. And now is one of the best times to land a giant largemouth or smallmouth.
According to our spawn reporters, the post-spawn bite in regions two and three (see map below) should just be heating up. This usually means topwater strikes and aggressive fish. Some stragglers are still finishing up the spawn, so it's important to have multiple baits ready to go at a moment's notice. But be ready for vicious surface strikes from big fish protecting tiny fry.
Regarding the logistics of the post-spawn, we are a tad behind the Florida schedule, and the upper regions of the country are still a few weeks out from seeing these patterns. But our bass experts have plenty of great advice that can be used on any body of water during this stage of the spawn. If you live somewhere in the middle section of the country, it's time to put these tips and tactics into action. Here's when, where, and how to catch monster post-spawn bass.
Post-Spawn Overview
The post-spawn is when bass have finished their spawning process but haven’t quite mustered up the strength to trek out to deeper water, where they’ll spend the summer. The fish also get spread out this time of year. During the post-spawn, most of the bass population will move from the beds to shallow adjacent cover for a couple of weeks and then transition further out to deep or open water for the late post-spawn. However, a small portion of the population won't make this transition at the same pace, causing areas of overlap between the spawn, post-spawn, and even late post-spawn. Here's what anglers can expect to see during the post-spawn phase this spring.
Region 1: Scott Martin
When to Fish the Post-Spawn: March 7 to April 7
Scott Martin lives on the southern shores of Lake Okeechobee, where the bass spawn from December through June. As anomalies go, Okeechobee is the most peculiar when it comes to the spawn, thanks to the shallow water and near-year-round warm temperatures. Still, most of the bass on this half-million-acre fishery spawn in a reasonably short month-long window, and the majority therefore share a similar four-week-long post-spawn window. Even on the Florida lakes further north and other fisheries in South Texas, there’s a good month to target post-spawn fish in shallow, starting in early March and working towards early April in the top of Zone 1.
“You’re going to start getting some of your first post-spawn fish around the beginning of March," says Martin. "But that’s going to go all the way into April. It’s a longer process. It just lingers and lingers.” Martin recommends retracing your steps when targeting early post-spawn bass. Look for bass to group up in the same areas they did during the pre-spawn—inside the main grass lines and boat trails.
“A frog bite is really good this time of the year," Martin explains. "You can pick up a frog in the post-spawn and catch a lot of fish because those fry are going to be in and around the vegetation in the area.” For those who may not know, fry are the tiny bass hatchlings that burst from the eggs a bass lays on its bed. Each bed can produce hundreds of fry, which then school up in a ball and hang near cover for protection from predators. The male bass usually stick around to guard these fry, making them especially susceptible to a frog, which they perceive to be a threat to their fry.
“I also look for bird activity and pay attention to seagulls in the area," Martin says. "There’s a shad spawn usually around that time, so you can have some really fantastic mornings. I recommend getting out early–extra early in the post-spawn–and taking advantage of that post-spawn shad bite.”
Shad spawn by the thousands right around when the bass spawn winds down. Seagulls and other birds will collect on these shad spawns, giving away the bait's location. Once you find them, Martin recommends lipless crankbaits and white swim jigs for targeting bass relating to the bait. But heed his advice and get out early, because this bite often shuts down during the first hour of daylight.
Region 2: Scott Canterbury
When to Fish the Post-Spawn: April 14 to April 30
Scott Canterbury says the early post-spawn is one of his favorite times of the year to fish because several things are happening. A few fish are still spawning, and many are willing to eat a topwater. This time of year offers a diversity of fishing techniques.
“The ones that spawn the latest are usually main-lake fish," Canterbury says. "They'll still be spawning while the early post-spawners in the backs of pockets and creeks will be guarding fry and hitting topwater.” Canterbury spends his time in Zone 2 bouncing back and forth from looking for late bedders to targeting bass actively guarding fry. Fish for fry guarders around any shallow cover, like laydowns, docks, and grass. Canterbury keeps a topwater in his hand most of the time, either a Livingston Lures Walk N Pop or his signature series buzzbait.
“I like a buzzbait a lot this time of year because you're going to find aggressive fish," explains Canterbury. "I'll usually throw a Dirty Jigs Canterbury Pro Buzz with a toad. I also like to throw a Senko or a wacky worm when you have to slow down.”
Region 3: Carl Jocumsen
When to Fish the Post-Spawn: April 16 to April 30
Similar to Zones 1 and 2, the early post-spawn timing is all over the place in Zone 3. Where Carl Jocumsen lives in Tennessee, some bass are still spawning, and others have already abandoned their beds. Of those leaving the beds, some opt to stay shallow a little longer, while others have something else in mind.
“The biggest ones usually spawn first," says Jocumsen. "They either go straight to deep water or hang around shallow and continue to feed. But you're looking for this to happen from mid-April to the end of April. That is primetime for post-spawn fishing with a small mix of late bedders.”
If you stay shallow to target post-spawners, Jocumsen recommends looking for bass relating to bluegill beds and shad spawns. Like shad, bluegill start spawning towards the end of the bass spawn. The two baits differ in their longevity, though. Shad spawn only for a few hours in the early morning, and the process is over within a few days of beginning. Bluegill, on the other hand, spawn every couple of weeks throughout the summer.
"You can also head straight out to the deep ledges where a lot of the big fish will go to get out in the current," says Jocumsen. "That’s when you can have your best days. When the bass first reach deeper water, they tend to bite better on crankbaits and swimbaits down to 20-, 25-, and 30-feet.”
Region 4: Bryan Schmitt
When to Fish the Post-Spawn: May 15 to May 31
If you’ve been following along with previous installments of this series, you’ll likely remember that Schmitt lives near the tidal fisheries of the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. These are rather unique compared to the rest of Zone 4, so we’ve rotated back and forth with each installment to highlight how to fish tidal fisheries and give insight into fishing more “typical” Zone 4 bodies of water, like Lake of the Ozarks. Here’s Schmitt’s take on the early post-spawn bite on the inland lakes in this region.
“I’m going to keep it really, really simple," Schmitt says. "I’ll have the SPRO E Pop and a Whopper Plopper. I'll also have a SPRO frog and a wacky 48.” Listing out four baits right off the top may not seem like “keeping it really, really simple,” but remember that the fish are spread out during the early post-spawn in Zone 4. You have to find them first.
“All those baits are going to do different things," explains Schmitt. "If I’m just combing down shallow flat banks, I’m fishing the Whopper Plopper. If I get near some bushes I know they spawn in, I will throw an E Pop on the edge, trying to catch the fry guarders.”
Schmitt also searches for post-spawn fish looking to make their way offshore and position themselves around the first pieces of cover they can find. Rockpiles, shallow brush, and even single small pieces of debris lying on the bottom can be enough to hold a bass.
“I think in the early, early postspawn they’re just resting—and a dropshot is a deadly tool for this," Schmitt explains. "I’ll even scope a little bit in those shallow pockets just out in the middle to see if I can see a few resting on a little piece of isolated wood. But if I know where some brush or rock is, I'm throwing a dropshot.”
Region 5: Ben Nowak
When to Fish the Post-Spawn: June 1 to June 15
As we move into the northern part of the country, a couple of things happen. First, the entire spawning process naturally moves later in the year because of the colder temperatures. It also compresses, tightening each of the sub-phases down to much more precise and concentrated periods compared to what we saw in the South. This creates a cleaner divide between the spawn and post-spawn phases, though there’s still a little overlap.
“For smallmouth, I’m looking for a mayfly hatch," says Nowak. "The immediate post-spawn typically coincides with a mayfly hatch. So you can just throw a topwater around and get fish to come up and show themselves. And I'm looking at the same areas I was in during late pre-spawn, like the first drop off or the first piece of cover outside the spawning flats.”
Nowak emphasizes the importance of mayflies. These fairy-looking little insects hatch by the millions during the summer throughout much of the US, and they create a feeding frenzy along the surface of the water as they land to lay their eggs for the next generation. This makes for a great topwater bite.
“For a largemouth, I'm looking for those points leading back out of the bays, secondary points, isolated docks, and the grass patches," says Nowak. "This is when your largemouth will get on those channel swings and start to group up leading out of those bays.” Jigs and frogs work well on largemouth in these types of situations. As for the smallmouth, Nowak likes to fish a topwater, a small swimbait, a drop shot, and a hair jig.
Region 6: Jeff Gustafson
When to Fish the Post-Spawn: June 15 to June 30
It will be summer before the post-spawn bite gets going good in Zone 6. We asked Jeff Gustafson for his take on how this region fishes as the bass come off the beds. He says it’s all about covering water to find them.
“The easy ones are gone. They've been picked over," he says. "A swim jig and a topwater are pretty hard to beat this time of year, and I can cover water with those baits.” Keeping a moving bait in hand and the trolling motor on high allows Gustafson to traverse lots of ground while scanning the water for bass and balls of fry. These fish are usually aggressive when he finds them. They often strike out of aggressiveness instead of an actual desire to eat.
“You’re going to miss more bites this time of year than at any other point," says Gustafson. "They short strike or swirl, and then you can follow up with a finesse bait to catch them. Again, sunglasses are important, keep your eyes peeled for the fry.”
With a more concentrated spawn window and post-spawn window, there’s not nearly as much overlap here as we saw in the south. And this expedited process also sends the bass through the post-spawn and into the late post-spawn phase more quickly.
“Some fish are going to start getting back out to those main basins and deeper water pretty quickly—especially females," explains Gustafson. "But generally, stay shallow and use your eyes.”
