Q&A AI
When do spotted bass go shallow?
Great question! Spotted bass, much like largemouth bass, have specific seasonal habits that dictate when they move into shallow waters. Based on the video context provided, here's a detailed breakdown:
Seasonal Movement of Spotted Bass
-
Pre-Spawn (Late Winter to Early Spring):
- Behavior: As water temperatures begin to warm up, spotted bass will start moving from their deeper winter habitats towards shallower waters.
- Key Areas: Main lake points, secondary points, steep banks, drop-offs, and creek channels.
- Reason: They are preparing for the spawn and gradually moving to areas where they will eventually nest.
-
Spawn (Spring):
- Behavior: Spotted bass will seek out shallow, protected areas to spawn.
- Key Areas: Shallow pockets, back ends of creeks, and other protected coves that are shielded from wind and boat traffic.
- Reason: These areas provide a safe environment for their eggs and fry.
-
Post-Spawn (Late Spring to Early Summer):
- Behavior: After spawning, spotted bass will often move back out towards slightly deeper waters but can still be found relatively shallow, especially if baitfish like shad are spawning.
- Key Areas: First third of the creek, middle of the creek, or back towards the main lake.
- Reason: They follow the baitfish, which are a primary food source.
-
Summer:
- Behavior: During the heat of summer, spotted bass can be found in two primary locations: ultra-shallow waters or deeper, cooler waters.
- Key Areas: Ultra-shallow waters (less than 2 feet) early in the morning or late in the evening, and deeper waters (around 25 feet) during the day.
- Reason: They move shallow to feed during low-light conditions and seek cooler, oxygen-rich waters during the heat of the day.
Tips for Fishing Spotted Bass in Shallow Waters
- Morning and Evening: These are prime times to target spotted bass in shallow waters. Use fast-moving baits like buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, and crankbaits to cover water quickly and trigger reaction bites.
- Low-Light Conditions: Spotted bass are more active in shallow waters during low-light conditions. Overcast days, early mornings, and late evenings are ideal.
- Follow the Baitfish: Always keep an eye on where the baitfish are. If the baitfish move shallow, the bass will follow.
Conclusion
The best time for spotted bass to move into shallow waters is during the pre-spawn, spawn, and post-spawn periods, with significant activity in the early mornings and late evenings during summer. Understanding their seasonal habits and the influence of baitfish can greatly improve your chances of success.
If you have any more specific questions or need further clarification, feel free to ask! Happy fishing! 🎣
Related videos
Transcript
Video03:03
05:54
Catch Shallow Bass Right Now - Shad Spawn And Shallow Water Tricks by TacticalBassin → start behaving like a summer bass so you want to do this earlier later in the day also but I really like that morning period when those fish are right up shallow you can just fish if you're on the bank just fish parallel to shore that first 10 or 15 feet near the shoreline don't worry about fishing way out unless you're in ultra shallow water but anything in that zero to five foot depth range let's fish a move right up in there to ambush and to feed early while they've got low-light now big water guys and that doesn't matter if you're on a you know a thousand acre reservoir or you're on one of the Tennessee River lakes and it's miles and miles and miles and miles long or anywhere in between if you're on a larger body of water we're going to branch out a little bit now this is where I want to talk to you about the shad spawn the shad spawn kicks in about two-thirds of the way through the bass spawn give or take as that water gets into the low 60s the shad spawn kicks off and basically what that is a shed a bait fish that's in most impoundments around the country not all but most the shad get up and spawn it's an April May into June thing but May and most of the country is the heart of the shad spawn it's a phenomenon that happens first
Transcript
Video03:40
05:02
Seasonal Habits of Largemouth Bass | How To | Bass Fishing by Bass Fishing Tips & Techniques by BassResource → In the pre-spawn, this is when the water
temperatures begin to warm up, the days get longer, the sun gets overhead, and the bass will
start moving up shallower, gradually. So, from the deep parts that they were in the wintertime,
they're gonna end up being within less than 5 feet deep or so when it comes spawn time. So, they
take what I consider a bus route from that deep to shallow and they have little bus stops along
the way that's progressively shallower as they make their way up to shallow water over time.
So, those are gonna be, first of all, main lake points and then eventually, secondary points.
They're gonna be steep banks, drop-offs, humps, those creek channels that go to the back
of bays. Those are the places where they're gonna be migrating. And though as the water
warms up, of course, the metabolism increases and so they're gonna start to feed
more aggressively, more and more often. So, that's the fun part about spring.
It's arguably one of the best times to catch bass because the majority of the
population is up shallow, they're accessible, and they're active, they're actively feeding.
So, it can be a real fun time to catch fish. As you move into the spawn, bass
will seek out protected coves, protected bays, back ends of creeks, for example.
What I mean by protected, meaning that they're protected from the wind and from wakes and waves
from all the boat traffic. So, something like that
Transcript
Video06:20
08:52
Pro Tip for Finding Bass On Any Lake | Bass Fishing Beginner Guide by Fish the Moment → baitfish migration so let's start with a spawning cycle and as most you guys know bass will spawn in the spring up in shallow water shallow pockets stuff like that and so what happens is that a lot of the bass will see sitting on the main lake in the wintertime or close to deep water at least because it can be cold and they want to stay away from the cool air temperatures but then as they want to spawn they're actually going to move into the creeks find some shallow protected pockets they're protected from the wind and if you warm up a little bit quicker and they are going to transition from the main lake to maybe the first third of the Creek the middle of a creek or even the back of the creeks and so that's the first driver of bass movement from one area of a creek to another area and then the other thing that's going to dictate bass movement is the change in baitfish location and so what you might find is that after bass spawn they might pull out of the pockets where they spawned back out towards the first third of the creek or the main lake because the bait fish like shad blue heron things like that walk she starts spawning in May right after the bass spawn and so the bass just used up all their energy to spawn during the
Transcript
Video02:53
05:38
Where Can I Catch Spotted Bass?!? Clear Water Ditch Fishing by The Bass University → ounce 3/8 ounce something a little bit lighter not necessarily trying to throw a half ounce in you know the shallower range 10 10 12 feet typically will opt for something a little bit lighter but like I said oftentimes those fish will be a little more active especially early in the day in my mind I feel like those fish are back there to feed so if I can get that by going a lot of times that's going to be my first place that I'm gonna start is relatively shallow so I know that somebody may be watching this and going say 10 15 feet how in the world is that shallow want a clear water fishery you know a lot of times that the Sun is out you may be able to see the the bottom an 8 or 10 feet so not to us not too deep to them their comfort zone on most any clear water body of water from the spotted bass here in the southeast is about 25 foot give or take you'll find that on Lake Martin Lake Hartwell Smith lake lanier insert whatever spotted bass fishery you want there 25 foot is a general depth that I feel like they feel comfortable at 12 months out of the year so different factors can you know bury what depth they want to really key in on that's a good starting place if you're looking for them doesn't matter if it's
Transcript
Video01:20
04:04
Easy Tips To Catch Shallow Bass All Summer by TacticalBassin → those doldrums of summer the water starts to heat up you lose oxygen there are two places for those fish to go out deep to get down into that oxygenated cooler water if they go shallow it's so hot it's so miserable that the best place to go is ultra ultra ultra ultra shallow up into the shadow edges that is the best place so you won't have a lot of fish there in the middle you're gonna have fish in less than two feet and you're gonna have fish out there in deep water out there on the brakes and the ledges and the humps so the shallow shallow fish especially early and late in the day but really all day long they're very susceptible to top water one of my favorite choices is a buzzbait you can cover a ton of water you're making a ton of rock you can move quickly you get those hard reaction bytes especially in the morning and then again midday when the shadow becomes a huge factor in that Sun gets up high those fish suck in tight to those shadows and you know exactly where they are you can take a buzzbait and just fly down the bank and just hit key spot key spot key spot key spot and pluck those fish off if you're on a boat it's a fantastic option if you're on the bank probably not your best choice yeah what
Transcript
Video05:14
06:33
Summer Texas Rigs for HUGE Bass! | Bass Fishing by Bass Fishing Tips & Techniques by BassResource → ledges, that sort of thing. And that's true. You'll find fish out there doing that. There's no doubt about it and you can definitely
fish for them. But they don't all go that way and I really
think that the under fished less pressured fish are the ones that are really shallow. What happens is in the morning and in the
evening and in low light conditions, the fish are up shallow, actively feeding, moving around,
and you can catch them on fast moving bait, and on topwater. So, you know, buzz baits, spinnerbaits, crankbaits,
that sort of thing. But when the sun comes up, bright overhead
just like it is right now, that's when they bury up deep in this cover. Whether it be weeds, it could be milfoil or
hydrilla, it could be lily pads, something like that. Or they might be in brush pile, submerged
bushes, blogs. Could be some trees that have fallen over
in the lake, even docks, they'll be up shallow up in there. Why? Because that's where the baitfish go. A lot of baitfish go in there and cover to
hide from the predators. And wherever the baitfish are, you'll find
the bass. Really during this time of year, it's baitfish
is that's going to position the bass. If the baitfish move, so will the bass. And if the baitfish stay in that area, the
bass are going to stay in that area, too. That's really important key to remember.
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