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How to target spawning bass in the Delta with swimbaits?
Targeting spawning bass in the Delta using swimbaits can be a highly effective strategy, but it requires some specific techniques and considerations. Here are some tips to help you out:
1. Understand the Spawning Behavior
During the spawn, bass are typically found in shallow waters, often near beds where they lay their eggs. They can be very protective of these areas, making them more likely to strike at intruders, including your swimbait.
2. Choosing the Right Swimbait
- Size and Color: Opt for swimbaits that mimic the forage in the area. In the Delta, bluegill and shad patterns are often effective. Smaller swimbaits (3-5 inches) can be more appealing during the spawn as they resemble the size of baitfish bass are protecting their nests from.
- Type: Soft plastic swimbaits rigged on a jig head or a weighted hook can be very effective. The video context from "Fishing Single Swimbaits for Prespawn Bass" and "Top 5 Post Spawn Baits" suggests using swimbaits with a natural swimming action.
3. Presentation Techniques
- Slow and Steady Retrieve: A slow, steady retrieve can make your swimbait appear more natural and less threatening, enticing bass to strike.
- Target Specific Areas: Cast your swimbait to likely spawning areas such as shallow flats, around vegetation, and near structure like docks or fallen trees. The video context from "Top 5 Post Spawn Baits" emphasizes the importance of targeting specific areas during transitional periods.
- Pause and Twitch: Occasionally pausing and twitching your swimbait can mimic a wounded baitfish, triggering a reaction strike from protective bass.
4. Gear Recommendations
- Rod and Reel: A medium-heavy rod with a fast action tip is ideal for swimbait fishing. Pair it with a high-speed reel to quickly pick up slack and set the hook.
- Line: Use a strong, abrasion-resistant line like fluorocarbon or braided line, especially if you're fishing around heavy cover.
5. Adjust Based on Conditions
- Water Clarity: In clear water, natural colors and more subtle presentations work best. In murky water, brighter colors and more aggressive retrieves can help bass locate your bait.
- Weather: Overcast days can make bass more aggressive, while sunny days might require a more finesse approach.
6. Be Patient and Observant
- Watch for Signs: Look for visual cues like bass guarding nests or baitfish activity. The video context from "How To Find And Catch Summer Bass!" highlights the importance of using electronics to locate fish, which can also be useful during the spawn.
If you have any more specific questions or need further clarification on any of these points, feel free to ask! Happy fishing, and tight lines!
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The Key to ALL Bass Fishing | Bass Fishing Tips by Steve Rogers Outdoors → swim bait head is a perfect example it's very easy to Target those 20 plus foot depths when you use a larger swim bait head the next one is deep diving crankbaits this is probably one of the most inefficient presentations that we can have when bass fishing because of the length of the cast if you're using those big lures those big build big lift crankbaits you've got to have really really long casts because the crank bait is in the zone for such a short period of time so make sure you throw way past your intended target and then bring it back towards it and you're going to just completely transform your deep diving crankbait fishing and the last one that I want to talk about is our surface lures our top water lures we very much have to determine whether we're throwing to targets or not and if you're throwing to specific things like isolated weed patches working down to lay down want it to sit around a dock well then you need to be choosing top Waters that can sit there your poppers your frogs even a walking bait to a degree because you can pause it and leave it sit there here now if you're working larger weed beds larger lengths of Shoreline you're trying to search for fish then our efficiency is going to be picked up with those top water lures that really cover water your buzzbait your Whopper
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Fishing Single Swimbaits for Prespawn Bass by Wired2Fish → swimming bait out on the river ledge
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Summer Bass Fishing Tricks: Swimbaits and Crankbaits! by TacticalBassin → over that deep water and we can catch them anywhere in between the fact that they're on that outside structure doesn't mean that they're deep sometimes on these outside points it's a square bill bite sometimes it's a spinnerbait bite sometimes it's tall water and sometimes it's deep cranking throwing a jig throwing a big worm we're gonna make a move we'll start running around see if we can't catch some more fish got him that's what we're talking about look at that swim bait just choked that is the five inch burrito and he wanted it man that's fun so you notice i started out with a little bait now obviously i'm throwing a much larger bait the tennessee river where i am is much more diverse than most fisheries so here if i'm in the back of a creek maybe they're eating a little bait or maybe there's big bait back there i get out here on the main river now i've run into them and they're chasing big gizzard chad and i can actually physically see it if they come up schooling busting on the surface i'll actually see the size of the bait fish so here i have to be prepared with all these different sizes to match what's going on on your lake it's probably not that way you can find the right size bait whether that's a two inch bait a four inch bait an eight inch bait
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Top 5 Post Spawn Baits by TacticalBassin → you a Matt Allen here welcome back to tactical Bassin I just got off the California Delta spent the day out there power fishing and got to thinking you know this can be a tough transition this switch from the spawn going into those early summer patterns a lot of people just get disoriented kind of lose where the fish are and it can be difficult to find them again but this is also one of the best times of year for power fishing for going out there and just hammer and down throwing baits looking for those big bites so I thought I'd run you through the top five baits that I like to throw during this transitional period the first one the swim jig is a bait that I just absolutely love I've talked about it a lot over the years but the big difference during this transitional time is that I'm not throwing my typical heavy swim jig a lot of the times I'm not even using the California swim jig I dropped down to dirty Jake's just standard swim jig 3/8 a lot of the time I'll even go down to quarter if that grass is really coming up in the water column and then depending on which one I'm throwing I'll match it with a chi tech trailer for the quarter ounce I'll use the three point eight for the eight that are excuse me for the 3/8 ounce
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Swim Jig Tricks To Catch Spring And Summer Bass! by TacticalBassin → fishing lakes that are full of grass lily pads Reeds tulies I mean it's just a given right if your bass are eating bluegill it's a given if they're eating large bait fish it's a given a swim jig should be in your lineup it's very similar to a spinner bait or a ChatterBait it's just a finesser version of that on days where they don't want to eat all that flash all that vibration all that movement they'll still pick off a swim jig so it lands perfectly between a spinner bait and a ChatterBait and just a bare swimbait swim jigs are that whole Gap in the middle and that's why I'm telling you if you're not throwing them you're blowing it because that Gap in the middle is a huge space where they work very well in a lot lot of situations now there are guys throwing swim jigs paired with everything under the sun all sorts of different craw trailers creature trailers doing the Alabama Shake shaking that Rod while they're working that bait to create secondary motion out of the skirt just straight up I don't do that uh I believe very strongly in pairing swimbaits to my swim jigs that's how I fish them 100% of the time I mean it's so so rare that I would put a craw on a swim jig personally I'm just telling you how I throw them and I'm going to teach you how I throw them
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How To Find And Catch Summer Bass! (Big Swimbaits, Flutter Spoons, And Topwater Tips) by TacticalBassin → we do have one bass so that's a bonus but uh i think it's time to make a move days like this you got to cover a lot of water you know i was hoping that last spot would eventually i'd weed through the little guys and find a school of baskets there was bait all over that that ledge and i could see the fish eat you know blowing up through them and and feeding on them uh just no bass so i do have a little bit of a current so a little bit of current so that's good i'm gonna continue to run some offshore stuff uh use the electronic side imaging down imaging trying to find uh some bass some actively feeding bass i've caught everything but today catfish drum bluegill white yellow just one of those days but hopefully so here's the game plan got some bait right here on site imaging the game plan is to side image some of these ledges if i don't come across the school then i will completely switch gears put away the deep stuff the ledge stuff and go shallow frogs swim jigs top water that sort of stuff and see if we can find some active fish in the backs of some of these little cuts but uh it's just one of those days you know it happens but i'm still having fun catching a ton of fish just the wrong species so uh hopefully fingers crossed
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