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How to target spawning bass in the Delta with swimbaits?

When targeting spawning bass in the Delta with swimbaits, there are several techniques you can employ to increase your chances of success. Here's a breakdown of effective strategies, some of which are supported by the video context provided:

  1. Imitate Natural Prey: As Brian Snowden mentioned, during the spawn, bass are highly protective of their nests and will chase away any potential threats, including bluegill. Using swimbaits that mimic the look and movement of bluegill or other natural prey can trigger aggressive strikes from spawning bass. Choose swimbaits with realistic color patterns and profiles that resemble the local forage.

  2. Sight Fishing: If you can visually locate the bass on their beds, as discussed in the Bass University video, you can use a swimbait to entice a reaction strike. Cast past the bed and slowly retrieve the swimbait over it. The key is to keep the swimbait in the strike zone as long as possible, giving the bass ample opportunity to attack it.

  3. Weightless Rigging: Rigging your swimbait weightless, as shown in the Bass University video, allows the bait to stay just below the surface and in the line of sight of the spawning bass. This can be particularly effective in shallow water where bass may be more easily spooked by heavier presentations.

  4. Slow and Steady Retrieve: When bass are spawning, they may not be as willing to chase down fast-moving prey. A slow, steady retrieve that keeps the swimbait in close proximity to the bed can be more effective. This allows the bass to zero in on the swimbait without expending too much energy.

  5. Targeting Transition Areas: As LakeForkGuy suggests, during the pre-spawn phase, bass may be found in transition areas as they move up to spawn. Fishing swimbaits along these routes can intercept bass as they stage before moving onto their beds.

  6. Varying Sizes: Depending on the size of the forage in your specific area of the Delta, you may need to switch up the size of your swimbaits. As the TacticalBassin video highlights, matching the size of the local baitfish is crucial. If you observe larger baitfish like gizzard shad, don't hesitate to throw a larger swimbait to match the hatch.

Remember to adjust your tactics based on the behavior of the bass and the conditions of the day. Sometimes, it may take a few different presentations to figure out what the bass are responding to. Always be prepared to switch up your approach if you're not getting bites, and pay close attention to the bass's behavior to inform your technique.

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Transcript
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Video
Great Tactic for Spawning Bass in the Spring by LakeForkGuy hey guys I wanted to share a technique with you that can be really killer this time of year when bass are about to move up and spawn and get in that you know little finicky cruising type deal or maybe they are spawning they're just a little bit deeper this technique works really well and a little backstory is I had a co angler and the FLW ever start series years ago that caught twice the weight I did out of the back of the boat I think I had like 14 pounds and he had 24 pounds or something like that something crazy and he ended up winning the tournament fishing a fluke magic shad some sort of whatever your fluke style bait is of preference watermelon watermelon red watermelon candy some sort of that variation maybe green pumpkin if it's pretty stained but you're trying to imitate those bluegill so what you're doing is you're taking that bait you want to get you some some dip and globe or whatever your favorite dye is and dip a large portion of it in the dip and globe so take it and it's not just a little accent it's like the half of the bait a quarter to half of the bait really accent that thing out and let that dry don't want to get this on the boat perfect and you want to rig this on a very sharp hook and use about 12 to 14 pound
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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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Fishing Single Swimbaits for Prespawn Bass by Wired2Fish swimming bait out on the river ledge
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Top Spring Tips for Finding Spawning Bass | April Swimbait Fishing Secrets by The Bass University through the nose of the bait there's actually a little little hook insertion point there you're going to come down come out underneath the lip there just like so it's basically you're just Texas rigging the bait we designed this bait with a nice hook channel here okay so you can follow that hook Channel this is the six salt super line again I'm gonna go down into the bait turn the hook around okay I'm going to come right out the back okay just like so and then I'm going to skin hook it put the tip of the hook right back in the bait so there it is rigged weightless on a six alt super line hook and what that allows this bait to do is it is it allows to just get barely underneath the water column six eight ten inches okay and that is the key when you're using location baits for spawning fish I want to be able to always keep my eye on that bait during the retrieve and I'll get I'll give you a quick example so I was at the Mississippi River several years back fishing an FLW Tour event the Smallmouth were spawning but a lot of the places they were spawning you could not see them you could not visually see them they might have been in a foot foot and a half two foot of water but you couldn't visually see them
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Using swimbaits during the spawn with Brian Snowden by Bassmaster so it's the spawning season you've probably got a big one on the bed it's not reacted to your simple soft plastic probably that you're flipping in Bryant how are you gonna stay and are you gonna give up or you gonna give one of these babies maybe a big swim a to try before you do leave that spawn of fish well I'm always gonna give the big swim a to try you know I grew up in California so we kind of were accustomed to a lot of swim baits we were making them out of broomsticks and all sorts of different things when it first happened but now we've got some really cool ones we've got a variety of sizes and these are two of my favorite these are just bluegill invitations to win those bass are betting one of the things that I always want to chase away from their fry or the eggs is bluegill they come in they'll feed on the in the nest to feed on the fry and so natural instincts for Masse's to chase one away you've probably watched one swims in bass always chases it away so what we use is when you have a nice quality fish that you really need for that fifth fish in the turn of the day we're gonna use something like this it's efficient won't cooperate with the normal and what I like to do is I'm not really expecting to catch a fish
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Swimbait Tricks for Spring Smallmouth Bass - Great Lakes and Beyond by Wired2Fish can keep a bait moving down through here and bouncing it across the top of these big giant boulders and like so we can cover more water quicker and then i just maximize our time that we're out here there we go on up here brown guy love it when a plant comes together that's the kind you want right there he didn't like that rage swimmer did he just choked it right down there stuck in the roof of his head perfect another lake erie football see we can't go back out here and get us another one come on big guy swim off very easy

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