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Lakecaster Online Archives – Feb, 2002

Pre Spawn Fishing

By Chris Wilkerson

BACK to Fishing Tips Index

…….It was great to see everyone at the Houston Boat and Travel Show. The sow was a huge success in spite of the recent events. There were alot of new boats and tackle introduced. I was working for the Lakecaster and Travis Boating Center Booths in which gave me a lot of opportunity to speak with customers about our area as far as fishing goes along with promoting and educating customers on the quality of Ranger Boats.

Spring fever is fast approaching and will be here before you we know it!X It is time to clean up the boat or stock the new boat with tackle.

This is my favorite time of the year for bass fishing. Most all of the bass move shallow in the spring to spawn. This gives all anglers a good chance of catching a big bass during February, March and April. At some time during the period all fish will come to the bank to spawn. This occurs in three stages and they are as follows: the pre-spawn, spawn, and post spawn. Pre-spawn is when bass migrating from there winter homes toward spawning areas. They use creeks, and drains as highways for the spawning areas. When they near the spawning area they tend to stack up together in staging areas. This will typically be a ditch of drain with 5 to 8 feet of water. A shallow flat will be near by. An intersection of two creeks of a bend is the best place to search for this. Once you have located a staging spot they will normally be at this area every spring.

The bass will move up in the shallows and then move back down in the deeper water with the passages of cold fronts and changes in water temperatures. My confidents baits for the pre-pawn bass fishing is the single Colorado bladed spinner bait slowly rolled. The medium depth crankbait such as a Norman Middle N and a suspending rogue in gold/black back. Also a Cyclone tube for pin pointing structure. These are fro the most part the only baits to use during February when fishing for staging bass. A slow retrieve is a must to be successful.

The best areas on Lake Livingston to catch bass in February are Penwaugh slough, Carolina Creek and Pools Creek. These creeks are natural spawning areas. You will want to concentrate in the channel bends and stumps under the water in 2 to 6 ft of water. On warm day;so you can go shallow with your spinner baits and then back out if that is not successful.

Once you catch on there will be more close by , so really work the area thoroughly. The bass tend to stay together in pools this time of the year, so get out and join in on the best fishing of the year.

Next month I will cover the spawning bass, bed fishing and sight fishing. The white bass are making there spawning run way up the river above the 19 bridge. You can really load the boat with them right now in the river. They will begin to return to the main lake in April.

So always remember before you head out on your next trip to make sure you evaluate the water levels and it’s current conditions to plan for a successful trip. For up to the minute water levels and releases. You can visit my website at www.texasproguide.com and click on lake levels. I also run a professional guide service on Lake Livingston and Lake Sam Rayburn. I can meet each and every need from instructional fishing to the tournament level, you can give me call at (936) 329-2750. As always, these trip are great ideas for you and you family, and especially the kids.

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