The bass spawn offers anglers time to catch some of the best fish in their body of water all year.
As water temperatures start warming up, bass will begin migrating from their deeper wintering holes to shallow spawning areas to lay their eggs. The good news for bass fishermen is before they go on beds, those fish are actively feeding up.
“Pre-spawn fish are feeding fish,” said Scott Canterbury. “ … You don’t have to fish super slow. You don’t have to talk them into it.”
This aggressive pre-spawn bite allows anglers to utilize baits such as crankbaits, swimbaits, vibrating jigs, and swimming and flipping jigs to cover water in search of fish.
Once those bass make the move to lay eggs, it’s time to slow down and be more thorough in certain areas. Canterbury recommends picking an area apart with soft plastic baits like stickbaits or creature baits – or by covering an area with a flipping jig.
Regardless of the bait you pick up, Canterbury says there’s only one place to go.
“You’re going to be concentrating on the thickest cover you can get to.”
Catching post-spawn bass is very similar to catching pre-spawn bass. They will be aggressively feeding again. The post-spawn for bass also coincides with both the shad and bluegill spawns.
Targeting bass during the post-spawn is often something done at night or very early in the morning with techniques like topwater lures or spinnerbaits. Meanwhile, post-spawn bass will target bluegill beds all throughout the bluegill spawn.
In this bass fishing class seminar video, Canterbury goes into more detail about exactly how water temperatures affect the bass spawn, what baits to throw during the different spawning periods, and takes an in-depth look at how the shad and bluegill spawn change post-spawn fishing to help you catch more fish.
Key Fishing Around The Spawn Topics

0:50 What Water Temperature Do Bass Spawn?
3:15 Key Times Of Year For Spawning Bass
5:00 Pre-Spawn Water Temperatures
6:20 Understanding Migratory Routes Of Spawning Bass
8:40 Best Pre-Spawn Cover For Bass
13:10 Best Bait For Pre-Spawn Bass
15:20 Importance Of Jig Fishing
26:10 Tips And Tricks To Modifying Jigs
30:40 Water Temperature For Spawning Bass
32:20 Best Cover For Spawning Bass
40:00 Best Baits For Bass During The Spawn
48:50 Understanding The Shad Spawn
51:50 Understanding The Bluegill Spawn
55:00 Tips And Tricks For Bed Fishing
58:50 Targeting Spotted Bass During The Spawn

Buy tackle from this class from our partners at Tackle Warehouse
As an affiliate, we receive a small commission if you purchase using these links
Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap Original - https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Bill_Lewis_Rat-L-Trap/descpage-RT5.html?from=butv
Heddon Super Spook Lure - https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Heddon_Super_Spook_Walking_Bait/descpage-EXSS.html?from=butv
Lowrance ActiveTarget 2 Live Sonar w/Transducer - https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Lowrance_ActiveTarget_2_Sonar_Kit/descpage-ACTATK.html?from=butv
NetBait BaitFuel Dagger - https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/NetBait_BaitFuel_Dagger_Creature_Bait/descpage-NBBFD.html?from=butv
NetBait BaitFuel Fish Attractant Gel - https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/BaitFuel_Freshwater_Gel_5oz/descpage-NBBFA.html?from=butv
NetBait BaitFuel Paca Slim - https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/NetBait_BaitFuel_Paca_Slim_Craw/descpage-NBPSC.html?from=butv
P-Line Fluorocarbon Fishing Line - https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/P-Line_Ultimate_Fluorocarbon_Line/descpage-PLPFC.html?from=butv
P-Line Tactical Flourcarbon Line - https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/P-Line_Tactical_Fluorocarbon_Line/descpage-PLS.html?from=butv
Rebel Pop R Topwater Lure - https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Rebel_Pop-R_Topwater_Popper/descpage-RPR.html?from=butv
Yamamoto Senko Lure - https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Yamamoto_Senko/descpage-YAS.html?from=butv
Z-Man Evergreen Chatterbait Jack Hammer - https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Z-Man_Evergreen_Chatterbait_Jack_Hammer/descpage-ZEJACKX.html?from=butv
Zoom Baby Brush Hog Bait - https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Zoom_Tiny_Brush_Hog_15pk/descpage-ZTBH.html?from=butv