fishingaddictsnorthwest.com

I thought April showers were supposed to bring May flowers, not monsoon rains and record-setting cold temperatures? It’s the third coldest May on record around these parts. Friends and I were wondering if plunging water temperatures might just put Bass on rewind, back into pre-spawn mode.

If you take a look at my most recent Largemouth picture, you will see that this big female is still carrying eggs and has a sore tail from preparing a bed for the spawn. Definitely a pre-spawn fish. Though all fish do not spawn at precisely the same time, even on the same body of water, I think we will find a similar story in most Southwest Washington waters. Every cloud comes with a silver lining, and the cold rain might just extend some crazy spring Bass fishing. I can deal with that.

The pictured fish could not resist a new River-2-Sea, double-jointed, floating stick bait in Rainbow Trout pattern. I had placed it right next to a corner of flooded brush. She hit near the surface of 3 feet of water after I gave up on twitching the bait. I had just started to move it toward me when she grabbed it and then tried to dive back into the brush. Even in chilly water, this fish had plenty of fight. Three times on the way to the boat I had to wrestle her back out of different spots along the brush line. The water was dingy with new run-off and because of our tangles in the brush, I was not really too sure how big of a fish I was dealing with. After finally being forced away from the shoreline she made a dash for the boat, freight-trained underneath and right out the other side. When I tried to pull her back to my side, I had to pull so hard that I thought maybe she was wrapped on something. No, just a strong, heavy fish. I netted her, amazed at the depth of her body and the thick hump of her back. The backwaters of the Columbia hold such treasures, but finding high enough water and pre-spawn-attractive flooded brush can be a challenge. With all the recent rain, it wasn’t too much of a challenge this time. Who knows? Maybe the water will stay up as the temperature comes up and we’ll have a few more weeks to try such areas?

I still have some more River-2-Sea baits to try out, including some really detailed, realistic salamander imitations, complete with adjustable brush guards. There is also a dandy, sinking, single-jointed Rainbow Trout patterned bait that seductively ‘walks the dog’ underwater with a little practice. It has a hard body, but it comes with a replaceable soft plastic tail. Now that’s attention to detail! If they are as productive as the floating version, I’ll be very pleased. I have not tried them yet but there are also some very highly detailed soft plastic crawdad imitations as well. This new line of baits is available at Wholesale Sports in Vancouver, and I know I’m not the only guy picking them up.

A few weeks ago my friend Ken and I went East up the Columbia Gorge to see if we could find some Smallmouth. We found three foot waves and cold wind, but we also found some good fish. Using the old standby lipless crankbaits, we found fish around the usual suspects: Underwater humps and small rocky islands. Sheer rock walls that work for me in warmer water seemed to hold no fish at all. Though I fished them with confidence, soft plastics such as grubs or tubes produced only a few fish. The water was barely 50 degrees and probably too cold for a good grub bite. But it was great to get smacked by Smallies chasing the crankbaits. Lucky Craft seemed to produce the best, and I also did well with a blue and chrome Rapala and a red Rattle Trap. The size of the fish was nothing to write home about, as you can see in the picture, but the rollicking, racing, yanking fight of a Smallmouth of any size is always a thrill. Just a week later, my friend Josh was able to blast a 5+ pounder in the same general area. It’s just going to keep getting better as the temperature rises, and I recently heard a rumor of Salmon fishermen complaining about ‘nuisance’ Smallmouth hitting their baits!

Every Spring has its own character. Usually May is a dependable, uniformly warming month, but not this year. I suspect that we will snap back into more ‘normal’ weather and a rapid warming spell in the next few weeks. This means that Bass fishermen will need to stay adaptable, ready to hunt pre-spawn or spawning fish, and ready with either foul-weather gear or shorts and T-shirts!

I recommend having several rods baited up and ready to go. Have a stickbait rod, a soft-plastic rod, a spinnerbait rod, a crankbait rod and a top water rod with a Zara Spook, a River-2-Sea floater or a buzzbait ready to tempt surface-striking fish. Low-light hours will probably be better for your top water offerings. Remember, never give up after being short struck on any hardbait. Immediately put a soft plastic such as a worm, a tube, a creature or a lizard right back into that same area. You might just score big on the second strike! Use scents! They work, and the lubrication helps your baits move through weeds and snags more freely. Vary your retrieves, especially with spinnerbaits and crankbaits. Short pauses and bursts of speed will arouse fish more than a steady, predictable retrieve. Remember that Largemouth can have spawning beds anywhere from 1 foot to ten feet deep. If you use your Polarized sunglasses and look for them, you might just find them. When fishing flooded brush during midday, cast to the deepest shade areas and don’t pass up indentations or ‘pockets’ in the brush. Even small changes in a brush line  or any weed line or shoreline – might hold big fish!

If it stays cool and rainy, just put your rain gear on and get out there! I hustled off the water when the thunder and lightning started today, but the rain wasn’t so bad. Catching a nice big fish can make you forget having to wear a raincoat!

Your fellow Bassing fanatic,

Bob

Read original blog post