3 Places To Look For Spawning Bass

The spawn is one of the best times of the year to get out on the water and bass fish. The sight of a big female on a bed will give even the most veteran angler a shot of adrenalin, only to be eclipsed by the excitement of getting the big girl boatside.If you’re new to sight fishing, and suspect the bass are spawning in your local haunt – we asked some of the top Mystery Tackle Box pros for the inside scoop on the most common places to look for beds; and here’s what they gave us:

Spawning Bass Near Dock Pilings

In lakes with lots of shoreline development, one of the main places bass spawn is around the pilings of docks. Bass need a relatively hard bottom to lay their eggs, and the footings of docks offer just the right substrate. Put your trolling motor on high, and cover as much water as possible while looking around the footings of every dock you see. If you see a bed, mark its location, back out and pitch a weightless stick bait like the BioSpawn ExoStick to the bed.

Spawning Bass In Laydowns

For some reason, bedding bass also like to integrate some form of vertical cover into their spawning location. Because of that, laydowns and shoreline stickups are also common places to find a bass fanning out a bed. If the water is clear enough, ease up to a laydown and look. In dingy water, slowly flip a soft plastic creature like the Strike King rodent to the base of each laydown, and any larger branches. If you don’t get bit on the fall, shake it on the bottom a couple times before moving on – sometimes spawners take a little while to find your bait.

Spawning Bass In Holes in Vegetation

In lakes where vegetation is the dominant source of cover, bass will usually spawn in any hard bottom areas within a grass bed. To the angler, these usually show up as holes – or bare spots in a patch of vegetation. Rather than go in and inspect, stay back and cast a Texas-rigged soft plastic worm or craw like the Bruiser Baits Crazy Craw to every hole you can.