March 23: Bass Report

It feels like spring in the air, but the water temperature will tell you otherwise.  The dogwoods may be blooming, but the fish are certainly not spawning quite yet.  We consider most of the lakes around Western North Carolina to be highland reservoirs and that is what I will be referring to most in this report, keep in mind you may be in a slightly different area of the southeast and could be seeing fish in a little bit different stage of the spawn.

What I am seeing on the water here is definitely a very early prespawn pattern.  There is a wave of bass that are beginning to move toward spawning areas as the days warm.  Most of the bass in the movement seem to be in the first quarter of creek arms leading back to the big spawning flats; each warm day we have will move these fish further along in the creek closer and closer to the flat for spawning.  Now, the kicker here will be cold nights that are predicted for the coming week of March the 6th.  Temperatures are shown to be dropping down in the low 30s overnight and this is going to greatly impact the surface temperature on the lake and really slow the spawning movement.

This being said, what is catching fish right now is a jerkbait and a small paddle tail swimbait on secondary points in creeks and the mouth of these creek arms.  Instead of making casts from deep water to shallow water on these points, try making a paralleling cast along the sides and the fronts of the point.  Most of the concentrations of fish will be along the break lines from shallow to deep water on these spots.  On sunny days as the sun warms the water you will notice this bite may start to dissipate, the main reason is often because these fish have pulled up shallow in the warmer weather.  At this point when the deep bite dies off, in the same area, get the boat up shallow near the bank and look for cruising fish.  A few techniques to keep in your hand to catch the shallow cruisers: Wacky rig stick bait, Weightless fluke, 1/8oz shakey head, glide bait.  In clear shallow water the cruising fish can be spooky, start off making long casts with light baits and light line to get more bites!

As always, if you have any questions about your local fishery, or about ways we’re targeting bass on the lake right now feel free to shoot me an email anytime!

Captain Ty
ty@headwatersoutfitters.com