BASS FISHING DURING SPAWN: Sight Fishing For Giants Isn’t Easy

WORDS: George Robey IMAGES: Supplied Although spawn fishing has drawn criticism over the years, it has emerged as an accepted form of bass fishing. Widespread approval by American and local tournament elites has served to gain recognition of fish care as an integral part of spawn fishing. Opponents to spring spawn fishing argue that it diminishes overall spawning success by way of increased egg predation and focuses on the removal of the biggest bass with the best genetic character. Others consider it a breach of fair chase and liken it to ‘shooting fish in a barrel.’ The conservation issue merits worthy discussion but the notion that spawn fishing is easy holds no water. Smaller males that build and guard nests can be more aggressive than the larger females and it would be safe to report that more smaller males are caught than trophy females. It’s not easy to lure a big female off the nest. However, many unanswered, complex questions about the effects of spawn fishing remain. Fisheries managers in the well-regulated regions of North America enact rules and set seasons based upon site specific research. Not every lake can withstand unregulated spawn fishing. South Africa does not enjoy the services of fisheries professionals who manage individual lakes, so it remains incumbent upon individual anglers to employ high standards. It may look easy, but catching a large female during the spring season requires time, effort and skill. Handle these big bass carefully and release them quickly! Too many anglers see super-sized bass in and around nest sites and expect to catch them instantly. Biologists reckon that spawn fishing must be measured in terms of angling pressure on a given body of water, size of the dam, predator densities, overall bass population and a host of other variables. In any event, an angler provides the greatest chance for individual spawning success by immediately releasing a fish caught off the nest. One of South Africa’s top bass anglers and holder of the current national record, Wayne Naude regards Loskop Dam as his home water. Here he shares tactics that can be transferred to other lakes throughout southern Africa and shares his views regarding conservation. Wayne’s exploits with super-sized Loskop bass have become legendary. H says his chase begins in late winter, say during the last two weeks of July when male bass start moving into shallow water and clear out nests. Wayne calls it ‘prep work’ and suggests anglers who record nest locations in July will save time when the bigger females arrive. Most of the nests are built in 3-10 foot of water. Often, these male bass between 500g and 2,5kg can be caught within thirty minutes by taunting them with a range of baits because they aggressively guard the nest site. Wayne does not fish for them and suggests anglers who want to catch a larger female should not disturb the male fish. Wayne has achieved widespread acclaim for his big bass prowess at Loskop. The first females arrive at the nest sites 2-3 weeks after the males have cleared them out, sometime during August or September, depending on water temperature. Wayne has found however that the biggest females of 4kg-plus linger and only arrive about five weeks after nest construction. His biggest spawn bass is a big female of 5,54kg that he spotted two weeks before he caught it. He recalls that the fish would come onto the nest and as soon as he pitched a bait she would swim off and then return later after 10 to 15minutes, a behaviour that he has often experienced when the fish move in and out like that and won’t commit to the bait. Two weeks later he returned to the nest in the early afternoon and saw that she had just laid her eggs that day. It took only two casts to get the fish to commit and after a few photos was released safely back onto the nest. Too many anglers see super-sized bass in and around nest sites and expect to catch them immediately. It’s rarely that easy. Anglers who hunt trophy bass in the 3kg and 4kg class will need to work the female four and even five times a day until she is willing to commit to the bait, and the bigger females over 4kg may even require many days of multiple attempts. “Spend time on the dam, don’t expect a 3kg on your first few trips there,” Wayne states emphatically. Wayne’s bait of choice for spawn fishing is a swimjig with a pink fluke trailer or a drop-shot rig with a purple, coffee-scented finesse worm. A half ounce swimjig is preferred because the head shape does not get caught in rocks like other types of jigs. The pink trailer is important because it makes it clear to see when the fish takes a bite and it disappears. Pitch the bait about 10ft over it and slowly bring it in onto the nest, trying not to disturb the female. Boat positioning becomes an important consideration. It is advisable to stay 25-30ft away to give space for the fish to move around the nest. Top Tip: The “sweet spot” of the nest is more on the deeper side of the nest. Wayne stays 25-30ft away to give space for the fish to move around the nest. When the wind picks up, it’s better to move to the deeper, downwind side to avoid going over the nests, he advises. Conservation is an important consideration and Loskop Dam receives an undue amount of fishing pressure with all species, including carp, kurper and bass suffering from overfishing, so it is most important to release females back into the nest within the first 5 minutes, because carp, catfish and kurper move onto the nests within minutes to eat the eggs.

BASS FISHING DURING SPAWN: Sight Fishing For Giants Isn’t Easy

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