2021 Weekend Of All Bass Fishing Weekends!

| May 22, 2021

Some of the easiest bass fishing of the season comes during the spawning period. Bass settle down en masse in to predictable patterns and zones where all one has to do it to find the other boats, and start fishing.

There is some controversy surrounding bass fishing during this period. It’s important to know the facts that go along with the biology of the species and the environment. I can think of no better source than Michigan’s own Dan Kimmel and a letter that he wrote in response to this very question. You can find it here: Bass tournament is justified, despite spawn questions

Trent picks this one up at exactly 5 lbs

Each year I get asked, “When is the best time to come up and fish for bass on Lake St. Clair?” This question is asked months in advance as people are lining up their vacation time to coincide with the best bass fishing in one of the top bass fisheries on the planet. The answer is always the same…It depends on the weather.

Stable weather is best for smallmouth bass fishing, increasing temps are best for driving the arrival of the spawning period. Last week we had stable, this week the temps are rapidly increasing. It’s game time!

You will see many pre-spawn bass fishing presentations drop off in effectiveness as soft plastics and slower presentations start to dominate. Color selection can be important but presentation will be more so. It’s not like I don’t start off my day with a tube and a drop-shot 100% of the time but that will factor in even more now. Female smallmouth will move a bait off of and away from their beds but hang something overhead and they become aggressive.

If you ever wanted to try something like the Float ‘n Fly bobber system for bass, now is the time. I’ve modified that to include the Xtreme Bass Tackle drop-shot tubes on a very light jig head under a bobber. It’s fun to catch them that way but what is more fun is to watch the expression of the bass anglers around you. At first they laugh at how backward and unsophisticated you appear until you lift the results out of the water and display your catch. Priceless!

(Article on fishing the ‘main body’ spawn and the modified float and fly system that Capt. Mike and I developed in the 90’s we call the “Whopper Popper.”)

At any rate, enjoy this brief period while it lasts. A “main body” spawn can last for weeks under the right conditions. Based on the way the temperatures have suddenly turned hot, this one should be over as fast as it started.

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About the Author ()

Wayne Carpenter is the owner of Xtreme Bass Tackle and Combat Fishing, and author of No Secrets on Lake St. Clair.

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