Spring Conditions

As I sat down to write this month’s article, I was facing a dilemma at a Major League Fishing event that many anglers face in the late winter and early spring. We’d had a variety of weather conditions within a few days that are typical of the season we are in. Within less than a week’s time, we had days in the 70s followed by heavy rain; then, nights below freezing that warmed with each day, followed by more heavy rain in the forecast. Wind directions varied each day. One day the wind blew very hard from the south; then, they switched to a north wind following the front; and one day, there was no wind at all. Finding an approach to catch fish on a day like any one of these could be tricky because at any time, the mood, location or bait preferences of the fish can change just because of the weather. Trying to tackle this entire scenario could take a book and then some and still probably not cover it all, but just for fun, let’s pick apart just one of these days/conditions. 

The day after this article was written was forecast as unseasonably warm. Heavy rain was likely, and the wind was forecast to be strong out of the south and west until the front passed. Approaching fronts like this could trigger the bass to feed for a variety of reasons. First of all, the water temperature is on an upward trend, especially in the shallower areas. In late winter and early spring, the bass are gearing up for the spawn. Each time the water warms, they tend to move shallower, perhaps to search out the spawning grounds and feed along the way. They also like to take advantage of the warm water in the shallows.