It’s not hard to tell where most bass anglers like to fish during the spawn. The armada of boats beating the banks kind of gives it away.
And it only stands to reason that anglers trying to catch spawning bass fish shallow water since the beds have to be shallow enough to soak up the sun’s rays.
“But the bank isn’t the only place in this lake where you can find shallow water,” said Bassmaster Elite Series pro Dennis Tietje. “There are literally hundreds of ridges out in the main lake that top out at the perfect spawning depth.”
Many of these ridges feature sandy tops surrounded by some kind of grass.
“If you can locate some ridges with eel grass, that’s key for locating good spawning ridges because that eel grass grows on sandy bottoms,” Tietje explained.
Of course the main problem with bed fishing the main lake ridges is wind. That’s why Tietje cherry picks the days he tries them out.
“If we can get a calm full-moon period, those ridges come alive,” he said. “And since these main-lake fish are generally the last of the bunch to spawn, we might find some out there during April but — since everything is a month behind — they just might turn on during May.”