The spawn is on for largemouth bass this month in the South. For Caleb Sumrall of New Iberia, La., a Bassmaster Elite Series angler who’s teamed up with Xpress Boats and Kysek, it’s one of his favorite months. He said catching big numbers of March bass is often a struggle, but the ones you catch will be among the biggest you’ll see all year.
“This time of year, finding the fish is the key. They will be in different stages of the spawn throughout the month, and March has some pretty unpredictable weather. So the fish can be anywhere on any given day, and in a totally different area the next,” said Sumrall.
One thing’s for sure, he said: “Bass will go shallow to spawn at some point this month, which is why I run with confidence my new Xpress X21 Pro in really thin water in search of these ladies.
“Big rains and the muddy water they create may push bass out of the shallows for a short period of time, but they’re going to spawn in the shallows,” he said. “March can also have some extreme cold fronts move through. That will push them off the shallows too. But they won’t venture too far. When those weather conditions push them out, they still have that goal of coming back to the shallows. They’ll just wait it out until the weather normalizes.
“I focus on places where the fish will be spawning: dead-end canals, steeper banks and any type of hard cover like cypress trees, laydowns and stuff like that.”
Lures
Sumrall said anglers can get by with just a few lures in March. He said the key to presenting lures this time of year is keeping it in the strike zone as long as possible.
“The key to this time of year is rate of fall,” he said. “You want a real slow fall. The fish aren’t trying to feed that hard, so you just want something slow and in their face as long as you can get it. You want anywhere from 20- to 30-pound braided line, depending on the surrounding cover. This time of year, if you put a bait in their face with the right presentation, you will get some bites.
The handful of lures Sumrall uses this month includes the Missile Baits D Bomb creature bait, a Missile Baits 48 stick worm and a Kajun Boss spinnerbait.
“You want to cover water and try to locate the fish. And you want to go with a light weight. I like a 1/4-ounce weight on the D Bomb and the spinnerbait. And I go with 1/16-ounce on the 48,” he said.
Sumrall watches the weather and makes sure to be on the water during any warming trend, especially around the full moon and after a cold spell.
“The biggest dictator this month is the weather. If you hit the day right on a warming trend when the fish are spawning, you will have a good day,” he said.
The Xpress X21 Pro
Sumrall chose to run the Xpress X21 Pro this year powered by Yamaha and has fallen in love with the boat, its performance, its storage and the Xpress Boats family.
“Caleb has become part of our great family and it is obvious that his passion, talent and skill set fit perfectly into our team,” said Clay Connor, Director of Marketing for Xpress.
Be sure to stop by and see Caleb at the Louisiana Sportsman Show in Gonzales! He will be there with his new boat and is scheduled for demos Friday, March 13, and Saturday, March 14.
