Once again I asked my friend Joey Monteleone to share some tips with me, in particular prespawn tips. As January winds down and gives way to February, the anglers and the fish in the southeast are ready for change. In this post Joey shares some great information for prespawn bass fishing. I hope you enjoy his insight and expertise as much as I do.

Happy Fishing!



Ah, Spring      
by: Joey Monteleone,

  Fishing is not a year around activity for everyone; most people choose to winterize their boats and their fishing activities at the same time. I will fish if there is any possible chance, I’m going.   

 There is a lot of satisfaction in catching fish under difficult conditions even if it’s just one or two. Most people because of limited time in their schedule wait for the calendar to flip over to late April or even the month of May to hit the water. Dependent geographically on where you live, if that’s north you might get a later start but fishing can really get cranked up in the south in late February. Not so much numbers of fish, but big bass, catfish and enough crappie to make it interesting can be the reward of the early season angler. Watch surface water temperature as the key indicator of when to grab your gear and go. Here’s a closer look at that and more: 

• All the Signs- It’s impossible to ever be certain that you’re going to load the boat but you can tilt the odds in your favor by watching for the natural signs. A great place to begin is with surface water temperature. Fifty can be a blessing or a curse depending on which direction it’s going. Dropping in the fall to 50 degrees or lower means it’s about to start getting tough to catch fish. When the water temperature reaches a sustainable 50 degrees, hang on. The cycle of activity increases dramatically when the water warms. Bass have a wide tolerance level to temperature from middle 30’s to low 90’s while they may be stressed and extremely inactive they can survive. Catch rates will increase as will the fish digestive rate, proportionately to the rise in water temperatures.  Watch for south winds, a few sunny days in a row and look for hard bottom composition, like rock on the Northwest side of the body of water your fishing. With the sun rising in the east and setting in the west the northwest side gets the longest exposure to the sun and warms up more quickly. Two or three degrees difference in an area will draw bait and bass as well as other gamefish.
• Shoreline life – In many instances I try to walk the bank anywhere before I fish. My interest is in seeing what food sources are stirring so I can surmise what fish might be feeding on. This is different throughout seasons of the year; early to late spring is the most critical. Frogs, snakes, crawfish and the indigenous baitfish all can be spotted as you stroll the bank prior to launching your boat. Some emerge based off water temperature. The underwater inhabitants as well as land dwellers commence reentry as water and land temperatures rise. As you see potential forage this is a good time to reacquaint yourself with the way they move. Watching the way creatures dart, swim and try to make their getaway is the key to being able to mimic that same movement and sped with your artificial offerings. Choose baits that imitate the “real thing”. My Strike King jig trailed with a Rage Chunk should look like and moves like a crawfish. The backwards three burst darting motion and then a pause consistently draws bites for me. Color, size and sound matter, but in my opinion pale in comparison to matching motion and speed. Regardless of your quarry, bass, crappie, trout or catfish realism in presentation is the key component to drawing strikes from early spring fish.
• Moon watchers – After years of watching the affect of the moon on all creatures (including man) I have drawn the conclusion, moon phase matters. The quizzical look given by seminar attendees still is a surprise to me. Many factors surround the moon phases. Reproduction and scientific occurrences are directly attributable to what the moon is doing at that time. Hatches of potential food for fish are enormous around the new and full moons, it’s the natural way to insure the propagation of the species. Of the thousands of the specific creatures that are born, even with normal mortality many more will be gobbled up by fish, birds and animals that frequent the area. With large numbers born some are sure to be saved “for seed” to continue and ensure the survival of the species. Three days before or three days after the new or full moon is prime time for your outdoor adventure. The closer to the actual phase the better.
• Water color – my lure selection is based strictly off of two criteria, water temperature and water color. Water color is critical because game fish feed predominately, estimated at 90%, by sight. If you look at bass, crappie, trout and others that have relatively large eyes, they are silently saying, “I feed by sight”. Therefore the wise angler will choose lures that are visible to the fish under the current conditions. The temptation here is to overdo it. Muddy water calls for bright colors but not neon flashing, glow in the dark baits. A certain degree of subtlety is always desirable when trying to fool fish. Stay away from in your face, over the top baits. Seldom will huge, noisy, bright colored lures fool as many fish as a bait that combines subtle color, size and motion which catches the eye of the fish and makes it draw closer to inspect and hopefully eat.
• Casting Accuracy – The strike zone of any fish is misunderstood and greatly overstated by the media and the so called experts the majority of the time. Early spring is a great example of that. Fish that are still cold and only move very short distances to feed. The simple explanation is if a bass or any fish expends more energy to catch and swallow a meal then is less that the nutritional payback it gets smaller instead of growing, it’s a losing proposition. In cold water (less than 50 degrees) fish with a low metabolic rate and corresponding digestive process, this is most evident. An accurate well placed cast that makes it easy for the fish to find and catch has a great degree of probability of getting hit than one that cause the fish to have to chase it down, and even more true in colder water. Learn to pitch for accuracy and minimal disturbance to the water upon lure entry, you’ll be pleasantly surprised how good you’ll get at the underhand casting technique that places your bait in the target zone and how many more bites you’ll be rewarded with for your effort. 
•  After the winter layoff, do a quick check of rod, reel and line conditions. Replace rod guides if damaged, lube reels, free up drags and replace any line spooled more than six months ago.
• When faced with tough conditions a simple but effective rule of thumb is a smaller lure and a slower retrieve is more effective. Now you’re ready for the fish that come with that promise of spring renewal.              

I’ll be Tennessean Ya’.

   
  Joey Monteleones expertise with a rod and reel has made him a sought after instructor and speaker for seminars across the Midwest and the Southeast as well as on Television and radio programs. He recently caught his 1100 th bass weighing over five pounds and by next spring he will have documented more than 30,000 bass caught in his career of 29 years.

You can "catch" Joey's Reel Tips on the program Tennessee's Wild Side or listen to the new Wild Side radio program on AM 650 WSM each Monday thrugh Friday at 5:25 am.
 
For those outside of the Nashville area, this program can be heard on line at at www.tunein.com/radio/WSM-650-s22867/ or on your iphone by installing the TuneIn Radio Pro App.