This morning, the largemouth bass were more active than the spotted bass. We only landed one 8" spotted bass. Jason landed this 15" largemouth using a size 8 Betts popper, letting it sit motionless until the water rings moved a distance from the popper. I always look forward to our trips to the lake when Jason comes home from Sacramento.
Saturday, June 22, 2024
Landing Post Spawn Largemouth Bass
My son Jason and I arrived at the Smith Lake launch at 5 AM, expecting some early popper action. However, we had to wait until 7 AM for the action. We caught numerous small 6 to 8-inch bass, but the quality bass was not in the area we were fishing, or they weren't biting. The prized catch of the morning was a largemouth bass taken on a size eight chartreuse popper. I was fishing it slowly and, at times, motionless. The hit was so light that I initially thought it was a bluegill. However, the head shake quickly revealed its size. Despite losing some weight post-spawn, the largemouth bass still gave my five wt. Rod, a good bend!
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Hi Bill, I'm just catching up with your blog. Great that you had some fishing time with your son. Do largemouth and spotted bass behave differently?
ReplyDeleteJustin
ReplyDeleteYES---- the largemouth doesn't fight as hard as the Spotted Bass or the Smallmouth. In fact, the Spottted Bass fights harder than the Smallmouth. A 12 or 14" Spotted Bass would have been more difficult to land than the Largemouth that was filmed. Thanks for the comment
Hey Bill,
ReplyDeleteNeat video and I like that water -- can picture landing a fly right along that rock ledge and hanging on. Fun stuff!
Al
ReplyDeleteThe better Spotted Bass like to hand out near the rock walls and feed on the bait fish that are washed out during boat activity. Chartreuse and white poppers are the winners fishing at daylight. Thanks for the comment
Reads like a nice day out. I love topwater takes, interesting the one mentioned in the first part of the post was so subtle. Never knew largemouth to be "sippers", but still sounds like it was a good time bringing to hand!
ReplyDeleteMichael
ReplyDeleteI seldom see largemouth explode on a popper, strange as it seems. The Spotted Bass will explode on a popper, especially in daylight. After the sun rises, the take is less aggressive. Thanks for the comment