As temperatures in Maine’s smallmouth bass waters climb into the 60 degree range, bass begin the spawning ritual. First, the males will begin building spawning beds. Using their caudal fins, they will sweep away larger stones and debris, building a fairly smooth gravel ‘bed’. Soon after the larger females, swollen with eggs, will move to the beds and make their deposit. After their task is complete, the males move back in and stand guard over the spawning site, protecting it from predator fish looking for an easy meal. This timeline of events usually occurs from late May into the first couple of weeks of June and is widely known for fast-fishing action.
Throwing most any type of lure or bait at spawning beds during the guarding phase will usually generate a lot of strikes. Mostly, it will be the smaller males that come after your bait, protecting the nesting site from intruders. A lot of these strikes will be defensive and meant to keep invaders away. When these males are hooked, a close inspection of the caudal fin will usually show wear from bed-building and scales on the body may show signs of fighting with predators such as chain pickerel. These fish are fun to catch and put up a heck of a fight, but if it’s the big fish you are gunning for the old adage still holds true – big bait equals big fish.
In my past experience, the two best times of the bass season to hook big fish is when females are in the hyper feeding stage as they produce eggs in preparation of the spawn and later as the females have deposited their eggs and moved off the shallows into deeper water, foraging for bait fish to replenish after the spawning process.
During the pre-spawn in late May and early June, these fish are hungry and big top-water baits produce big results for me as the large females move closer to the shallows. My favorites include the Rebel Pop’R, Arbogast Jitterbug, and the Heddon Torpedo. The one thing they all have in common is when they are properly fished, they create a unique sound and vibration pattern that trigger aggressive strikes.
Post-spawn is when you’ll find the big fish heading back into deeper water. I concentrate on big boulders and rock fields submerged in about 12 to 20 feet of water. Drop-offs and ledges are also key spots I like to target. These are areas bait fish congregate and once again, large smallmouth weary from the spawn and intense fishing pressure like to hide out and lay up in the shade. Rapala diving crank baits and Texas rigged swim baits are my go to this time of the season – usually late June through July. During this period, a stretch of cooler days with some overcast skies will prompt me to throw the Jitterbug or Torpedo around big boulder formations in places where just the top of large rocks are visible but extend down into the water column.
I find that for new anglers and kids alike, bass fishing during the height of the spawn is a fun and exciting experience. Bass are notorious for chasing anything during this phase and catching a lot of average size fish can be expected. But if you are ready to move into a new stage of your fishing career and want to start consistently catching big bass, remember the saying that has stood the test of time – big bait, big fish!