Scott McGlinchey

The first week of April has passed and the largemouth bass and crappie spawn will start any day now. Both fish start about the same time. The time of year, morning water temperature, and sunny days are key elements that trigger the spawn.

I know a lot more about the largemouth bass and its spawning cycle so I will get into that in more detail. Firstly largemouth don’t spawn in 54 to 59 degree water temperature. The morning temperature needs to be 61 to 62 degrees and by morning I mean first light.

Many warm afternoons during the end of March will have water temperatures in the low 60s and that can make for a fun topwater bite but still doesn’t work well for spawning. Optimum morning water temperature is 68 degrees with some sunny days and the bass eggs will hatch in about 4 days. I know there are reports out there that say largemouth are spawning during upper 50 degree water temperature and that may be true for a few bass out of million. Largemouth bass make small simple nests and it takes very little effort for them to do so. Smallmouth make big nests and spawn deeper than largemouth.

The largemouth bass spawn may start tomorrow. After today we have three days of rainy weather which is not prime for spawning as sun light is needed for eggs to hatch. By Friday the Kentucky Lake largemouth bass will start to spawn. Kentucky and Barkley Lakes are so big that even though that first wave of spawners is large and is a big bang it doesn’t include all of the bass. On small reservoirs in Kentucky when the largemouth spawn starts most of the bass will move to the shallow spawning areas and their behavior changes and they become very spooky.

During the largemouth bass spawn my favorite bait is a weightless zoom trick work, with a #4 Gamagatsu hook, and 14-lb green Berkley XT mono. On a spinning rod you can go down to 12 or 10-lb line and #3 size hook. I cast to hard-to-hit targets and skip it under limbs or bushes in 6 inches to 3 feet of water. I twitch it very slowly and pause it. This trick worm technique is deadly this time of year. I have won hundreds of tournaments with it - some were small week night events and some were big open events. On many lakes it’s the best way to win a tournament during the spawn.

I get a lot of anglers every year that hire me just to learn this technique and how and where bass spawn. Last year I was honored to have one of Kentucky Lake's best fisherman hire me to learn this technique.

When fishing for crappie this time of year I like to cast to banks where crappie stage and spawn. The crappie have been a little shy of these staging spawning banks since the Silver Asian Carp invaded the lake but there are less carp now and some of these banks are coming back.

Many anglers like to spider rig with 6 or more rods out slow trolling jigs and crankbaits. This year I am using Garmin Livescope to locate crappie in stake beds and brush piles then I use Livescope to watch them come up and take the bait.

I will use a long pole in the submerged stake beds and brush piles where I put a jig right in front of their face. I also use a slip bobber and minnows to take reluctant crappies.

For more detailed information regarding the Largemouth bass spawn check my Shelldivers Guide Service Facebook page as I just posted an article there. If you’re in town fishing for fun or here preparing for a tournament I am sure I can help you in either department. If you just want to enjoy a day of catching quality bass, panfish, catfish or are wanting to learn how to effectively fish offshore I am as good as it gets! I had excellent results in my career as a baseball and wrestling coach and use the same skills to help my clients learn bass fishing.

I have over thirty years of ledge fishing experience and have spent 4000 hours diving underwater on various bodies of water observing fish in their home. If you want to book a trip with me please try to call me as the communication over the phone is much more effective and consumes less time than emails. I do respond to all forms of communication as quick as I can.

Please check out and like/follow my Shelldivers Guide Service Facebook page.