Rods & Rigs - Dial In Your Postspawn Particulars
Posted by Gary Dobyns on May 31st 2021
By Gary Dobyns
The postspawn can be a fickle time of year. You can catch some really big fish, but you can also strike out a lot because they’re in such a delicate transitional stage.
Even though you’re still going to have some late spawners and a few prespawners this time of year, the vast majority of the fish are postspawn. They’ll be pulling out of the spawning areas and if there’s any type of cover, they’ll stage up in areas where they can rest and regain their strength.
For example, I recently fished at O.H. Ivie Lake near San Angelo, Texas and the postspawn fish were holding in salt cedars in 6-20 feet of water. They were all over those trees, just hanging out and resting up.
It doesn’t have to be trees, of course. It could be rocky ledges or whatever the lake offers. Out west, where I spent much of my life, the lakes don’t usually have as much structure to set up on and they’ll just make their way out of the spawning areas and set up on points.
With big water fluctuations in those Western reservoirs, they just don’t have very much cover, so they’ll just start migrating toward the points. That way they can slide deep to shallow to feed and get ready for summertime patterns.
This is really a tough time because those fish are so lethargic from expending so much energy on the spawn. They need to eat, but sometimes, they just don’t feel like moving.
The early spawners will get back to feeding sooner and those are the ones that are fun to catch. But the ones that are just coming off the spawn are really lethargic and you usually have to be very patient with slow moving baits to catch them.
During my trip on O.H. Ivie, we were catching them on topwater, but most of the time, it was just a really slow, subtle bite. They’d just come up and roll on the bait and eat it.
One thing I’ve noticed about postspawners is that the can be very susceptible to late-season cold fronts. Generally, a weather system will stimulate feeding on the front side and shut down the bite with high pressure on the back side. However, they seem to be more fickle about getting off the bite than getting on the bite.
The early spawners will get back to feeding sooner and those are the ones that are fun to catch. But the ones that are just coming off the spawn are really lethargic and you usually have to be very patient with slow moving baits to catch them.
Your bait selection will vary based on where you are, but here’s a general summary of how I like to catch them in different regions of the country.
Western Lakes
Some people may be surprised to know that the water level in western reservoirs can fluctuate 250 feet in a year. The water level is usually up in April-May, so if there are any willows or any cover in the water, that’s No. 1; if not, you go to the points.
I like to target Western prespawn fish with a wacky-rigged Senko on a hook with a weed guard, but if the brush is thick, I’ll fish it Texas rigged with no weight. Either way, a Senko is the deadliest postspawn bait ever made. It has a good slow action, so it’s perfect for the mood these fish are in.
For me, this is strictly a fall bait. You can add a nail weight for a bottom-oriented presentation, but a lot of postspawn fish like to suspend, so it’s that slow fall that they like.
Some guys out west also fish a Senko on a Carolina rig. People don’t realize how great a Senko can be in this presentation, but every time that weight hits something, that bait shoots forward.
Southern Lakes
There’s so much cover and not as much water fluctuation, so normally, they’ll just pull back to that first structure and they’ll set up. It’s nice to have deep water close by, especially if you’re targeting big fish because they’re always going to be close to deep water.
In southern waters, I like to catch them on a wacky-rigged Senko or a Carolina rig. In the west, the Carolina rig is kind of a forgotten technique, but in the south it’s still a wide open technique.
I’ll also throw a 3/8-ounce jig with a Yamamoto Flappin’ Hog. That trailer has great action and it’s a bulkier trailer so it gives that jig a slow fall rate. That being said, the postspawn fish can be weird; sometimes they want a faster fall. If that’s the case, I’ll go to a 1/2-ounce jig.
If the fish really need a finesse approach, I’ll throw a dropshot with a Yamamoto Shad Shape Worm on a Gamakatsu Roboworm Rebarb hook.
Northern Lakes
Postspawn smallmouth up north slide out of the spawning bays onto island tops and humps. They’re not necessarily in deep areas; in fact, a lot of times you can see the humps in that clear water. This is a great time to fish because you catch tremendous numbers.
Jerkbaits are hard to beat for postspawn smallmouth in clear water, but I also like throwing a 3.5-inch Yamamoto swimbait on a 1/4-ounce Dobyns Swimbait Head. I like fishing it slowly with a steady retrieve and it’s absolutely insane the amount of fish you’ll catch.
A couple of points to consider:
Look for the bite windows: On O.H. Ivie, we were calling fish up with topwater baits in the middle of the day. It was a strange pattern, not the usual morning bite, but a good midday bite.
That’s often true for postspawn and summertime fish; there will be a defined bite window. That’s where prefishing pays off. You know when to be on your best spots.
Keep your distance: For the most part, I just keep the boat positioned so I can fish out in front so I keep my focus on productive water. But the fish seem to get spookier when they come off the spawn, so I want to stay back and make the longest cast possible.
Boat control is one of the biggest mistakes people make. So you have to pay attention to your positioning and make quiet subtle casts. If you can make an underhand cast and feather the bait on the way in, you’ll avoid that big splash that scares the fish. That’s a big deal that time of year.
