More bass tournaments are held on area waters than for any other species, and more money is spent on the pursuit of bass fishing than any other fish. Looking back at how the popularity of bass fishing has grown, it only makes sense that the new found passion would catch fire with the kayak fishing industry and propel both forward in a perfect partnership.
When it gets right down to the nitty-gritty, pursuing black bass, which should be defined for fishing in the Carolinas as largemouth bass, spotted bass, and to a lesser extent, smallmouth bass, is not done with the exact same strategies and patterns as pursuing black bass from a $100,000 bass boat with a 250-horsepower outboard.
The biggest difference is range. It’s not unheard of in some power boat bass tournaments to drive 70 miles one way to fish the best grounds, then drive 70 miles back. It’s also not unusual to pack every conceivable rod, reel, bait, and tackle combination into the underbelly of a bass boat on the off-chance you may discover a seldom used pattern/scenario. Bass boats come equipped with 40-gallon livewells, eight batteries, a 109-pound thrust trolling motor, multiple 16-inch sonar units, and two retractable shallow water anchor poles.
Kayak anglers feel they don’t need all that. For starters, all tournament anglers are rarely required to “blast off” from the same location at the same time and return to the same weigh-in location at the same time. Secondly, fish are measured and photographed, not weighed, so retaining the fish for tournament entry is not required. Finally, most kayak anglers prefer to research two or three likely patterns and bait presentations and make them in a much smaller area over rocketing all over a body of water in an attempt to cherry pick the largest and most willing fish.
Kayak bass fishing in March is at the top of the list for many kayak anglers. March is the time when pre-spawn bass are on the move, searching out areas where they will eventually spawn during the coming spring, and may even commit to those places before the end of the month.
Rising hormonal levels make black bass aggressive. So larger fish that are normally harder to come by at other times of the year drop some of their elusiveness in favor of spawning response.
Having an understanding of how bass transition from winter to spring and, within that spring framework, transition from pre-spawn to spawning patterns, is critical to catching them. Not all black bass species and not even members of the same species will spawn in the same locations and at the same times as the others.
Map it out
For this reason, the best starting point for kayak anglers to begin their preparations, well before launching the boat, is on a map that shows contour lines and break lines in tributary creeks and secondary creeks off the main tributary. Obviously, having a suitable place to drop the boat in the water will play into this. But since there are infinitely more kayak-able launch sites than trailer sites, it’s usually not too hard to find a drop in point near desirable water.
During winter/spring and pre-spawn/spawn transitions, bass will orient to break lines as a staging area to drop back to the comfort and security of deeper water during inclement, cooler weather, and move up to shallow water areas and potential spawning areas during times of more stable weather. Once spawning begins in earnest, bass will hold on bedding sites and closer to suitable spawning cover.
From a kayaking perspective, one of the most consistent strategies to catch fish is to pick an area or two that can be fished within the allotted time and, starting from those pre-calculated contour and break lines, begin searching for fish.
Faster search baits like spinnerbaits and other bladed baits make this task easier. Crankbaits are also a favorite, particularly vibration and noise-generating cranks, which assist bass in zeroing in on the bait in often cloudy or murky water, especially after spring rains.
Without getting into a full-blown discussion of kayak electronics, using your underwater eyes is another big plus. Whether your eyes only look down or if they look out to both sides and even in front of the boat, try to determine where bass are staging, and anticipate their moving up or moving back based on prevailing conditions.
Boat control during the spring runs the gamut from simply floating a while, casting a while and paddling/peddling a while in relatively calm waters trying to stay put with an anchor line on a wind-blown point.
Target areas for spawning bass, those areas the fish will be moving into when the weather, photoperiod and water temperatures all fall within suitable ranges, include docks, blowdowns, stumps, brush piles and bottom irregularities such as humps, the far ends of secondary points and other high spots.
Back on the contour map, look for ditches or drainage paths that connect these likely spawning spots to the primary channel or break lines in the tributary or second creek. Many times, these paths are thought of as highways, when it’s more accurate to describe them as a road lined with stoplights. Each stoplight is represented by a rock, snag, root ball, or other piece of bottom debris as the fish move from one location to the next.
Take your time
For the kayak angler, take time to thoroughly work each stopping point rather than making a few random casts to locations that may look good from above the surface of the water, but don’t offer much use to the fish.
Don’t be overwhelmed when fishing a productive area one day to find it less than desirable the next. Pre-spawn bass tend to stay on the move, and good fish can often be located by retracing your steps back from staging areas to break lines and transition areas. It’s only in extreme conditions that bass tend to up and leave an entire creek area for another.
At the end of the month and into April, take note of past and current spawning sites and structures, and revert to more subtle baits like soft plastics, jig and craw, or drop-shot rigs to finesse bass that have committed to a particular area. Again, in times of dingy or even muddy water, bass will hug closer to the bottom or other hard structure for security and orientation. Never overlook adding scent to your soft plastic baits, as bass will often inhale and exhale a bait quickly to get it away from their spawning site. Scent provides the incentive to collect the bait a little deeper and hang on a little longer.
Sight fishing from a kayak is always a possibility given the ability instilled by some kayak manufacturers to elevate the seating position of the angler, or given a boat with wide enough beam to stand and fish.
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