Female largemouth bass stay close to their nests during the spawn, and are a challenge to land.
“When you are trying to catch a female bass during the season, you’re not so much trying to get them to eat as you are trying to get them to attack,” said Howard Stephens, a veteran Lake Murray fisherman. “The technique with the lure is to keep putting it in front of them until they’ve had enough.”
The female bass will often push the bait away until the intrusion either gets tiresome or they perceive a real threat.
Continuous casting to a spot and trying to move the lure as close to the nest are key elements for this technique.
“You can catch some bigger bass that way sometimes,” said Stephens. “It’s just a matter how you feel about intruding on a nest.”
Stephens cautions that catching female while they’re spawning might be fun, but it can cause problems down the road.
“If you were going to do it, I’d catch and release,” said Stephens. “These female bass are protecting the fish that you will enjoy down the road.”
When releasing a female bass, be careful not to disorient the fish too much. Release the female as close to her nest as possible.
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