Cabin fever sets up its
final blow. It’s been cold, snowy,
dreary, for two months. The fisherman
that holds the reins in my brain is facing impending implosion, when, for a
brief spell, the clouds lift. 30s turn
into 60s, and the resulting breeze turns the air crisp and comfortable. It seems as if spring is right around the
corner, and, to those residents of the underwater world, that means calorie-packing
for the approaching spawn. This spells
good fortune for my fish-craving psyche.
Every year the same
pattern is repeated. A warm snap in the
third or fourth week in February signals a seasonal change for bass and other
spring-spawning fish as the water temperature begins climbing towards 60
degrees. With every day of warm weather,
they are reassured that the spawn is indeed approaching; and they take their
staging positions on ledges with access to deeper water adjacent to flats and
shallow coves.
The fish know they must
eat. Spawning rites expend valuable
energy—energy fish don’t have after three months of winter lethargy. Their posterity depends on a ravenous diet. This makes late winter one of the best times
to catch a big largemouth.
At first, I found taking
advantage of this pattern easy—accidental.
When the air turns warm in February, I know I have to fish. After a winter of tough, intermittent fishing
opportunities, my sanity depends on it.
This seasonal event is
the beginning of the bass fishing season, and, likewise, spring, on my
calendar. Every year that date finds me
on the banks of my favorite farm pond.
Cumulous clouds billow
in an evening sky that keeps me cool as it flows through the open windows of
the truck, bumping over a long dirt road in rural Fluvanna County. The pond shimmers when it comes into view, as
a slight breeze blows from the west, against a shallow point where grass mats
in the summer. Wind traps small aquatic
shrimp and plankton in the emerging grass, which attracts baitfish and, in
turn, predator fish. An abundance of
food makes this staging ground perfect for the fish and a hot spot for my
fishing efforts.
I make a point of
bringing someone along on such occasions, to prove to them that the
largemouth’s year begins in late February, soon after “ice out.” My brother, Phillip, was my subject this
year.
In less than 20 minutes
of fishing, the first fish had revealed itself.
Phillip tossed a small swimbait to a submerged log. In short order, the water erupted with the
mouth of an oversized bass. With a
violent headshake, the fish freed himself of the hook and left my brother
expressionless and convinced on the grassy bank—the bite was on.
Without hesitation, I
pitched a soft plastic finesse worm tight to the log, in settling ripples. Tick, tick.
A sweep of my spinning rod brought the lakebottom to life. After a short, lively fight, I lipped a
feisty largemouth and lifted him from the water. Spring had sprung.
We continued fishing the
banks of coves three to six feet deep, each of us landing several fish.
The breeze ceased as we
approached the shallow point that’s choked with grass in warmer months. From past experience, I knew where several
submerged stumps speckle the periphery of the grassbed. I placed a cast far out along the edge and
began a slow retrieve.
I crawled my lure over a
stump and let it flutter down to the lakebottom, but it was intercepted on its
descent. As my line trailed out into the
water, I set the hook with a sweep and grunted at the power returned from the
end of the line. A hefty fish boiled in
the shallow water, surged for deeper water, then headed for the surface. I kneeled and exerted downward pressure on
the fish. His head wouldn’t break the
surface if I could help it. He surged
right. I steered his head left. Throwing the fish off balance, I gained line
to the reel, and Phillip landed a thumb in his mouth.
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We traded. I got the fish, Phillip got the rod. A camera caught my “grip and grin;” and I
lowered the first big fish of the year to the water.
Many will leave their
hats hung and their rods unstrung, claiming that bass fishing is a sport for
warm spring days and summer evenings.
Late winter can be one of the most productive times of the year to
target big bass. But this time of year,
timing is everything.
Originally published in The Rural Virginian
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