FISHING
LARGIES CHARGE THE BANK SPRINGTIME FINDS BASS SEARCHING FOR SPAWNING BEDS; OUR PRO BREAKS DOWN FISHING THE STAGES By Bill Schaefer
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pringtime is always a great time of year to fish bass in Southern California, but this year the COVID-19 outbreak was impacting opportunities to get on the water and how angling is practiced. At press time Governor Newsom’s stay-at-home and social distancing orders had led some reservoir managers to close their lakes to all access, including fishing, though others were still open. Best advice: check ahead. The reason this time of year is usually popular for bass fishing is that water temperatures at most lakes are up in the 60s, which gets male bass charging the banks. Big trophy females won’t be far behind. As the males roam the banks looking for a nesting area for themselves and their mate, they readily eat a lot of different baits. This can be because they’re hungry or guarding an area they’ve already picked out. Either way, if you want to have fun, now is the time to the beautiful waters of Southern Californias shine.
GET THE POINTS So where do you start? Almost anywhere, but I would concentrate on outside main lake points and then work back into the coves. As I mentioned, there are thousands of male bass cruising the banks right now and they will eat a large variety of
Bill Schaefer is a longtime Southland basser. He caught this largemouth throwing a Yamamoto Senko into shoreline brush. Soft plastic stickbaits can be a great lure for springtime bedding bass. (BILL SCHAEFER) calsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2020 California Sportsman
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