RI PB AIT S vs.
CRANKIN’ SMALLIES
BY MARC MARCANTONIO
A
s you read this, the smallmouth bass in the
Pacific Northwest can appear as confused
as us. One day you catch them as deep
as 50-feet and the next as shallow as 5-feet. Some days you catch them at both depths.
As the days get longer, the bass get busy. The
sun’s rays penetrate deeper as spring approaches,
and bass notice, as if Mother Nature commands, the
largest bass head to shallower water and start to get
active. Spawning flats act as magnets, especially
those littered with rocks and wood cover on northern
shorelines. The shallower the bass swim, the warmer
they become. As their bodies adjust to the warmer
water, they begin to feel frisky, and their hunting
instincts are reawakened.
Mama Pesce starts to cruise in search of food along the first break line closest to shore. Early arriving bass are not in their comfort zone, and can be easily spooked. This depth edge gives big bass the comfort and security of having deep water only a couple of tail wags away, yet presents the feeding bounty shallow water provides.
Shallowflatswarmquicklyandaretransformed from barren, underwatermoonscapes, toabuffet. Longerdaysaffectpreyevenbeforethepredators.As thesunpenetrates, planktonbeginto proliferateand minnowsstartaflurryof feedingactivity intheshallows. Sculpinandcrayfishstartforaging fortheirownmeals, asdo therestof thefoodchain. AsfarasMamaPesceis concerned, MotherNaturejustrang herdinnerbell!
24