Westernbass Magazine June 2011, Page 30

Westernbass Magazine June 2011, Page 30

FBYIOANSUDSR!

JuneinthePacificNorthwest

L

by Marc Marcantonio

ocation, location, location. Success in

catching bass depends on how well you

heed this real estate advice, especially

during June in the Pacific Northwest. Find the prime bass real estate and you are money. During the month of June, both the largemouth and smallmouth bass inhabit the shallow zones of the lakes and rivers, so leave the deep tackle at home.

Understanding bass biology leads to better decisions in developing a game plan for success.

Because the latitude of the Pacific Northwest is more

northern than much of the country, the spawning

season of bass (both largemouths and smallmouths)

is later than in southern latitudes. June typically marks

the ending stages of the spawn, and the beginning of

the post spawn phases. Spawning bass can be easy

to find and catch, yet post spawn bass fishing is often

challenging. The key point is to focus your search in the

shallow flats in or near suitable spawning habitat.

Bass spawn on firm substrates like gravel, sand, rock,

and even logs, stumps, or any other hard surface where

the eggs will be above oxygen-robbing silt. A calm cove or

other location out of the wind and waves is preferable,

and is prime real estate to search. Early in the

spawning season the northern end of a lake

or northern shore of a river slough will be

the first area bass will spawn. Southerly

winds push the warmer surface water

against the northern shorelines,

and these same shorelines have

maximum exposure to the sunlight.

This is where the warmest water

is first located. As the spawning

season progresses, bass will spawn

both later and lower in the lake as

the days pass, making the timing

of their spawning predictable.

So if you locate spawning

bass in early June at mid-lake

regions, expect to find spawning

bass in the lower sections of

the lake in late June. If you

were catching spawning

bass in early June, and

now it is mid-June, then

continue looking for the

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