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Be mindful of protocol when fishing during bass spawn

The bass spawn is finally on, and with it comes a lot of debate among anglers.

One of the more popular times to fish during the year, the spawn is a great chance to find strong concentrations of quality-caliber fish. With fish normally positioning on weed beds in shallow water to conduct their spawning activities, access is easy even for shore-bound anglers. While accessibility to a good bite is a positive on paper, there is a bit of a Catch-22 factor to the whole thing as well.

From a conservation standpoint, fishing during spawn can be somewhat of an untenable position. Given that spawning fish are generally more prone to attacking a lure, some may feel that targeting them is unsportsmanlike. Also criticized is the targeting of fish that are visibly situating on their beds.

Whatever the opinions may be, there seems to be a general understanding that fishing during the spawn is fine, albeit with some caveats. It important to check specific regulations for the body of water that you are fishing if you are choosing to harvest fish. Over-harvesting, especially during the spawn, is a surefire way to ruin a fishery.

Common sense is also an important guiding principle while fishing the spawn. It is generally easy to tell if you have caught a female fish that is full of eggs. Keeping such a fish can be detrimental to future populations and is not good resource management. If you do choose to keep fish, avoid keeping fish in the 15- to-18-inch range, as they are the prime spawners.

Moving on to fishing approach during the spawn, it is important to keep tabs on conditions as they present themselves. We are currently in a transitional period where water is warming up rapidly and fish are becoming more active. If you have been keeping the swimbaits, crankbaits and spinnerbaits in the tackle box, you may want to consider dusting them off.

If you are looking for a great all-purpose spawn bait, jigs are your best option. Whether you are dragging the bottom with a jig and craw or creature trailer or swimming a jig through grass or open water, you can't go wrong. While it takes some time to get used to, jig fishing is a valuable skill to catch fish throughout the course of the year.

One other important consideration, as far as gear is concerned, is line selection. During the spawn, fish can be a lot more skittish than normal, so it is important to minimize the chance of spooking them. One of the best moves that can be made to that end is to use fluorocarbon line. With its extremely low invisibility and fast sinking rate, it makes a great option to use for a variety of baits.

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