LAKE OCONEE — The largemouth bass have been spawning over the last two to three weeks and will soon complete this annual spawning ritual. What happens to the largemouth bass when they have finished spawning? They move into a period known as the post-spawn.

Exactly what is the post-spawn period for largemouth bass? It is the period immediately after the spawn when largemouth bass will begin a migration or movement that will eventually take them back to areas where they were located (pre-spawn) just prior to the spawn and eventually to their summer hangouts where they will stay until fall arrives. The post-spawn period can last anywhere from one week to several weeks.

Once a female largemouth bass spawns, she will move away from the spawning bed to a nearby location to rest before moving any further. If numerous females spawn at approximately the same time, you could hit that period when the females are resting and regaining energy from the stress of spawning. That translates into fewer bites from the resting females.

The resting phase that females go through could certainly reduce bites but another likely factor also plays into the equation. That factor is migration or movement of the largemouth bass after the spawn. Many largemouth bass will begin a move to deeper open water after the spawn and eventually form large summer schools. Deeper could be anywhere from 8 to 24 feet. However, some largemouth will stay in relatively shallow water all summer using the lakes many docks for shade.

Two things are most important for largemouth bass during the summer months. Number one is food and number two is cool, well oxygenated water. Lake Oconee and Lake Sinclair do not stratify during summer like other reservoirs due to the pump-back operation at the Wallace Dam. What that means is the water temperatures in the lakes are virtually the same from top to bottom. Dissolved oxygen can be at acceptable levels throughout the water column but cool water may be hard to find such as would be the case in a lake that stratifies. 

Due to lack of stratification in both lakes, the largemouth bass could be just about anywhere in the water column. Heated water discharged from Plant Branch has an impact on both Lakes Sinclair and Oconee but much more so in Lake Sinclair.  Even though the temperature is virtually the same from top to bottom in both lakes, the water must have acceptable oxygen levels for the largemouth bass to survive.

Due to the warm water discharge in Lake Sinclair, there are areas in that lake that have high water temperatures that put the fish under stress. “Fish become acclimated and adapt to higher temperatures and lower dissolved oxygen at the summer progresses in both lakes,” says Steve Schleiger, Wildlife Resources Division (WRD) Fisheries Biologist.  “The fish are under stress more so in Sinclair than Oconee but they can survive.”

Due to the pumpback, the surface of the lake generally has the highest levels of oxygen, but acceptable levels of oxygen can be found at various depths due to the pumpback flushing. “I think that the potential exists in Sinclair and Oconee to harbor largemouth bass at greater water depths during the summer than would be found on other piedmont reservoirs,” said Schleiger.

You have what I call “stay put” largemouth bass that basically stay or live near the area where they spawn and may spend their entire life in close proximity to that area. They find shallow water with good dissolved oxygen and some shade to their liking and may spend their days cruising between several docks within a few hundred yards of each other. Then on a cloudy summer day those “stay put” largemouth may be joined by other largemouth bass that move to the shallows due to the absence of the sunlight.

You also have what I call “movers” that migrate from some distance to and from the spawning areas. The only time these largemouth bass are in shallow water is during the spawn and possibly a cloudy day. They have specific migration routes that they follow, and they may make several stops along the way as they move from the spawning areas to summer locations. I personally believe most largemouth bass fall into this category.

Once these “movers” have moved away from the spawning beds, they spend the majority of their life in open or deeper water but often in the same areas during their entire lifespan. These largemouth bass will often group into large schools with other bass. I have some places where I fish that will be void of fish until about three weeks after the spawn and then boom, that place has fish, and this happens year after year. Once those fish are there, they pretty much stay put assuming that shad baitfish are present at that location.

Summer is slowly approaching, and the largemouth bass are aware of that as the water continues to warm each day. Eventually summer water temperatures will reach the mid to upper 80s and again that is virtually the same temperature from the top to the bottom. Since the water temperature is fairly constant from top to bottom, and assumming there is plenty of acceptable oxygen, then locating their food source becomes the primary ingredient for catching summer largemouth.

Summer largemouth bass will always be close to schools of baitfish. Their metabolism is high and they must eat often. Find schools of baitfish and use crankbaits, jigging spoons and Carolina rigs to feed them an imitation shad during the summer months. Good fishing and see you next week. 



Outdoor Columnist Bobby Peoples can be contacted via e-mail at brpeoples@windstream.net.