March, Is the month of magic or miracles! The weather begins to warm up, our grass begins to green up our yards, our trees and flowers begin to bloom and the lakes begin to warm up and with all this our spring spawn gets in high gear so if that aint magic it must be a miracle from God.
As fisherman we begin to get the bug to get out on the water to fish for spawning bass, crappie, sand bass and catfish and all are fun to catch. Fisherman are a breed of their own unlike the sportsman that is crazy about foot ball, basket ball, golf and etc… Fisherman actually will fight with one another over which fish pulls the hardest or jumps the highest and taste the best on the table. That’s rite fisherman can be broken up into several categories, you have the fresh water fisherman and the salt water fisherman. You have salt water fisherman that like to go miles out into the ocean to fish for many types of fish and then you have the bay fisherman that like to fish for the red fish or the specks/speckled trout and then you have the fresh water fisherman. The fresh water fisherman can also be broken up into groups, you have bass fisherman, crappie, sand bass, hybrid bass fisherman and perch fisherman and each one will fight over which is best. As most that know me would say I eat, sleep and breath bass fishing and knowing this would you believe I once was told by a crappie fisherman that when I growed up I would leave the bass alone and become a real fisherman and fish for crappie. Well he may be rite but at this time I sure do like fishing for bass but don’t count me out on fishing for crappie, catfish and the white bass because I love fishing for them to.
Now let’s talk about March fishing and begin with bass. Bass will begin to get active on the warm days or should I say warmer days. They will be kind of sluggish or slow to move much when the water temps are in the low 40’s and upper 30’s but when the surface temps reach the upper 40’s to the mid 50’s they will begin to move around more. Bass are cold blooded creatures and can handle the cold water but during the time that the water is at it’s coldest bass will be very slow to move around and when we fish for them we just about have to hit them on the head to get them to bite. Now as the water warms old Mr. Bass will begin to move around and his strike zone will get much wider and when this happens he will get easier to catch.
When the surface temps move even higher say to the upper 50’s to the mid 60’s old Mr. Bass will begin moving around looking for that perfect spot to build Mrs. Bass a house to lay her eggs and hatch out all their fry. Mr. Bass will build the nest or house for her and then go out to move her in but if the nest is not the way she wants it then she will move back out and he has to rebuild or repair it to her liking. Now this sounds a bit like our wives don’t it. We have our homes built just the way mama wants it or we never here the end of it.
Now here’s some more magic once the surface temps get right Mrs bass will move in and the spawn will begin Mr. Bass will then begin to move in on Mrs bass and push on her stomach working the eggs down so that the spawn can begin. When Mrs. Bass places the eggs into the nest Mr. Bass will then move in and fertilize the eggs by placing a covering over the eggs which will hold them in tack until they hatch out. After the eggs hatch Mr. bass will stay outside the nest running way everything he can that might cause a threat to the little ones. Now is this magic or miracle that they know how to watch after their small fry?I think maybe both.
At this time when bass are on their beds or nest they can be a lot of fun to catch and this is a time that we can see them as they work their nest. Fishing when they are on their nest is called sight fishing if you work your way up close enough to see them work. Sight fishing can be very fun and you can learn more about bass at this time than any other time of the year. You can watch them take a lure from the nest and you never feel them move the lure. That’s right you will see them move your lure but you won’t feel them move it. If you have never fished this way then you owe it to yourself to have someone take you out and teach you how to sight fish. When you see that big bass take your lure out of the nest you will scratch your head and say that was a miracle I never felt a thing, truth is that when we concentrate that hard with our eyes it’s just like our fingers never feel a thing.
Well I could go on and on about sight fishing for bass but I will stop for now and tell you how I will fish this month to locate the fish I catch.
Bass will be moving into the shallows and I will be watching for their nest and I will then use a lizard rigged up Texas Rig with an 1/8th oz. Weight. I will locate their nest and pitch the lizard just past the nest and work it through slow to create a bite.
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When not sight fishing I will be casting my Shimmy Shaker lure along the shallows working it slow to create the most bites. Another Lure I will use will be my 430 Special spinner bait. I will work it in the same areas as where I work my Shimmy Shaker. Slow and slower will be my best way of fishing when the bass are spawning.
March will be a great month for crappie and you will find them both up shallow and out deep. I will catch my shallow water fish by rigging up a slip robber about a foot to two feet up my line and rig up Mr. Twisters Mr. Minnow on it.This plastic minnow works so good that even you will think its alive. I will work the shallows very slow covering my water very good. Another way of catching crappie will be to rig up with the Mr. Minnow on a jig head and no robber. Work the deeper water where you find brush and the Mr. Minnow will produce you some really big stringers. If you would like to purchase the Mr. Minnows you can find them at the Lake Palestine Resort they will have many colors and jig heads to go with them so buy plenty so you don’t run out.
Sand Bass will be good this month out on your main lake points on spoons and Rat-l-traps, You will also find them working well on the river.
IF YOU COME TO LAKE Palestine or Lake Fork AND NEED A GUIDE THEN FEEL FREE TO CALL ME AT (903)561-7299 AND WE WILL SET YOU UP FOR A GREAT DAY ON THE WATER
UNTIL NEXT MONTH REMEMBER TO KEEP ONLY THE FISH YOU CAN USE AND RELEASE THE REST SO THAT OUR KIDS CAN ENJOY THE GREAT SPORT WE CALL FISHING.
PS
IF YOU LIKE FISHING TOURNAMENTS HERE’S ONE FOR YOU TO CHECK OUT. THE SMITH COUNTY PEACE OFFICERS WILL BE HAVING THEIR SECOND ANNUAL BASS TOURNAMENT IN APRIL ON SATURDAY THE 30TH. THIS TOURNAMENT WILL BE HELD ON LAKE TYLER AND IT IS A NONPROFIT TOURNAMENT TO HELP RAISE MONEY FOR THE PEACE OFFICERS ASSOSIATION. MAKE PLANS TO COME FISH I THINK YOU WILL HAVE A GREAT TIME.
By: Ricky Vandergriff
