Where to start:

We as anglers like to break down seasons into sections. The Fall is broken down into early, mid, and late fall. The Winter is broken down as early winter, heart of winter, and late winter. The spawn is no different. In this article I’m going to discuss where to find bass during each stage of the spawning period using triangles!

Hear me out! I know it doesn’t sound like much, but I’ve applied this system since I discovered it and it has really helped in narrowing down the areas you are fishing. A few years back I stumbled upon a video featuring Bassmaster Elite Series Angler Brandon Palaniuk showing how he uses triangles to eliminate the dead water and locate bass in the Spring. I’d like to take you through it and give you the most information I can! Let’s jump right into it!

Triangles:

To breakdown the triangles, the “tip” or top of the triangle is where the bass spend their Winter. This will be an area with deep water adjacent to shallow water. These areas usually have a very steep vertical drop and are composed of a hard bottom. The base of your triangle or the bottom is areas in the back of creeks or bays off the main lake where bass will eventually end up to spawn. Look for the creek that has the most shallow water at the back of it. The more shallow water a creek has the more fish can pile into it at once. Now, after you have made your three dots marking those areas, connect the dots, and go fishing! Make multiple triangles. Sometimes you can pattern a triangle inside of a triangle on the water! Those fish WILL be inside of your triangle somewhere!

Pre-Spawn:

During the early pre-spawn bass will be located more toward the tip of your triangle. They are still prone to cold fronts and will remain there until the weather “stabilizes” a bit. As the pre-spawn begins to heat up, you may find those fish that were once at the beginning of your triangle now have migrated to the halfway up it. During this stage I like to look at the transition areas, or areas where chuck rock turns into pea gravels, or checking out the secondary points. Something else I’ve noticed is bass will relate to something that’s different or a type of drastic change in the bottom composition. So, if you have one of those two, you’ve found the fish!

Spawn:

Finally, those fish have now made it all the way from the beginning of your triangle all the way to the end! These fish started out on the main lake and have now ventured all the way to the back of the creeks and bays. Bass will make their beds as shallow as the dirt, to around 10 ft. Ive found it is most of the time around 2-3 ft.

Post-Spawn:

The spawn has come to an end. Now that the spawn is over, bass will begin their transitions back out to the main lake. You should be able to catch bass in just about every part of your triangle at this point. The best part about that is if you caught them during the pre-spawn good, chances are they are likely to be stopping in those same areas on their way back out of the creek. The spawn takes so much out of these fish, which is why they go on a feeding frenzy after spawning. The post-spawn is a great time to get out and catch quantity of fish!

This triangle method of Palaniuk’s is worth checking out. I have used this for the past few years now and it has helped me locate more fish, establish a pattern, and put more in the boat! Another reason I enjoy this triangle so well, is not only does it work during the spring, but also the fall when the shad are moving as well.

- Tight lines