If you want to catch bigger bass during the postspawn, go with a topwater lure. It’s by far the most reliable way to get the big ones, and they are very location and pattern specific.
Once the bigger females leave their nest the smaller males stay behind to protect the fry. In almost every case that means you’ll find them right up against the bank. So, don’t throw to the bank. It’s a waste of time. All you’ll catch are small males, and that’s not what this is about. We’re after the biggest bass in the lake.
In shallow waters the females will move into grass beds, under docks or underneath the heaviest and thickest cover they can find. The best way to catch them is to throw a frog. The good ones will work through the heavy stuff without hanging, and you can get designs that’ll fish like poppers or that’ll walk as good as any stick on the market. My frogs are made by Snag Proof.
If you’re fishing one of our deeper lakes, most of the females will move out towards the ledges, channels or anywhere there’s deeper water. Under that scenario I fish a River2Sea Whopper Plopper.
When I’m in lakes with ordinary size bass I’ll fish the 130 model. It’s about the right size for that. But, if I’m in a place that holds true giants I’ll go with the 190. It’s touted as a musky lure, but giant bass either don’t know that or they don’t care. They will attack it.
When it comes to color I think it’s hard to beat anything that looks like a bluegill. They eat bass fry and the bass know that. They might attack bluegill colors because they’re hungry or because they’re mad. Either way, I’m good with it.
My line choice is as simple and straightforward as my lure and color choices. I fish my frogs and my Whopper Ploppers with braid. It floats so I get maximum action, and it’s strong so I don’t have to worry about fishing it in the heavy stuff. And, braid will give you a little more distance on your cast.
I use it regardless of water color. Honestly, I could care less if the water is heavily stained or if it’s as clear as your tap water at home. I don’t believe the fish see it, and even if they do I don’t believe they pay any attention to it.
There are good reasons to fish with monofilament and with fluorocarbon line, but they have nothing to do with visibility. They center on lure action.
In the first paragraph I mentioned that big postspawn bass are location and pattern specific. What I meant is that if you’re fishing a shallow lake and you catch one or two big postspawn females under a dock you can pretty much be assured that most of the similar docks on the lake are holding bass.
The same thing is true about deeper ledges and channels. Find a good bass on the inside bend of a channel and it’s likely that all the other inside channel bends will produce for you was well.
The postspawn is not as tough as a lot of anglers would have you believe, especially if you approach it correctly.