Typical for late March for me...

[Al Agnew]

Still waiting for Mary to start her treatments, so I went fishing today on one of my usual stretches of the Meramec. I will say that I've often had some marginal days this time of year, as the fish scatter out and do whatever they do before spawning. Today was typical. River was clear--4-5 feet visibility--and beginning to get a little low--there were a few places where running it was a real test of how shallow my boat can go. Water temps started out around 50 degrees and got up to 55 before the day was over.

Just to experiment, I started out in one of my very best wintering pools. The fish had left the building. I caught exactly one 10 incher there, and it was in shallow water above the main part of the pool, and took a spinnerbait. That pool is usually as far upstream as I go, but today I decided to run another three miles or so upstream and fish some different water.  Tried a long, fairly shallow pool with lots of rocks and logs for cover, what should be a good spawning area. Nope, not there yet.  I caught four, but none of them were over 12 inches. Tried faster, shallower water. Nothing.. Tried the log side of the next deep pool. Nothing. Finally worked out a bit of a pattern in the next long, rocky pool--caught several on one of my homemade shallow running crankbaits--this particular one runs about 4 feet deep, deeper than most of them, and it was pulling up smallies from about 6 feet of water well off the banks. But it was far from hot. Tried jerkbaits several times in the same water and got practically nothing. Tried one of my homemade twin spins, slow rolled, in the same water. It caught a few. Basically I was fishing every place that I'd fish in the summer as well as the winter, and would catch one here, one there, nothing consistent. Finally went back to a deeper diving crankbait that's been pretty good to me this year so far, and caught several on it in the last hour or so, including the big fish of the day, a whopping 14.5 incher. Probably caught about 30, but size left a lot to be desired.

[Smallieguy87]

Always enjoy reading your detailed reports Al. I hear from a few people who run the Meramec that it's getting a little odd now. It can be tough getting a pattern when the fish a stuck in those odd transitions between pre spawn and spawn. I do wonder if some of the bigger fish have or will be on beds in the next week or so. I know the larger smallmouth will sometimes spawn earlier. Thanks for the report Al.

[Brian Jones]

 

I will say that I've often had some marginal days this time of year, as the fish scatter out and do whatever they do before spawning. Today was typical. River was clear--4-5 feet visibility--and beginning to get a little low--there were a few places where running it was a real test of how shallow my boat can go. Water temps started out around 50 degrees and got up to 55 before the day was over.

It sure is nice to know that I am not the only one that struggles this time of year.  I generally cannot buy a smallmouth bite when the water temp is in that 50-55 degree range.  

So where do they go and what are they doing during this time?

[Smalliebigs]

 

It sure is nice to know that I am not the only one that struggles this time of year.  I generally cannot buy a smallmouth bite when the water temp is in that 50-55 degree range.  

So where do they go and what are they doing during this time?

They will be staging in a weird spot very close to where they will build a nest.....there will be more than one fish in these spots but they are very hard to find....I know this sounds basic and stupid but, it's true. There will also be a very short window where the females will feed for about a week prior to courting.....I'm staying away, I used to try to boost my ego by catching fish about to spawn or guarding and it does nothing for me now.....when you see the Longear sunfish decimating a bed in the absence of a male guarding, it will make you sick.

[Al Agnew]

I don't get too bent out of shape about fishing during the spawning season. I don't specifically target spawning fish or fish guarding beds, and don't fish slow-moving stuff that you could drop onto the beds or concentrate my efforts in good bedding habitat, but I know I catch a few spawners.  I figure that by fishing fast and higher in the water column, I'm avoiding the most likely ways to catch spawners, and there are always plenty of fish that are either finished spawning or haven't started yet.. Plus, on a population level instead of an individual fish or nest level, they are obviously producing enough young to more than replenish the population most years. But this transition period when the water temps aren't quite warm enough for spawning to commence is so often tough fishing on the bigger rivers. And it can be tough on the smaller streams too, especially if the fish are moving up them instead of having settled into their spring and summer abodes.