After an exhausting couple of weeks spawning, followed by a period of near-comatose recuperation, all the bass can think of is going to the beach - sand, sand and more sand.
No, not Daytona or Destin, and sunscreen won’t be necessary. The sandy beaches bass on Lake Lanier want to visit are right here.
The bass know (because they are experienced fishermen themselves) that herring can be found on sandy shallows. It’s the herring’s turn to spawn and they seek out areas that have sandy bottoms for their reproductive ritual.
Before herring became a dominant forage base in Lake Lanier, Lake Hartwell was full of them. I recall fishing Hartwell in May during the late 1980s and wondering why every shallow water marker on the lower end of the lake was surrounded by bass fishermen.
I soon discovered the answer: the herring were spawning.
I've since added to my awareness that a reef pole or warning sign is not what attracts the herring, it's the shallow sandy bottom. Some of the best spawning areas do not have a shallow water marker anywhere in the vacinity.
These insights learned on Hartwell allowed me to be a step ahead of many Lanier locals when herring finally invaded our lake.
But as usual, within a year or two everybody learned that where the herring spawn, ravenous post-spawn bass are nearby. Lanier reef markers soon became as congested in May as on Hartwell.
The one variable in this story is how to fish those shallow (5-12 feet) sandy areas. The pattern changes daily, sometimes hourly.
In the early years of the herring population explosion a Zara Spook or weightless Zoom Super Fluke would draw the bass to the surface. Those were fun times but they now seldom occur. The bass have apparently learned to be more selective.
Slow rolling a Fish Head Spin tipped with a Super Fluke Junior remains a productive method but it does lose its effectiveness if grass is present. You’ll spend most of your time cleaning the aquatic gook from your bait.
This year I have found that “snapping” is my most effective technique.
“Snapping” is simple.
Throw your Fish Head Spin, weighted Senko, swim jig or Shakey Head finesse worm at the reef marker and allow it to sink to the bottom.
Count to ten and snap your rod skyward. That causes your lure to jump off the bottom. Let it sink on a slack line to the lake bottom and sit for another ten-count. Then snap it again.
If nothing happens after four or five snaps cast to another area near the shallow water pole.
This pattern reduces the amount of grass accumulation that you will have to deal with and generates a response reaction from nearby suspended bass, soliciting a bite even when the predators are not very aggressive.
Add this technique to your May arsenal and you'll soon see that spending time at the “beach” will make your angling-time more productive.
