During the pre-spawn, largemouth bass will begin to move from their wintering areas in deep water to transition areas (areas of rapid depth change) near their spawning habitat. There they will begin to feed on available forage, primarily calorie-rich baitfish such as shad, in preparation for the spawn.

Spawning activities begin as water temperatures reach 62˚F to 65˚F.

Largemouth bass become extremely aggressive, fighting off any threats near a nest, particularly the male fish. This is a great time to throw soft plastic baits such as lizards, tubes, worms, crawfish, and baby brush hogs on a skirted jig or bladed jig, drop-shot, Texas rig, or Carolina rig. Cast parallel with the bank, making long slow retrieves.