2020 Postspawn Fishing

After the prespawn feeding frenzy, the bass start for the spawn and proceeded to do what bass do. During this time it was difficult to get them to eat the fly. A bedding bass will hit a pattern in territorial defense, but more often than not- they are just not interested. Spawning fish quickly become postspawn fish and by late April to mid May, they have moved close to their summer feeding grounds. Some fish will be shallow and others will be deep. It can be difficult to find a consistent pattern. During this time it is difficult to see active feeding behavior.

Prespawn fishing is predictable, you just need to find a cove and the food source. Postspawn gets a little trickier. The fish tend to spread out and DON’T give themselves away by breaking the surface when actively feeding. This is a very important time to fish geographical structure and pay attention to depth and clarity. Many South Korean reservoirs feature embankments or dams made of large rip rap. These are great places to start. The majority of the bass will hold in 8 to 12 feet of water where there is a sloping rock face.

To be successful you will need a sink tip line or full sinking line and count down to put your fly at the desired depth. I like to fish unweighted flies, because I find you can keep your fly in the strike zone longer. You will get hung up, but that means your fly is reaching the strike zone. This kind of fishing requires a lot of blind casting, but once you find the right depth, you can be in for a productive day. I recommend fishing embankments and rocky shorelines to find the postspawn bass.

Another thing to note is that the farmers are starting to irrigate their rice patties and the water levels of some small reservoirs are dropping. There is also agricultural runoff into some smaller reservoirs, making the water dirty and difficult to fish. In late June the monsoon season will hit with several weeks of hard rain. This is a reset and signifies the dog days are around the corner. So get out and fish while you can!