It would be awfully tough to find a better info source on spotted bass than Alabama's Russ Lane. This Bass Cat and Yamaha pro has literally built a career on the mean green fish.

His knowledge is straight out of spot heartland in the Birmingham, Ala. area. But he's fished for them outside his home state, and his data on their yearly movements is easily transferable. The subtle timing might change – a few weeks later as you move north – but in all, he provides a solid playbook for a year-round spot-search.

What follows is his in-depth breakdown of each seasonal period, from the spawn, through summer, into fall and winter, then pre-spawn.

Spawn

Through experience, Lane's learned that spots begin to spawn when the water reaches 65 degrees. Their ritual usually begins about 3 weeks after the largemouths are done.

"When the dogwoods are in full bloom, and when the water's 65 degrees, they get on pea-gravel banks in the main lake," he said.

"The best thing I've seen to catch the spots during the spawn is a worm on an 1/8-ounce (Charlie Brewer) Slider head. I throw it on 6- and 8-pound Gamma fluorocarbon, and the key is to keep the bait moving, but keep it in contact with the bottom."

That's because you probably won't be sight-fishing for bedding spots. You'll be blind-casting through the bedding areas.

"Spots are very, very territorial. It doesn't take much coaxing to get one to bite on a bed. When you drag a bait through a bed, they're going to get it.

"If you're on water like Lake Martin, where the water's really clear, you can sometimes see them. But generally, spotted bass bed out of sight."

  • Key tip: Even though you can't see the beds, Lane said you can judge the stage of the spawn by the fish you catch. "When the spawn is going, they'll be real fat, and the males will be peeing in the boat. Then they get slack-bellied, and look like they're in bad shape. When that happens, all of a sudden they leave and get on offshore humps."

    Post-Spawn

    When the spots leave their beds and park themselves on main-lake humps, Lane turns to a big crank and a Vicious jig. (Note: The jig isn't available yet, but will be soon, and it's the custom, spot-specific model he's used for years.)

    "They usually spread out to humps all over the lake, but they like the offshore ones that top out from 10 to 15 feet. When they feed, they'll be on top of the humps. When they're not feeding, they're suspended off the edges."

    His tournament strategy during this period is to hit as many humps as he can in order to intercept feeding fish. He'll return to the same hump many times each day in case a school has pulled up to feed.

    In terms of crank choice, he noted he likes any big, deep-diving crank, but he especially likes the Fat Free Shad. He digs it into rocks, stumps and any other cover on the hump.

  • Key tip: When working cover on the hump, Lane said to keep in mind that largemouths like to get inside the "trash," whereas spots like to stay on top of it. So when you contact trash, raise your rodtip up to bring the bait over it and trigger a reaction strike.

    Summer

    For most of the summer, the spots stay out on the same humps they utilized during the post-spawn. But Lane noted that sometimes a window opens where some of the spots head to the bank.



    ESPN Outdoors
    Photo: ESPN Outdoors

    September tournaments can be tricky, because in the first or second week of the month, most of the spots leave the humps and hit the bank.

    "It's a narrow window, in mid- to late-May, where you can catch some of those big spots," he said. "That's when you want to throw topwater baits like Spooks, big buzzbaits and wakebaits. That lasts for a few weeks, then they all go back out to the humps and stay there from mid-June all the way through mid-August.

    "They get really hard to catch during this time, and they may feed on the hump where it's a little deeper – like 15 to 25 feet. There's a lot of bait in the water, and they tend to stay around the humps, where they suspend and chase the bait. Because of that, early morning is generally the best time."

  • Key tip: When you're stuck in a tough summer tournament, and water recreation's at its peak, boat traffic can sometimes help. "One thing I've noticed over the years is that boat traffic can really trigger those fish to bite," Lane said. "You hear a lot of people gripe and complain about all the skiers and party boats, but if you can find a good hump you know the fish use, and it has a lot of boat traffic, that keeps the bait pushed down on top of the hump. The fish take advantage of that and get in a feeding mode. When the party boats arrive at 1:00 or 2:00 or 3:00, that's a good time to catch those fish."

    Late Summer

    A major transition occurs during late summer. In the Birmingham area, it occurs in the first to second week of September.

    "That's when the big spots first come to the bank," Lane said. "When the sun comes up, I like to throw Spooks and buzzbaits, then I switch to a jerkbait. They get around wood and rockpiles along the bank, anywhere from 4 to 8 or 9 feet deep."

    He noted that he doesn't think water temperature triggers the movement, because it happens at just about the same time every year. Instead, he thinks the day-length, which is shortening, triggers the move, plus a few other biological factors.

    "Along with the days getting shorter, all the oxygen out deep is starting to deplete, and the shad are coming up and starting to migrate. It's just something that happens, and I don't think is has anything to do with water temperature."

    Fall Through Winter

    Once the spots reach the bank in early September, Lane said they'll stay there through mid-November, then they'll move to current-related areas.

    "Wherever there's available current, current breaks or places with the most available current over a hard bottom, that's where they'll be. They'll stay there all the way until the pre-spawn."

  • Key tip: Don't make the mistake of thinking the current can be too strong. "I've caught them in current that you couldn't even hold your trolling motor in – it was that fast," Lane said. "And the best way to catch them in current is to use a compact 1-ounce spinnerbait. I'm designing one for Vicious right now. You want to get it on bottom and let it wash in the current."

    Pre-Spawn

    When fish move from their current-related spots in preparation to spawn, that's where Lane draws a blank. He doesn't really know what to do during the brief pre-spawn window.

    "It's kind of a mystery," he said. "That time between the current deal, and when they get on pea-gravel to spawn, you can catch them on a jerkbait, but there's a 2- or 3-week period when you just want to get on windy, hard-bottom banks and start throwing."

    Notable

    > Overall, he said the best time of year for big spots is "the third week of February." That's right on top of this year's Bassmaster Classic, which will be held on spot-laden Lay Lake.