April looks good if you’re a trophy hunter. There’ll be a new moon around the 3rd and a full moon around the 18th. Add to that clearing waters and warming temperatures as the month moves along. That’s a great combination of factors that’ll move the female bass to their beds.

It’s also the best time to catch one. There are more quality largemouth bass in the river than many anglers realize. It’s just that they’re hard to find. The spawn helps solve that problem by locking them into specific areas.

Specific areas almost always means back in the creeks, near channel swings that have large, shallow flat areas bordering them. (Stumps will turn a good spot into a great spot.) And believe me when I tell you that shallow means shallow. It’s common for river bass to spawn in water less than a foot deep.

The biggest largemouths move first. It’s common for them to finish their spawn before the smaller bass have even staged. Take advantage of that. Check out likely areas a few days before the new moon or the full moon and then fish as close to the exact date as possible.