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Pre-Spawn with Tommy Martin
Interview by Jim Alphin

Photo by Matt Williams

January/February 2004

If you've stopped by Yamamoto's Toledo Bend Pro Shop you've met Jim Alphin, the guy with the big smile keeping the store humming. Recently, Jim grabbed East Texas bass fishing legend, Tommy Martin, long enough to record this major interview. If you've wondered about the early days of bass fishing, wonder no more. Settle in for an entertaining and informative look through the eyes of one of the guys that was there.

JA - Why don't you start by telling me about yourself? Were you born here?

TM - No, it was Livingston, Texas. I've been in Texas all my life, grew up in Texas City on the gulf coast. I only fished saltwater until I was about 25, when I moved to east Texas in 1965 for a job. I moved to Lufkin about the time Sam Rayburn was filling up with water. At that time I'd never caught a bass, even though I'd caught everything that swam in saltwater. I never guided although I could've when I was a kid, just never got into it. Really, there weren't any guides; it wasn't done at that time. But we had what seemed like millions of grown-ups asking us to teach them fishing because us kids caught so many fish.

Once I came up here and started specifically targeting bass it was real interesting to me because it was so much more challenging than fishing saltwater. Saltwater fishing was easy; most times we caught a number of different species, all simple to catch because they were predictable. When I started bass fishing at Rayburn it was easy, too, but not every part of it. I think it took me 30 days working with a plastic worm before I caught my first worm fish. It got to the point where I wasn't too sure but what those guys were just fooling me about plastic worms. I thought I'd never catch one on a worm, and nobody was any help. I was trying to learn on my own, by trial-and-error, just going out on the lake and fishing.

In fact, that's how I learned to fish for bass, mostly trial-and-error, by myself. I had a bass-fishing background from saltwater, but I knew nothing about bass fishing. I read articles and I listened to people, but there weren't many experts back in 1965. And if they were, they weren't willing to tell you anything that was very instructive, or that would help you much; thankfully there were a few. That's how I got started bass fishing. Eventually I started catching a lot of bass on Rayburn, '66 and '67. In '68 I bought a bassboat, graduating from a little aluminum boat with an 18-horse to a front-end stick-steering setup - it wasn't long before I started guiding.

The demand back then on Sam Rayburn was just humongous; they needed guides constantly. There were so many coming from all over the States, I was catching so many fish, word got around and two or three of the locals asked me if I'd start guiding them, "We need more guides and you're catching more fish than a lot of our guides, so would you guide for us on weekends?" So I started guiding on weekends and that probably got me into professional fishing - guiding and getting into competition with the guides, seeing who could get a 45-bass limit and bring it in first. You had to be in by noon. Fishing was easy back then, huge schools of fish and lots of fish being caught. About that time I heard about competitive tournaments and fished a few - my first one cost $100. I didn't really know what I was doing, but wanted to get involved to see what tournaments were like. I hoped I'd get my $100 back, and that's what I did, finished 30th and won $100.

JA - Tell us a bit about your family, wife and kids.

TM - Sheila and I have been married since '82. I was living on Toledo Bend, guiding and fishing tournaments when I met her. We've got two children. My oldest boy Blake is a freshman at Sam Houston State on a football scholarship. Our younger son Brian is 15, in Hemphill High School and doing well. We're extremely proud of both our sons and their success. I'm 62, fishing tournaments, still guiding, and still doing the things I've always done. I'm fortunate to be in good health and able to do these things. Fishing's a good sport, keeps you outdoors, keeps you in shape, and I'm just proud to be able to fish.

JA - I appreciate you taking the time to tell us about your family, but I'm itching to go fishing! Spring is not far down the road, and one of the tough times for some folks is pre-spawn. It's kind of like five seasons for bass fishing, and I've added another tough season to make it six - call it "transition season" if you will. When does pre-spawn start at Toledo Bend?

TM - It can start as early as January 10th, earlier than most people realize.

JA - What is it that starts or triggers pre-spawn?

TM - Now this is strictly Tommy Martin's opinion, there are no set reasons for pre-spawn as far as I know, but (in my opinion) as you know I guided 12 months out of the year on Toledo Bend, which enabled me to keep close tabs on the fish. I kept up with them and knew exactly what depths they were using, and I had a lot of places where I could catch bass easily. I really just stayed up with the fish and their movements day-to-day, what they were doing every month of the year.

Back then I started to realize how early bass started that pre-spawn movement, because somewhere around January the 10th, every winter, I'd lose my deep fish. What I mean by that is that I quit catching them deep. All of a sudden they just wouldn't be in those holes. I'd be catching them on spoons and jigs and pork rinds out in 25-30 feet of water - I had deep holes where I could consistently catch 30 to 40 bass, easy fishing - and all of a sudden those fish were gone.

It took me a little while to realize what was happening, and where they were going. Those fish were just starting to move shallow. They'd come out of that deep water and start moving shallow, and water temp had very little if anything to do with it, contrary to what a lot of people believe. Most of the time, when these fish came out of that deep water, the water temp could be anywhere from 49 to 50-degrees and they'd leave those holes for shallower water - 5 to 10-feet. That's when Rat-L-Traps and crankbaits started catching so many fish

The bass would come out of that deep water and start moving shallow, and water temp had very little if anything to do with it, contrary to what a lot of people believe.

The whole spawn actually occurs much sooner than fishermen realize - they're still out there fishing deep when a lot of the fish have moved up close to the spawning ground, with some actually staging. What I think causes pre-spawn is when the female bass gets full of eggs - those eggs start swelling, and if you've caught many fish in December you know what I'm talking about. Their eggs won't be swelled too much, but there'll be eggs in those females. Around January those eggs start swelling and the bass have an instinct to move shallow, even though the spawn doesn't occur until (at T-Bend) sometime between the last week of February, depending on where they're at, and runs until the middle of April. That's a long spawning period, depending on what part of the lake they choose for spawning.

JA - You used the term staging; could you expand on that a bit more?

TM - Well, when I say staging, a lot of Toledo Bend fish use the river in December and January. They live along the edges of the river, which is 50, 60, 70, 80, or even 100-feet deep. The edges are anywhere from 25 to 35-feet deep, but they'll hold on the edges of the river and then move to the nearest shallow water. One of the biggest staging areas we have is not that far from where we're sitting, right here in your tackle shop. We call it White Flat, just south of the bridge where the river runs right by those flats. Those fish come up out of that river and start staging in 8 to 10-foot water right along the edge of that river and they'll stay there for 60 days, or close to it, before actually moving into the real shallow flats to actually start the process of spawning, when the males come in to start sweeping the beds off.

JA - Toledo Bend is a man-made reservoir that flooded a huge system of intersecting rivers and creeks, which can actually create flats out in the middle of the lake. That area that you talked about as a staging area is actually in the middle of the lake. Are you telling me these fish will spawn out in the middle?

TM - Jim there are a lot of fish that spawn on Toledo Bend and Sam Rayburn, and they're happy to spawn out in the middle of the lake as long as it's 3 to 5-feet deep. The main lake stays pretty clear on Toledo and you'll see bass spawning in late March and early April out on those humps and flats, way out in the center of the lake, especially if there's three to four feet of water out there. If the water's not that shallow, then no, they'll go to the bank. So yes, they do spawn out in the middle, and there are a lot of fish in Toledo Bend and Rayburn that spawn on tree limbs out here in 30 and 40-foot of water in the flooded timber. Most fishermen out here are pretty well familiar with that. It's a little irregular, but I feel it's well worth mentioning. There's a lot of shallow water, unless the lake gets real full and real high in the spring, so you're going to have shallow flats way out in the lake, just like we do in the fall.

JA - That's pretty unique about these two lakes. Tell me a bit about your equipment, what you use during pre-spawn.

TM - I use baitcasting reels during pre-spawn. Some of the baits I fish I need to move real fast, like Rat-L-Traps, so I use a 6.3:1 ratio reel. That's one of my main weapons in pre-spawn, 1/2-ounce or 3/4-ounce 'Trap, and I alternate between those two weights, depending on the water depth, and I fish those baits really fast. However, if the water is really off-color or murky I slow them down, fish them slower. Generally speaking, those kind of baits are at their best when the lake is fairly clear, which is normal for the main lake, where a lot of the pre-spawn staging is done. Of course, for some it's back in the creeks on flats where they run out towards the creek channel in three and four feet of water before dropping off into ten and twelve.

Flats are just edges where deep water and shallow water come together. These are staging areas, where deep water meets shallow water. Good spawning areas, are the north banks - everyone knows the colder winds come out of the north, and the banks on the lake that are protected from those north winds are the banks that tend to warm up first in the spring. Obviously, that's where most of your early spawning occurs.

JA - North banks doesn't necessarily mean the north end of the lake, does it?

TM - No, it doesn't mean the north end of the lake, you just take some of these bigger creeks and fish those banks that are protected from the north wind. With a use of a temperature gauge, an important item to have in the spring, you can seek out water that's just a little bit warmer. If most of the main lake is 50-degrees and I go into a creek and get on a north bank and find water temps that are 55 to 60-degrees, well, that doesn't mean every fish in the lake is going to seek out that area, but fish that are in the area with warmer temperatures, those fish will be more active and much easier to catch on lures.

JA - You mentioned the water temperature gauge; is there anything else special you do to prepare for that time of year?

TM - Not really, but admittedly I've been rigging boats 35 years and there are a lot of little things that are must-haves in my boat. A water temperature gauge is one, and I want two water temp gauges in the boat, just in case one isn't working.

JA - Is noise an issue with fish?

TM - I feel like noise is always an issue with fish. I don't like to make a lot of noise in shallower water, or when I'm in ultra-clear water. I think that's when noise is most critical; you want to be as quiet as you can.

JA - Tommy, that time of year the fish's metabolism is just beginning to change, they don't get real hungry, but obviously there are baitfish out there in the staging areas, shiners and threadfin shad on these lakes. Do you look for bait during pre-spawn?

TM - I don't pay much attention to bait that time of year. I know the areas I'm catching fish in, and I know there are several things bass must have; food is one of them. There's going to be baitfish where you find bass, you're going to have cover of some type where bass are, and you're going to have a desirable water temperature where bass are. In pre-spawn periods I'm looking for a little bit warmer water, and for certain clarity. I like water to be a little clear; I think bass respond to artificial lures a lot better in clear water in the spring than they do in off-color, muddy water. That's not to say we don't catch fish in muddy water, then you slow-roll a big spinnerbait with thumper blades, or something that gives off a lot of vibration for fishing muddy water. If conditions change, you've got to change your technique.

Flats are nothing more than edges where deep water and shallow water come together. These are the classic staging areas, where deep water meets shallow water.

Last year when Bassmaster was here in February the guys were fishing where it was real muddy - if you remember, they kept talking about the muddy water and that they'd narrowed their lure selection down to just one or two, because they were they only baits that generated a response. One of those baits was a black/neon tube, a flipping tube, and these fish were holding up close to the bank where that water was just a little bit clearer. David Horton explained where he found his fish, in two to four feet of water, real close to the bank where the water was a little bit clearer. Horton was getting away from the muddy water away from the bank, extremely muddy because of all the rain we'd had. They were flipping in that little bit of clear water, and using a spinnerbait with Colorado blades. A spinnerbait is a good murky water lure because it puts off vibration and flash, and kind of draws the fish to the bait. They narrowed their bait selection down because most of what they were using during pre-fish was useless after the rain in that muddy water.

JA - In that kind of situation you're looking for the mud line?

TM - Yeah, and looking to stay away from extremely muddy water, if I can. Last spring they were in an area where they had to fish muddy water, they didn't have a choice. They were back in that creek, but if I had a choice and had the whole Lake at my disposal, I'd fish north. This lake is 100 miles long, so I fish up north a lot. Oh I fish down south, too; it just depends on where I get bigger fish going. Again, I like those staging flats. Staging flats can be in creeks, or on the main lake, but they're always where shallow water and deep water meet - that's a flat.

Knowing the lake is a real key, knowing where a lot of fish winter. I know where I catch them in the winter, and the nearest shallow water from those deep spots is where they're going to move in transition, prior to the spawn. When those winter bass start dispersing and start staging, getting ready to go into the spawn, they go to the nearest shallow water. Usually, that's 5 to 10-feet, and to narrow it down, 7 and 8-foot depths are key depths in pre-spawn to me. I spend a lot of time fishing those depths.

That time of year Rat-L-Traps are the premier bait, and I use whatever size it takes to kind of "tick" the top of the grass if I'm fishing grass. The grass is usually growing about three feet up off the bottom in seven feet of water. That means I've got four feet between the surface and the top of the grass. So, you really can't kick that grass with a 1/2-ounce 'Trap, not as fast as I work it. I go to a 3/4-ounce and I'm generally throwing it on heavy line, so I need the heavier bait so I can get down and tick the top of that grass. I still reel fast, but keep it down a little bit deeper, just bounce it off the top of that grass. You've got to fish like that to catch these staging fish because they hold right in the top of that grass.

When bass are staging that time of the year they're rarely on the bottom; they like to come up off the bottom and soak up a lot of that warm sunshine. They've been out in deep water all winter, so when January and February comes along and those real sunny, lukewarm days, that sun starts penetrating the water, warming the upper level and those fish suspend about three to five feet down. If there are fish in the area, Rat-L-Traps are the perfect lure because the bait stays right in the strike zone the entire cast.

JA - What you're telling me is to keep moving until I find the fish?

TM - Keep moving during pre-spawn, that's right. I can fish fast and efficiently with a 'Trap, but I use more than 'Traps. I also use Shad Rap, and I stroll-roll (faster than slow-rolling) a Strike King spinnerbait. I like a #5 Willow Leaf with a #2 Colorado blade on the inside, and a chartreuse/white skirt. That's a great combination, and I sweeten it with a little white Zoom trailer on the back. We talked about reels, they're real important, and have a big effect on your ability to fish certain baits correctly. I go to a 5:1 ratio reel when I'm slow-rolling a spinnerbait, which allows me to slow that bait down, keeping it down there where you can, again, "tick" the top of that grass. With a 6.3:1 reel it's tougher to physically slow down enough to get that bait down where it needs to be. But use a 6.3:1 ratio for 'Traps - with a 5:1, no matter how fast you wind it, you just can't make it go fast enough. Balancing tackle to technique is an important issue.

JA - I've thoroughly enjoyed our conversation, Tommy, but I have one more question: Is there anything that I didn't bring up that you feel the readers need to know about pre-spawn?

TM - Well, fishing for bass is complex. Basically we've talked about staging areas in 5 to 10-feet of water, spots where bass stage before moving into real shallow areas to actually set up their nest. We've talked about 'Traps and slow-rolling spinnerbaits, and crankin' the Shad Rap, a favorite lure for pre-spawn because of its tight wiggle. It seems like it's always been that way, on every lake I've visited across the U.S. - when the water's cold, like 50 to 60-degrees, or when it's extremely cold, a crankbait with a real tight wiggle will always get more strikes than a wider wobbling crankbait. Crankbaits all look a lot alike, but there's a big difference in them. Shad Raps and baits like them, with that little tight wiggle; those are winter or pre-spawn crankbaits.

Another technique that I use and I depend on during pre-spawn is Carolina-rigging - remember when I said I don't believe the fish are on the bottom much during pre-spawn. I've caught very few fish on a jig during pre-spawn, unless they hit it on the drop. For that reason I use a Carolina-rig with 10-pound line and a three-foot leader, with a centipede, trick worm, lizard, or a Brush Hog, a variety of soft plastic lures; I really don't have a set rule of thumb but the little centipede, a five or six-inch lizard, and the Baby Brush Hog are tough baits to beat when the fish are fairly inactive. There are those days during cold fronts, or worse, right after a cold front on a bluebird day when you just can't get a bass to chase anything. That's when you really have to slow down and use a Carolina-rig.

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