I have yet to catch a big female shallow and I have been fishing for 2 months. The big males are shallow but females are still deeper so no way the spawn has passed. The pattern is really weird this year and I can't explain it. My only hope is that it can still linger into late May when school is out and i can go everyday.
I caught several big females in 8 fow Tuesday . all were ready to lay . gonna go and see in the morning .
CATCH THEM ALL.
Ive was catching big females in 2' of water in March and they're still being caught in shallow water now... Just not in the same place. Every fish ain't gonna spawn at the same time, every fish ain't gonna spawn at the same place, and every fish ain't gonna go shallow. They lay eggs everywhere.
I do think that the majority of them have layed their eggs, but I know all of them have not.
just gotta get off the beaten path so to speak and you'll find'em.. Hard to catch shallow fish if another boats are running trolling motors through the middle of them.
I take a anchor with me and ease around little at a time. I ease the anchor down and cover EVERYTHING around the boat before I move. Then I pick up and move a little.
I think a lot of people mess up because they only fish what looks good on the surface and then troll on to the next something that looks good on the surface.