My understanding is that the females will stage in deeper water, come in and deposit some eggs, and then retreat back to the holding depth. The males guard the nest, fertilize the eggs, and stay shallower for a time. The females will also retreat back to deeper water when she has dropped all of her eggs, and will not feed during the time she is shallow. Therefore, my conclusion is that you probably won't catch females shallow during the spawn. This is my belief, and it is worth just what you paid for it!