Because Alamo is a low-elevation desert lake, the spawn usually begins several weeks before other warm-water fisheries in central Arizona. Once the major winter weather disappears, the air and water temperatures could both climb quickly.

During late February or early March, it's common to hit a low in the 40s at night and then have the temperature climb into the mid-80s or above during the day. When that happens, the water also warms quickly, and the fish get very active.

TACKLE
Jim Warnecke once ran a store at Alamo. Now he usually fishes water from 10 to 20 feet deep before the fish go into their spawning ritual.

"While living at the lake, I kept a daily log of my fishing activity," he said recently, "and crankbaits dominate the list for the bass I caught."

Warnecke said a No. 5 Shad Rap in crawdad colors accounted for many of the larger bass he landed.

Although he fishes the coves occasionally, Warnecke does most of his cranking on the outside points. He'll normally run over an area with his graph to see what kind of fish are holding where. If he finds a decent concentration of bass, he'll move off to the deeper water parallel to the point itself and throw his crankbait across the point.

Jim Weller is another Alamo regular. "It really doesn't matter what crankbait I use as long as it runs at the right depth."

But color is also very important, he said. Either a crawdad pattern or one with black and chartreuse always seems to catch the most fish, he said.

The bass also feed heavily on Alamo's huge bluegill population, so he sometimes throws a Punkin Seed with good success. In water from 10 to 15 feet deep, his choices are a Bagley DKB, Deep Vee R, Fat Rap, or a Cordell Spot. Buzzbaits can also be productive at this time of year.

The bass tend to move in and out of the shallows during the day, he said. "So when I get on the lake, I often throw a buzzbait right up against the banks in the larger coves, especially in areas where the brush sticks out of the water.