As if mimicking the great blue heron, the stalwart sentinel froze at attention. Only the eyes moved. Searching the edge of the solitary bright spot on the otherwise silt covered bottom, he waited for his quarry to reveal itself.

The Polaroid glasses helped, but the sun's glare on the surface of the water played tricks with the bass angler's mind and vision. "Is that a fish or a dark spot? Maybe it's just a small log."

Slowly the fisherman moved his right hand up beside the glasses to shield out the sunlight and fixed his stare on the dim object's outline. Now, without question he could tell it was a largemouth bass, circling at the edge of the spawning bed. A guardian male bass protecting the tiny bass fry from marauding bluegill.

"Wonder if Mama bass is still around? Maybe just out of sight in the bulrush and cattails. Well, let's try to get the male to bite."

Aiming a short flip cast beyond the bed, the angler eased the single-hook-rigged plastic worm back toward the spot and allowed the lure to settle in the middle of the circular light spot on the bottom. As expected, the male bass came to rebuff the intruder and plucked it up, carrying it away. Not to eat the bait, but more a protective instinct.

Had it been following normal bass behavior to kill and eat the bait, the bass would have taken the lure by the head. But to get this pest out of the bed, the fish grabbed the center of the plastic worm and swam off. From such experience, the spawning bed fisherman knows to rig the hook more to the midsection of the worm.

Quick reaction to set the hook, before the bass drops the lure, and the fish is speedily reeled to the boat. A 2 1/2-pound largemouth, a male, showing all the wear and tear of a bloody tail in keeping with sweeping out the sandy bottom to build the nest.

But it's a far cry from the trophy-size largemouth the spawning season offers. The smaller male bass is dropped in the livewell to be released later at the spot. For now, a short piece of mono with a sinker weight and a small piece of floating Styrofoam is placed to mark the bed's location.

Given time, the environment in the shallow water will settle down and the bass fisherman will sneak back to the area. For the bed fisherman, now it's a case of being a hunter, silently stalking his prey, watching and waiting for the kill.

This is the springtime pattern that will begin to play out in the South, and elsewhere, when the doldrums and inactivity of winter pass and the water temperatures climb to the 65- and 68-degree range. Nature responds, and the redbuds and dogwoods in bloom signal that largemouth bass are on the move toward the shallows and spawning action.

This, also, spawns debate and serious controversy about the sportsmanship of jerking huge bass off the spawning beds and its impact on the bass fishery.

In Southern states, fishery biologists have not detected a negative effect on fish populations where bed fishing is practiced. Only a tiny fraction of bass fry grow to maturity in ideal situations, and forage and water quality are limiting factors, not fishing pressure.

States with shorter growing seasons do close the season for bass in spring, although some permit catch-and-release fishing during the spawn, and others limit the creel to one or two bass.

For more than 40 years, BASS has held tournaments during spawning season, especially in Florida, where bed fishing is an art form. However, with a few notable exceptions, these contests were not determined by "sight fishing," but by blind casting to spots the anglers believe bass should be hanging out.

So the question should be how to approach the "best fishing time" when more bass are found in the shallows and more of the fishermen can catch them. Tournament groups and bass clubs might reduce their creel limits to smaller numbers, or conduct only single big-bass contests during the spawning season. Whether you're in a tournament or not, sportsmanship should be the rule of law.

During a time in the 1970s, the trophy black bass in certain Florida areas, such as Big Lake George on the St. Johns River, came under serious siege. Catching a 10-pound trophy became a matter of willingness to pay the price. At $100 a pound, such a prized wall mount went for $1,000 a head.

Step ladders in fishing boats became the fad, and bed fishermen could more easily spot their targets. Rather than tossing an artificial lure into the spawning beds under a big largemouth's nose, live bait  a big bull shiner  was the weapon, proving to be more like shooting fish in a barrel.

Thankfully, live bait is not an option in tournament fishing, but several tournament pros have reached the skill level of sight fishing that they don't need it. And, they have a high level of patience  the quality to study a big bass' behavior and to know when the fish is hot and will take a lure.

Big bass trophy guides in Florida, traditionally, like to book their clients around the full moon of February. Outside the central Florida area, the prime time spawning most likely happens around the March full moon. The pattern will follow the water temperature's rise in waters in other areas into April and farther north.

When searching for spawners and the location of beds in the early season, the general rule is to comb the shallows in the northernmost coves or reservoirs. These areas are the most protected during the cold winter blasts, and the first to warm up as south winds and sunshine push warmer surface waters in the area.

When you do spot the telltale white spot on the bottom, slow down and search the area, looking to actually observe a bass on or near the beds. The bow-mounted electric trolling motor is used to work the area on a low speed setting, but a better approach used by the Florida big bass trophy guides is a push pole to urge the boat forward.

With the push pole, the boat's drift can be abruptly halted in place upon spotting a fish on a bed. Then, quietly drop a 10-pound mushroom anchor to hold the position and observe the bass.

Working with the sun position and glare to the angler's back is a must for the best visibility. Veteran bed fishermen swear wearing dark or camo clothing is an advantage. Above all, shy away from white hats and shirts. Also, keeping a lower profile in the boat and using a sidearm flip cast or roll cast action will reveal less movement to the bass.

From here on out, it's a case of hunker down and do your best to fool the largemouth into thinking some critter has invaded its space.

In reality, bed fishing for spawners is in no way associated with shooting fish in a tub. A big bass, if he even takes the lure, isn't striking the bait. Often he's just holding it in his lips, and it is most difficult to hook it. The use of more compact tube jigs or the soft plastic crawfish is, perhaps, the better spawning rig than the standard Texas rigged worm. In Florida, black is a favored spawning lure color, maybe associated with a big leech. But, at times, a more visible color, such as white or bubblegum, will aid the angler in working the bait and seeing the strike.

As discussed, the "strike" is a misnomer, usually. Unless the big bass is goaded into an anger response and grabs the lure to crush it, getting a hook in its jaw is a game of hit-and-miss. This brings the element of suspense into bed fishing for the angler, much like a trophy deer hunter squeezing the trigger on a big buck. A well-placed shot will bag the trophy as surely as a timely hook set will net the big bass.

Words can't describe the sensation flooding over a bed fisherman when he does see a 10-pound largemouth trophy bass, clearly outlined over the bright spot on the lake bottom. Surely, the moment compares to a deer hunter watching a Boone and Crockett record-book rack emerge from the shadows and into gun range. There's buck fever for bass anglers, too.

Tips For Spawners in Muddy Waters

As a rule, prespawn largemouth are  predictably  unpredictable. That is, you can always count on bass behavior in the springtime, but you can't count on conditions for sight fishing.

Even if the water temperature reads in the high 60s, the wild card in the deal is the joker: muddy water. Still, spawning bass can be targeted and triggered to bite.

Here's where a special short- arm spinnerbait with a gold plated blade with a ball bearing can be effective in shallow, muddy water. The bass, in the off-color water, may be no deeper than 18 inches to 2 feet. Use a 1/4-ounce spinnerbait, and slow roll it on the retrieve. Stop the retrieve when it nears a bush or suspected bed location, and the short-arm blade will "helicopter" down in a way bass can't resist.

In muddy water, you might not see bass beds, but you can look for signs of a bedding bass. Early in the morning, when conditions are calm, watch for a "swirling motion" on the surface that indicates a largemouth is fanning the bottom.

Repeated casts of the spinnerbait to the sides of the spot may trip the bass' trigger to attack the intruder, but often a largemouth will simply butt the lure. Thus, a trailer hook is a bit of insurance to add. Or even a treble hook can be used as a trailer hook, if the cover permits.

Another advantage of throwing a spinnerbait over dragging a plastic worm is being able to cover more water. In a day's fishing, that's putting the lure in front of, perhaps, a few more fish.