What Really Triggers Florida’s Biggest Bass Spawns and Other Top Stories from Fishing on SI

These three stories captured our Sports Illustrated fishing reader’s attention on Fishing on SI this past week.

From bass pro JT Kenney revealing what really triggers bass to spawn in Florida, to the truth about the best sunglasses, to an AI fishing app vs. a real bass pro, these stories captured our Sports Illustrated fishing reader’s attention on Fishing on SI this past week. | JT Kenney | Ken Baldwin | Kurt Mazurek

1.) JT Kenney Explains What Really Triggers Florida’s Biggest Bass Spawns

It's not a gradual warming trend and it's not the moon phase that triggers Florida’s biggest bass spawning waves. JT Kenney explains how to time the best fishing days of the year. | https://www.facebook.com/JTKenneyFishing

A day in the boat with Florida bass pro JT Kenney comes with plenty of laughs, but it also comes with insights that challenge what most anglers think they know about the bass spawn.

In much of the country, warming spring water triggers spawning activity. But in Central and South Florida, Kenney says the process works in reverse. Here, the biggest spawning waves and some of the most memorable fishing days of the year are triggered by cooling water, cold fronts, and the timing of the warm-up that follows.

If, like me, you learned to fish for bass almost anywhere but Florida, you’re conditioned to think that warming spring weather increasing the water temps is what triggers the spawn. Especially in areas where lakes freeze in the winter, we knew that once the water temperatures finally made their way back above the 60-degree mark, you might start to find bedding fish. But in Central and Southern Florida, it’s the opposite…GET THE REST OF THE STORY HERE.

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2.) What I Finally Figured Out About Fishing Sunglasses

Fish still bite in the rain. | Photo by Chase McCoy

I’m not a sunglass expert. I know there are cheap polarized glasses, middle-of-the-road options, and high-end pairs; I know that much.

I also know that seeing fish has far more to do with an angler’s skill and experience than the glasses on their face. A skilled angler in cheap polarized sunglasses will still spot more fish than an unskilled angler wearing a top-of-the-line brand. Get good at seeing fish.

To my eyes, the lenses of all high-end brands perform exceptionally well, and most of the time I can’t tell the difference. Once you’re in that rarified air of exceptional lenses, it all looks good to me. If this were music, I'm not an audiophile, but I know good speakers when I hear them.

What makes for a good pair of fishing glasses isn't just the lenses, though…GET THE REST OF THE STORY HERE.

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3.) I Let AI Plan My Fishing Day—Then Tested It With a Bass Pro

I let an AI-powered fishing app plan my entire day on unfamiliar Florida water, then tested that plan on the water with a veteran bass pro. The results were surprisingly close. | Kurt Mazurek

I reviewed the onWater fishing app earlier this year, and remember being impressed by the depth of information available—detailed maps, weather forecasts, launch sites, and a truly smart fishing journal. Now onWater has added a new AI (Angler Intelligence) feature designed to use all that data and more to answer any of your fishing questions. It sounded like having 24/7 access to the world’s most-experienced, multi-species, local-to-everywhere, fishing guide, who is always 100% honest.

I wanted to see for myself how close this AI app could come to thinking like a seasoned angler.



So I let the AI plan my fishing day—then tested it on the water with a bass pro…GET THE REST OF THE STORY HERE.