EARLY SPRING BASS FISHING

Early Spring Bass Fishing

Early spring. It's the time of year that every Bass fisherman who is worth his salt looks forward to. The thought of Bass that haven't seen a lure for at least 3 months is enough to stir any of us into a frenzy. Early spring has it's advantages but it can have it's own unique problems as well. Rising water temperatures can send Bass into flurries of activity that are a Bass fisherman's dream come true. But, just as quickly, a stubborn early spring cold front can be a nightmare that puts the fish back into hibernation. The key to successful fishing during this time of year lies in using the proper lures, presenting them properly and using the weather conditions to your advantage. Paying attention to the smallest details can sometimes mean the difference between a respectable day's catch and going home skunked.

Lure Details

When starting out in the spring you can expect water temperatures to be in the low 40 degree range. Most people shiver when they even think of fishing in this kind of cold water . But the temperature should clue you in as to what type of lure is apt to give you the best results. Think small. 3 inch grubs, 4 inch plastic worms of the straight-tail variety and 1/4 oz. Jig & Pig combinations fit the bill. Another consistent producer under these conditions, in shallow bodies of water, is the Rapala original in the 3 1/2 inch & the 4 3/8 inch sizes. Spinnerbaits may also have their place but will not be as consistent as the previously mentioned lures.
With any of the aforementioned baits the key is S-L-O-W. The Bass's metabolism is still in low gear and they aren't in much of a chasing mood. The 3 inch grub should be rigged on a 1/8 oz. jig-head. Preferred colors are smoke, chartreuse or white depending on the clarity of the water you are fishing. This should be retrieved either on a slow lift & drop or by letting it sink to the bottom, lifting it slightly and swimming it back just above the bottom of the lake. With either method a hit will usually just feel like extra weight on the end of the line. When in doubt set the hook. The 4 inch worm is best rigged on a 1/8 oz. Slider type head or Texas style with a light wire 1/0 hook & a 1/16 oz. bullet weight. Color is a matter of personal preference. However, black is always a good starting point. Smoke and pumpkinseed are also proven colors. A slow lift and drop retrieve is the standard method of presentation. Just remember; keep it slow. The 1/4 oz. Jig & Pig combination is known for its ability to attract big fish. But this is not saying that it should necessarily be a big, bulky bait. Trimming the skirt way back and combining it with a #11 Uncle Josh pork frog make it a meal that a big Bass finds hard to resist with its slow fall and natural appearance. Proven color combinations are a black, black & purple, or black & blue jig with a black or brown pork chunk. A slow lift and drop is by far the best method of retrieval. Watching your line is critical. Most bites will be nothing more than a heavy feeling or a slight jump in the line as the jig falls toward the bottom. When a fish hits your jig don't be afraid to cross its eyes when you set the hook. Remember, you have to penetrate the weed guard as well as the tough old mouth of Mr. or Mrs. Bass. The Rapala is simply cast past your target and retrieved slow and steadily. Just fast enough to feel the wobble as it makes its way back to the boat. When a Bass hits you'll not usually have any trouble knowing. Many times, when the other presentations have failed, this one will coax Bass into biting. Productive colors are gold, silver and fire tiger. Be sure, no matter what presentation you choose, that your hooks are sharp.

Line Details

Line size can be an integral part of your presentation. The "light is better" school of thought is not always the way to go. 6 lb. test is probably your best bet for the jig & grub. But the plastic worm and the Rapala perform well on 10 lb. test and the fish don't seem to mind. Fish the Rapala with a #2 snap attached to the front for a livelier, more natural appearance. The Jig & pig are best fished on line in the 14 & 15 lb. test range. The heavier line gives the jig a slower fall thus making it an easier and more tempting target for lethargic Bass. Berkley's Big Game line in the 15 lb. test size and lo-vis green color is hard to beat for durability and invisibility.

Weather Details

The weather is always the controlling factor in early spring fishing. But its not always the enemy. Knowing what to look for in weather patterns can play a big part in being a successful early spring fisherman. A bright, sunny, warm spring day, as nice as it is, is not usually enough to turn the fish on unless the body of water you are fishing is extremely shallow. At least 2 or 3 days of stable weather are needed to really get things moving, although 4 or 5 days are better. By the end of the 3rd day the fish will be starting to feed more aggressively and will be more responsive to any of your presentations. Most fisherman think of cloudy, overcast days as being the ideal conditions for aggressive feeding on the part of the Bass. This is only partly true. A cloudy day , after having 2 or 3 other cloudy days isn't worth a whole lot. A series of cool, cloudy days does nothing but drop the water temperature and put a damper on the Bass's metabolism. The key to the cloudy day theory, especially in the early spring, is to fish the first cloudy day after a warming trend. If you have 4 or 5 warm, sunny days and then a cloudy, rainy day be sure to get out on the lake, even if it means calling in to work and taking the day off. It'll be well worth it. Not only will you increase your chances of catching numbers of fish but your chances of connecting with a genuine hawg increase, in my opinion, by 25-30%. Under these conditions the Jig & Pig and the spinnerbait are probably the best choices to throw. The spinnerbait allows you to cover water quickly and locate active fish. Once you locate fish with the spinnerbait don't be afraid to use the Jig & Pig to tempt the less active, bigger fish. A sincere effort on the part of the angler will generally pay off with some good quality catches without leaving the area where the fish were slamming spinnerbaits. Pay attention to these details. You'll increase your catch and unlock the secrets of early spring fishing.

Like many of my other recent posts, this one comes after so many visitors landed on the site looking for instructions on actually rigging a plastic frog. I've posted reviews on both the Stanley Ribbit and the Zoom Horny Toad. I did not, however, explain how to rig the hook in great detail in either post. It's not much different than rigging a worm Texas rigged. Looking at plastic frogs, you'll notice that the body usually has a slit on the back and sometimes even on the belly molded specifically for hooks. The hooks are made especially for plastic frogs. A screw-lock mechanism is attached to the eye of the hook which is meant to be twisted into the nose of the plastic frog. That screw secures the frog in place on the hook preventing any slipping unlike regular wide gap hooks. Zoom makes the Horny Toad hooks and Stanley makes both a weighted hook and a plain frog hook. I'll explain how to rig both, but I'll primarily be using the Zoom Horny Toad and Horny Toad hooks in my illustrations.

If you plan on using another hook, like an EWG hook without a screw-lock for example, please visit this post on Texas rigging.

Got the frog? Got the hook? Okay. Let's go.



Hold the frog just behind the head with two fingers in one hand. Hold the hook by the eye and the spiral screw in the other hand with two fingers. Position the screw so that it lines up straight with the nose. Press the screw into the nose of the frog and apply some slight pressure with your other hand with the plastic frog. Begin turning the frog so that it winds onto the screw. Keep turning until the nose of the frog approaches the eye of the hook. Make sure to keep the loop of the screw-lock on the back side of the hook-eye as illustrated in the top photo. Stop turning when the body of the frog is positioned in such a way that the wire on the screw-lock forms a flat plane and at the same time lines up so that the point of the hook is situated directly beneath the body of the frog.

Grab the hook by the shaft side of the hook bend with two or three fingers of one hand and grab the frog with the other hand. Decide where the hook point is going to enter the body of the frog. Now bend the body of the frog in an arch-like fashion and at the same time, push the hook point at a right angle into the body of the frog along the slit designed especially for frog hooks. Push the hook point through, straighten out the body of the frog, and look at the positioning of the hook. The point should be resting completely above the skin of the plastic frog and pointing directly at the nose. Again, the loop on the screw-lock should line up in a flat plane against the nose of the frog and against the eye of the hook.

You can Texspose the point of the hook for added weedless capability, but I find that this isn't always necessary. To Texspose a hook, rig as above. Then once the point is resting against the skin of the frog, pull the upper body of the frog away from the hook point and allow it to slide back down over the tip of the point. This buries the point of the hook into the plastic keeping it away from anything it might get hung up on. When a fish bites, that force is still enough to dislodge the point and push the body of the frog down the hook as intended.

WACKY TIPS

One of the many positive aspects of being an angler is the camaraderie. No matter where you fish or what you fish for, someone at the boat dock will always be willing to lend an ear and share a tip or two. Sometimes they put you on the fish. Other times, they just feed you a load of malarkey. You never actually know until you put their claims to the test.

Last month, I got talking with a fellow angler on Caddo Lake about wacky rigging a soft plastic stickbait like a Senko. I told him I had a pack of circle hooks ready to go, but I didn't want to rip up the worms simply by casting them out. This fella recommended cutting a half strip of electrical tape and wrapping it around the center of the worm. Then run the hook through the tape, into the worm, and back out the other side. There are similar tips out there, but for those of you who want to save money, especially when the available products out there include O-rings and specially designed T-bar shaped worms, a piece of electrical tape really can put the other options to shame.

I tested this setup during my last outing on Cross. I never caught any fish and did not post any report, but I did throw my wacky rig. The tape held. It didn't slip off because the hook held it right where I left it. I did make sure that the two ends of the tape met at the top so it would not serve as a point of resistance on the fall if positioned at the side or the bottom.




There is one caveat. Don't pull the hook loose while the tape is still there. Cut the tape off first. Then remove your hook. You'll damage the worm in the process if you go yanking the hook free while it is still threaded through the tape. The barb simply won't easily slide back through the other direction.

Also, instead of using a half strip, I'd recommend cutting off a 1/4 sized strip. As long as the hook goes through the tape, you should be good. This will be my wacky rig setup from now on.

CAROLINA RIG

Here's another tip that really isn't much of a secret anymore. When you think about a Carolina rig, what comes to mind? Plastics, right? Let's step outside the box for a moment. Put something that floats and wiggles at the end of your C-rig. Yep, a crankbait. Hmm...Smithwick Rogue too. Do whatever you want with the leader, but make sure it's a suspending/floating lure. In other words, your leader length can vary. You want your lure to suspend at the depth that the fish are at. If you know the bass are right at the bottom, you may want a short leader. If the bass are suspended a few feet off the bottom, you will want to make the leader a little longer.