Pre-Spawn Bass - Two top lures and techniques! A few great tips to maximize the pre-spawn for bass.

Pre-Spawn Bass - Two top lures and techniques!

Environment – Where are these guys?

Contrary to popular belief, bass do not spend the winter stuck to the bottom of the lake. On natural lakes, they stay as deep as the grass grows and a lot of times that’s in less than 6ft of water. Once the ice is gone and the water warms into the low 40s grass is the biggest key to landing bass. I look for the areas with the biggest spawning flats. Bass tend to prefer Milfoil and Eel grass. Make sure you can identify these types of grass so you don’t waste time in the cold early spring.

Rattle It!

The rattle trap and jerkbait are lures that will do a lot of damage! I start sometimes out on the edge of the grass and work on top of the beds looking for key areas. I throw the rattle trap on 14 to 20 lb test sometimes because the heavier line lets you slow down the speed of the lure yet you can still keep it over the grass. Almost all of the bites come when you make contact with the grass and rip it free. A lot of times I just let it flutter for a second before reeling again. Bass often hit the lure on the fall. That’s why I almost yoyo the lure because I want to keep making contact with the grass. This technique is like a crankbait. Most of your bites come on some type of deflection, very similar to hitting that stump or rock; you don’t get many bites on a crankbait if it’s not deflecting off something same holds true for the rattletrap.

You’re a Jerk!

Jerkbaits are another early spring time bait that’s tough to beat. The rattletrap and the jerkbait get reaction bites from the bass when slow moving lures don’t. I prefer to throw a 4” or 6” model. 8lb fluorocarbon or 20lb mono work well. It all depends on what I want the lure to do. Based on where the grass is adjust the line. The retrieve is also very important. You want to rip the lure then let it pause. The pause is when the bites most often occur. Be sure to vary your pauses some long and some short. When fishing right over the grass, the jerkbait has performed better on days when it’s sunny. The rattletrap is better with wind or cloud cover.

Size

Most of the time I’ll throw a 1/2oz. If I’m fishing shallow or I notice the bass want a smaller profile bait ill throw a 1/4oz. Use a 3/4oz if fishing deeper or if the bass are looking for a bigger profile.

Color

Color is sometimes important. One way to dial in color (as with any bait/lure) is to keep switching up and see if one color gets more bites than the other. Sorry guys no secrets here. Just good old trial and error :)  This method holds true with all bass fishing. If you don’t switch size or color, you’ll never know what’s best on your lake. Take the time to be patient and give a new color and size a chance.  

Adjust, Adjust, Adjust!!!

Once the water warms into the high 40s to low 50s, shallow fishing gets good. Attack the docks! I’ve been very successful with the water in the mid 40s.When the water get to the upper 40s to low 50s pick up the jig. If it’s still cold I’ll down size my bait to a bitsy bug. Start fishing the docks in the same areas where the grass is. The bass can move up at anytime so just keep checking!

Give it a whirl and let me know how it turns out. Good fishing.

Tight lines,

Bob Soley

FishAddix Pro