Early Spring Bass Strategies

Sean Fields releases a 5lb largemouth caught last March on a Rapala Max Rap suspending jerkbait

 Contrary to conventional fishing wisdom, it is indeed possible to catch lunker largemouth in the cold water period between "ice out" (traditionally a few weeks from now) and when the water temps reach a consistent 50+ degrees( Mid to late April or prespawn period)..and you don't have to still fish live bait to do it...let me share with you some strategies I have discovered, with a perhaps more than a little help from my friends, to help you learn how:

Developing an effective cold water bass catching strategy, though difficult and sometimes frustrating for many anglers that try, is not only possible, but with persistence and a willingness to abandon your tried and true warm water fishing techniques , can reward you with your biggest fish of the season .

I understand why many bass fisherman dislike or never even try fishing the immediate post ice out period ...it can be really cold!! But after last years impromptu coldwater fishing classes with Goose Hummocks resident fishing guru, Garrett Lascola, I now wouldn't miss early spring fishing for any reason.

I hear alot of angers talk of becoming frustrated with cold hands and feet, and lengthy intervals with little to no activity in the early part of the season. Most give up fishing too quickly or opt to never even really try until the traditional pre-spawn period late in April. Until last year, I felt the same way. However, after fishing with Garrett last spring, I was able to produce some solid results that greatly increased my willingness to go out in the cold.

What to look for and when to look for it

I try to avoid fishing in cold water if a cold front is rapidly approaching..I have found fishing is much more reliable and pleasant  when the water temperature is steadily rising for a week or so. A few days of steadily rising temps is all it takes to kick start early season fishing. A few days into a warming trend, bass will start to move out of their winter haunts and find the warmest water they can...because that is where the baitfish will be!. Forage in the deeper waters, where bass spend the bulk of the winter, has been reduced due to winter predation in those areas. I begin looking at water in the 2-10 foot range. When I come up to a spot on the water that I think holds fish, I find a shallow area where I can see bottom. I will then position the boat out into deeper water until I can’t clearly make out bottom features any longer. Reposition your boat a cast length from the shallower starting point and begin casting up into the shallower water you used as your start point. Examble... if I lose sight of bottom features at 10-15 feet, I will move my boat out into any depth that will let me cast up into that 2-5 foot of depth I could clearly see the bottom in. Within typical casting range is where we have found to be most productive, in terms of holding bass that are most actively willing to feed in cold water. Fish the spot you have chosen concentrating on casting your lure into any prominent structure you can see. In an area that you think should hold fish be sure to fish it slowly and thoroughly. Which brings us to  lure choice and  presentation:

Best Coldwater Lure Choices

I have found the most desirable food choice  for the bass this time of year is small finfish..of any variety the particular body of water you are fishing contains. At the coldest points in the wintertime, bass typically hold fort very close to the bottom The easiest , most energy efficient bait for them to eat  in this pattern is crawfish and after a winter of feeding on them, most of the crayfish population has been eaten with populations being at their lowest level of the year . As a result, bass will be looking for fin fish to fill the gap. Garrett introduced me to the proper method of presenting suspending jerk swim baits...done correctly(and with great patience), is the ideal lure to present to fish whose metabolism is not yet in mid summer quick burn form. Instinctive reflex strikes rather than raw hunger style strikes are the rule in cold water at this time of year, so suspending baits are what I begin and end with. Based on my experience last march and April , the suspending jerkbait is the number one reactionary bait in cold water. Many lure companies produce effective suspending minnow imitation baits, but my personal favorite is the 5 inch Rapala Max Rap in emerald green with black back. The less expensive Smithwicks and Yozuris worked well enough, but the biggest bass showed a decided preference for the Rapala.

Retrieve Strategies

  Rapala suspending baits exhibit lifelike action on a straight retrieve and fish effectively that way, but to get the best results add a distinct pause period every 3 or 4 cranks of the reel handle. The straight swimming action gets the bass’ interest by producing vibration the bass picks up on it's lateral line. The pause, lets the slow moving bass key in on where the bait is and produces an injured minnow effect that says "easy meal" to a bass. During the warmer spring, summer and fall months, a snappy , steady jerk retrieve can be most productive, but resist the urge to fish the bait this way in cold water. I have found that snapping and jerking on a straight quick retrieve is just too quick in cold water.. Bass, particularly the biggest ones, are typically quite lethargic and don’t race around chasing down food in cold water. Garrett showed me  that letting the lure suspend for 10-to 15 seconds every few cranks produces far more strikes than shorter pause intervals. That may seem like a long time, but it's not to coldwater bass. Even in warm water, Largemouth bass will show a decided preference to hit a lure on the pause...in cold water, even more so. If bass are nosing the bait all the way back to the boat and not striking the your lure, you can try incrementally speeding up the pause period, but wait until they give you that signal that they are looking for something quicker before trying it..  Patience is a requirement to be successful at fishing suspending baits in cold water. If you think you are fishing slowly and pausing your retrieve for long periods of time and still not receiving strikes, fish even slower.