Pro's Picks For Pre-Spawn Bassin'

Bass fishing in the spring can be a boom-or-bust scenario. When making ready for my first spring fishing trip of the year, these are five techniques - along with various bait selections - that I'll have rigged up. More importantly, their versatility allows each of them to be retrieved differently or most any situation depending on the bass' activity level and cover.

Lipless Crankbait:

A lipless crankbait is an effective tool while searching for pre-spawn bass, as well as an efficient way to cover water. The tight side-to-side action emits a vibration easily sensed through a bass' lateral line. This bait can be used in many types of cover, from rip rap banks to flats with emergent vegetation, and can put both numbers as well as big bass in the boat.

With exposed treble hooks, these baits can easily snag on cover. But a quick snap of the rod will usually pull the bait free. This is when you need to be prepared for a bite; the erratic action of snapping loose your lure can generate a strike from a stalking bass that might not otherwise react to a steady retrieve.

There are many models of lipless crankbaits on the market, all of which have different characteristics: profile, sound, vibration, color, and the way the bait reflects light. It's important to experiment for each bait can be remarkably different. For instance, a rattlebait such as the Bill Lewis Rattle Trap works best with either a steady or erratic retrieve, whereas a Lucky Craft LV500 is good for ripping off the bottom. The Savage Gear Vibe emits a different vibration than either the Rattle Trap or the LV500 and can be effective using either type of retrieve.

As is often the case with all treble-hooked lures, anglers may have issues with losing bass. But there are things one can do to mitigate this. First, replace the stock hooks with a quality trebles, and ensure they stay sharp. Often times an increase in the size of the hook will help keep a fish buttoned. Second, using a blended rod of both fiberglass and graphite slows the action of the blank when it loads up. This delay allows the fish to inhale the bait deep before the angler sets the hook.
Most times when tossing rattlebaits, I'll use a Witch Doctor Surman 50G Rod (7-foot 2-inch, medium-heavy and medium-fast), paired with a 7.0:1 Victory II bait caster spooled with 15-pound Seaguar Rippin' monofilament line. The slight stretch of mono aids in increasing my hook-up and landing ratio.

Jerkbait:

Suspending jerkbaits are a go-to lure for many anglers during the colder months as they can be fished numerous ways, and kept in the strike zone for an extended period of time.
There are several ways you can fish a jerkbait during the spring.

1. Make a cast and reel it down as deep as possible, then employ a slow reel-deadstick cadence of retrieve. You're basically reeling the lure very slowly and stopping it for a varying amount of time. This works well when the water is still cold, in the high 40s to low 50s.

2. Another way to fish a jerkbait is to cast it out and work the bait back to the boat with a rip-rip pause, rip-rip motion. This method requires experimentation to discover exactly what the bass want in terms of cadence, i.e., how hard a snap, how many snaps in a row, and how long a pause you give the bait in between. This works well when baitfish are present, when there's been several days in a row of stable weather, or the water has started warming into the mid to high 50s.

3. Lastly is the jerk-jerk deadstick retrieve. Cast the lure to an area where you believe bass to be, reel it down, then give it a couple of hard rips and let it sit for 30-60 seconds, perhaps longer. This method works well when the water is clear and other retrieval cadences have failed.

My favorite jerkbait is the Rapala Shadow Rap for its uniquely slow, side-to-side sway and vertical fade when it's paused. And it just flat out catches 'em. I'll use the shallow version when the fish are actively feeding on shallow bait or the water is warmer; the deep version when the water is colder of the fish are finicky.

The set up I like for this technique is the 7-foot, medium-fast Witch Doctor Voodoo rod with a 7.0:1 Victory II bait casting reel spooled up with 12-pound Seaguar Tatsu fluorocarbon.

Spinnerbait:

The spinnerbait is a tried-and-true, occasionally forgotten-about lure for springtime bass. I use two different styles of spinnerbaits this time of year: a single Colorado blade when the water is stained, and a Colorado and willow leaf style when the water is clear.

Though effective in almost any occasion, I find that a spinnerbait excels when there's at least at bit of wind-driven surface chop.

When tossing a spinnerbait in and around vegetation, it can be slow rolled through the grass and then ripped free, provoking a bite. It can also be effective around laydowns or standing timber. You can toss a spinnerbait to the edge of a laydown tree and work it back through the branches, right where the big ones live. The bait is very versatile in that you can slow roll it off a ledge, across a spawning flat, or wake it across the surface when the bass are chasing bait.

I'll generally go with a white or white/chartreuse color pattern in 3/8- to 1/2-ounce with a matching trailer. When fishing deep, I rig it with a soft plastic swimbait trailer, like the Zoom Swimmin' Super Fluke. If only minimal action is needed, but I still want to keep the bait higher in the water column, a twin tail grub does the trick.

The set up I like for spinnerbaits is the 7-foot, medium-fast Witch Doctor rod with a 7.0:1 Victory II bait casting reel spooled up with 15-pound Seaguar Tatsu fluorocarbon.

Flipping Jig:

Flipping a jig allows you to target both deep or shallow varieties of cover. Depending on the depth, I use a 3/8- to 3/4-ounce jig. When the fish are shallow and I want a slow fall, finesse-type presentation, I'll go for 3/8-ounce. But as the water warms I want a jig to trigger a bass into biting, so I'll opt for the 3/4-ounce as it falls much faster. Colors options are about as simple as it gets: black and blue in stained water and green pumpkin when the water is clear.

In the spring, the jig works well in areas around docks, laydowns, grass edges, and other key places of ambush.

If I'm not using a jig, I'll be flipping a Texas-rigged soft plastic. Again, a green pumpkin or black/blue plastic gets the nod from me. Creature baits, such as a Zoom Z-Hog or Z-Craw, work well when the fish won't commit to a jig and would rather eat something a tad more subtle.

When flipping, I use the lightweight Witch Doctor Oracle pitching stick with a 7.0:1 Victory II bait casting reel spooled up with 20-pound Seaguar Flippin' fluorocarbon.

Swim Jig:

Once the water temperature nears 60 degrees and vegetation starts to grow, the swim jig becomes an import part of my arsenal. At this point the bass will be in all stages of the spawn and active. More often than not I'm casting a 1/4-ounce swim jig around emergent vegetation or on shallow flats - this way I can target bass in all stages. Similar to the flippin' jig, I'm using a black/blue or green pumpkin color combination. Sometimes, however, a swim jig in a panfish pattern works well, too.

What's great about this lure choice is that you can alter your retrieve based on depth, cover, and the bass' activity level. You can rig one swim jig and just play the game until you discover what the bass want.

Regarding the trailer selection for a swim jig, if you want to mimic a craw, then using a double tail grub or Zoom UV Speed Craw mimics that forage well. But during late spring, when the bass are beginning to feed on panfish, a small swimbait works nicely. If the bass are a little sluggish, I'll use a smaller trailer like a Swimmin' Super Fluke Jr. If I'm looking for bigger bass I'll go with a trailer with a bulkier profile, such as the new Boot Tail Fluke.

Walker, Glenn. "Spring Bassin' Roundup." Bass Angler Magazine, Spring 2018, pp. 74-76.

Brandon Lester cut his teeth on Tennessee's Tims Ford Lake. There's no doubt, he's completely at home chasing clear water bass in the spring and here are his top five ways to do so.

The scene is the Elite Series first stop of the 2017 Tour on Cherokee Lake in east Tennessee. According to the dock talk, deep pre-spawn fish were going to be the deal. Competitors were all tying on Damiki Rigs getting ready for a vertical fish fest, but not Brandon Lester. After a day and a half of hauling water in practice, Lester went back to what he knew. And, it paid off with a nice paycheck at the end of the tournament.
After running with the crowd the first few hours of the tournament, and with only two fish to show for his decision, the Tennessee pro opted to fish some stained water around a rocky bank he found in the back of German Creek. He knew the water would be a little warmer, so he tied on a small crankbait and went to work.

"Every fish I caught for the rest of the tournament came out of that stained water around those rocks," he remembered. "While I didn't have a great finish, it was enough to get me paid, and if I hadn't found those fish, it could have been a disaster."

Location:

"In the early spring, I look for vertical banks," Lester begins. "Not so much a sheer straight bluff, but something with more of a 45-degree angle that drops pretty quickly into a creek or river channel. I've found during that time of year, bass want to be close to deep water. Not that they are going to be in deep water, just close to it."

Lester incorporates several factors into his search pattern in the early spring. Moon phases, the length of the days, and a rise in water temperature are all components in his quest for a honey-hole.

"I'm a firm believer that fish know what time of year it is and they know the spawn is coming," he says. "This is when you want to start looking for those bluffs or steep banks that are on the outside of spawning pockets or maybe a bluff leading back into a spawning cove."

Every bass aficionado knows weather impacts bass behavior. Knowing how Mother Nature affects the fish provides needed clues to their whereabouts.

"Cold fronts make it a little harder to catch them," Lester says. "If you get a day where its rainy and you've got a little wind, fish are going to feed."

According to the Tennessee pro, warm fronts can push the bass to shallower haunts, but he still finds them next to deep water.

"Your boat may be sitting in 50- or 60-feet of water when you are going down a bank, and they'll be sitting up there with their nose stuck against a piece of cover," he added. "If you get a bluebird day, bass like to set up next to a big rock or stump or laydown because those things are going to radiate some heat."

"Your water temperature gauge is really important in the early spring," Lester continues. "There's a lot of difference between 44- and 48-degree water. Every 3 to 4 degrees makes a huge difference in the activity level of the fish and the movements they make."

Lester also considers the wind during his search, but only as it pertains to the technique he's using.

"If I'm catching them on a moving bait, say on secondary points going back into spawning pockets, then they will definitely bite better if there's some wind," he says. "But, if I'm flipping a jig or fishing a shaky head it's not that big of an issue. I always like a little ripple on the water because it makes it harder for them to see you when you're coming down the bank."

Jig:

"My first choice for quality fish is always going to be a jig," Lester says. "That's without a doubt the best cold-water bait, whether it's a flipping jig, football jig or a finesse jig.

Sometimes you have to play with different things to find out what profile they want, and what rate of fall they want."
Lester prefers to search out steep banks that have docks and laydowns and thoroughly saturate the area.

"I like to simply pitch that jig to every bit of cover I come to," he says. "I hop it off little rock ledges. I don't do anything special to it. I just make sure it stays on the bottom, and stair step it down to about 15- or 20-feet, then reel it in and make another pitch. That's the best way to catch big ones during that time of year."

Jerkbait:

"As far as finding fish in cold, clear water, I don't know of anywhere in the country where you can't catch them on a jerkbait," Lester says. "There's no more effective way of mimicking a shad or blueback herring. If there are baitfish in the lake, a jerkbait will catch them."

Lester acknowledges there are many variables and options when it comes to jerkbait fishing, but he tries to keep his approach basic.

"You may have to play with your retrieve and how long you pause it for," he says. "When it's sunny, I try to fish something more translucent, like a pearl blue or green, and when it's cloudy I try to fish something with brighter colors for more flash."

Lester's choice for this pattern is a MegaBass Vision 110 and a 110 plus 1.

"Those two baits have won a whole lot of money," he says. "While I don't claim to be a jerkbait connoisseur, I catch a lot of fish on them."

Small Crankbait:

"Fishing small crankbaits in clear water is really big in this part of the country," Lester says. "Conditions have to be right to for this to work. You need a little wind and you need the fish to be feeding. My favorite is a Rapala DT6. It's an awesome cold-water crankbait. It's casts really well and I can cover more water efficiently with a DT6 than I can with something like a Shad Rap. I'll only throw a Shad Rap if the water is extra cold and it's not windy."

Lester doesn't hesitate to make life easier with lighter lures by employing spinning tackle.

"I'll fish Norman Deep Baby N's, Shad Raps, and Bandit 200's on a spinning rod because it's so much easier to cast," he revealed. "I build my own rods through Mud Hole Custom Tackle and I use a 6-foot 9-inch MHX Spinning Rod. I also use 8-pound Vicious Monofilament. I've found that in colder water, light mono casts a lot better than fluorocarbon does."

Small Swimbait:

While Lester has only been utilizing this technique a short amount of time, it has quickly become one of his "go-to" presentations.

"This is something I started doing this past spring on Smith Lake," he says. "I was going down a bluff bank that had some docks and brush on it, and was seeing spotted bass suspended above some brush. I tied on an X-Zone Mini Swammer and put it on a 3/16-ounce jig head. I caught them by counting it down to the depth they were holding, and slowly reeling it back."

Lester uses the same spinning rod set up for his swimbait that he does his small crankbaits, except he employs a 6-pound fluorocarbon leader on 10-pound braid.

Shaky Head:

"I always have a shaky head tied on," Lester reveals. "It's dug me out of a lot of sticky situations."

While he fishes the shaky head in a similar manner as the jig, Lester utilizes it to probe a different type of cover.

"With the jig, it's more about fishing the steep banks and stair stepping it down," Lester says. "I use it to pick apart laydowns that are up on the bank, whereas the shaky head I use to fish cover like brush piles, or sunken cedar trees. I also go to it when the bite slows down on the jig, or when I want to go back through an area and give the fish something with a different profile."

Bryant, Rob. "Brandon Lester's Top Five Early Spring Presentations On Highland Reservoirs." Bass Angler Magazine, Spring 2018, pp. 10-12.

The bladed jig is alive and deadlier than ever since its second coming, thanks to refined tools and the systematic approach of practitioners like Brett Hite.

The chatterbait hit the angling scene over 13 years ago. It set off an explosion of sales before settling back into the vast pegboard sea.

But unlike so many other baits that have experienced 15 minutes of fame, the bladed jig caught a second wind. What top anglers have learned since its resurgence has made it one of the most versatile lures in bass fishing.

Paul Mueller rode the chatterbait to an historic record catch of 32-03 on Day Two of the 2014 Bassmaster Classic and to a 2nd place finish.

Brett Hite got an even bigger return with bladed jigs that season, earning $250,000 in 10 days with a 2014 FLW win on Lake Okeechobee followed by a Bassmaster Elite victory on Lake Seminole.

Bladed jigs have won tour events every year since, too, prompting anglers everywhere to dust off old chatterbaits and add new ones to their tackle trays. More importantly, they have learned to fish them in earnest.

"The chatterbait muscled its way in and created a whole new lure category, really displacing a lot of spinnerbaits," says Daniel Nussbaum, president of Z-Man Fishing Products, the company whose innovations and patents have enabled it to dominate the category.

"It has to be up there as one of the top 'four-seasons' baits," assesses Brett Hite, who worked with Japanese pro angler and lure designer Morizo Shimizu in the development of the Jack Hammer, sold under the Evergreen brand through Z-Man and generally regarded as the Cadillac of the category.

"As long as fish are in the upper column of water, 10 feet deep or shallower, I can catch them," Hite adds.

Lure Presentation:

Is the bladed jig a jig or a reaction bait? Some pros point to the bait's jig-like qualities and fish it accordingly, especially in cold water conditions. But the man regarded as the maestro of the bladed jig leans to the latter.

"It's always a reaction bait to me," says Hite, who compares his bladed jig's vibration to that of a Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap. "It is so versatile and so user-friendly around aquatic vegetation. You can present the bait and fish it efficiently in vegetation, areas you couldn't work a reaction bait before."
Hite leverages the lure's "reaction bait" traits at every opportunity.

"The goal is always to strike cover, whether it's a stump or laydown or hitting aquatic vegetation," Hite explains. "I will either speed a bait up or slow it down to hit the object. If grass is high, I will speed my retrieve, just burn it. In early spring, the grass is immature, so I slow it down. When the bait hits grass, I speed it up with the reel and give it a small jerk. That often triggers a strike... The great thing about the bait is you can get the same action you get with deflection by just jerking the rod tip. It prompts strikes from fish just following it."

New iterations of the chatterbait have extended the lure's durability, performance and even its versatility.

The Hite-Morizo collaboration - the Chatterbait Jack Hammer - boasts subtle design improvements such as a stainless-steel blade that emits better vibration, a blade protector design feature, a heavy wire Gamakatsu hook, double wire bait keeper, and premium snap.

"We put in years of testing to get it perfect," says Hite. "As soon as you engage the reel after a cast, it vibrates, and it skips and runs better than other models."

Hite emphasizes the hunting and triggering action of the bait.
"It hunts and deflects like a squarebill crankbait," he says. "But you can also fish it where you can't fish a squarebill or other reaction baits. You can't skip a squarebill 40 feet under a dock!"

Chatterbait Gear:

No matter what your bladed jig of choice, your delivery system is equally critical. Hite has refined his tools - rod, reel and line - to maximize every aspect of performance.
Rod: His rod of choice is the Evergreen USA Combat, a 7-foot 3-inch heavy glass rod he designed specifically for the Chatterbait Jack Hammer.

"The biggest misconception fishing this bait is to view it as a jig," says Hite underscoring the reasoning behind his gear selection. "It's more like a crankbait."

He opts for a stiffer glass rod than what he would use for a squarebill crankbait but a similar parabolic action to aid casting distance and accuracy and to allow the fish fractions of a second more to mouth the bait. The fiberglass "give" also keeps fish pinned.

Reel: With its 6.3:1 gear ratio, the Daiwa Tatula SV adapts easily to either fast or slow retrieves and has sufficient power for all-day cranking. But it has an added functional advantage, too.

"The other cool thing about the SV is its non-backlash spool," explains Hite. "I skip bladed jigs under docks and overhanging cover. The non-backlash feature can make a novice dock-skipper look like a pro."

Line:

Sunline FC Sniper 20-pound fluorocarbon is Hite's line of choice no matter the conditions. The line has just the right amount of stretch for ripping the bait through grass.

"If I'm ripping through grass with braid, the lure comes through too quickly," he explains. "I want it to come off the grass like a slingshot, not like a rocket. The fluorocarbon has enough stretch along with sufficient sensitivity. It keeps the bait in the strike zone and delivers more bites. The 20-pound Sniper is just a good solid line. I can horse a fish if necessary yet still make long casts. The density of fluorocarbon also helps get the bait down."

Colors and trailers:

Hite's preference for a green pumpkin bladed jig teamed with a matching green pumpkin 4-inch Yamamoto Zako - a bait he designed - are well documented. But he does leave some room for variety.

His recommendation is basic: "A couple dark colored bladed jigs and a couple shad colors." Next choice behind Green Pumpkin is Bruised Green Pumpkin, "black and blue on top, green pumpkin on the bottom." Preferred shad colors are Green Shad and Clearwater Shad. The latter is his preference fishing ultra-clear water. His Zako colors take their cue from the bladed jigs.

Z-Man's RaZor Shadz is another popular chatterbait trailer. Its baitfish profile complements the lure's action. Use a trailer that matches the size of the jig. A trailer that is too large will detract from the bait's action.

Pehanich, Mike. "The Second Coming Of The Bladed Jig." Bass Angler Magazine, pp. 94-96.

Deep crankbaits and ledge fishing just plain go together. During certain times of the year, this tried-and-true technique has been proven to yield results time and again. Deep running plugs can be some of the largest, meanest, hardest-thumping baits used on the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) chain of lakes. This is especially true on Kentucky Lake, the distinguished ledge champ of the TVA. Each of the lakes that create the TVA all have ledges - remnants from the banks of the original Tennessee River; however, Kentucky Lake contains miles and miles of them, stretching across two states.

I caught up with veteran FLW Pro, Terry Bolton, on Kentucky Lake last June. Terry grew up fishing Kentucky Lake. In fact, he commented on how he found most of his prime areas using only a paper map and a compass for guides back in the day. To sum it up, Terry knows Kentucky Lake.

Pre & Post-Spawn:

When you're on the hunt for pre-spawn bass, the search can begin as early as February. As the water warms, bass will move up from the deeper channel and onto the ledges to feed periodically throughout the spring. During the early stages of the pre-spawn, they will not move very far from the sanctuary of deeper water where they've spent most of the winter. If possible, fish on the third or fourth day of a warming trend, and you'll likely find active bass in search of food and spawning sites. Kentucky Lake bass spawn on the main lake ledges that are less than eight feet deep, and often they will nest against some type of hard cover like logs, stumps, or rocks.

After spawning, the females will leave the area quickly and turn to gizzard shad for calorie consumption. Once the task of guarding the nest and newly-hatched fry are complete, most males with also leave the shallow main lake ledges to return to deeper water. The cooler, oxygen-rich depths will likely be their home and primary staging area through the summer and into the fall. From here they can venture up or down in the water column to feed. But for the time being, it's a sanctuary in which they can rest and recover after the arduous process of spawning.

The post-spawn is the time during which bass will gather into schools. This usually takes place in mid-May and lasts until mid-June. However, it has been known to happen earlier. Tom Redington won the FLW Rayovac tournament (now the Costa series) in 2015 during the first week of May. He had located an area into which the bass would funnel while on the move to deeper ledges where they could recover. With this special area all to himself, the fish were coming to him, and more bass were migrating via this route every day.

It can be an exceptionally rewarding experience when these strategic areas are located and itinerant fish are intercepted as they move into and out of spawning areas. Keep in mind, though spawning takes its toll on both males and females, there will be a short period directly after mating during which the fish seemingly have lock-jaw and are too tired to eat. This may seem counter-productive, for besides rest, feeding heavily after spawning is the primary source to replenish a bass' energy. And yet sometimes it seems you just can't get 'em to eat... anything!

Lure Presentation:

Terry Bolton expounds that "deep crankbaiting is all about the angles." He goes on to explain that the angle of the retrieve in relation to the ledge is important. Most of the time, you will cast up onto the ledge and retrieve the lure in a way that it travels between 90 and 45 degrees down the slope and off the edge. Sometimes, retrieving the bait parallel with the ledge is effective as well. Terry also expressed that the bigger bass will wait in the deeper water and chase the gizzard shad into the shallow part of the ledge for an easy meal.

The other angle to consider is the rod angle. Terry instructs us to always keep the tip low to the water, and pointed towards the lure. "You have to fish fast to fish slow," is often repeated by Bolton. He describes this mantra as a reminder to himself and other bass anglers to not only use a quick retrieve speed, but also to cover the area thoroughly, and from more than one boat position, creating a new angle of retrieve.

Crankbaits:

Bolton favors Rapala's venerable DT series crankbaits whenever he feels the situation is right. In our outing we used the DT-14, DT-16, and DT-20 mostly in Helsinki shad, Disco shad and Rasta colors. Other top color choices include Ike's Old School and Caribbean Shad. The depth of the ledges determined which crankbaits were needed. The DT series was designed to help anglers take the mystery out of deep crankbait fishing. All three of these baits have a very similar body shape and profile, however the DT-16 shines when the pressure is high. Terry explained it this way, "I am not sure what it is exactly, but that DT-16 has a subdued thump and body roll compared to its brothers, the 14 and 20. This makes it a great bait when the fish have been under pressure from an onslaught of crankbaits."

Crankbait Gear:

Terry Bolton selects the Magnum crankbait rod from Lew's, a 7-foot 11-inch model rated for large crankbaits up to 1 1/2 ounces. He pairs it with a Lew's Pro BB-1 reel in the 6.4:1 ratio. Terry says that speed often is the difference between drawing strikes and fishing through empty water. During our outing I was using a lower-geared BB-1. Once Terry landed three bass to my one, he told me to speed up my retrieve. I then caught a bass on my next cast because I was working the crankbait faster.

Ruckdeschel, Dave. "Deep Crankin' The Pre And Post-Spawn With Terry Bolton." Bass Angler Magazine, Spring 2018, pp. 50-51.

It's about time for the prespawn to begin. For all that's written and said about this phase of a bass' life, it isn't all that complicated if you keep a few things in mind.

The prespawn begins with Mother Nature's seasonal changes. The first thing that's usually mentioned is water temperature, but it's about a lot more than that. You often hear about a "perfect" temperature that starts the bass moving. There's no such thing.

Assuming a water temperature of at least 50 degrees, things like the length of the day and the angle of the sun affect the prespawn movement just as much or more than any increase in water temperature. Without them temperature is a secondary factor.

Some will disagree with me, and I have to admit that there may be a few small bass that'll go based solely on temperature. But it'll only be a few. The big ones, as well as most of the small ones, look for other cues. They sense that it isn't time until the length of the day and the angle of the sun are in line no matter what the water's doing.

Location:

When I'm looking for prespawn bass early in the year I pay more attention to water color than I do to water temperature. Most of the early fish will hold somewhere between 2 and 8 feet. If the water's dirty or heavily stained, I start looking on the shallow end of that depth range. If it's clear or clearing I go deeper until I'm comfortable with where the light penetration drops off, and the bass have a safety factor when they stop.

I'd rather catch bass shallow so I'm a little prejudiced in favor of stained, shallow water. Something else that I think is often misunderstood about the early prespawn is the idea that the females stage on breaks, things like channel swings and underwater crevices - quick changes in depth. They do stage on those areas but only because they're there.

They're just as likely to stage on a stump, a rock, old fencing, a tire or anything else that happens to be around. A staging spot is about something different. It's not about natural structure.

Another thing about holding areas is that they aren't always between deep water and the places where the bass will make their beds. Sometimes they stage shallower than they spawn. This is especially common during an unusually warm spell that lasts for several days. A weather pattern like that drives the baitfish shallow and, of course, the bass follow. When it's time to actually spawn they turn around and move back out a ways.

Lure Selection:

My preference for lures at this time of the year is pretty much ordinary. I like lipless crankbaits and bladed jigs. They seem to be exactly what the bass like when they're resting up and feeding heavily.

Traditional hard crankbaits will work, too. A Rapala Shad Rap is hard to beat during the early prespawn. It's been catching bass forever and shows no signs of slowing down. The Rapala DT4 and DT6 are also good choices.

Don't let the early prespawn get the better of you, and don't make it difficult by fixating on water temperature and structural breaks. Keep the big picture in mind.

Defoe, Ott. "Find The Prespawn Staging Areas." Bassmaster, March 2018, https://www.bassmaster.com/ott-defoe/find-prespawn-staging-areas. Accessed 15 January 2021.

As fishermen, we tend to deal with many obstacles that Mother Nature often throws at us. From phenomenal fishing during approaching storm fronts, to the mostly difficult fishing after a front moves on through. Often times these challenges compel anglers to put the poles away and wait until the right conditions have returned to their liking. But what if you are in a tournament and you can't just trailer the boat until a better time? Or what if it is hard for you to find time to get on the water and you're stuck having your only free time plagued by postfrontal weather? I got the opportunity to sit down with Bassmaster Elite Pro and the 2012 Bassmaster Classic champ, Chris Lane, to ask what he would do in this situation.

I provided Chris with this scenario: You have found spawning bass on their beds. You sight-fished yesterday for them but last night a cold front came in and dropped the water 10 to 20 degrees and the wind picked up to 10-mph. You can no longer see the fish and when you fish the areas that they were, you're not getting bit. What would you do?

"Welcome to a cold front," Chris said right off the bat. "They are definitely not the easiest situations to deal with and can be pretty harsh on you and the fishing.

"The biggest thing I do, and I would recommend this to other anglers - slow down. I can't stress that enough. Slow down. When the weather changes that drastically, you have to keep in mind that the fish feel that just like we do. You may have even gone from fishing in a short-sleeved shirt, feeling the warmth of the sun the day before when you could see them on bed, and the next day you're having to double up your clothing layers. Just like you, those fish feel that temperature difference and have gotten uncomfortable, lethargic, and thrown off their pre-front patterns. So, in order to catch them, you have to slow down and fish a little different than you were before the cold front came."

Lure Selection:

So, what exactly does Chris mean when he says to slow down and fish a little different? What kind of baits does he choose to fish?

"A lot of times I will choose to leave what was working before the front and go find something else where fish are in pre-spawn mode on the way to their spawning area. However, if you do have high confidence in that area where you saw the bass and want to stick with it, just put in the time to pick the area apart.

"I would also downsize my baits. I would throw something like a weightless Luck-E-Strike Pow Stik and be super easy with it.

"If they are around docks, they will stay close to them to be near structure that's sticking up out of the water, as it's conducting heat down into the water.

"If it's heavy grass I'm fishing then I'm going to flip a Luck-E-Strike Drop Dead Craw where those fish have pushed up in that grass to be where the most warmth is."

"Another go-to for me is, if I do decide to make a change, I'll pick up a River2Sea Ruckus lipless crankbait and start firing that thing in all directions."

"If the super-slow approach is not working, especially early in the day, then fishing for reaction strikes is the way to go. Ripping that bait out of grass is a great way to get shallow fish to bite, even when they don't want to. That's what we love about largemouth bass."

Hanks, Hunter. "Fishing Cold Fronts With Chris Lane" Bass Angler Magazine, pp. 14.

The road trip usually begins when the water temperature approaches the low 60's, or even sooner in some waters.

Bass, often waiting somewhere in deeper wintering areas, are compelled by environmental changes to begin their transition to spawning flats. During the big migration, says FLW Tour veteran Mark Rose, they "loiter" at rest stops along their prespawn highways, waiting and foraging until the spawning flats can provide what they need for a successful spawning season.

"Prespawn highways are ditches leading up to spawning flats," Rose notes "If I could draw a picture of one, I would draw a bay with a little channel coming out of it, then a drop-off with a stump or three or four on it. That channel is the highway, and before spawning, a fish is going to stage on that drop-off beside the stump." Rose knows this scenario is accurate because he keyed on several types of prespawn highways when he claimed a 2017 FLW Tour win at Lake Guntersville in early February. Rose wasn't the only pro to tap into the prespawn highway pattern in 2017.

Birmingham pro Barry Wilson ran similar patterns at a Tour event on Lake Cumberland and a Costa FLW Series tournament on Lake Chickamauga and narrowly missed out on wins. Still, the two second-place finishes netted him close to $50,000. Rose and Wilson are experts at identifying spring travel routes and the staging stopover areas that bass use along the way. For the most part they rely on three strategies during the prespawn, and suggest that these approaches will work on any body of water to help catch big stringers.

The Shallow Ditch:

At Cumberland, Wilson targeted a classic prespawn staging area for his second-place finish. He located a ditch in the back of a creek channel. Green, leafy, almost grass-like brush that had been growing in the area on dry ground had recently been inundated with water when the lake level rose. Bass were positioned in the cover along the edge of the drop-off into the ditch, waiting for the right time to spawn on large flats located along outside bends in the creek channel.

"They would pull up on the flats occasionally as it warmed up throughout the day," Wilson recalls.

On sonar, Wilson found the area stacked with near-surface baitfish. Even though the bass weren't busting the baitfish topside, he was able to use a white vibrating jig with a Yum Pulse Swimbait trailer to lure several largemouths out from the cover and into his boat. The flats were about 2-1/2 feet deep, and the channel edge varied from 5 feet deep to around 10 feet at its deepest. Wilson says he's found similar scenarios on other reservoirs around the region.

"They'll sit on those 2 to 3 foot differences on, like, a little 'plateau area' before they move up on the flat," he explains.

"That's typically what I look for in the spring - a place like that. It was basically a highway."

The Wooded Point:

According to Rose, submerged wood - stumps or standing timber - located near a spawning area provides bass with cover to stage on before the spawn begins and they disperse.
To him it's a high-percentage area, and if he finds a drop-off with submerged stumps or trees, it's almost a guarantee that bass are loitering on them. Once the sun starts hitting that cover, it's time to target the area.

In Rose's experience, the fish get more active as the water warms from sunlight, and they tend to move a bit out of the cover into adjacent areas where they can be targeted with a jerkbait.

"Sun is a big deal," Rose adds, "but they stay close to the cover so they can get tight to it if they need to."

Rose likes to toss a Strike King KVD jerkbait around wood, especially if fish are suspended and soaking up a few rays.

The key here is to work the bait slowly, stopping often between jerks. In the heaviest of cover, such as thick tree branches, Rose will switch to a light jig.

The Rock / Grass Lane:

Rocks and grass contributed significantly to Rose's 2017 victory at Guntersville, where he worked pre-spawn travel routes in Browns Creek to take home the trophy. In the creek, Rose located open lanes of water - transition lanes - between inside grass lines and rocky banks, as well as, channels loaded with large rocks and riprap along a bridge causeway. The staging areas he found at Guntersville were shallow - only 2 or 3 feet deep but they kept reloading with bass on each day of the tournament.

"In stained water, the staging areas can be very shallow," he says, "which is exactly what happened there."

Rose fished a lipless crankbait on the inside grass line for a couple days before a cold front hit, forcing him to switch to slowly fishing the rocks (and some wood cover along the banks) with a combination of small jigs and crankbaits for the last two days. Given just one lure with which to work rocks though, Rose suggests the Strike King Jointed Structure Jig. He rigs the swing jig with a Strike King Rage Bug and methodically scrambles the bait up, down and around the rocks to tempt bass.

Stills, Joe. "Fishing The Prespawn Highway." FLW, March 2018, pp. 67-73.

Whether you call it a jerkbait or a ripbait, one thing is for sure: They work! These arrow-shaped weapons play a big role in winning springtime tournaments. Call it what you will, but this bait is a big-fish magnet.

We ran into FLW Tour pros Kurt Mitchell and Brian Latimer who were willing to shed a little light on how they utilize a jerkbait.

Both pros agree that ripbait fishing is not an antiquated, one-dimensional presentation. Advancements in lure design, and the presentation itself, have evolved. The angler continues to evolve as well.

There are clear differences between the novice and the experienced ripbait artist. Initially, it was thought that both types of anglers (inexperienced and experienced), used the lure in the same textbook fashion. We found that appears not to be the case.

"The main difference between the novice and the pro is attention to detail," says Mitchell. Details always seem to illuminate the necessary adjustments anglers need to make when fishing in general. "It's the little details: darker water, slight current, fading grass lines, or rock transitions," Mitchell adds.

Latimer agrees. "I would have to add that ripbaits, and how to present them, have really evolved. You can see that in company designs. Some may have taller sides, longer backs, or a narrower head. The shape and slope of the lure can give hints to the lure's posture and action when worked."

"I think that one of the biggest misconceptions is that jerkbaits are only a pre-spawn deal. The truth is you can extend your jerkbait usage well into the year without apprehension. They mimic baitfish, and baitfish are a year-round deal," says Latimer.

Latimer believes that as you begin to fish a jerkbait more and more, "You realize how versatile the lure can be and how much draw power it truly carries. For example, I now use the lure when pre-fishing [for every tournament]. In the past, I only fished it during pre-spawn conditions."

An additional advantage of the experienced ripbait angler is his or her increased understanding of the relationship between big fish and jerkbaits. Historically, pro tournaments have proven that all three species of plus-sized bass will eat a ripbait. Both Latimer and Mitchell agree that you have to fish a ripbait in big-fish areas and learn how attract big resident fish to you.

When beginning his search for big fish, Latimer first likes to cover water with the lure, for this might offer a quick hint as to the quality of fish in the area. Once he locates quality fish, he will become more surgical, dissecting the area methodically to increase his chances to face off with a donkey size bass.

On the other hand, Mitchell leans towards using a bigger profile ripbait. This could mean a rounder or taller bait, or both. "Actually, many folks think a five-inch ripbait is a big bait, but in actuality it's the size of a Senko. It is significantly bigger than four-inch ripbaits. I like to use five- and six-inch ripbaits when targeting bigger bass. The bulkier profile is important, but so is the amount of flash that the longer, taller baits give off," says Mitchell.

One thing both pros agree on is that you need to spend time in zones that have the potential for big fish, and finding these areas comes from years of experience. Knowing where to hunt for larger bass means time on the water. Nothing replaces time on the water.

Lure Presentation & Location:

Mitchell studies the bites he gets and pays attention to the subtle details. For example, if he gets bit while moving the lure then it may have indicated a faster cadence may be necessary. "The novice angler, on the other hand, may not yet have the experience, thereby leaning on a more traditional cadence," says Mitchell.

Latimer may use the ripbait as a search tool, but he also pays close attention to the environmental cues and positioning of bait fish. "I know during a shad spawn I want to be as shallow as possible. However, if I found the shad spawn later in the year, I may focus on intersection types of topography because I may catch bass in all three stages. Or, if I find spotted bass in the ten-foot zone for example, I'll focus on this depth and stay in that zone longer by making an extra-long cast. If I don't get bit right away I know from experience the bite can come and go... but it [the jerkbait] will get bit," says Latimer. "If I catch a lot of small fish in an area, I will reposition seeking transitional water or deeper water, or I may abandon the area but not the presentation."

Latimer continues to say that the jerkbait has a lot of "drawing" power, so he doesn't get discouraged if bass don't eat it right away. "In early season, I use a dying twitch (light twitching of the rod tip). Later in the year I may fish the bait so fast they can't get a real good look at it. I try to maximize the lure's attracting qualities. If the jerkbait has a sharper darting action verses a rolling action, I will focus on the lure's strengths and work that bait within its parameters."

Lure Selection:

Mitchell prefers jekbaits with a heavy darting action that can be used in rougher conditions, such as the Duo Realis 110SP jerkbait. It casts like a bullet and can be used slow or extremely fast. "And it's a bulkier profile... I can fish targets and cover water with it. I have just made some decent money on this bait and I prefer its patterns," he says.

Mitchell prefers 12-pound fluorocarbon but will go up in line size if necessary. He cautions that ripbaits can be affected by larger diameter lines, so make note of those changes. He also advises that paying particular attention to rod selection should help you achieve your desired actions. He prefers a Castaway Invicta medium-heavy rod. This helps him initiate a sharper darting action from his baits.

Latimer agrees that a slightly longer and bigger profile seems to help. Brian likes to probe the shallows with a Smithwick Suspending Rogue, fishing it above shallow grass. In deeper water, he likes the 100DR by Realis. It has a unique sound. Latimer's favorite long casting ripbait is the Realis 120SP jerkbait. "It has a larger profile, casts significant distances, cuts water with little resistance, and will stop on a dime. I can fish it all day without getting tired." Latimer uses Seaguar's Tatsu fluorocarbon from 12 to 15 pounds.

Swendseid, David. "The Little Details Of Jerkbait Fishing" Bass Angler Magazine, Spring 2018, pp. 56-58.

Seth Feider loops his fingers around the jerkbait, twisting a thin fluorocarbon line into a shark knot before letting the lure fly toward the shore. It's mid-March, and Feider is fine-tuning a spring pattern for prespawn bass that you can replicate on highland reservoirs around the country. It's a seek-and-destroy pattern that you can deploy all day long, as long as you've got the gas to keep looking.

"I didn't learn it at home," Feider says. "It's still pretty new to me, really. In Minnesota, we have closed seasons, so I had to learn to fish this way a little farther south."

South, for Feider, is relative. An eight-hour drive from his Minnesota home takes Feider straight down I-35 to the waiting arms of Table Rock Lake. There, in the northern reaches of the Ozark Mountains, he learned to target fickle prespawn bass with a deep-diving jerkbait. The technique mimics a wounded spring baitfish - a time-tested prey that bass find difficult to resist.

Location:

"In March, the fishing can be pretty calm," Feider says. "You are starting to get some warming trends around the country. When that happens, fish are moving up from deep water and toward spawning areas. They're just not there yet. But finding them is still super easy if you find the bait."

To find the bait, Feider scans lake maps for swing in creek channels. He's looking for places where the main channel of a creek backs up to a steep bluff, places that hold suspended baitfish. These prime swings are not typically the main channel of a river, but rather in the waiting arms of creeks that diverge into the valleys surrounding the heart of the lake. Topographical maps help here, he says. You can spot channel swings with the naked eye if you search for steep bluffs on creek bends, but Feider's rule of thumb is to make a 25 to 30 M.P.H. run down the length of a target creek. This leaves no room for error when painting a picture of the submerged world below. While running, Feider keeps a wary eye on his sonar, all the while scanning for bait balls. "On the Helix 12, they'll look like a cloud," he says.

Feider rarely stops at the first cloud of bait he sees. Rather, he'll run the length of the creek to find the most concentrated area of bait. Sometimes, it's scattered; but there are typically hot spots worth targeting that dramatically increase your odds of landing a bevy of bass.

"By running the channel, you can pretty quickly narrow down the area you want to fish," he says. "If the majority of the bait is in a quater-mile stretch of creek, for example, that's the area that I'm going to fish. In a 4 to 5 mile long creek, there might be a handful of channel swings to look at."

Prespawn bass like these swing spots because they're relatively close to both deep water and shallower areas that heat quickly under the right conditions.

"In March, they're doing the same thing a lot of humans are doing," Feider says. "They're kind of playing the conditions, waiting on the weather to see what happens."

Feider says the ideal channel swing will likely contain submerged rock and transition quickly from deep water in the channel to the shore.

Lure Presentation & Selection:

When he finds the right swing, he positions his boat on the edge of the channel, turns its bow about 45 degrees toward the shore, and casts as far as he can throw. From there, it's all about bringing the lure back; rather than casting parallel to the bank, your goal is to work the lure diagonally back toward the deck. Though Feider prefers the Rapala Shadow Rap Deep, any jerkbait that dives in the 5 to 6 foot range will help you present your lure in the target area. Feider says bass are likely to be waiting just below that margin, at 6 to 7 feet.

Your goal is to place a "wounded" baitfish just inches away from their jaws. If water temperatures are in the 50s, Feider will retrieve the Shadow Rap with a very quick cadence, usually pausing for only a second. If temperatures are a little cooler, like in the 40s, the notoriously fast-fishing Feider will reluctantly slow to pause the bait for about three seconds. In most cases, the bass will be lurking near those rocks flush with bait balls and the occasional crawfish hatch. Bait color here is important.

In March, you don't need an incandescent orange or neon green bait. Clear water typically dominates the beginning of the year, and for that, you'll want a hyper-realistic color that mimics shad and shiners. Line too comes into play here, as Feider sticks to 10-pound fluorocarbon to minimize its visibility.

Stills, Joe. "Jerking Channel Swings With Seth Feider." Bassmaster, March 2018 Bassmaster pp. 62-63.

"Prespawn" is a fairly nebulous term when applied to bass in the state of Florida. Depending on the weather, you might be able to find a prespawn pattern in January and in June of the same year. JT Kenney will tell you that this prolonged will-they-spawn, won't-they-spawn? game comprises one of the biggest hang-ups for out-of-town anglers who aren't used to the unusual ways of Florida-strain bass.

Fortunately for him, the Florida pro has figured out something that lends itself not only to consistent results during this wishy washy period, but also to some giant bags, as his 27-pound, 3-ounce limit the last day of the 2017 FLW Tour event on the Harris Chain illustrated.

The pattern? Targeting bass relating to hard-bottom areas created by offshore mussel shell beds, which attract crawfish, baitfish and other forage species that bass eat. "People always think of grass when it comes to Florida, because we go to lakes like Okeechobee and Toho," says Kenney. "But there's a lot of good fishing offshore for guys that know."

Location:

First off, when Kenney says "offshore", don't imagine he's fishing ledges in 15 to 20 feet of water or randomly out in the middle of the lake. Kenney's best offshore shell beds tend to be in 4 to 7 feet of water, situated in areas with one key component.

"Current," says Kenney. "Mussels are filtration feeders, and they can't move. So they need current to eat. You're not going to find them in the backs of pockets or anything."

Current is usually wind-driven in Florida (though some systems connected by canals and rivers have actual flow). Since wind is unpredictable, however, mussels tend to colonize in places where current is enhanced; namely, the mouths of canals or atop humps. The canals are the easiest places to search, according to Kenney, who often finds shell beds within 100 yards of the mouth of a canal, right along the channel edges. The humps can be much harder to find, so Kenney looks for any area with a nearby drop. Since most Florida lakes are bowl-shaped, a drop of even a foot or two elevates a hump enough to position a mussel where it should be able to catch the current it needs to feed and survive.

Since prespawn overlaps the actual spawn, most anglers depend on bed-fishing as opposed to focusing on prespawn tactics in a tournament scenario due to the lure of visibly seeing fish being too strong for many to resist. And even if they do find a prespawn pattern, they'll usually opt for one that involves fishing vegetation. Kenney will do the same, but what usually keys him in on to the shell-bed bite is when he's seeing a lack of quality bass on the beds.

"If I'm seeing a ton of males on the beds for a few days in a row, but no big girls, that tells me the big girls are usually on the shell beds," Kenney explains. "There is usually a lot of bait around them, so that's where they'll stage before and after spawning."

That's the exact scenario he found at the Harris Chain event. On day three, he got a lot of bites fishing for spawners up in the pads, though without getting a sniff of anything big. On day four, he stopped on a shell bed, caught a 7- pounder almost immediately and had more than 20 pounds before 10 a.m. Another key clue is the weather, Florida bass tend to move offshore temporarily when there's a dip in the temperature. Even if everything see, prime for spawning, the big girls will often stage back out on the shell beds after a cool-down before going shallow once ite warms up again.

Lure Selection:

Fishing shell beds in Florida might be something new for many anglers, but catching fish on them is pretty similar to anywhere else. Florida's offshore bass are triggered by the same arsenal of baits employed on any other lake - crankbaits, swimbaits, jigs, Carolina rigs, etc. For Kenney, one lure stands out more than most: a lipless crankbait. No matter how big the shell bed, there will be grass nearby (it's Florida, after all).

A lipless crankbait can be ripped out of grass without killing the lure's action, which makes it ideal for throwing past a shell bed and reeling back over it. If the lure encounters any grass before reaching the shell bed, a good rip or two can usually clean it. However, Kenney doesn't let the rips stop once his lure is over the hard-bottom clearing.

"I like to put some action into it," says Kenney of his retrieve style with a lipless crankbait. "You'll see a lot of guys just cast it out and reel it in. I pop it, twitch it, rip it. I never just reel it in. You want it to look like you would a crankbait on a normal offshore spot, deflecting off the bottom."

Just as the same lures used elsewhere also apply to Florida's offshore bite, so do similar tactics. For instance, the shell-bed bite in Florida is a timing deal. It's worth stopping on a shell bed multiple times throughout the day to determine if there is a morning or afternoon window for best results.

Ostruszka, Sean. "Offshore In Florida." FLW, March 2018, pp. 24-25.

The temperament of early spring weather could be equated to the disposition of a kid in their early teens. Moody, unpredictable, and sometimes downright sassy, Mother Nature loves to throw us curves this time of year. Here's how Elite Series Pro Brandon Card catches them when early spring weather rolls its eyes. It would be nice if there were specific days on the calendar when bass begin their migration toward spawning grounds. Sight-fishing gurus would be burning a ton of sick days and while there would be a long line at the launching ramp, bed fishing fanatics know it's worth the wait.

Unfortunately, bass don't keep calendars, and predictability isn't among their strong suits. With that being said, there are some benchmarks serious bass aficionados keep an eye out for that signify the early migration is about to go down.

Elite Series Pro Brandon Card understands these benchmarks.
"When the water temperature hits 50 degrees, it's a safe bet the fish are moving out of their winter haunts," he says.

"While it's not an exact science, and it could occur at 47 or 48 degrees, the upper 40s to low 50s are usually the standard."

Card acknowledges the possible affect of moon phases and the length of the day, but it's his take the weather plays a bigger role.

"When the first big warm front occurs in late winter where you get four to five days of nice weather and sunshine, and the water begins to warm; that's what really starts to get the fish going," he says. "I think everyone agrees the moon phases have an impact on the spawn, but as far as the winter to early spring transition, water temperature and weather are the main things I consider."

Location:

"In the early spring, my search will begin with main channel structures," Card begins. "I'll look at transition type banks, rocky patches on bluff walls, or any place where they can move vertically."

Card knows that bass will winter on bluffs, and he believes the first fish to move will be those who just have to rise up in the water column to the shallows.

"I like areas that allow the fish to change depths with as little effort as possible," he added. "I'll also investigate main lake points where they can go up and sun, as well as anywhere a creek channel meets the main river channel."

Interestingly, many of Card's early spring honey-holes correspond with areas the bass will move to immediately after spawning.

"I like creek channel bends, and anywhere they can go from deep to shallow without having to move too far," he says.

As water temperatures warm and bass get in full-blown pre-spawn mode, Card expects bass to cover more ground in their trek toward shallow spawning areas.

"Those weeks right before the spawn are when they start to move more horizontally and swim towards the back of the creeks," he continued. "They'll stage up on secondary points, and if there's a little hump or some kind of structure out in the middle of some of these creeks or pockets, those are prime time immediate pre-spawn areas."

As for spawning areas, Card offers the obvious.

"When it comes time to spawn, they'll move to the back of pockets," he says. "I always check north facing banks first because they get the most sunshine throughout the day due to the angle of the sun."

Card also looks for spawning fish in areas some overlook.

"A lot of times, fish will spawn on the main lake," he revealed. "If it's a steep bank, you might find them bedding on a little rock ledge on a bluff. I've even seen them spawn on boat floats on docks. A lot of times they will stage, spawn and move to post-spawn areas all within the borders of a marina."

Once the fish have finished spawning, Card points to many of the same places he found them during pre-spawn.

"Right when they leave the bed, there's about a week or two-week period where they aren't necessarily on traditional post spawn areas," Card continued. "They are in an in-between phase and that's when it gets tough."

Card tries to stay in the same general areas that he found spawning fish during the immediate post-spawn phase, and looks for cover that might be a little bit deeper.

"They could be anywhere close to the spawning areas whether it's shallow docks, stumps or even the outer edge of a grass line," he reveals. "I think they take about a week or so to recuperate and then they'll start to make more of a horizontal move to go to post spawn areas where they will stay for a longer period."

Lure Selection:

Card has a specified arsenal for each of the phases of spring.

"In pre-spawn, I really like to throw moving baits," he begins.

"If it's a grassy lake, I really like lipless crankbaits and chatterbaits. One of my favorite lipless crankbaits is the 5/8-ounce Duel Hardcore Vibe. It's a terrific pre-spawn bait. It comes through the grass really well, and pre-spawn is one of the times when they are most aggressive. I also like to fish a chatterbait with a Yamamoto Zako trailer. Both are fished in a pretty similar way. I reel it steadily, feel the grass then pop it out."

Card opts for a Yo-Zuri Squarebill in shallow, dingy water. Clear water has him tying on a Duel Hardcore Shad crankbait.

When bass start heading for the beds, Card gets his flipping game on.

"Right before they move up, when they are on the beds and right when they pull off, is when I really like to flip a jig or creature bait," he says. "I'll Texas-rig a Yamamoto PsychoDad, which is a soft plastic craw. I'll also flip a five-inch Yamamoto Senko as well as a 1/2-ounce jig. The muddier the water, the shallower I fish. You can still catch them flipping in clear water, you just have to focus on shade or fish deeper."

For flipping, Card swears by an Abu Garcia Revo Rocket baitcaster because of its high-speed gear ratio, which can make a difference when bass storm out of cover toward the boat. He pairs the reel with a 7-foot 6-inch heavy action Abu Garcia Veracity rod.

Bryant, Rob: "Tracking Springtime Bass With BASS Elite Series Pro Brandon Card." Bass Angler Magazine, Spring 2018, pp. 6-9.