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Pro's Picks For Spring Bassin'

Bedding Bream & Post Spawn Bass With Jacob Powroznik

Remember when the bedding-bream bite was a relative secret? Those were the days when folks went out in the postspawn and threw prop baits and sort of lucked their way into a good postspawn bite. The bass were there and the bream were there, but there wasn't a locked-in-stone connection between the two. Fast-forward to today and the bedding bream bite is one of the most anticipated bites of the entire season. Red-hot Jacob Powroznik was one of the early tour-level practitioners of the pattern and logged a string of notable finishes running the pattern about a decade ago.

Location:

Bream colonies aren't necessarily difficult to spot. Look for areas with hollowed-out depressions that resemble 50 or so tires evenly spaced out. On your home lake, they'll be in the same general areas year after year. Look in the very backs of pockets on reservoirs, or on firm-bottom flats and tapering points in natural lakes. Be sure to explore backwaters in rivers. "Pockets and coves that have a little more depth to them, but then come up to 3 or 4 feet and get real flat in the back are often best," Powroznik said. "I like to run around to different bream colonies and see if the bass are there yet," he added. "You don't actually have to fish to know if they're there. Just look around and if you see five or six bass swim away when you pull up, you'll know that colony is active and the bass are on the bite."

Lure Selection:

Powroznik uses two primary baits. 'My first choice is a hard bait: a long body style double prop bait or a Livingston Walking Pop 77," he says. "After that I'll throw a 7" green pumpkin V&M Chopstick wacky style with a chartreuse-dipped tail. If the bass are really active and you throw in those baits, you're going to catch them. If they're there but not active, you can always come back later. I'm only going to make three or four casts, then move on to the next colony. That's the biggest part of dialing in this pattern: not wasting time and moving from colony to colony to find the biters." There's one other potential for the pattern: Shellcrackers spawn later in the summer and they spawn deep - 10 to 15 feet of water on a clear lake. "On a lake like Ouachita, which has big Shellcrackers that spawn in August, you can acctually find these shellcracker bedding areas on your SideScan sonar. You throw into there, feel the tap-tap-tap of a bluegill, then all of a sudden you've got a bass. I like to use a drop shot - something that looks like a bluegill."

Bedding Bream With Jacob Powroznik April 2015 Bass Times (Jon Storm pg. 42)

Brett Hite's Spring Lure Selection

When Bassmaster Elite Series pro Brett Hite wants to tip the odds of catching a larger-than-life bass in his favor, he hits the lake in February. Why? "They're feeding really heavily right now in preparation for the spawn, and they're at their biggest," he says. "Plus, they're pretty patternable this time of year. If you find a spot that's got 'em, it's usually good for a month because they replenish so well." On man-made reservoirs, Hite is talking about where the main channels abut points near the mouths of coves and creek arms. Concerning natural lakes, he focuses his efforts on the mouth of big bays where the bass will be spawning in a few months' time. "On reservoirs, the bass are keyed into crawfish big time. On natural lakes, it might be a big gizzard shad or hitch or trout. Either way, I like to throw a big baits this time of year," he says. When faced with the predicament of only being able to tote four lures to the lake, here's what he reaches for.

Bladed Jig:

Pick your favorite brand as long as it's green pumpkin with a black blade and tip it with a complementing Yamamoto Heart Tail Swimbait. Hite targets the 10 foot and shallower range. "The deal with this is to let it sink to the bottom and keep it down there. The key is that whenever you hit something, pause it. And if you don't hit anything, give the rod a couple sweeps toward the end of the retrieve. It's still cold right now, so keep your retrieve pretty slow, and don't overwork it."

Evergreen Reaction Football Jig:

If the bass aren't fully committed to those mouths and bays, Hite checks out secondary points - those first smaller points inside a creek arm. "They might be posted up in there on those points, and if they are, they're usually feeding heavily. Big jigs are big-bass baits, and with a 3/4oz model you can cover a lot of water since you can make a real long cast." He prefers a regular dragging presentation, but if the bottom is too snaggy, he'll hop it. He tips it with a matching Yamamoto Double Tail Grub.

Evergreen Kicker Eater:

Hite's favorite jerkbait embarrasses most others when it comes to diving depth: "It's got a big spoonbill that gets it down to the 12 foot range. A lot of baits don't go quite deep enough to get down in the coldwater jerkbaiting. "You've got to vary your cadence from twitch-twitch-pause, to twitch - wait 30 seconds - twitch and so on. The other key is to use really light line. I like 8-pound Sunline Sniper FC Fluorocarbon, 10 at the absolute heaviest."

Drop Shot Rig:

"Any time a channel comes up and hits a point, it's worth a few casts. A great thing about a drop shot is that you can fish it really shallow and around all kinds of cover. I like to Texas rig my worm to keep it snagless." Hite avoids snags by using a pencil-style Reins tungsten sinker, otherwise it's a round or teardrop model. His beginning setup is 1/4 ounce weight 12 inches below a 1/0 Gamakatsu Rebarb hook and Yamamoto Thin Senko.

What Brett Hite Throws In Ferbuary Classic Preview 2015 Bassmaster Magazine (David Hunter Jones pg. 28-29)

Find Prespawn Bass On Rivers And Tidal Waters

Ask any tour-level pro about their favorite time of the year to fish, and most will give you an answer referring in some form or fashion to the prespawn period of bass fishing. There's a reason for that. Prespawn bass are at their seasonal heaviest, they feed aggressively and they are shallow - all factors that dramatically increase the fun factor for anglers chasing bass. Prespawn patterns are also some of the most well documented patterns in all of fishing. If you're like me, you can probably recall plenty of articles about following creek channels leading to spawning flats, intersecting prespawn bass on secondary points, or searching for the first emerging grass on a flat with a lipless crankbait. All of which are extremely effective prespawn techniques, and all specific to lakes and reservoirs. But what about moving water? There hasn't been nearly as much discussed on how to effectively locate and catch prespawn bass on rivers. I'm sure there have been some, but it seems that our river-rat brethren have been grievously under-served in the prespawn technique education department. To remedy that, I sat down with two of the best moving water sticks on the BASS Elite Series and picked their brains about the techniques, patterns, and locations that are most effective to catch pre-spawners in rivers, both tidal and traditional.

Location:

BASS Elite Series pro Charlie Hartley honed his craft on the ultra-tough and ever changing Ohio River. On the Ohio, there are times when catching a limit is enough to win a tournament, and Hartley has won more than his fair share. All that time spent on rivers has given Hartley a good understanding of where river bass spawn, which is the key to determining how to catch them before they go to the bed. "Because river systems change so much, river bass are really adaptable in where they can spawn," Hartley said. "They're really looking for something hard that's out of the current. Places like marinas, backwater ponds, pieces of wood, whatever they can find. Heck, I've seen a bass fan out a nest right in the main channel behind a laydown before."

Prespawn bass will be moving toward their bedding areas once the temperature starts moving up into the 50s, and Hartley has two favorite places to intercept them as they move. The first is at the mouths of marinas and the second is along inside bends of feeder creeks. "On rivers, lots of bass spawn in marinas because they are protected from current and have deeper water." Hartley said. I've had a ton of success fishing the rip rap around the mouths and edges of marinas once the water starts to warm. If the river has lots of creeks, Hartley said that many of the bass will spawn up the creeks and he concentrates on the first inside bend in the creek to intercept them. "If you've got a creek channel cutting off from the main river, the first bend will usually have a deep bank with lots of wood on it," he said. "That's the bank that most anglers will concentrate on. Unfortunately for them, usually the biggest pre-spawn bass will actually travel on the inside or shallow edge of the creek, and that's where I'll focus. If you can find that drop-off, you'll usually find some hungry bass."

Lure Selection:

For marina bass, Hartley recommends a two-pronged approach featuring a spinnerbait and a soft stickbait like a Yamamoto Senko. He parallels the bank with the spinnerbait and then pitches the Senko to any visible cover, like boat docks, logs or rocks, he encounters. For fishing prespawners in the creeks, Hartley said that the key is to find any cover along that inside edge. To do so, he usually uses either a vibrating jig or a shallow running crankbait. If he hits a stump or rock, he'll then pitch to it with a tube or a jig. "The key with catching prespawners in creeks is to find some sort of cover along that inside edge," Hartley said. "You may be 200 feet off the bank and that inside edge might only drop from 2 feet to 4, but that's where they'll be. If you can find a stump or brush pile on that thing, it can be lights out."

On rivers with lots of vegetation, bass will sometimes spawn on the root wads of lily pads. Hartley will fish through those types of areas with a buzzbait or shallow running crankbait like a Mann's Baby 1-Minus. If your local river is really shallow, another good pre-spawn location can be the last deep water in a feeder creek. It may only be 4 or 5 feet deep, but they'll hold in the depression until they go to the bed. Water clarity determines the type of spinnerbait Hartley prefers. In muddier water or below 56 degrees he'll opt for a single Colorado blade. In clearer, warmer water he'll throw a tandem willow.

Find Prespawn Bass on Rivers and Tidal Waters Wired2Fish 3/8/15 (TJ Maglio)

Grubbin' For Springtime Smallmouth

Amid a sea of new soft plastic creations, the traditional twister-tail grub is often overlooked by today's bass anglers. This is unfortunate because the single-tail grub continues to catch big smallmouth bass. Without a doubt, my favorite grubbin' time is during the transition period as smallmouth move from wintering grounds to shallower flats prior to the spawn. In some smallmouth regions the grub remains a must-have lure in the spring. For example, it would be a sacrilegious act for an angler not to have one of these floppy tail grubs tied on at least one rod when bruiser brown bass begin moving into the bays of Wisconsin's Door County Peninsula. On the waters of Lake Erie, a grub is standard fare in April and May. And a grub is always within reach of every river rat on a northeastern river system.

Location & Lure Presentation:

Grubs can be fished on deep 18 to 25 foot main lake flats and shallower bay flats in 8 to 15 foot range, as well as uphill or downhill on the major breakline where smallies typically stage during transition. Now to the critical retrieve for early spring: fish the twister-tail grub like a hair jig in cold water! A grub retrieve imitates a preyfish. I don't drag it or hop it. Just swim it... slowly near the bottom. A grub presents a larger profile than a hair jig. By providing a more visible slow moving offering, a grub turns into search bait. In the cold-but-warming spring temperatures, smallmouths are not in an aggressive chase mood. However, a baitfish-like grub will grab their attention, and if the retrieve speed is slow enough, smallmouth will swim after and engulf it. I always cast a grub. However on a recent trip to Sturgeon Bay, Dan Elsner of Get Bit Baits explained the locals often pull grubs on the flats with their electric motor. If you have massive areas to cover, slow trolling may be an option. But if you are a caster, cast it long and count it down until it bumps bottom. Then begin slowly swimming it back to the boat while attempting to keep it 12 to 24 inches above the bottom. Yes, it's only going to be a guesstimate on the distance above the bottom. If you believe the grub is being pulled too far away from structure, slow down or pause long enough for it to tap bottom.

Lure Selection:

Before discussing techniques you've got to start with the right grub. All twister tails are not created equal. The most important design feature is a thin, flexible tail which allows an easy swimming action (i.e. the "floppy tail" nickname for these baits). The tails on all brands will swim when pulled quickly through the water, but only a handful of grubs demonstrate full-range swimming motion at very slow retrieves. Having experimented with numerous brands over the years, here are four named grubs that have extremely active tails: 4 & 5 in Kalin's Lunker Grub, 4 in Get Bit Baits' Hypertail Grub, 4" Gene Larew's Chub Grub, and 4 in Galida's Grubz. Speaking of color, I am a believer that figuring out the right hue will trigger more bites. Sometimes a small color adjustment can increase the number of bass you catch. In clear water, I favor translucent or almost translucent colors (clear, smoke, watermelon) with silver flake or rainbow sparkle. I frequently use a dye marker or spray to add a hint of chartreuse color to the tip translucent grub's tail. If a normally clear water lake is somewhat stained as the result of a weather event, then I switch to a darker translucent color (dark smoke, avocado, root beer) with purple or orange flake. Solid opaque colors rarely find their way onto my line except when fishing lakes or rivers with habitually dingy water.

Jig Heads:

The leadhead for a grub is as important as the grub itself. I favor the Spot Stalker head from Bass Stalker Jigs as an all-around choice for large profile grubs. The Spot Stalker has a tapered head design and single wire cable weedguard which allows it to slip through sparse vegetation without collecting strands of weeds. When fishing open water, the weedguard can be easily snipped off. The head is available in six weights from 1/16 to 3/8 oz - including those great in-between weights of 3/16 and 5/16 ounce, which are critical to achieving the proper slow speed at a particular depth. But if the water is exceptionally clear and the smallies particularly finicky, I lean towards a realistic minnow head with an identifiable eye and a color pattern which closely resembles a preyfish. That's when I turn to Northland's Mimic Minnow Jigheads.

Grubbin' Gear:

My rod for this slow steady swimming retrieve is a 15 year old medium power 7' Shimano "V" series spinning rod no longer in production. Although listed as a "fast action" the rod flexes through the upper 1/2 of the blank and features a power butt. Rather than being "fast" this rod is actually a "moderate" taper, performing like a crankbait rod for grubs. It allows smallmouths to inhale the bait fully while the angler is constantly reeling. A secure hookup is accomplished due to the slight delay of a sweeping hookset. Hanging under the rod is a Shimano Sedona Reel spooled with 10 lb braid and a five-foot leader of 8 lb Gamma Polyflex. Together it makes the perfect outfit for early spring grubbin'!

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Grubbin' For Springtime Smallmouth Spring 2015 Bass Angler Magazine (Darl Black pg. ???-???)

Jacob Wheeler's Spring Lure Selection

With winter in the rearview mirror, FLW Tour pro Jacob Wheeler continues his year-round series at topwater baits with a look at his top two springtime choices. For Wheeler, the must-haves lures to tempt from the top are a Rapala X Rap Prop and a Spro65 Frog. "There are many topwater lures to choose from, but these two baits are ones that I really like to take me through all the different phases of spring," he said. "The determining factors in which of the two that I will use are the current water temperature and the immediate cover."

Pre Spawn Lure Selection:

Earlier in the season, when the water temps are still on the colder side and there is less available cover, Wheeler opts for the X-Rap. "This is a good pre spawn pick," he said. "The fish are just starting to pull up in the target areas and they are still not as active, yet. They are just not ready to go after and bite a whole lot of baits at this time." He finds the X-Rap (an elongated prop bait) an early spring/pre spawn favorite, because he can use it to offer a slower presentation to provoke a strike. He described his retrieve as a "twitch, twitch, pause - twitch, twitch, pause". His average kill time on the pause is three to four seconds. It is longer in colder water. "The bait has counter-rotating props and three hooks, so it will make a lot of commotion on the twitch," he explained. "When I cast, I just wing it out there and then begin the retrieve. The twitch makes a disturbance and then it sits. The action will get their attention and the pause will give them enough time to hone in on the bait and strike." He utilizes the bait well into the spawning season. "If there are visual, flatter banks that they are spawning on, I will throw the prop bait around those areas," he said.

For his X-Rap color selection, 90 percent of the time, Wheeler will rotate between two colors. "In bass fishing, people can get really complicated with colors," said the angler. "I try to keep it more basic. My favorite color is Yellow Perch. It works really well and has a little bit of orange on its throat like a bluegill. I also throw Golden Shiner, when I am in places like Florida." The majority of the time, Wheeler will throw the X-Rap with 17 lb Sufix Pro Mix mono. "I like mono for this application for its stretch, so I don't pull the bait out of the fish's mouth," he said. "Another factor in hook-up ratio is the rod. I use a 6'6" to 7 ft medium-action Okuma C3-40X casting rod, because of its soft tip. That tip also allows the fish to get the bait, so you don't pull it out of its mouth."

Post Spawn Lure Selection:

As the water warms, nearing the low 60 degree mark, Wheeler is ready with a floatin' frog. His first choice is the Spro Frog65. "The frog really becomes a factor when the fish start to get off of their beds," he said. "You can fish a frog in colder water, but when the water temp creeps up, the fish start moving up higher in the water column and they start getting further back in the backs of the pockets. This repositioning makes the frog a very good target for the fish. It can also be good throughout the spawn in heavier cover, like aquatic willows." When fishing the frog, Wheeler keeps an eye out for vegetation. "A lot of times around the spawn and post spawn, the grass will start growing up," he explained. "The bass will push their fry into those grass mats for protection. That is a good area to key in on and fish the frog over." Other target areas, for Wheeler's frog are skipping underneath bushes, docks and overhangs and working it over shallow flats. I keep it moving, aggressively poppin' and twitchin'. I want it to displace water and move very fast, so the fish have to make a decision very quickly to hit it. If I miss a blow up, I will pause it and slow down a bit, so that the fish can come back at it." Wheeler also employs the Spro Poppin' Frog for times when the fish want a slower action. "The poppin frog walks better slow," he said. "When I twitch it, I am throwing slack back at it. Snappin' the rod throws the slack back in the line, to allow the frog to turn. If you don't have slack in the line and the line is tight, it won't allow the frog to turn. It will only continue to move forward."

Due to its propensity to attract big fish, Wheeler's chooses a stout rod for his frog and ties it to 65 lb Sufix braided line. "I want direct connect to set the hook in heavy cover and a fast reel to pick up a lot of line," he said. "My setup is an 8:1 Okuma Helios reel on a 7'6" heavy-action Okuma Scott Martin Signature TCS rod. This rod is really beefy to handle the big fish and the heavy cover. The high gear ratio reel is important to picking up a lot of line quickly."

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Four Seasons On Top Spring 2015 Bass Angler Magazine (Jody Only pg. 39-41)

Tidal Water Prespawn Bass With Mike Iaconelli

People may have thought Michael Iaconelli's win at the 2014 BASS Elite Series Delaware River event was preordained due to his home court advantage. His intimate knowledge of the river certainly helped, but it wasn't the only advantage Ike had over the field in that event. Familiarity aside, he's also one of the best tidal sticks in the sport, evidenced by a career of high finishes in tidal events including a little tournament called the Bassmaster Classic that he won on tidal water in 2003. Like Hartley, Iaconelli also knows the key to prespawn success is to understand where the bass spawn, but it's also important to understand where they winter. "If you know where they winter, and know where they spawn, it's really easy to understand where they are in the prespawn," Iaconelli said. "The most amazing thing about tidal water bass that most folks don't know is that those two places are usually one and the same. They spawn in the same places they winter. What could be more awesome than that!"

Location:

The reason tidal bass usually winter in the same places they spawn is because they need the same things for both; enough depth to cover their heads even on the lowest tide, minimal current, and some type of hard bottom. "The most common places bass winter and spawn on tidal fisheries are places like marinas, barge or industrial loading pits, backwater ponds, oxbows, and deep holes in the backs of creeks," Iaconelli said. "If there's grass on the river like the Potomac or Upper Chesapeak Bay, they'll also move out to the back sides of grass beds and spawn in the holes." The two most common places Iaconelli catches prespawners on tidal water are inside big industrial loading areas or marinas, and around cover located on flats adjacent to wintering areas. Since tidal bass winter as well as spawn in marinas and industrial areas, you don't have to travel far to find them once they move toward the bed, you just have to move shallower.

"In many of the barge loading pits and marinas on rivers like the Delaware, there is a deeper dredged out portion, and a silted in shallow portion," he said. "The bass will winter in the deepest and steepest portion and move to the shallower flat areas to spawn. All you need to do is follow the break line from the deeper areas to the shallow flats and fish your way there. If you can find a stick, rubble or rock along the way, it can be a tournament winning spot." Although there may be thousands of bass loaded up in a marina or barge loading area in the winter, there's probably not enough real estate to allow all the bass to spawn in there as well, which is why on rivers like the Potomac, many also spawn out on grass flats. To target those bass, Iaconelli will put his trolling down at the mouth of a wintering hole, and work his way along a contour fishing every piece of hard cover between the wintering hole and the spawning flat. "Lots of times on these tidal rivers it's things like bulkheads, docks, duck blinds, and even navigational buoys that the bass stop on as they're heading out to the flats to spawn," Iaconelli said.

Lure Selection:

When targeting prespawners in their wintering holes, Iaconelli uses the combination of a search bait like a crankbait, vibrating jig, or a spinnerbait, and a slower bait like a jig or shakey head. "The key in these situations is to cover water effectively," Iaconelli said. "If it's 5 feet deep, I'll throw a bait like a Rapala DT 6 until I catch a fish or contact cover, then I'll slow down with something like a Havoc Bottom hopper on a VMC Rugby head or the Missile Baits Ike Mini Flip." For the prespawn bass moving out onto the flats, Iaconelli still recommends using a combination of fast and slow, but since tidal flats are often shallower, he will move to shallower crankbaits or a vibrating jig. "The key for those bass moving out onto the flats is to really pick apart any piece of cover you can find. I've caught whole limits of bass off of single sticks or pieces of rebar during the prespawn," he said.

Tidal rivers are often used for shipping and heavy commerce, so they usually have good maps available. Iaconelli recommended identifying key wintering (and thus spawning) areas on the map before even getting to a new river just by looking for marinas, industrial loading areas, and backwater lakes. Don't worry too much about color in tidal water. It's usually pretty dingy in the spring, so Iaconelli rarely strays from either green pumpkin or black and blue. Learn how big the average tide is for a river before you even arrive. If it's 2 to 3 feet like the Potomac or Upper Chesapeake Bay, you can eliminate anything shallower than that. If It's 6 feet like the Delaware, you can eliminate even more water. They're gonna need water over their heads at even the lowest tide.

Find Prespawn Bass on Rivers and Tidal Waters Wired2Fish 3/8/15 (TJ Maglio)

Locating The Other Spawners

When someone mentions springtime bed fishing what imagery comes to mind? It is probably a calm, protected backwater pocket with trees in the background and a light-colored spot near a stump around 10 feet from the bank right? Think a little more and you'll probably also see another boat or two in the pocket either set up on a fish or blowing around the pocket with the trolling motor on high. That's fishing for spawners in the Spring right? Stop and think a minute though about how many fish spawn in the lake. If they all spawned in those areas there wouldn't be room for all of them. So where do the rest of them spawn? I've found a good number of fish spawn on the main lake and are very much overlooked. On Lake Guntersville they'll spawn just off the main river - especially the big ones. Many people think the fish are just staging there to move into the bays and pockets soon. The reality is they actually spawn out there. It is natural to think the bass have to go shallow to spawn because a river system has current that is too strong for making beds. All they really need to spawn is a rock or a log to block the current. Keep in mind the spawning area out of the current really only needs to be slightly larger than the size of a bed.

Locating Main Lake Spawners:

Finding large stumps, logs and rock piles are the biggest keys to pinpointing main lake spawning fish. Points, river bars and humps near the main channel that you know have these pieces of cover are the places to begin your search. You can eliminate large flats as very few bass will make a bed on a flat. I use my Raymarine electronics to refresh my memory of these key places and to find new pieces of cover that are in the area. The CHIRP SideVision technology in the Raymarine units is outstanding for locating pieces of cover in great detail. Having the best electronics available saves me a lot of time searching for the right cover. Keep in mind that most bass will be spawning in 3-6 feet of water, which is deeper than those that spawn in the bays. Keeping the depth in mind will also help you pare down your search for areas to target.

Lure Selection:

Lures for targeting these fish on the main lake/river include lipless crankbaits, square bill crank baits and bladed jigs. Make sure and try to hit the cover with your bait. You also want to make casts to the cover from multiple angles. Sometimes on sunny day you will be able to see the cover. In that case you can make a long cast to it with a Gary Yamamoto Senko. Once you locate a piece of cover with one of the moving baits you should also make casts to the same area of the cover with the Senko. Keep in mind that the actual bed is going to be downstream of the cover. On a lake like Guntersville that has grass my first choice is a lipless crankbait like a 1/2 oz. Strike King Red Eye Shad in red craw patterns, chrome blue or gold with a black back. If the area happens to be getting a lot of pressure I will use a silent bait instead of one with a rattle. If the wind picks up or I am targeting deeper spawning fish I go with a 3/4 oz. Red Eye or Xcalibur XRK75 One Knocker. I swap out the hooks on both of these baits on the 1/2oz I use #4 Mustad Round Bend trebles and #2's on the 3/4oz.

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Locating The Other Spawners Spring 2015 Bass Angler Magazine (Brandon Lester pg. ???-???)

Chatterbaiting Through The Spawn With Brett Hite

Crediting a Chatterbait for multiple victories across tournament trails, Bassmaster Elite Series pro Brett Hite calls the bladed swim jig his favorite technique. One can hardly argue when it has been said the lure was responsible for nearly a half million in winnings throughout Hite's fishing career. The versatility of the bait, the vibration and the erratic hunting action that the lure provides can consistently entice bigger fish," explained Hite. "The hunting action is similar to a squarebill crankbait, but even greater. The quality of fish that that action can attract is truly noticeable."

Pre Spawn Chatter:

One of the reasons that Hite feels the lure can be so successful in the spring is its vibration. He launches the lure into action in the early spring, when the pre spawn phase kicks off. "I will throw it when water hits the mid to high '50s," said Hite. "I usually throw a 3/8, but I may go for a 1/2 oz in pre spawn, because the grass isn't as tall and I want to get down a little deeper to maintain contact with the cover." Hite doesn't view the Chatterbait as just a "grass-style bait". He puts it into action any place that one would employ a spinnerbait. He touts its versatility and uses it in all types of scenarios from clear to dirty water, around brush or wood, riprap or rock piles. "In pre spawn, I am looking for any type of cover to work around," explained Hite. "It is like a crankbait, I want to have the lure make contact with whatever cover that I'm fishing."

He explained the main difference in throwing a Chatterbait in the pre spawn is the slower retrieve. "Of course, I would want to speed it up here and there to give it some erratic action, but overall, pre spawn is a time when fishing is just a little slower. Another thing to consider with retrieve speed is that the vegetation in grassy fisheries hasn't topped out real high during pre spawn, so you have to slow down and move lower through the water column, to allow the lure to make contact with the grass." When fishing pre spawn targets, Hite locates areas where the fish are going to be moving for the next stage of the spawn. "I am looking for transition areas, like secondary points going into the spawning areas where the fish like to set up," he said." Hite often fishes the lure using a Yamamoto Swim Senko or the new Yamamoto Heart Tail as the trailer. He doesn't change the type of trailer through the stages, but will upsize during pre spawn and downsize through the later stages. "Sometimes, I will go with a Yamamoto Medium or Fat Craw, if I am trying to mimic more of a crawdad appearance," he said. "My trailer colors for pre spawn are a green pumpkin color or a reddish color to mimic the bluegill or a crawdad."

Spawn Adjustments:

As the season progresses from pre spawn to spawn, Hite adjusts target areas for the Chatterbait. "I am going to target little pockets," he explained. "I am not visually fishing beds with it, but winding over areas that beds are around. I am fishing places like a pocket beside a tree, holes in the tules or a little corner that you can tell a fish would like to spawn. If I visually spot a bunch of cruisers that aren't really on beds, I will blind cast and wind the Chatterbait around in that area." As the water temperature rises from the cooler pre spawn temps, the fish become more active and the speed of the retrieve can increase. "It is textbook reaction bait fishing," he said. "The warmer the water, the more active the fish are. The more active the fish are, the faster I am going to be able to retrieve the it." Another adjustment that Hite makes for the spawn, is a color change. "Obviously, the fish are going to be on beds and this is when I might go to a brighter color," he elaborated. "I still like green pumpkin, but most likely, I am going to get away from the red color and go to a color that imitates a baitfish or a bluegill with some chartreuse in it."

Post Spawn Changes:

Hite likes to target post spawners first thing in the morning. "The shad spawns tend to happen bright and early in the day, so this time of year it is always best to get out there at day break, right at first light, to look for the shad spawn and the bass that are also looking for the shad." His color selection changes again as he targets post spawn fish. "The shad and baitfish spawn a little later than the bass," noted Hite. "The shad spawn is going to be a big influence on the color choice. Because of the influence of the shad, most of the time in post spawn conditions, I am going to use a shad color, either a white or crystal shad. I will switch it up to a silver blade to really mimic a baitfish, because bass really key in on baitfish at this time of year."

Chatterbait Gear:

Hite feels the technique's success is reliant on the rod and reel setup. "I use a 7'3" medium-heavy EverGreen Heracles Leopard casting rod," he said. "A fiberglass or composite rod is the number one key." He believes one of the biggest misconceptions about the Chatterbait is that anglers see it as a jig and so they don't use the correct rod. "To avoid losing fish with this technique, I think of it as a heavier crankbait or spinnerbait and use a fiberglass rod. Fish will hit the Chatterbait aggressively, so I want the rod to load up and absorb some of that hit. A lot of times the fish will hit right at the boat, and if you have a really stiff rod, when that happens, you will get slack in your line and lose the fish. This is why you want a glass rod. The rod and the line is the key to being successful at landing fish." Hite suggests a mid-speed reel, in the 6.5 to 6.2:1 range. His reel is a Shimano Chronarch Ci4+ casting reel. "You want a medium range, so that you can slow roll or go pretty quick when you need to," he stated. "I always use 20 lb FC Sniper fluorocarbon. I never use braid or mono. Fluoro is less visible in clear water situations and I like the little bit of stretch that it has. I don't ever break off any fish and I've caught tons and tons of giant bass, so I feel it is best."

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Chatterbait The Stages Of The Spawn With Brett Hite Spring 2015 Bass Angler Magazine (Jody Only pg. ???-???)

Randall Tharp 3 Feet Or Less

"This time of year is the easiest time of year to catch fish shallow and it is the time when most fishermen think of fishing shallow," said two-tour pro Randall Tharp. "If there is one time of year that the majority of fish in a lake are in three feet or less, it is spring." Because he is a tournament angler, Tharp's focus is quality over quantity and he will choose lures that he finds will typically draw bigger bites. "Sometimes bigger fish are simply caught by using larger lures," he said. "Whether you're trying to catch more fish or bigger fish, this time of year there are so many techniques that are applicable to shallow water fishing. You can be successful on topwater lures, crankin', flippin', pitchin' and more. You can have 10 rods on deck and catch fish with each one of 'em in the spring." To make the best lure choice on any given day, Tharp weigh the conditions, adapting for cold fronts, warming trends and other seasonal changes.

Cover Water For Pre Spawners:

Crankbaits, spinnerbaits and lipless cranks are all versatile tools to use to cover water in spring. A favorite lure of Tharp's is the lipless crankbait. "This particular technique lends itself to covering a bunch of water, which is necessary at this time year, more than any other," said Tharp. "Until I figure out where the fish are located and what they are doing, I want to keep the trolling motor on high and cover water. This is a bait that allows me to do just that. All the major manufacturers make a good lipless crankbait. I am sponsored by Rapala and I always have a Rattlin' Rap tied on." Prior to the fish spawning, Tharp likes crankbaits in a crawfish pattern as a good starting point. His preferred high percentage targets are isolated cover, such as docks, grass or standing timber. "Don't over look isolated cover that you cannot see," advised Tharp. "Use your electronics to find it under the water. You can also cover water to find them, fishing your way around, feel your way down the bank and break lines and you will locate it."Tharp's retrieve is slower in the colder water and is sped up as the water starts to warm. "The water doesn't have to be really warm, it just has to be warming," he said. "I have caught them burnin' the bait in pretty cold water, but it was on a warming trend. Just a couple of degrees can make all the difference. The sun doesn't have to be directly shining on the water, but even later in the day, the water temp can spike up enough to make that difference.

If you can key in on that warming water and adjust your retrieve accordingly, it can really put 'em in the boat." Tharp will use a reel/pause method as an effective retrieve for his lipless crank. "I will kill it immediately following contact with any object," he said. "At the pause, I will let the lure fall straight down on a controlled-slack line." Tharp uses a controlled-slack line, so that he doesn't hinder the bait with a tight line or comprise the sensitivity with too much slack. He picks locations using a map, seeking out spawning flats. "I am looking for areas that are sheltered from the wind," he said. Also shallow pockets that warm up faster in the sun are good starting places." Tharp works back to front. "This time of year, it is easy for the fish to be up there in one foot of water, so I will go to the back of the spawning bay as shallow as I can get and then fish myself out to the secondary points. It will only take you a couple of pockets before you can figure out how they are positioning."

Blind Cast As They Move Up:

If Tharp finds there is a large population of fish on beds, he does not use a lure for covering water. He looks for preferred bedding areas that offer cover and sun. If he locates a fish on a bed, Tharp will visually fish it, but feels it can be quicker and easier to fish an overall target area. "For example, if I've found some fish set up by a bush and I can stay back off of them, so that they don't see me, my chances of quickly catching the fish are a lot greater." Tharp warns shallow fish tend to be spooky, stressing, "long casts are critical to his success. "Sometimes, it is even better to locate a fish on a bed and put it away in the back of my mind, then go fish down the bank and come back, making a long cast to it," he said. If there is a fish on a bed and it doesn't know I'm there and I can make a cast anywhere near that bed, I can catch em just about every time". Tharp blind casts flats with a target-oriented bait, using a Texas-rigged Zoom Brush Hog. He rigs his Brush Hog with a 1/4 oz weight. He chooses green pumpkin for water clear to stained water and if the water is a little bit darker, he will go to then black or black and blue.

On The Bed:

Tharp employs a 10 minute window to determine if a fish is catchable. He sticks with only one bed bait (a white Zoom Super Hog) when fishing against the clock with his self-imposed 10 minute timer. "I pull all the appendages off, presenting it as a tube-style bait with a little tail," said Tharp. "If I have decided to stay longer than 10 minutes and catch it, I may go through three or different baits. I keep them tied on and ready for workin' bed fish. Usually it is a Brush Hog, a big Critter Craw or a dropshot, but I only go to these, if I am going to commit to the fish. If I believe it is catchable and then I will spend longer than the 10 minutes."

Cruisers:

When observing a population of shallow cruisers, Tharp will go to a wacky-rigged stick bait. "I personally like a Trick Worm in green pumpkin with a chartreuse tail," he said. "I use 10 lb braided line, usually with a 8 lb fluoro leader. I make a skip cast across the top of the water, so that I can control the distance and stop the bait right in front of the fish, while the weightless worm drops right down in front of them. It is a deadly way to catch cruising fish around the country." A stealthy approach and presentation is key for Tharp. "I keep the boat backed off the swim path of the fish," he said. "The fish are smarter than people think they are, so I am always trying to present the bait without them seeing me."

Fry Guarders:

Once the fish are guarding fry, Tharp goes to a swim jig. His other top choices for post spawners are a topwater or a floatin frog, a buzzbait or a prop bait. "This is an easier stage for me," he said. "You can totally get a reaction-style bite right after they bed. I don't think you have to stay as far from 'em during this stage. You can kick your trolling motor on high and start covering a lot more water again." When concentrating on the fry guarders, Tharp is still targeting protected, bedding areas. "A large population of fish are going to be in these type of places, depending on the area of the country.

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Randall Tharp 3 Feet Or Less Spring 2015 Bass Angler Magazine (Jody Only pg. ???-???)

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