Pro's Picks For Spring Bassin'

There's one thing you can be sure of concerning prespawn bass," says Bassmaster Elite Series pro Chad Morgenthaler.

"When the water temperature starts rising in early spring, the fish begin moving toward their spawning areas. And the warmer the water gets, the closer they will be to where they will lay their eggs."

"So in the prespawn, the key to finding bass is keeping up with the water temperature and understanding how the warmup affects bass' movements. If you're in the right area at the right time and offer the fish the right baits, you can make some of the biggest catches of the year in the weeks before they start bedding."

Morgenthaler lives in Reeds Spring, MO near Table Rock Lake.

Starting in February, he begins checking the water temperature on this classic upland reservoir. And as the warmup starts and the bass begin moving toward the shallows, he employs a three-step approach to find and catch them. Following is how this angler deciphers bass' prespawn travels on Table Rock Lake and how others can do likewise on similar deep, clear-water lakes.

Step 1:

Morgenthaler begins, "In the winter, the water temperature in Table Rock bottoms out in the high 30s to low 40s. At the time, the bass are usually relating to submerged trees in deep water - up to 50 plus feet. The fish may not be holding this deep. Oftentimes they will suspend at some intermediate depth in or above the trees, but the cover is their focal point."

Morgenthaler continues, "Then, when the spring warmup starts, the bass begin their prespawn migration. As the water temperature rises, they will move progressively shallower and farther back in the creeks. This is why, to catch them, anglers must know how to find the fish along their travel routes and show are a good match for their feeding preferences this time of year."

Morgenthaler says when the water begins to warm, the first place he looks for bass is around secondary points in tributary creeks.

He explains, "I'll use my Humminbird Onix side imaging to find submerged trees just off the points. I'll work these trees with two lures: a Spro McStick 110 Jerkbait and a Missile Baits Shockwave swimbait." Morgenthaler retrieves the jerkbait at a painfully slow pace.

"When the fish are in the trees, they may have to come up a long way to bite it. This means that long pauses between jerks are key in triggering strikes. I'll cast out, reel the jerkbait 10 or so cranks, then stop it for up to 20 seconds.

Then I'll jerk it just one stroke and pause it again for 20 more seconds. "I'll keep up this pace until the bait is well past the tree. Then I'll reel it in and make another cast with the same cadence - one jerk and a 20 second pause. This presentation is almost mind numbing, but it's the best way to get those coldwater bass to bite."

Morgenthaler will also try a swimbait in these deep trees. He instructs, "With the swimbait I'll use a very, very slow, steady retrieve. Now I'm literally crawling the swimbait over the limbs. I'm putting the bait in their face."

Step 2:

Next, Morgenthaler tries the same locations (secondary points with trees) but closer to the bank. He continues, "if I catch a warming trend, especially if there's wind blowing in on a point, the bass will move up to feed. So I'll fish closer to the bank in the 10 to 12 foot zone. I'll random-cast with a Spro RkCrawler 55 crankbait. I'll make long casts and retrieve the bait slowly, looking for bottom contact. If I feel it glance off some bigger object, I'll pause the bait for two to five seconds, then start reeling again."

Morgenthaler also pays close attention to bottom content, which can very between pea gravel, chunk rock and lava rock. He Says, "Sometimes the fish will show a preference for one type of bottom over the others. This can be an important key in putting a good catch together."

Step 3:

Morgenthaler's third pattern is linked to the previous two. He continues, "Anytime I'm fishing the first or second pattern and I come to a dock, especially one that's isolated, I'll test-fish all the possible targets the dock offers." I will do this with a Lunker Lures Limit Series Jig mated with a Missile Baits Baby D Bomb creature bait.

"I'll start out by pitching or skipping the jig to the deep outside corners. Then I'll hit the back of the boat slip, then the back corners of the dock, then the walkway. I'll try all possibilities to see where the fish are holding on that given day."

"Also, this time of year the bite is almost always on the bottom. After I make my pitch or skip, I'll let hte bait sink to bottom, let it rest 5 to 10 seconds, then start a slow drag - no shaking!"

Bourne, Wade L. "3-Step Approach For Prespawn Bass" Bass Angler Magazine, Classic Preview 2016 pp. 98-100.

Elite Series pro and sight-fishing expert Shaw Grigsby chooses what type of rod and reel he uses based on the behavior of each bedding bass he encounters.

Shaw Grigsby has won nine B.A.S.S. tournaments. Eight of them involved the Florida pro catching bass from spawning beds.

And while the son of a former University of Florida sociology professor seems to sport a perpetual smile beneath his mustache, it turns out bass are far more moody - and believe it or not - he chooses what type of rod and reel he uses based on the personality of each bedding bass he encounters.

"The very first thing I do when I see a bass on a bed is study its personality," Grigsby said. "Is it super skittish? Does it swim way off? Does it stay put? Those are questions you should ask as you try to analyze your chances of that fish biting and subsequently, what lure you cast first.

"In the old days, people thought you had to finesse fish for spawners and be really stealthy with a spinning reel and smaller lures, but that's certainly not always necessary. Some fish are super aggressive and will choke a small creature bait tied to 65-pound braid the first time you cast it in there. If I can get away with it, I'd much rather use a baitcasting reel simply because I can land that fish faster."

As fishing pressure becomes more intense, however, things change.

"You can tell that on the first day of practice, the bass haven't seen a lot of baits and they're way more likely to eat a lure on the first cast. But as the week wears on and everybody has pounded on them, they spook easier and that's when you have to break out the spinning reel with 8-pound fluorocarbon or 20-pound Seaguar braided line.

"Sometimes I'll throw straight braid with no leader. The thing about it is, 20-pound Seaguar braid on a larger-spooled size 30 Quantum Smoke spinning reel behaves as smooth as 10-pound line, but has the true strength of 20.

"Sure, we'd all rather winch one in quick on baitcasting equipment, but when they're not biting aggressively and you have to use spinning tackle, there's zero reason to fear catching a giant with lighter tackle. The whole key is to be patient and let them run as long as you need to. You wind some line in, you let 'em run. You wind some line in, and you let 'em run. It's just like catching a tuna in saltwater.

"I remember catching a giant bass from a bed with 8-pound monofilament on a spinning reel when I won at Sam Rayburn years ago. I just had to let it swim way out into the middle of the cove to finally tire itself out. It was about seven minutes after I hooked it before I could finally land it. But that's okay; you just have to be patient."

Wired2fish Editors. "Casting vs. Spinning Gear for Spawning Bass." Wired2Fish, 24 Mar. 2016, http://www.scout.com/outdoors/wired2fish/story/1654751-casting-vs-spinning-gear-for-spawning-bass

If you want to catch bigger bass during the postspawn, go with a topwater lure. It's by far the most reliable way to get the big ones, and they are very location and pattern specific.

Once the bigger females leave their nest the smaller males stay behind to protect the fry. In almost every case that means you'll find them right up against the bank. So, don't throw to the bank. It's a waste of time. All you'll catch are small males, and that's not what this is about. We're after the biggest bass in the lake.

Location & Lure Selection:

In shallow waters the females will move into grass beds, under docks or underneath the heaviest and thickest cover they can find. The best way to catch them is to throw a frog.

The good ones will work through the heavy stuff without hanging, and you can get designs that'll fish like poppers or that'll walk as good as any stick on the market. My frogs are made by Snag Proof. If you're fishing one of our deeper lakes, most of the females will move out towards the ledges, channels or anywhere there's deeper water. Under that scenario I fish a River2Sea Whopper Plopper.

When I'm in lakes with ordinary size bass I'll fish the 130 model. It's about the right size for that. But, if I'm in a place that holds true giants I'll go with the 190. It's touted as a musky lure, but giant bass either don't know that or they don't care. They will attack it. When it comes to color I think it's hard to beat anything that looks like a bluegill. They eat bass fry and the bass know that. They might attack bluegill colors because they're hungry or because they're mad. Either way, I'm good with it.

Line Selection:

My line choice is as simple and straightforward as my lure and color choices. I fish my frogs and my Whopper Ploppers with braid. It floats so I get maximum action, and it's strong so I don't have to worry about fishing it in the heavy stuff. And, braid will give you a little more distance on your cast.

I use it regardless of water color. Honestly, I could care less if the water is heavily stained or if it's as clear as your tap water at home. I don't believe the fish see it, and even if they do I don't believe they pay any attention to it.

There are good reasons to fish with monofilament and with fluorocarbon line, but they have nothing to do with visibility. They center on lure action.

Monroe, Ish. "Catch Bigger Bass In The Postspawn" Bassmaster, Apr. 25 2016 "http://www.bassmaster.com/ish-monroe/catch-bigger-bass-postspawn"

One thing we all learned from our recent tournament on Wheeler Lake is that the better postspawn bass are already deep. They were the first to move to the spawning beds. They were the first to move off the beds. And now they're the first to move deep for the summer.

By the better bass I mean those in the 3 to 5 pound range. They might not be giants, but they are quality bass that will help you win a tournament or give you a real sense of accomplishment if you're fishing for fun.

Location:

The best places to find them are on long, main lake points or around offshore humps. They aren't on all of them, however. In fact, they aren't on very many of them. You may very well fish 20 or 30 places before you find a few good ones. And when I say a few that's exactly what I mean. They aren't schooled up yet so don't expect to find the motherlode.

When I'm looking for places to fish at this time of the year I start with a paper map. I want places that rise up a little shallow but that have water that's at least 20 feet deep right alongside them. The best deep water comes from channels in my experience, but don't neglect drops and holes. They'll attract the better ones, too.

When I get on the water, I use my electronics to refine my search so that I only fish high percentage areas and to target specific spots on those areas. This is when your SONAR really comes into its own. You can find spots that are different or unusual and know exactly what you're fishing.

However, don't expect to see individual fish like I'm talking about on your screen. You have to fish for them. I don't really know why but most of the time I don't see individual fish out where I'm fishing. My electronics are Lowrance so I know it's not them. It's just that they're hard to see - for me, anyway - when they're hanging around deep water and they're by themselves.

Lure Selection:

My primary search bait is a Strike King 6XD crankbait. Its wiggle will generate reflex strikes, and it'll run down close to 20 feet so it's right at the deep water level that's around my spots. Everybody has a favorite color. I'm not so concerned about that. For me, it's more about action and depth.

Before I go there's one thing I want to emphasize. This is not a numbers approach to the postspawn. You'll only catch one or two from each spot, and you'll spend more time fishing than you will catching. Still, if you want the big ones, and you're willing to do the work to get them, this is one way to do it.

Lee, Jordan. "Better Postspawn Bass Are Already Deep." Bassmaster, 7 May 2016 http://www.bassmaster.com/jordan-lee/better-postspawn-bass-are-already-deep

Fred Roumbanis may reside in Oklahoma, but he remains the consummate western pro. He was front and center when the influential waves of Japanesse bait designs and presentations followed the prevailing westerlies from the Pacific Rim to the California coast, and he continues to explore and refine tournament tactics using new modifications to modern rigs.

His soft-stickbait program is a perfect example. He was part of the first generation of western pros to embrace Gary Yamamoto's revolutionary Senko soft stickbait, and he adopted the first wave of soft-stick rigging innovations, variously called the Izz rig, Dek rig and Neko rig - more or less descriptions of the same nail-weighted wacky rig.

Roumbanis has changed his rigging somewhat - especially his hook and he now fishes the Gene Larew Salt Licker soft stickbait exclusively. These cigar-shaped worms in various permutations have been a no-brainer presentation in every region of North America for 15-odd years. But Roumbanis prefers the Salt Licker for a couple of reasons.

The first is versatility. "Gene Larew added two appendages to a soft stickbait to create the Salt Licker," Roumbanis said.

"You can remove the appendages for a traditional soft stickbait and it will shimmy as it falls, like you'd expect. Or you can leave the appendages on for a different, more aggressive presentation; you reel it a couple cranks, let it fall, reel it again. I especially like ot leave them on around grass, you catch a lot of fish on the initial fall. So you really get multiple uses out of the same bait, and that really helps me dial in the pattern."

The Pre Spawn:

Of course water type and geographic regions very greatly, but Roumbanis dials in the bite with two rigs this time of year: a Texas rig and a modified Neko rig.

"If I'm on a reservoir with lots of different arms and branches, and I'm fishing the transition areas just outside the spawning flats, I'll often Texas rig the Salt Licker with the appendages and a 3/16oz tungsten weight. I cast it out, let it settle, move the rod tip a little to tighten the line - which makes the appendages quiver - then let it settle again. This is great if there's grass or laydowns in the area."

Roumbanis removes the appendages, sticks a Zappu nail weight in the bait's head, then wacky rigs it with a lengthwise-rigged Gamakastsu Shiner long shank and belly of the hook lengthwise down the middle of the bait, instead of at the standard perpendicular.

"If you rig the shiner hook back-wards - up the length of the Salt Licker - it will stay on the hook without sliding," he notes. "a lot of people use rubber band or O-ring to wacky rig. You can do that with smaller hooks, like a Gamakatsu Dropshot hook. But I use the Shiner hook because of the way it sits. I really like that for hookup ratio and the way it really bulges the bait when you apply line pressure. Granted, if I'm around cover, I may use a Gamakatsu Dropshot/Splitshot hook with a weedguard and O-ring, but if I can get away with an exposed hook, that Shiner hook is the way to go."

The nail-weighted rig is especailly good in slightly deeper water. Not only does the bait get down quicker, but it digs up dirt on the bottom where fish will be attracted, not spooked by such activity.

The Spawn:

As the fish move up and begin their yearly courtship, Roumbanis moves to a Texas rigged Salt Licker with either a 3/16oz to 3/8oz weight. He pegs the weight when fishing around weeds and through weeds and leaves the appendages on. If he's fishing around rocks, he likewise leaves the appendages on but won't peg the weight because he likes the way the bait "chases the weight" on the way down.

His basic rule is this: Leave the arms on with a Texas rig, and take them off when fishing weightless or wacky with a nail weight. One other slight tweak is if he's fishing a very rocky lake, like Grand or Powell, he may use a Gene Larew Biffle Hardhead and crawl the bait along the bottom. Fish spawn quite deep on a lake like Powell, and this is a technique that especially excels when fish move onto roadbeds to spawn.

The Post Spawn:

Roumbanis says the soft stickbait is most effective in the post spawn when fish set up around boat docks or on ledges. If the fish are on ledges, he dials in the pattern with a Carolina rigged Salt Licker with the appendages on.

"It might be one of the best Carolina rig baits I've ever fished," he notes. "It does have the slow, horizontal fall when you pause, but it's a thin-profile bait, so if a fish sucks it in, you'll get a good hook set."

He'll also try the Salt Licker on a shaky head on ledges to dial in the fish's preference. If the post spawners are on docks, he'll fish the lure weightless for skipping - a Texas rig if there's some cover, or wacky rigged if possible.

When asked if the soft stickbait has essentially replaced the worm, Roumbanis said, "For me it has. It's hard to go to a worm in a tournament, knowing I can instead have a bait like this that's so versatile, and one that I can tweak so easily to dial in the pattern. How does he decide to put the bait down during the post spawn? In general, if the water starts moving, he'll put down the soft stickbait and go to a reaction bait to start firing up schools.

Storm, Jon. "Dialing In Soft Stickbaits With Fred Roumbanis" Bass Times, March 2016, pp. 56-57.

Most bass anglers are well aware that riprap can produce quality fish at times, and for some pro anglers, it's basically their go-to structure anytime they run across it in tournament waters. However, not just any causeway stacked with broken rock will do. As with most types of structure, some is great, some is fair, some is no good at all. "I've made a lot of money on riprap over the years," said Tennessee pro Brandon Card. "The right rock at the right time can be just killer."

Location:

Card particularly likes the rocky structures in spring, both pre and post spawn. "The fish stop on the rocks on the way into the creeks to spawn, and then they stop on them again on the way out after the spawn, so there's a long productive time for riprap during the spring," he said. Walls with a lot of variation in depth usually produce best.

"If a wall is all 2 feet deep at the bottom, that's not going to have many fish on it, and neither will a really steep, vertical bank that drops straight down to 20 feet or so, like maybe an earth dam wall. The ones I want have shelves, they've got piles of rock out away from the shore and the best of all, they have a bridge with water flowing through."

Lure Selection:

"Early spring, if we get a sunny warm day, the fish will get right up on top at the edge of the rocks where it will be warm," he said.

"But then if you get a front and chilly, cloudy weather, they drop right back down to the deep side of the rocks. I like Yo-Zuri crankbaits, both shallow and deep runners, to bounce off the rocks, depending on the depth where I expect the bass to be holding. If the bite is slow on the crankbaits, then I'll go to a shakey head, especially post spawn. I fish jerkbaits and chatterbaits around the rocks too, depending on the depth."

"I think the bass are definitely hunting crawfish in the rock before the spawn, but afterward, the shad are around there and they tend to go more to that pattern," he said. "Another thing that might work, especially post spawn is to fish a buzzbait or a Spook or Pop-R right in close, because they will definitely come up out of that rock and blast them, especially early in the morning."

Sargeant, Frank. "Riprappin' Bass On The Rocks." Bass Times, February 2016, pp. 42-44.

In tournament fishing, the clock's always working against you. Either you figure out the fish in the time you have, or you don't.

But that's not always the full picture. For example, this is my favorite time of year and even though I finished just outside the check cut on Toledo Bend, I know this time between the postspawn and the fish's offshore move is a great time to catch a big bag.

This year's a little different because a lot of the country has had high water and that has prolonged the postspawn deal. When the water gets really high, the fish won't spawn; they wait until it stabilizes.

Therefore, they stay shallow longer and then the postspawn/shad spawn deal lasts into the early part of summer.

Last week at Toledo Bend was a good example. The majority of fish should have already moved offshore, but a lot of the guys did well in the shallow water. I think KVD was the only one who fished offshore for the whole tournament.

When this happens, it throws a wrench in your plan, and you have to account for the fact that a lot of fish will stay shallow because they have plenty of cover.

Once conditions stabilize and the fish start moving toward their offshore spots, they'll spend a little time in their transitional spots somewhere between their immediate postspawn areas and their offshore sites.

Everybody thinks it's tough to catch them, but if you get a bait in front of a fish, he'll eat it. The problem is that they're so scattered. Some are still shallow, some have made it offshore to their normal summertime patterns and some are in between.

Those fish that are in between are so hard to catch.

Location & Lure Selection:

In normal postspawn situations, the first thing you want to look for is a shad spawn. Look for birds standing on the bank and or on docks because they are indications the shad spawn is happening. My No. 1 shad spawn baits are a white swim jig with a white Zoom Super Chunk and a Livingston Walking Boss topwater.

I also like the secondary points outside spawning flats and bays because the fish will set up there before they reach the main lake to indulge on the shad spawn. If the shad spawn is over, the fish will still hang on those secondary points where they'll feed on bream and crawfish before heading out to the main river channel.

These secondary points give the fish somewhere to stop with deep water nearby. Most of the points have brush, stumps and other structure, so they have everything a fish needs.

Lastly, I'll look for blowdowns and docks - any secondary structure that's actually in the spawning flats and bays. The fish look for something that provides shade and cover to hold bait, whether it be shad or bream.

On the points, blowdowns and docks, I like bream colored jigs - green pumpkin, brown, black/blue, depending on the water color. With these colors, you're really killing two birds with one stone because it could be a crawfish or a bream.

For all my postspawn fishing, I throw a green pumpkin Zoom Super Chunk trailer. I like the Super Chunk during postspawn because it's a little bigger profile. Those big fish may not eat as often, so when they do, they want to eat something pretty big.

Ashley, Casey. "Fishing The Postspawn Transition." Bassmaster, 23 May 2016, http://www.bassmaster.com/casey-ashley/fishing-postspawn-transition

It's time to start looking offshore for bass. In my experience, the bass will be at their absolute deepest right after the spawn. This includes the better fish - the ones that are the most fun to catch and the ones that win tournaments.

How deep? A lot depends on water clarity, but it's certainly not unusual to find bass in 25 or 30 feet of water at this time. I usually focus my search on the 15- to 28-foot range.

Why so deep? I think the biggest reason is that the thermocline has not gotten established yet, so bass can go anywhere in the water column they want to go - they have oxygen in the shallows and in the depths. They'll be wherever they can find food, structure and favorable temperatures. For a sizeable part of the bass population, that's going to be very deep water.

After our stop at Wheeler Lake, I drove home and took most of the shallow water baits out of my boat and truck and replaced them with the tools I need to fish deep. Of course, I didn't get rid of every spinnerbait, buzzbait or shallow crankbait, but I eliminated most of them because I think deep water is the way to go from here on out in the waters we'll be fishing in the Elite Series.

It's true that a lot of guys will continue to fish shallow, and some of them will do very well. That's where they have confidence. But with so much fishing pressure and competition in the shallows, and so many bass in deeper water, it just makes sense for me to go deep and take my chances there. It's where I think I can win.

Location:

The key to finding deep water bass over much of the country right now is to locate the areas where they just spawned and work your way out from there. I turn on my Lowrance HDS 12 and start looking around long points that run out to deep water or drop off into a creek or river channel.

A key here is that I idle around until I can see fish on the screen. I don't cast until I know they are there. Occasionally, the fish I see on my sonar unit are not bass, but time spent with your electronics will help you learn the difference. Plus, you can always learn by catching one of them. White bass will often nip at a lure. If they're catfish, you'll see what looks like water droplets just hanging on your line above the lure; it's actually catfish slime.

I see a lot of anglers start to fish a deep water point or drop without first seeing fish on their electronics. That's a mistake that can cost you a lot of time. If you're not seeing fish on your sonar unit, they're probably not there and you're fishing empty water. Instead of doing that, keep driving and looking.

Another common mistake is to fish on the bottom when the bass are actually suspended well above the bottom. You can see this on your electronics. It's very common for bass to hold 8 or 12 feet above the bottom. If you choose a bottom-bumping lure to catch these fish, the only bites you'll get are when the bait falls through the school and one grabs it. That's a poor percentage approach.

Lure Selection:

Zoom Swimmer (shad) on a 3/4-ounce Mustad Elite Series Swimbait Darter Head. You can count it down to the level of the fish and bring it right through the school.

1/2-ounce E Series Gospel Jig (shad) from Andy's Custom Bass Lures. This is a really versatile hair jig that you just swim through the water column like the Zoom Swimmer or let sink to the bottom and snap it back up sharply. After lifting it high, I kill it and expect the strike to come on the fall. I use it without a trailer.

3/4-ounce football jig (green pumpkin with matching trailer). This is a great choice when the bass really are on the bottom. My choice of trailer depends on how fast I want the bait to fall through the water column and how big I want its profile to be. On the large side, I'll use a Zoom Brush Hog. If I want it to fall faster and hop it around more, I'll use a Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw.

Megabass Deep-Six crankbait in a shad pattern. I can easily get this bait down to 16 or 17 feet.

Evers, Edwin. "Go Deep For Postspawn Bass." Bassmaster, May 25 2016, http://www.bassmaster.com/tips/go-deep-postspawn"

Elite Series pro Jacob Powroznik shares some tips that will help you target spawning bass more effectively.

Surrounded by humid air prior to blast off, Jacob Powroznik sat calmly cleaning his polarized sunglasses in the pre-dawn darkness of northeast Florida's St. Johns River.

A brand new Bassmaster Elite Series Season was about to begin and even dogs, women and children who lined the dock, seemed to know the day ahead would be centered on spawning bass.

"It's no secret a lot of us are about to run 35 minutes and crowd into that famous spawning flat on Lake George," Powroznik said. "And while we all have great equipment, the guys that will catch 'em the best are the ones who can slow down and stay mentally focused.

Proof of what I'm saying is in the results of guys like Dean Rojas and Alton Jones; they seem to catch them every time we come to Florida because they know that even though they maybe surrounded by a crowd of other great anglers, if they put their mental blinders on, keep their heads down and keep looking for five catchable bass, eventually they'll catch what they need. And that's just it; you only need 5, and you have all day to get 'em."

Rojas and Jones are for sure among the best spawning bass anglers in the game, but Powroznik has also proven himself as one of the very best at the visually oriented technique too, and he proved it with his 2014 Bassmaster Elite Series victory on Toledo Bend that centered on bedding fish.

The good-hearted Virginia pro offers these tips for anglers interested in improving their sight fishing skills.

Location:

"On lakes with lots of vegetation, you're looking for holes in the thick grass and then light spots on the bottom of the lake below those holes in the grass," Powroznik said. "In Florida, where the water is so dark or tannic colored, like tea-colored, the beds on the bottom look sort of gold or orange."

Quality Sunglasses:

"Buy quality sunglasses, and if you can possibly afford it, buy two pair; one with green mirror lenses for bright sunny days and on cloudy days, I wear a lens color that Costa makes called "sunrise". That particular lens is a game changer to seeing bedding fish on cloudy days or under low light really early in the morning."

Bedding Fish Tackle:

"I use spinning tackle if bass are super finicky and I need to cast lighter lures, but around thick cover, and for the most part, I'll pitch Texas-rigged plastics on a 7-foot, 6-inch Smoke rod with 65-pound HI SEAS braid spooled on a really fast 8.1:1 Quantum Smoke reel. You need all the speed you can get in the fraction of a second you have to close the deal when a bedding fish finally commits to eat your lure."

Supersticks & Power-Poles:

"Power-Poles are shallow water anchors that you see on the back of every pro's boat. They have absolutely revolutionized the way we're able to fish for bedding bass by allowing us to keep the boat positioned exactly where we want in relation to the bass. And by using a Superstick push pole to move along a shallow area, I can avoid using the trolling motor, which will spook a lot of bass."

McGuckin, Alan. "Powroznik's Tips for Catching Spawning Bass." Wired2Fish, 16 Mar. 2016, http://www.scout.com/outdoors/wired2fish/story/1652993-powroznik-s-tips-for-catching-spawning-bass

Utilizing orange-colored bass fishing lures can pay huge dividends throughout the spring season.

March is mostly affiliated with St. Patty's green, but among serious bass anglers, orange is the color that should never be overlooked in spring's chilly and rain-stained prespawn waters. In fact, a fast glance at the 2016 Bassmaster Classic competitors' lure choices revealed orange to be hugely popular.

Like many of his competitors, Team Toyota's Mike Iaconelli leaned on an orange crawdad-colored Rapala Shad Rap at the 2016 Classic, and too many Classic anglers to mention cranked orange and red shallow squarebills.

Last year's winner Casey Ashley leaned on a jig with orange strands in the skirt and this year's $300,000 winner Edwin Evers included a spinnerbait with the once secretive orange/red front kicker blade in his three-day arsenal.

The goodness of orange is certainly not limited to Grand Lake o' the Cherokees. Anytime water surface temps are in the 50s and stained to muddy, orange will likely be the most productive color you can tie on and the variety of lures containing the beacon hue is a vast one.

Rapala Shad Rap:

Some choose the No. 5 size while others choose the No. 7, but few leave the dock without this orange/brown bait in early spring. Consider upgrading the hook size to make this light-as-a-'tater-chip lure cast easier and suspend a little better in the face of lethargic bass.

Orange Pinchers:

There are virtually dozens of different crawfish species throughout the United States, and most feature orange pinchers. If you're going to tip a bulky jig with a soft plastic craw, utilizing one with highly visible orange pinchers in off-colored water simply makes sense.

Storm Wiggle Wart:

Arguably the best pre-spawn, wide-wobbling, commotion causing crankbait in history has deep roots to the color orange.

"Gary, Bill and Dick Storm actually talked to Missouri Department of Conservation biologists in the late 1960s to research crawfish colors," remembers Jim Morton, a former B.A.S.S. pro who worked closely with Storm for 31 years. "They learned there were 26 different species of crawfish in the White River drainage basin around Table Rock, Beaver, Norfork and Bull Shoals and most of them had orange on their pinchers, and elsewhere on their bodies.

"That's why the earliest and most popular V62 and V63 green crawfish and brown crawfish-colored Wiggle Warts were painted with orange paint on the diving bill," explains Morton. "The Storm brothers also learned that instead of leaving the belly of the lure white, that adding orange to the bellies triggered far more bass to bite."

Lipless Crankbait:

When aquatic vegetation is present, few lures catch more pre-spawn bass than orange/red shades of lipless crankbaits. The key is to 'tick' the tops of the submerged vegetation with the lure, to trigger strikes. Fish it too slow, and you'll bog down in the salad, fish it too fast and you won't get as many bites.

Use a rod with plenty of backbone to help you jerk the lure free when it does bog down, yet with a soft enough tip to keep these easily shaken lures hooked as well as possible. Quantum's TKVDC6106F is a great 6-foot, 10-inch stick for lipless cranks.

Spinnerbait:

Replacing the traditional silver or gold front blade of a spinnerbait with an orange/red kicker blade was largely a secret among anglers in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri until the success of top regional spinnerbait assaultants like Ron Shaw became hard to hide.

"It was pretty much a secret when I started throwing it in the early 90s, and then I shared it with Ken Cook, and eventually it became a big part of the product line that Hart Tackle Company offered back then," Shaw said. "Ken always said it was an all or nothing lure; either they'd hardly hit the orange/red kicker blade or you'd wear 'em out on it. I agree with him, but when the water temps are in the low 50s, I lean on it hard. It's always a go-to bait for me in stained to dirty water in early spring."

Certainly, the uniquely colored blade is no longer a secret. Nearly 25 years after Hart Tackle Company made limited numbers of them, several 2016 Bassmaster Classic competitors used one made by various brands, including winner Edwin Evers.

Squarebill Crankbait:

Perhaps the most popular lure of all at the 2016 Bassmaster Classic, because cold water, rocky banks, and orange craw colored crankbaits make for a hard-to-rival early Spring equation for success.

Brady Winans, a Toyota Trucks Bonus Bucks pro staffer, whose name is often at the top of the standings in Texas events, admits he has a bit of a crankbait obsession—especially orange ones in early spring.

"When the water temps range from 50 to 55 degrees you can crush 'em on a new bait called the Movement 80X from 6th Sense Lures, in a color called 'Wild Lava Crush'," Winans said. "That bait hunts hard and vibrates likes a No. 7 Colorado blade on a spinnerbait.

"Now, once the water temps hit 60, they favor shad patterns, but in the lower 50s they crush those orange colors like Wild Lava Craw and Lava Treuse."

McGuckin, Alan. "Orange Lures for Spring Bass Fishing" Wired2Fish, 15 Mar. 2016, http://www.scout.com/outdoors/wired2fish/story/1652003-orange-lures-for-spring-bass-fishing

Elite Series pro Jordan Lee explains why pockets are so important throughout the spring and shares his favorite ways to fish them.

When water temps hit the 60s, Elite Series pro Jordan Lee looks for spawn-oriented largemouth inside shoreline indention 'pockets' formed by tiny tributaries on nearly every major reservoir in America.

Location:

Pockets can be located along main lake shorelines, typically where large natural drainage ditches are located or, as is more commonly the case, inside the major creeks of a reservoir where a minor stream originally ran into the main creek prior to the reservoir's dam construction. "Pockets are kind of a shortcut to finding bass around the spawn because bass are eventually going to be in them, it's just a matter of when and what phase of the spawn they're in on the day you're fishing," Lee said.

Most of the pockets he targets searches are in the 1 to 10-foot depth range.

"You can fish a ton of them fast versus searching miles of shoreline on the main lake," Lee said. "I may fish 20 different pockets a day and maybe only five of those will have catchable fish in them; but those are decent odds and it's an easy way to find bass in the springtime. It only takes a few minutes to fish each pocket."

Lure Selection:

Lee takes a two-lure approach to pockets based on water clarity. "If the water inside a pocket is clear enough to look for spawning beds, I'll cast a wacky-rigged finesse worm on a No. 1 Decoy brand hook with a weedguard," he said. "That's a great light-line presentation on a size-30 Quantum spinning reel if bass are roaming or fully locked down on spawning beds I can see.

If the water is too dirty to look for beds, he picks up a baitcasting reel and pitches a Texas-rigged 4-inch Strike King Game Hawg on 20-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon around wood.

"Pockets are easy to locate, it doesn't take long to fish them and if you fish enough of them in a day's time during the spring, you're probably going to catch fish."

McGuckin, Alan. "Probe Pockets For Spawning Bass This Spring." Wired2fish, 19 Apr. 2016, http://www.scout.com/outdoors/wired2fish/story/1662384-probe-pockets-for-spawning-bass-this-spring

Let's face it, we all like getting bites and catching fish. Regular fish-catching action is one reason even casual anglers love to fish this time of year. We all have a pile of friends who call and text something to the effect of "If they're biting I would love to go with you".

Solid numbers of fish move shallow as the water warms and the number of trucks at the ramp increases with them. The joy of being on the water and getting our lines stretched after months of cold weather reinvigorates even the most casual outdoorsman.

However, a common theme for tournament and casual anglers is that at some point, and it usually comes much earlier for tournament anglers, is that the two and three pound bass need to start turning into four and five pound "kicker fish" to call the day a true success.

Even the most fair-weather anglers like a "highlight fish" camera phone pic to put on a group text or social media. Since their livelihood revolves around finding a few of those larger fish to drop in the "big side" of the livewell, we asked three professional anglers how they catch big bass during the spring (50-55, 55-60, and 60-70 degree water).

Bradley Roy:

Water temperatures between 50-55 degrees are what I would categorize as early spring or late pre-spawn. The great thing about the spring is that anglers can pretty much go and catch fish everywhere. Fish are moving up shallow and a lot of anglers can launch the boat and have a fun day beating the bank.

Finding the bigger, female fish, requires a mindsight that they're moving shallow for a purpose - to spawn. All of the female's movements are focused on that magical 60-62 degree water temp when she likes to spawn. If we work backward from where she's headed to where she spends the winter then we will increase our chances of catching bigger fish.

In the early spring I'm looking for areas that are directly adjacent to or directly outside of well-known spawning areas. I'm likely to start my search on a point that has a deep-water channel close by, with some rocks or stumps, leading into the spawning area. I also like the corner of a channel bank which is between their winter holes and an obvious spawning pocket. Transition areas like this are likely big fish spots in 55-60 degree water.

This water temp marks the first time they're making a real push shallow. Spots like these are ones they can slide up onto easily. Big fish are not going to be in an area inconveniently located away from the creek channel at this point in the year. A good warm day of sunshine will make these transition areas my main focus.

As for baits this time of year I will usually go with just a couple. It is hard to beat a 1/2 ounce D&L Tackle Advantage jig tipped with a larger trailer like the Cabin Creek Express Craw (note to make sure this is final). Big fish are looking for a bigger meal and a bait like this imitates a large crawfish perfectly.

My second choice is a suspending jerkbait. The SPRO McStick 110 is plenty big to entice larger fish to bite and it has the best cold-weather action of any that I have fished.

These two baits will cover most of the water column and help me find those kicker fish we all love to catch. Pattern fishing this time of year is very effective so once I find a big fish on one of these transition areas I can often dial it in all over the lake.

Ott DeFoe:

The 55-60 water temperature range is right when the big bass will start biting well. The big females are moving shallow to find their last big meals in preparation for the spawn. I usually start fishing three to five feet deep in spawning areas, along the first drop out from the bank, close to the creek channel.

Shallow, run-out points or flats are always two of the first places I try. The big females may still be a good ways off the bank at this point. If I don't get quality bites in that mid-depth range I will move up closer to the bank and fish visible cover in three feet of water or less. Then if that doesn't produce I will slide back out to water deeper than five feet.

My favorite baits for this temperature range are a Terminator spinnerbait or a bladed jig. I like a Berkley Pro Grub as the spinnerbait trailer if I use one. A Berkley Havoc Grass Pig is a good trailer option on the bladed jig. For targeting bigger bass in this temperature range I prefer moving baits like an Arashi 5 square bill crankbait and a Berkley Havoc Sick Fish swimbait.

Two of the biggest keys for catching kicker fish when the smaller ones bite more readily are: mindset and the "big fish window".

A mindset of expecting to get fewer but larger bites is important. When you could go catch 15-20 small keepers up on the bank it can be challenging to make yourself fish different areas where you might only get three or four bites. That's where the big fish window idea can help.

Understanding the timing of when the bigger fish are biting is important. If I practice three or four days and note the biggest fish were caught between 1-3PM then I have a pretty good idea that's when to expect the big bite window to open each day. I make sure to have the big fish baits on when that window is open and fish the type of areas I got those bites in previous days. Then I spend the rest of the day work on filling a limit and upgrading gradually outside of the big bite time.

A method for helping determine the big bite window is a new scale and tracking app called ConnectScale.The scale is Bluetooth enabled and automatically transfers the weight, time, GPS coordinates, and air temp to the app.

When the day is over the data can be analyzed and added to (water temp, lure, picture, etc.). Once the tournament starts it has a mode which makes culling accurate and easy.

Brandon Lester:

Water temperatures in the 60-70 degree range mean the spawn is in full swing. As long as the water is somewhat clear and the wind is not blowing too hard then sight-fishing will be a major player. Personally I would prefer to "fish around" for them instead of sight-fishing and here's how I do it.

With this water temperature bass will be constructing and guarding their beds so I like to imitate their adversarial bluegill. The standard-sized Zoom Brush Hog in the Sprayed Grass color does that. It is a fairly bulky bait and makes those larger female spawners react. It also lets me use a 5/0 Mustad Grip Pin Max hook with a 1/4 ounce weight to make sure they end up in the boat when they bite.

If the Brush Hog doesn't entice a bite I will throw a Roboworm (Morning Dawn) on a 2/0 Mustad Grip Pin Edge hook rigged on a drop shot. With this rig the bait is sitting up off the bottom and right in front of their nose. If a bass won't swim down into the bed to get a Texas-rigged lure they oftentimes will eat the drop shot because it is right there in front of them.

When fishing this time of year I always keep a keen eye out for movement. With so many fish up shallow I can often see them move from a ways off and make a long cast at them. When fish are spawning my favorite baits to throw are topwater baits. With sparse cover my choice is a Booyah Boss Pop (formerly the Zell Pop) with a Mustad feathered treble hook on the back. Bass on beds will often come up and suck this bait down as it is worked slowly over their head. With heavier cover my choice is a Strike King KVD Sexy Frog.

I finished fourth at the 2015 Elite Series event on the Sabine River after noticing fish moving around in shallow water near the bank. The water temperature was 65 degrees and almost all of those bass ate the frog.

Pro Fishing Management. "Searching ForThat Kicker Fish In Spring." Bass Angler Magazine, Spring 2016, pp. 54-56.

This is not your typical spring. Here in the Midwest, we had a warmer than normal winter and then spring came early. I think that's pretty much true for most of the country except for maybe southern Florida. But then things turned a little cold. We've had below-normal temperatures off and on for almost a month now.

That's moved the fish around. With water temperatures anywhere between the low 50s and the low 60s, most of our bass are still in the prespawn stage. They might move up on the full moon this month - it's on the 22nd - but that's no guarantee. The longer days will help, but cold water will still be an issue. Different waters will have different situations. You'll need to check out your local lake or river to see what's happening.

Lure Selection:

These are the conditions that tell me it's time to grab my flat sided balsa crankbaits. I like the tight, more subtle wiggle that they have as compared to a traditional square bill that sometimes overpowers bass. PH Custom Lures makes one called a Skinny P that performs really well.

Despite what I just said, there are times when a little wider wobble is needed. I don't really know why that is, but I suspect that it has something to do with how close the fish are to their spawn. When they do want something a little more aggressive I go with an ima Shaker.

Regardless of which bait I go with, my first color choice is always something with a little red or orange on it. That seems to be the trigger color early on. If that doesn't get me the action I think I should be getting I'll switch to a shad finish.

As a general rule I'd say you should try balsa first. If that doesn't work, go with something a little more aggressive.

They both run in the 4-6 foot range. That's a perfect depth for this time of the year.

Location & Lure Presentation:

I fish areas where the deepest water around fades into shallow flats and shoreline strips, places that look like a big female beast would want to spawn. A typical spot would be where a creek channel ends in the back of a creek or where a channel pushes up against a mud or sand bank.

I like to crawl my bait along, through whatever cover is on the bottom. In most cases that'll be wood of some kind and maybe a little grass. The easiest way to do that is to snap the bait down as soon as it hits the water and then, when it's as deep as it's going to go, wind it slowly back. A slow presentation is critical. This is not the time of year to rip your crankbait.

Bill's Crankbait Gear:

My tackle choice for this kind of fishing starts with a CastAway Skeleton V2 Cranking Rod (SKV70MC). It has a medium action with a moderately fast tip. It'll handle the lighter baits we're talking about. I mount a Lew's BB1 5:1 reel on it and spool up with 12-pound-test HI-SEAS Fluorocarbon.

Lowen, Bill. "This Is Not Your Average Spring." Bassmaster, 13 Apr. 2016, http://www.bassmaster.com/bill-lowen/not-your-ordinary-spring

One of the reasons I look forward to spring so much is that we can expect good weather. That may sound counterintuitive because, normally, we associate the best fishing with bad weather.

We often say that bass like a windy day, they like a stormy day, they like the day before the front when it's raining sideways. But the springtime is different. That's the one time in a bass' life - especially a big bass - when they want warm sun and they want to get out of the wind.

For perspective, I like to use the analogy of my wife when she was nine months pregnant - all she wanted to do was lie around in the sun. Can you blame her?

Bass are a lot like that, especially in the early spring. For these fish, it's all about comfort and preparation for their spawn.

This time of year, bass need plenty of warming sunshine to help their eggs incubate. They also want comfortable habitat during this time because they're literally bulging.

Location:

So, how do you choose a good spring fishing spot? Well, I have a formula that has worked well for me: Go to windy side of the lake and find a place that's out of the wind. That might be a pocket off a cove, or any place with some protection from the elements.

The windy side warms up fastest, but once you get to that warmer water, you want to find a place where it's calm. The backs of creeks usually offer this preferred combination of warm water and calm conditions, but keep in mind that runoff from recent rains can throw a wrench into that premise.

But you want to stay off the main lake and concentrate on pockets, creeks and coves. Look for places where the fish can find protection no matter what the weather throws at them. This is where you'll find a good spawning area.

This is also where you'll find one of my favorite elements of the spring season - sight fishing. I love looking at the fish I'm trying to catch. When you can see a fish and the fish can see you, at that point, it becomes a battle of wills.

Alton's 10 Minute Rule:

There's no question that investing the time in working a bed fish and then succeeding in getting that fish to bite is one of bass fishing's greatest thrills. But you have to understand that not all bass are catchable.

I like to use what I call the "10 minute rule" to determine if I can catch a particular fish or not. In tournament fishing, time management is one of the most important factors to an angler's success.

You can waste your whole day fishing for a fish and never catch it; whereas you would have been better served leaving that fish and going to find one that's catchable.

The way I apply this rule is that within 10 minutes of getting set up and beginning to fish for that particular bass, I at least want to see that fish acknowledge the presence of my lure in the nest.

That might mean they stop and take a glance at it; maybe they nose down a little bit. But every now and then, you find a fish that's completely oblivious, and it doesn't care what you do.

Maybe it's locked, maybe it's not, but that doesn't matter as much to me. I want that fish to give me a sign that it's aware of my bait's presence and that it's a little agitated.

If I can see that within 10 minutes, I feel like I can catch that fish in a reasonable amount of time, so I'll likely stay and fish for that fish. On the other hand, if the fish totally ignores my bait for 10 minutes, and I can't see any evidence that the fish has acknowledged my bait, I'm going to move to a different fish.

It's easy to see fish in the shallows in the spring, but it's not always easy to know which one to fish for. The 10 minute rule will help you make good time-management decisions.

Jones, Alton. "My Rule For Spring Sight Fishing." Bassmaster, 19 Apr. 2016, http://www.bassmaster.com/alton-jones/my-rule-spring-sight-fishing

If you pursue bass on a river system, big or small, there is one thing that is certain every year (well most), in the spring you'll be faced with an influx of water from the past winters snow melt and spring rains. The ability for a bass fisherman to locate and coax bass into biting when the water levels rise can prove to be difficult.

Location:

When a river climbs out of its bank, many challenges exist that an angler will have to overcome to put together a successful pattern. The first thing to understand is that a bass will relate to the rising water in two ways. They will either find a bank that is steep and stay in front of that bank and move up in the water column as the water levels climb and tuck behind subtle current break. The other way bass is that they will vacate an area all together and follow the water as it rises.

There are advantages to finding bass relating to the rising water in both ways. Finding bass that are moving with the water will be holding in shallower water, which warms quicker. It is important to find clean water because the worst thing is to be fishing in high, cold, muddy water. The disadvantage is that every day that the water rises, the further the bass will be away from where they were the day before. This forces you the angler to be searching out new water and following the bass.

The main thing to keep in mind is that when the water is high, the current is stronger in most areas, so bass are always in search of a current break. By sitting behind these breaks, they'll exert less energy than fighting it in the current and food is basically on a conveyor belt going by their face, so they can quick grab a bite to eat and then relax behind the break. Traditional forms of current breaks include wing dams and points, but with high water, even the slight current break behind a tree or stump can be a perfect hang out for a bass.

Lure Selection:

To cover water quickly and locate clean water, I'll use fast moving baits that will generate a reaction strike. The water temperature and clarity will dictate which lure you chose. If it is early in the season and the water has some tint, a single Colorado blade spinnerbait is my top choice, as it will put off a lot of flash and vibration. If I'm fishing super shallow I'll opt for a 1/4 oz War Eagle Spinnerbait, then if I need to get down in the water column I'll bump up to a 3/8 oz.

As the water cleans up and warms up, I'll switch to a swim jig - this lure is extremely weedless and I can fish it in a variety of ways. Most of the time I'm using a 1/4 oz jig with either a Zoom UV Speed Craw trailer or Swimmin' Super Fluke Jr if the water clarity is good.

Many times the high water will push a lot of floating debris together and it will make a mat, this is when a Bobby's Perfect Frog does well.

Once I locate a group of bass I'll drop my Talon's, so I can slow down and fish a jig or Texas-rigged soft plastic and not have to worry about the current moving my boat into or away from the cover.

In the springtime with my flipping baits, I like a bait that moves a lot of water, but at the same time has a compact profile, like a tube, creature bait, craw and also a jig. I keep it simple when it comes to color selection, either black and blue or a green pumpkin combination.

Another option is the Texas-rig, when I tie this up I try to get away with the smallest weight possible, that still allows me to make long flips, get through the heavy cover and get to the bottom but not swept away by the current. Usually a 1/4oz or 3/8 oz Eagle Claw Tungsten works perfect teamed up with the Lazer Troker flipping hook.

Getting the bass out of that heavy will require you to use a heavy action flipping stick and heavy line. I'll spool up my Victory Baitcast reel on a 7'4" Wright & McGill Victory Pro Carbon Rod with the new 20 lb Seaguar Flippin' Fluorocarbon line, as it has low stretch with good abrasion resistance and good sensitivity.

Walker, Glenn. "Tackling High Water River Bass." Bass Angler Magazine, Spring 2016, pp. 48-50.

New colors for an established bait - that's not the sexiest news to come out of ICAST last July. However, for those in the know, Rapala's addition of six new Jigging Rap colors makes perfect, if not significant sense. A frequent flyer under hard-water holes, the Jigging Rap has largely flown under the bass world's radar.

But anglers like Brandon Palaniuk have enjoyed much heretofore unheralded success by presenting this bait to largemouth, smallmouth and spots. As a primary bait, a fallback lure or simply a game starter, the Jigging Rap is a lure the two-time Elite Series winner Idaho trusts for a wide range of scenarios.

"You're creating a reaction strike," Palaniuk says of the bait's erratic action. "You may not catch the biggest fish in the school, or you may catch the biggest fish in the school. A lot of times it's just getting that initial fish to trigger, and then you can throw bigger baits in there." Prior to the new bass colors, Palaniuk threw mostly the clown and glow patterns common to ice fishing. With any paint job, Palaniuk says the bait's erratic behavior defines its attraction.

"You don't know which way it's going to go," he says. "It'll glide to the left, to the right, forward, backward. "It'll glide so far that it will move in and out of the sonar cone. You'll have a really strong return on your sonar cone, and then the bait will fade out of the cone. As it falls, you'll snap your rod tip again, and you'll see the bait dart back the other way."

Location & Presentation:

Having fished the Jigging Rap for the past hnadful of years, Palaniuk says the bait has been most productive during the cold-water scenarios of late fall through early spring. Palaniuk says he fishes the Jigging Rap vertically 90 percent of the time.

Typically, he's watching the fish rise to the bait or follow it downward. Occasionally, a deep flat with scattered fish presents the ideal scenario for cast-and-retrieve presentations. Otherwise, it's all about the ups and downs. When Palaniuk marks fish, he drops the Jigging Rap right to their holding depth. Watching his sonar return, he'll monitor his bait position, as well as fish response.

"I really pay attention to see if I get any kind of reaction out of those fish on the initial drop," he says. "Then I'll use quick snaps of the rod tip to make the bait dart side to side."

Sometimes fish will follow the Jigging Rap without immediately biting. Consistent rod work generally closes the deal, but if he attracts indecisive fish, Palaniuk uses short, rapid snaps to mimic a fleeing baitfish. On the flip side, a little deadstick action may be just the ticket.

"I'll snap the bait and then I'll just let it fade down." Palaniuk says. It's like a pendulum with a slow, subtle fall. That'll trigger them, especially in cold water."

Jigging Rap Gear:

Palaniuk fishes his Jigging Rap on a 7' medium Abu Garcia Fantasista Regista spinning rod, and Abu Garcia Revo MGX 30 reel loaded with 8 pound Berkley Fireline Crystal braid. Adding 8 to 10 feet of 8 to 10 pound Berkley 100% fluorocarbon leader separates braid and bait to avoid spooking sharp-eyed bass in clear water.

In any scenario, Palaniuk expects favorable hookup ratios from the Jigging Rap. A fixed single hook at both ends and a dangling treble may seem like overkill, but he said the hardware fits the bait's motion.

Brown, David A. "Thrill in The Chill." Bass Angler Magazine, Classic Preview 2016, pp. 66-69.

Bassmaster Elite Series pros are the true mothers of invention. Give them a lure and they'll find a way to put it to use in previously unimaginable ways. Former Elite Series angler Scott Ashmore did just that with a tube lure while fishing the miles of riprap along Lake Eufaula, Ok near his home. The technique involves swimming a soft plastic tube bait, the same lure that west coast and northern anglers have used for years to finesse fussy bass and that southern anglers have been flipping into heavy cover.

But Ashmore added a new twist he said produces big bass along riprap banks. He swims it, similar to how most anglers fish a swimbait. "it's a terrific postspawn pattern for fishing along bridges and causeways that have a lot of riprap," he said. "For whatever reason, the big ones bite it better than any other presentation." It's ideal when the shad are spawning on the riprap, a time when most anglers fish jigs, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits and squarebill crankbaits. Ashmore agreed that those techniques catch bass as well, "But not the size I'm catching on a tube," he insisted.

Location:

The best spots are along funnel areas, such as a riprap entrance to a creek or backwater spawning area. The Oklahoman says bass will use that funnel area as a feeding spot on their early summer journey back to the main lake.

"The neck-down areas are best, but you can catch them all along that riprap, especially in places where the bottom gets irregular, like where stumps or logs lie among the rocks forms a little point along that riprap," he said. "And what's really neat is you can catch 10 there, then come back a couple of hours later and catch more on that tube."

Riprap Tube Gear:

He Texas rigs the bait with a 4/0 Trokar offset hook and midsize sinker. The weight depends largely on the depth he's trying to cover. "I usually fish it on a 1/4oz but will go heavier if fishing into a heavy wind," he offered. He rigs it on 17 to 20 pound Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon and a 7'7" MH St Croix rod with a 7:1 Abu Garcia baitcast reel.

Presentation:

He makes long casts at an angle while paralleling the rocky edge, holding his rod tip high at the beginning of the cast. "I put my boat in about 10 feet of water and throw toward the edge of the water," he explained.

"You have to control the bait with your rod tip, trying to feel it tick the tops of rocks." Ashmore monitors the depth on his graph and visualizes how the bottom configures, relying heavily on the feel of the bait so that it ticks the rocks but stays above them. He raises his rod and lowers it, swimming the bait in an up-and-down motion, allowing the bait to follow the contour of the rocks that stair-step off the bank. He winds at a slow but steady pace, never stopping the bait.

"If you do, it will hang up," he said. Most bites come in 3 to 4 feet of water just off the shoreline. He also shakes the bait periodically, hoping that will trigger a reaction strike from following any bass that won't hit it swimming.

Stout, Louie. "Tubin' The Riprap" Bass Times, March 2016, pp. 10.