Pro's Picks For Spring Bassin'

For the post spawn/early summer period, many bass fisherman have become enthralled with deep crankbaits, football head jigs, 10Ó plastic worms and Carolina rigs. Yet, a slow-rolled spinnerbait is still a phenomenal way to catch bass when fish are in deeper water.

Location:

The timeline for slow-rolling is when bass have finished spawning and are migrating to where they'll spend the summer. The first fish to move from the spawning flats are the bigger females. In their migration, they move to the first deep water areas off their spawning beds. Often these are secondary points, breaklines, the first channel after the bend, and the edges of shoals they go into their eating phase. This phase is when the slow-rolled spinnerbait is a big deal.

Lure Presentation:

My typical slow-rolled cast involves throwing the spinnerbait beyond the target zone where I expect bass to be. I let the bait sink to the bottom on a tight line. Once in a while one will hit on the initial fall, so you need to be ready. However, the main goal is to allow the bait to pendulum down and actually contact the bottom. In doing this, I wait until I see the line bellow out.

Once the bait hits bottom, I flick the rod to the side with my wrist to activate the blades, and then I slow-roll the reel handle. My aim is to get the blades to barely turn as I'm cranking the reel handle. Every once in a while I will stop the retrieve and let the bait re-contact the bottom. Then I'll do the same flick of my wrist to get the blades activated again, and I'll resume slow-rolling. The entire way back to the boat I'm taking my time and reeling the spinnerbait slowly.

Slow-Rolling Spinnerbaits Spring, 2011 Bassin (Mike Iaconelli pg. 8)

When bass are on beds, Matt Greenblatt has one surefire way to trick them into biting. "One of the best ways to catch a fish off the bed is drop shotting," says the Elite Series pro. "You can leave it in the bed a lot longer and upset that fish. "If the fish is ready, and you fire that drop shot in there, you are money. You are going to catch that fish. If you are throwing something into the bed, such as pitching a beaver or a craw, and you are jiggling it, you are always moving it more or less forward. You can pitch that drop shot in there and let it sit for as long as you want. If you watch a bedding bass you know it's protecting the bed, but it's really protective of one area of that bed. So you can leave the drop shot in the fish's sweet spot."

Presentation:

The bedding bass' attitude dictates how Greenblatt presents his drop shot rig. "You're basically reading the fish's reactions," he says. "The fish are all different. Sometimes if you do a lot of shaking, it spooks the fish. If the fish isn't locked on real tight, it will shy away from a lot of shaking. The majority of the time I'm shaking it pretty good because I want the fish to get upset that it's there."

The key to the presentation is to prevent moving the weight while shaking the lure, a tactic Greenblatt notices beginners have trouble accomplishing. He often sees novices moving the whole rod to shake their lure, which tends to move the sinker as well. Shaking only his rod tip a couple of inches at a time on slack line lets Greenblatt impart action to his lure while keeping the weight stationary in the bed.

The length of the drop line is the main difference between drop shotting in deep water or for bedding fish in the shallows. "The shorter the leash, the easier it is to (tick) off the fish," says Greenblatt. The Florida pro usually sets his weight about 8 to 12 inches below the rig's hook when fishing in deep open water, but he shortens his drop line to 3 or 4 inches for bed fishing.

Drop Shot Gear Selection:

His drop shot rig includes a Gamakatsu No. 1 circle hook for nose hooking small finesse baits such as a Yamamoto Shad Shape Worm and Berkley Gulp! Fry or a Gamakatsu 1/0 hook for Texposing longer finesse worms. He attaches a 3/4-ounce weight on his rig most of the time, but occasionally scales down to a 3/8- or 1/2-ounce weight for the calmest conditions.

Spring Drop Shotting Tips From Matt Greenblatt March 31, 2011 Bassmaster.com (John Neporadny Jr.)

The calendar might say spring, but in many parts of the country it's still mighty cold in the lakes and rivers. Still, the days are getting longer and things are warming up so the bass are starting to move shallow. My fishing changes at this time of year. In the winter, I'm thinking vertical structure and cover. At this time of the year, I'm thinking horizontal.

Location:

The bass will start to move shallower and are often found on flats with scattered clumps of vegetation on them or smaller patches of dense wood, leaves and whatever else has washed into the water over the winter. Coves, cuts and other protected areas are often productive. Flooded brush and willow trees are frequently good in the early spring just before the bass are actually on the beds. You're looking for areas that the fish are moving into rather than areas they are moving out of. You want to be in front of them, not behind them.

I like to flip and pitch those small spots of cover until I'm able to develop a pattern. Bass are frequently selective in the early spring. If you find one or two on the deeper side of a clump of vegetation in the sun, it's likely that they'll all be in similar places around the lake. Make sure you pay careful attention to how you were working your bait when you get bit, too. That can make a big difference.

Lure Selection:

I don't change my baits until the fish are actually on the beds. I use the same ones I've been fishing with in late winter. That's a Strike King 1/2-ounce Denny Brauer Premiere Pro-Model Jig in green pumpkin brown or green pumpkin craw. Every now and then, especially if the water's heavily stained, I'll go with black and blue. If the cover's really nasty and heavy Ñ think Florida or Texas Ñ I'll switch to something a little heavier like a Texas rigged Strike King Perfect Plastic Rodent or Baby Rodent weighted with a Strike King 1-ounce sinker. I always use Seaguar fluorocarbon line. I never cheat on my line quality. It's foolish to take a chance on losing a big fish because of poor line.

Master Series On Flipping & Pitching With Denny Brauer March 31, 2011 Bassmaster.com (Denny Brauer as told to Ed Harp)

"Dragging a fluke for spawning bass, it's like watching paint dry or waiting for a watched pot to boil. It gives new definition to the word 'tedious.' I'm telling you, if you're doing it right, this style of fishing is really slow and boring! You have to have a lot of patience to do it. But the less action you put into the bait, the better it works. If you just keep doing it long enough to get some bites and gain confidence in it, this presentation can produce some great catches in April."

So says Bassmaster Elite Series pro Brent Chapman about dragging a fluke-type soft plastic bait through spawning areas. This method of fishing is about as subtle as it gets. And sometimes, when bass turn finicky just before or during the spawning season, this is what it takes to coax bites from fish more interested in mating than in munching.

Location:

Chapman fishes a range of structure types to home in on the fish. He continues, ÒI may start back in a creek and drift across spawning flats or along a 45 degree sloping bank that's protected from the north wind. Pea gravel banks are always worth trying. I might work down the edge of a grassline or around and under boat docks. There's just a lot of hunt-and-peck involved until you figure out the area and the depth where the fish are concentrated.Ó

Lure Presentation:

Champman adds that dragging a fluke works best in lakes that have good water visibility. ÒThis presentation is based more on visibility than on sound or vibration,Ó he notes. He typically test-fishes from 1 to 20 feet deep to figure out the depth where the majority of fish are holding. ÒI'll make a long cast over the target structure, let the bait sink to the bottom, then let the wind blow the boat as the fluke drags along. Sometimes I'll use my trolling motor to slow my drift or to realign the boat with the grassline, sloping bank, roadbed, etc. The hardest part of the whole deal is not doing anything. You have to overcome the urge to reel or twitch the bait." Chapman stresses that bottom contact with the fluke is crucial. If he loses touch with the bottom, he will let out more line to stop his drift to all the bait to sink back down.

Drag a Flook For Spawning Bass April 2011 Bassmaster (Wade L. Bourne pg. 62-64)

Ice-out bass fishing takes a willingness to explore and keep exploring until you find the right area for that day. The good news is that once you find a good area, odds are, it will produce year after year and for good reason; during this time of the year it has everything a bass needs as it transitions from the cold water of winter into the warm water of spring.

Location:

What to look for when searching for ice-out bass, the top three things to remember are: depth, structure and temperature. Most lakes and watersheds warm faster along the north and northwestern shoreline, so that's a great spot to start. Look for hard bottom areas leading into the backs of coves or up onto flats. Ridges and secondary points coming out of deep water into these areas serve as migration routes and attract good numbers of fish. Areas near the shore with a hard bottom absorb more sunlight which warms the water and attracts fish.

Lure Selection:

There are two schools of thought on lure choice for this time of year. Some anglers select plastics like tubes, small creature baits or lead head jigs attempting to imitate terrestrials, crawfish or bottom hugging gobies. While others select hard baits hoping to imitate baitfish to draw a strike. Most of my ice-out success has been with hard baits. Keep it simple and stick with colors that replicate shad patterns. For crankbaits, I like a medium diver that runs 7-9ft (Lucky Craft Slim Shad). For minnow imitators I use a suspending jerkbait (Lucky Craft Pointer 100).

Lure Presentation:

I usually employ the crankbait first on a steady retrieve. Remember, we're scouting super cold water for lethargic bass moving up and crankabits allow us to cover a lot of water quickly. Once I've located and caught a few fish on the crankbait, I'll let the area rest a few minutes and then go back through with the jerkbait to pickoff any reluctant biters. For the jerkbait, I'll cast it out, crank it down five or six turns of the reel and then use a jerk-pause-jerk-jerk retreive.

Ice-Out Bass Fishing Spring 2011 Bass Angler Magazine (Burnie Haney pg. 6-9)

On the battlefield of spawning bass, hollow-belly frogs once served mostly a reconnaissance role. Now, they're pulling double duty as the lead assault element. ÒWhen frog fishing really started, we were using the frog as a search bait to find those big females because if they didn't eat it, they'd come up and swirl on it,Ó said Bassmaster Elite Series pro Ish Monroe. ÒYou'd know where they were, and then you could pitch a plastic in there and usually catch those fish.Ó

Unlike close-range sight fishing, where spotting a bed fish means possibly spooking it with your proximity, frogging affords the benefits of a measured tactical incursion. ÒYou can ease up in there without spooking the fish,Ó Monroe said. ÒIf you don't spook the fish, it's going to be a whole lot easier to catch - especially those really big ones.Ó

Location:

Because frogging is an active presentation, Monroe starts on western banks where the day's sunlight falls first. Generally, 58 to 65 degree water is right for spawning, but as soon as the temperature breaks 56, he knows it's time for shallow frogging. Also, a leeward shore will warm up quickest, while the calm water allows a clear window that Monroe finds essential for this season.

Lure Presentation:

From a distance, a straight power cast does the trick, but when zipping a frog into tight spots such as little pockets behind the main grassline or any other contour dip, Monroe pitches the frog for accuracy. Either way, he's found that, while chugging a frog may generate more strikes, walking it draws the quality bites.

ÒWhen that bait is up there walking back and forth in almost the same place, that's what irritates those fish into biting,Ó he said. ÒIf you're ripping it across the top of the water, it's running away from the beds and it's not posing a threat. It's a shorter window of opportunity.Ó

Hopping On Bed Fish April 2011 Bassmaster (David Brown pg. 26- 31)

Springtime is when you can chuck and wind your favorite spinnerbait, chatterbait, rattletrap, crankbait or swimbait all day with opportunities to catch some of the biggest bass of the year. Being in the right place at the right time has a lot to do with catching giant bass and huge limits.

First, you want to fish your favorite lake when the water temperature gets into the mid to upper 50's, as this range is perfect to move those big bass from their deep water haunts. Secondly, you want to consider the moon, the moon has a powerful pull on bass. The best time to fish your lake during the pre-spawn is 3 days before and after the new moon and full moon.

Location:

Key areas are creek channels and coves. Locate a couple of major creek arms in the northeast section of the lake. Work each point going all the way to the back of the creek and measure your success. If you're catching fish, stay with it into the next creek, if not, go back to the front of the creek and work the pockets all the way to the back. One of these areas should produce fish and you may have to try a few creeks before you find the right area.

Lure Selection:

This time of year I can't resist tying on my favorite big bass bait, a lipless crankbait. This bait calls them in and big bass just can't seem to stay away from it. Lipless crankbaits are heavy which makes them easy to cast, easy to fish, and they can be fished at almost any depth without much effort.

Unfortunately, bass don't always bite lipless crankbaits, so my second, third, fourth and fifth types of baits are: Chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, crankbaits and swimbaits. For the Chatterbait I use black and blue, green pumpkin-watermelon 3/8 and 5/8oz Original Z-Man and Phenix Vibrating Jig. I've found two trailers that work well; a Swimming Senko and a 10Ó Berkley Power Worm. For cranking, I use the Jackall MC 60 in a crawdad and shad pattern. For swimbaits, I like 5Ó hollow body paddle tails, hitch and pearl patterns are ideal. My spinnerbaits are primarily War Eagle shad patterns with tandem gold willow leaf blades from 3/8oz to 1oz. The Huddleston Deluxe Trout in a rate of fall 5 and 12 is my go to bait for a kicker fish.

Springtime Giants Spring 2011 Bass Angler Magazine (Charlie Weyer pg. 50-51)

April finds bass in several stages of spawn, but this doesn't mean they're scattered all over the lake. Whether you're targeting Florida's postspawn fish or the prespawn fish north of the Mason-Dixon, Matt Herren says you should be concentrating on shallow, protected areas on the eastern shores of your lake. These areas get the most sunlight throughout the day. If there is visible cover, you should be around fish. Bass will stop and hang out here on the way to spawn, during the spawn and on their way out during postspawn. ÒThe fishing is fairly predictable this time of year, as long as you find the areas they're holding in.Ó

Santone Jig:

Herren's go-to bait this time of year is a 3/8oz Santone Lures M-Series jig, which is his own design. He prefers predominantly black jigs with either red or blue flake. He'll cut a complementing Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver in half and hang it on the back. ÒI don't know what it is about fish that are about to spawn, but they like dark colors,Ó he says. He pitches it to shallow visible cover.

Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver:

Herren opts for a Sweet Beaver on a Texas rig with a 1/16 to 3/8oz slip sinker when he's pitching it to isolated cover that would snag a jig. ÒA creature bait is absolutely deadly on fish in some phase of the spawn, they can't stand it,Ó he says.

Santone Got Five Spinnerbait:

As bass move shallow to spawn, they'll relate to structure, much of it visible above the water. Herren picks apart rocks, stumps, laydowns and even grass with a 1/4 to 3/8oz chartreuse and white spinnerbait.

Bandit Square-Billed Crankbait:

No surprises here, Herren tosses it around the same shallow targets he's been hitting. ÒFishing this time of year isn't hard, it's a matter of finding which piece of cover they're on.Ó He opts for a bluegill pattern in April because Òthey don't like bluegill around 'em this time of year.Ó

What Matt Herren Throws In April April 2011 Bassmaster (David Hunter Jones pg. 23)

Ah, Spring of the year. The weather is warming, birds are singing and concentrations of big bass have moved shallow to procreate. You've gotta love it! There is probably no other time of the year when so many large bass can be found grouped together in shallow water. Please remember to tread lightly on the fishery at this time of year, and release the bass that you catch so they may continue the life cycle and provide good fishing for generations to come.

Location:

Spawning bass are usually found in very shallow water, spread out across shallow flats, and along shoreline banks. Exceptions to this rule may occur when fishing in extremely clear water environments. In gin clear waters, bass will spawn deeper than they do in others.

bass search out flat spots in these shallow, or shallower areas, a place with a bottom composed of sand, gravel, firm mud, very small broken rock or a combination of these. They fan out a bed in these areas where they will produce the next generation of bass. Cover in these areas is a plus. Bass will often make their nests in an open spot in weeds or grass, around stumps, laydowns, brush, boulders or chunk rock.

Lure Selection:

Soft plastics are definitely the best and most often used lure for spawning bass. A variety of lures and rigs will take these fish. Texas rigs are probably the most used method for presenting a soft lure. Split shot or drop shot rigs are also popular. Jig heads and weighted hooks are sometimes used with good success, and unweighted lures are employed on standard hooks in this situation.

The most common soft plastics include lizards, tubes, stickbaits, soft jerkbaits, creature baits and soft craws. Weedless style bass jigs are another good choice. Pork chunks can work, but plastic chunk or plastic craw trailers are often best. Some anglers also have success with using creature baits as trailers on skirted jigs.

Lure Presentation:

Vertical lures are most often pitched directly onto the beds or cast near them and then dragged into the bed. Some bass may instantly respond and hammer anything that comes near, while others may not be inclined to bite. Sometimes it works well to dead-stick a lure on the bed, while other times it's best to jiggle the rod tip to shake the lure in place.

Techniques For Spawning Bass Spring 2011 Bass Angler Magazine (Colby Simms pg. 38-40)

March is serious prespawn time. The bass are moving shallow in earnest. For most of us, it's our best shot at a giant. If we fish with the right lures, it can also be one of the best numbers month.

Jewel Jig:

I'll fish this jig, rigged with a Zoom Super Chunk Jr. halfway back in the creeks around channel swings in 5 to 10 feet of water. Pay extra attention to any swings that have wood or rock on them. I prefer a 3/8oz black and blue version.

Lucky Craft SKT MR:

Throw this one in the same places as the jig when the water temperature is above 48 degrees, and never pass a point by without a cast or two when the sun is out. I like mad craw color, but I'll switch to chartreuse shad in clear water.

Double Willow Spinnerbait:

A Spinnerbait is most effective in the backs of creeks. If there's a ditch running through the area, fish the lure through any cover you can

What's On My Line March 2011 Bass Times (Casey Ashley pg. 4)

New techniques come along every year, but most of them turn out to be fads, and we wind up discarding them for tried-and-true traditional methods. I'm here to tell you that drop-shotting is here to stay.

Anglers are still learning the many advantages of this deadly finesse technique and just how versatile it is. The tactic was initially introduced as a method for taking bass holding on structure in deeper water. However, I've found it can be equally deadly in shallow water and on finicky spawners.

Presentation:

Previously, I had to cast a 1/2oz tube bait. A heavier jig was required to get the lure on the bed and hold it there. However, if a bass didn't eat it aggressively, it would jump and throw the bait because of that heavy lead inside.

Drop-shotting eliminates those problems. I can put as heavy of lead as I need on the end of the line and keep it in the bed. With a bait rigged about a foot above it, the bass will come up and eat it nearly every time. I also have fewer problems landing them because the weight is away from the hook.

Lure Selection:

I prefer rigging my bait with a Mustad nose hook right through the tip of the lure, which is usually a Berkley Gulp! Baits. Those baits are fabulous for bedding bass, and the Gulp! Leech is tough to beat. It is a small bait that looks more realistic than any artificial bait I've used.

Drop-Shot Rigs Fool Spawners March 2011 Bassin (Hank Parker pg. 6)

In March, your bass will most likely be doing one of two things: spawning or thinking about it. Regardless of what they're doing, Bassmaster Elite Series pro Fred Roumbanis says this month you should concentrate your fishing on and around spawning flats. The bass will either be on them or nerby. "I prefer to catch the fish that haven't spawned because they're typically heavier, so pre-spawn is the best time of year to fish," Roumbanis says.

Optimum BLT:

This 5" swimbait is ideal for lobbing around secondary points in creeks. Or, if you're fishing a shallow bowl shaped lake, it works well along deeper weed edges near spawning flats. Roumbanis' favorite color is Jackson trout. It's a good size and profile, and it's an easy meal for those big female bass.

Pepper Custom Baits Swim Jig:

To cover lots of water, Roumbanis likes a 1/2oz chartreuse or white swimming jig with a 3.5" Optimum Double Diamond trailer. "When you're able to make an extra long cast, you can pick up a few fish that you otherwise wouldn't have," he says. Roumbanis burns this combo across spawning flats.

Ima Rock N' Vibe:

Lipless crankbaits are some of the most popular reaction-style baits, and in March, Roumbanis tosses Ima's version around grassbeds and across flats that hold both prespawn fish as well as spawners. He uses 20lbs P-Line CXX monofilament to keep it high and above the grass that he rips it through. His color of choice is Hot Craw.

El Grand Lures Hatch Match Stick:

This 5.25" soft stickbait is poured using a triple-laminated process. Triple-laminated plastics include a third primary color, which affords the pourer a greater range of detail to closely mimic forage. Roumbanis' go-to color is tilapia. He rigs it on a 3/32oz Zappu Wacky Jighead, which gives the Hatch Match Stick an intense quivering action on the fall.

What Fred Roumbanis Throws In March March 2011 Bassmaster (David Hunter Jones pg. 21)

When spring is in full bloom, I start thinking about topwaters. That doesn't mean that I don't use surface baits other times of the year, but the post-spawn period is one of the best. This is because there are males guarding fry and a lot of the fish are just kind of looking up and ready to feed. They've not moved deep and are stockpiling nutrition after a stressful spawning season. However, the bass spawn isn't the only reason topwaters work well right now. In many reservoirs, the shad are spawning this time of year too, and that provides an additional bonanza for topwater slingers.

Lure Selection & Location:

The type of topwater I choose is dictated by the lake and its water clarity. If the water is stained, I prefer to throw a buzzbait during the post-spawn period. I'm going to fish it around whatever cover is available, and if the lake has a lot of shoreline or submerged grass beds, the buzzbait is hard to beat.

On rockier highland reservoirs or in clear water, the shad are going to spawn on riprap and relate more to points. That situation tends to call for a popping style topwater bait like the Strike King Spittin' King. It has a lot of action due to the feathered tail that helps the bait walk back and forth. You can keep it in the strike zone a lot longer, yet it will draw fish from a long distance.

Another favorite for the post-spawn period is the soft stick bait. I like to fish these lures when searching for bass in an area where I suspect they may be holding. Although many anglers prefer to fish soft stick baits just under the surface, I like to make mine skitter over the top to draw bass to the surface.

Topwater Lures: Post-Spawn Pick March 2011 Bassin (Kevin VanDam pg. 9)

Mind games. The mental side of bass fishing, versus the physical. Always thinking. Trying different options. Fitting pieces into the puzzle. Then, when the puzzle is solved and the bites come frequently and confidence soars, the feeling is magical. Pro angler Kevin Wirth says breaking the code of where bass are and how to catch them "makes you feel like the smartest dude in the world."

Many anglers say, "I let the fish tell me what they want," but they don't really listen. Wirth listens! He dials in one notch at a time. He fishes methodically. He tests various options until he hears and learns. Then he applies what he learns again and again. This is how Wirth makes some unbelievable catches in March, which he considers one of the best months - if not the best - on the bass fishing calendar.

Location:

Wirth begins, "In March in the middle of the country, you can eliminate about 90% of the water in most lakes. You know the fish are in creeks, migrating toward spawning areas, so this is where you focus your search. I'll pick a major creek with channel swings, flats, points, pockets, docks - a broad range of structure options. I'll get on my trolling motor about a third of the way into the creek and start working upstream.

Wirth focuses his search on "transition areas." These are places where there is change: where the channel turns, where the channel swings into/away from the bank, where a bank transforms from gravel to sand, where an underwater point extends out from shore. "I use my electronics and my eyes to find these transition areas, and I fish every one I can identify."

Lure Selection & Presentation:

Wirth's favorite tool for conducting his search for staging bass is a suspending jerkbait in a shad color. He typically fishes a 5 to 7 inch version, reasoning that "big bass like big bites," and he's definitely targeting lunkers in the prespawn.

He constantly tinkers with his bait, adjusting its weight so it will swim - and suspend - at a depth he desires. "I will add or remove lead strips. I will go to bigger or smaller hooks. There are a lot of ways to add or take away weight from the lure. I want it to suspend - not rise and not sink - with a slight nose-down attitude. Then, when I pull it or pop it, it will stay at that exact same depth."

When prospecting for bass in transition areas, Wirth tailors his retrieve technique to water temperature. "If the water is cold, I use a fiberglass rod, and I pull the bait more than I pop it. I just swim it a foot or two with the rod tip, then stop and suspend it for different counts. But as the water warms up, I switch to a composite rod with a faster tip, and I pop the bait more - give it a quicker, more frantic action.

An Open Mind For March Bass March 2011 Bassmaster (Wade L. Bourne pg. 64)

When I first started bed fishing, I thought all I needed were little baits and light line. That tactic still nabs a lot of bedding bass, but it's not universal. When choosing a lure, some fish will move against small baits, others will want something medium sized and some won't react until a very large bait walks into their world.

The point is that you have to be ready with options. One or two baits usually won't cut it for the spawn. You need to be prepared with different looks, which means different lures of different sizes, colors and shapes.

Big Baits:

I prefer an oversized tube that's made for saltwater and a large swimbait. I've found that if you have a fish that won't react to a small bait or normal-sized bait, it may turn on to a big bait. I throw big baits on heavy baitcasting tackle with 20 to 25lbs test line.

Medium Baits:

Bulky creature baits and 6" lizards are a step down from the giants, but they still present a substantial volume. When worked into a bass bed, they take up a significant space in the bed and are hard for a bass to ignore. These baits are worked with medium weight casting equipment and 12 to 14lbs test line.

Small Baits:

I have two shapes - either a shaky-head worm or a dropshot bait. When spawning bass need to be finessed, I use the smaller baits and fish them with a spinning rod and 8 to 10lbs test line.

Lure Options For Spawning Bass March 2011 Bassin (Michael Iaconelli pg. 8)

Bassmaster Elite Series angler, Edwin Evers, usually fishes marinas in the month of May - and he has the fish dialed. He targets boat slips where shad are schooling, and works from one slip to the next, casting a spinnerbait, jig or plastic tube. Expect to catch ÒgazillionsÓ of bass when things are clicking, he says. That's all there is to it. Well, almost. ÒIt really is a simple deal,Ó Evers affirms, Òbut there are a few tricks and subtleties that make this pattern produce better for some than for others.Ó

Location:

ÒFirst thing is picking a marina in the mouth of a good spawning pocket,Ó Evers begins. ÒAfter the bass drop their eggs and start moving back to deeper water, they will collect around floating marina docks, and there's a good reason for this.

ÒAbout this same time shad are starting to spawn, and they do so on the styrofoam logs that support the marina docks. Shad also feed on algae and moss that grow on the Styrofoam. So, the key to this pattern is to fish boat slips where you can see shad working around the flotation logs. When you see the shad, the bass will usually be there munching.Ó

Evers starts fishing a marina on the first line of slips he comes to when idling in from the main lake. ÒIt doesn't matter how much water is underneath the docks,Ó he notes. ÒIt could be 5 feet, or it could be 50 feet. It doesn't make any difference in how productive this pattern is. Also, it's a plus if the slips are running perpendicular to the bank, and if there's some wind blowing in on them, so much the better.Ó

Lure Selection & Presentation:

Evers starts his quest with a 1/2-ounce white spinnerbait with a No. 3 1/2 gold Colorado blade and a No. 4 1/2 silver willowleaf blade. He adorns the hook with a white plastic curled-tail trailer. ÒI will hit one side of the boat slip and then the other,Ó Evers explains. ÒI'll run my spinnerbait as close to the styrofoam as I can. I will slow roll it 1 to 1 1/2 feet below the depth where it disappears in the water. Obviously, if the water is clear, this means I'll run the bait deeper than if the water is dingy.Ó

If Evers is seeing shad but the spinnerbait isn't drawing bites, or he's getting bumps but the bass are short-striking, he will switch to a white jig with a white Yum Money Craw trailer. Evers swims the jig steadily, and he pops his rod tip frequently to give the bait a pulsating, skirt-flaring action. If the jig fails to produce, Evers changes again to his Òalways catches a fewÓ option: a white 4-inch Yum Flipping Tube rigged on a 1/4-ounce round ball jighead. He works this bait with a popping/twitching action that triggers strikes even when bass aren't feeding.

Running Marinas For Postspawn Bass May 23 2010, Bassmaster.com (Wade Bourne)