The first thing you want to do is get your tackle in. A good bait for the deep ones seems to the lipless crank.
Like the points or dropoffs near the spawning flats.
Late winter early spring bass fishing. A suspending jerkbait is an excellent choice to locate and catch those bass in the late winter and early spring. The fish are wanting to move shallower and that is the perfect scenario for a jerkbait. If I believe that the fish are hanging in water that is 15 deep or less I am very confident that the jerkbait is going to get the job done.
Its not quite late winter or early spring yet but there are some things you can do right now to get ready and take advantage of some of the best flipping and pitching bass fishing has to offer when it does roll around. Do these things and your catch will really increase next year. The first thing you want to do is get your tackle in.
Late winter and early spring may be the best time of the year to catch big fish. Trophy largemouth bass especially females are at their heaviest weight of the entire year during late winter and early spring. Female bass feed heavily during this time to provide fuel for the upcoming spawn.
Farm ponds and public lakes are prime spots for early. When the water temperature slowly rises and daylight hours lengthen in late winter heavyweight bass leave their wintertime haunts and start migrating to spawning sites. Along their way to the spawning banks the fish will make a couple of stops at transition spots and wait for the arrival of spring to trigger their urge to procreate.
Like the points or dropoffs near the spawning flats. Theyll usually still be deeper but a warm trend will bring them shallower and theyll be hungry. This actually begins in February here.
A good bait for the deep ones seems to the lipless crank. If theyre shallower the spinnerbait and blade baits can be good. As your fish begin to move you need to understand their ultimate goal is transition toward spawning flats.
With that in mind you can identify the nearest spawning grounds to where your fish have been then identify the key spots along the way the fish will stop on to feed. The weather always plays a huge role not only during winter and spring but in the summer and fall seasons as well. Rising or falling lake levels incoming warming trends constant cold fronts ever- changing water conditions and the availability or the absence of food are other factors that keep these late winter early spring bass on the.
Fishing for bass after a warmer than average rain in the late winter and early spring can be one of the best ways to find big bass and a huge limit of bass shallow early in the year. The late winter season in a bass life means slight movement from the deep wintering areas to pre-transitional areas. This includes steep vertical shorelines creekbed channel swings near shore and deep trees.
I like to fish parallel to the structure. Dont wait until the flowers bud and the birds nest to begin your spring bass fishing. Throughout much of the country some of the best prespawn action begins in late winter.
Im referring to the early migration movements that bass make from their winter haunts to the spawning areas. The small lure will trick bass anytime during late winter and early spring but it is especially effective when bass start receiving heavy fishing pressure from spring tournaments. The versatility of these smaller crankbaits allows you to catch bass in a wide array of conditions for various waterways.
Bass fishing on the last week of February on a large private lake. Water temp was in the low 50s. The bass were hanging in the last half of creek pocketscov.
They spend the winter in these holes in a semi-dormant state until the first warm weather arrives in front of late winter or early spring. The warm front draws the Smallmouth Bass to feed in the flowing water at the beginning or end of the wintering hole. The popularity of red lipless rattling baits in late winter and early spring is a well documented one.
Some theorize its because bass are dialed-in to crawfish. But fisheries biologist avid angler and BASS. Director of Conservation Gene Gilliland says I dont buy the red crawfish idea.
They populate an area that has food and deep water nearby and hover there until early spring. So spend time looking for deep concentrations of bait cover and bass and realize fish use the smallest percentage of the lake of any other time of the year. Now for the good news.
Bass do eat in the winter. They stay near the bait because they need to eat. Catch LATE WINTER and EARLY SPRING Bass Fishing with BLADE BAITS - YouTube.
Late Winter Smallmouth Fishing. Where To Find How To Catch Em When spring approaches finding late winter smallmouth bass can be akin to the proverbial needle in the haystack. They bunch up in large schools but theyre sometimes in really tiny areas.
If theres some stain to the water a deep running crawfish pattern crankbait rooted along the bottom is strong now. Bass feed heavily on crawfish emerging from hibernation during the late winterearly spring transition period. A slow rolled spinnerbait also works well.
In this video I talk about jerkbaits and why they are my favorite lure to use this time of year. 030 My favorite brandkinds of jerkbaits145 Why a jerkbai. Position your boat parallel to the channel or the point and just sit for a few minutes so the bass hanging around will acclimate to your presence.
After a wait make a long cast parallel to the drop off or the point and crank that baby back as fast as you can crank it. I mean burn the water with that crankbait. Do this over and over.