Every springtime, antsy pants, cabin fever, bass anglers dust off their tackle and head to the lake. The majority are pushing the season a tad too early, but it’s some of those issues they just gotta carry out. Many of these early birds are wanting to hook into a big bass. Some do well, but the majority pull dud's. Utilizing controlled conditions, marine biologists have discovered affects that govern springtime bass habits. Understanding of these variables can very well enhance your bass fishing experiences, but you have to know how to apply this information to the lakes and rivers you bass fish. First is water temperature, then location, and last, but not least, spawning and feeding habits.
Bass are cold-blooded. Their body temperature rises and falls with the encompassing water. Below 50 degrees, bass do little or no feeding. They continue to eat, but the frequency declines. In controlled situations where water temperature was adjusted from the low 40s to the high 80s, one fact remained consistent. Bass ate more and digested food more quickly in warmer water, four to six times faster. They can adapt to any temperature from 40 degrees to 90, where they fight to survive.
Warming water, along with the need for suitable nesting sites induce bass to move shallow in early spring. Prime spawning temperature is in the mid-60s, though there are exceptions to this rule. It can vary due to a warmer than usual spring, heavy winds or the cold fronts that occur frequently in spring can and do effect bass behavior.
Shallows bordering steep drop-offs are the likeliest places to begin looking for early spring bass. Look for rocks and boulders that absorb sunlight, as they will be warming the surrounding water. Once the water reaches spawning temperatures, start working spawning beds. Many old time bass anglers feel that all bass spawn shallow, but it simply ain’t so. Bass can spawn in water up to 20-feet deep. Bass are also known to lay eggs in the crotches of standing timber in deep clear water.
You will find there's a definite feeding spree during prespawn. This is when many bass anglers start to score. A thermometer is a good aid in locating the warmer pockets in which prespawn bass gather.
Water temperature can vary widely across a body of water. It takes a considerable amount of searching to determine the right combination of structure, cover and water temperature. Underground springs typically spew warmer water in spring and colder water in summer season. A mere two- or three-degree improvement may be enough to attract early spawning bass, even though surface water and air temperatures remain cold. Ice on your rod tip doesn’t mean you can’t catch a bass or two. Bait fish, especially shad, move shallow initially with the bass right on their tails. These prespawn feeding binges prepare the females for the rigorous activity of spawning. You will find prespawn bass hanging on corners of cove entrances. They will often suspend in tree tops or brush presently, waiting for the right conditions to spawn.
Lure presentation should be slowed down in chilly water, yet occasionally a rapidly retrieved wounded minnow lure may result in a strike. Producing such a retrieve over sunken trees or brush has proved lethal, in early spring. This is why you should cover water from top to bottom with different presentations. There may be a small layer of warmer water, and you won’t hit it unless you test all depths thoroughly.
There are defined holding areas and spawning grounds in every lake. Discovering them takes time and persistence, but it can pay off in big rewards.
Early spring lures include a lot of the same selections you might use on a summer time day. Deep, shallow and mid level running crankbaits, plastic worms and the old trustworthy jig-n-pork are good fish finders. First try slow, then medium, and lastly fast retrieves; don’t just cast and crank all day. At prespawn you may spot bass traveling the banks. These bass are usually trying to find spawning places, they’re not too keen on feeding. A jig twitching or slowly crawling on bottom may result in a strike, but don’t expect strikes to be as hard as they are during summer time.
Spring bass just mouth a lure, many don’t hit it. Line watching becomes particularly crucial at this time, so set the hook at any suspicious movements. You will pull more misses than hook sets, but it’s still a wise practice.
During the early spring, there’s little reason to hit the water at first light. From prespawn through late May. Try bass fishing between 9 a. m. and 3 p. m. This is the time of day the water is to be the warmest.
Northern or northeastern banks are most effective during prespawn and occasionally long afterwards. When southern winds blow, they push warmer surface water to such banks. When there is cover and access to deep water, that’s where you will find the first bass. A bass only security is cover or deep water; that’s where they go at the first sign of trouble. When actively spawning, they will return to the nest once the danger passes.
Polarized glasses are a must for spring bass fishing. They allow you to identify shallow fish in addition see where they could be nesting. With a good pair you can keep your bass boat far enough away to avoid spooking the fish. Your shadow in shallow water is reason for alarm. Where you need to fish, you can lessen it by kneeling or sitting.
Go with slow retrieves when fishing crankbaits in the spring. Try to find stumps, brush piles or other things that offer cover. Delicate casting is also essential to avoid alerting shallow bass. Practice until you can drop a topwater bait silently into the water. When fishing a form of cover, make sure to cast well beyond the intended target, then reel slowly with a stop and go retrieve, It may take six casts to bring about a strike. When working brush, try a plastic worm dropped right into the cover. Pitchin’ and flippin’ work well at this time of year as bass are just not in a lure-chasing feeling. The less energy they expend the better they like it.
Hungry or not, all bass display a built in impulse to strike out at anything strange to their territory. This is the response we refer to as a reaction strike. It’s like throwing a firecracker into a group of people. When it goes off, everybody jumps. Bass react the same way to a lure. They just naturally strike out whether hungry or not.
Slow rising crankbaits are considerably more effective than fast risers. In many southern state waters there is a shad die off in early spring. These struggling bait fish rise slowly to the surface, and they are effortless pickings for a bass. You are able to slow the rise of most floating crankbaits by adding small split shots. If it’s a hollow body bait, drill a small hole in the lure, insert the shot, then plug it with epoxy or other sealant. This not just slows the rise, it provides some rattle to the lure. You may get the right amount of weight by testing it in a sink or bathtub. During testing, plug the hole temporarily with caulk until you get it where you want it.
Cleared off spawning beds suggest bass are utilizing the vicinity whether you observe them or not. If bass aren’t on the beds, fish the surrounding water.
In clear water, much spawning is performed through the night. After boat traffic decreases and the sun sets, the bass proceed from deeper holding areas on to their nests. This is one good reason there is usually a considerable drop off in close proximity to most spawning beds. Small gravel or rocks are probable places for bass to spawn. Nearby bushes or sunken timber supply protection, so go over them diligently. Heavy timber, sunken or standing, isn’t spawning territory unless of course there’s gravel or rock on the bottom, which can be cleaned away for depositing eggs. However don’t rule any close by cover out simply because the bottom is soft. It may still serve as a safe holding area.
All bass usually do not spawn simultaneously. In certain lakes, spawning activity may continue for three months or more. Many big bass spawn very early on in the season, due to growth of eggs before things are just right. When the eggs are prepared to drop, they drop, regardless of what the calendar or water conditions reveal.
Identifying patterns in spring isn’t easy. They might change daily, possibly hourly, so keep moving and check as many good places as possible. You could possibly strike out in the morning then tear them up during the afternoon simply by returning to the same areas. Great places remain good places so long as the bottom doesn’t change.
The key to early spring bass fishing really isn’t any secret in any respect. Persistent application of sound angling approach is the only way to catch bass constantly in any season. Spring is a perfect time to catch that wall hanger of a lifetime, so long as you know what you’re doing and stay with it.
Clifford Herring resides in Central NY and has a knack for bass fishing. He bass fishes New York waters from ice out until the fall hunting season. His love falls with the smallmouth bass and it is the smallmouth bass he starts out with in late March or early April. Most of Cliffords bass angling is spent fishing the Susquehanna river between Milford, NY and Goodyear lake.
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Contributor's Note
During the spring, the water temperatures are cold. Cold enough to make a person go into shock should he or she fall overboard. It is highly recommended that one wear a certified PFD (life vest) while engaged in spring bass fishing. In the state of New York it is law that anyone fishing in a boat 21 feet or smaller is require to have a PFD on at all times.
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