Picture this, you are casting a crankbait on a rocky shoreline in March and a bass strikes your bait! Spring is the best time to bass fish any lake in the United States. In this article, you will learn how to catch more bass in the spring.
Watch the Weather for Spring Bass Fishing
Weather plays a key part in spring bass fishing. Too much rain, too little rain, wind, and temperature all play a key part. In this section, you will learn how to fish the weather conditions.
Cloudy days
On cloudy days, bass will move and explore. Either looking for bait, making a bed, or schooling. These are typically the best days in the spring for bass fishing. During spawning time, the bass will move up shallow on cloudy days. If you are fishing outside of the spawning period, fish points and drops heading to the spawning waters. Spawning waters are typically shallow pockets hidden from lake current and wind.
Windy Days
Windy days are some of our favorite days for bass fishing. Wind will push bait into coves and across points. When this happens the bass are not far behind. Look for bait on your graph and fish around it, there are sure to be bass hanging around. The most success will be found fishing the windy side of a point!
Fishing in the Rain
If you can stand the rain, fishing in the spring rain will be rewarding. Some of the best fishing days in the spring are on rainy days. Changing weather patterns in the spring can trigger fish to feed and move around. Changing pressure and fronts will cause bass to feed and move to the next stage in their spring journey!
Where You Should Look for Spring Bass?
Spring bass fishing changes week by week as the water warms up. In a largemouth fishery, bass can be found on the outside of spawning areas in early spring and in spawning pockets late spring. In a smallmouth fishery, points and steep rock walls can be great for fishing in the spring. Even better would be large boulders. Anglers have to adjust to changing conditions in the spring. Weather patterns can change a fishing bite in just a few hours. Cold fronts are a fisherman’s worst nightmare in the spring. These can turn a hot bite into no bites.
Spotted bass have similar patterns in the spring. Fishing open water points early and pockets later in the spring will produce the best results. A great bait to use in the spring for spotted bass is a jerkbait!
Top Spring Bass Fishing Lures
There is no easy solution to choosing a spring bass fishing lure for anglers. It changes weekly or daily with the weather. Specifically fronts and water temperature. Some of the key spring lures are square bill crankbaits, spinner baits, creatures baits, and worms. Each of these baits has different weights and sizes. It is up to each angler to figure out what the fish want. On a warming trend, moving baits will be better. During a cold front or unsteady weather, it may be better to use a bottom bait.
#1 Jerkbait
A jerkbait is the #1 early and mid-spring bait to throw while spring bass fishing. Roaming bass during this stage are looking for an easy meal. When picking colors, choose a bait the represents what the forage is in your home lake. Depending on where you are marking fish on your graph, choose a deep or shallow jerk bait. In clear water lakes, it might suit better to use a deep jerkbait. Focus on points, rock walls, and cover when throwing a jerkbait. These are high percentage areas that will have bass in the spring.
#2 Crankbait
When fishing with a crankbait in the spring, choosing a shallow to medium diver will have the best success. Bass are looking for a quick meal in the spring and using a slow moving squarebill crankbait will do just that. A squarebill crankbait is best fished on banks with cover and rock. That is where opportunistic bass in the spring will be looking to feed.
Hopefully, this guide will help you catch more bass in the spring. The techniques, areas, and baits mentioned in this article are go-to tips for spring bass fishing. They are not meant to be a catch all!!!! Experiment with different areas and baits.