| |
To each his or hers own. Is a common phrase and one that definitely applies to Bass Fishing. We all have our favorite lures and techniques. With this in mind, here’s one of my favorites for Pre-Spawn fishing. It’s no secret and long known that crankbaits in early spring produce some nice size bass. I’ve found that the big females start to roam the shores and banks late February and early March. The water temp is on the raise and so are the big females which start to move in closer from their deep water winter spots looking for prime bedding areas and to feed. Normally you can see them in about the 8 – 10 foot range making forages closer to the banks in the 1 – 4 ranges occasionally throughout the day. Now all the local lakes are good for Pre-Spawn bass, but you will most likely see me on Lake Prince or Burnt Mills during this timeframe. Start off by looking into the coves that have the best northern exposure, these will warm up faster then the southern parts of the lake. Next pick a cove with ample cover and structure. I normally find that early morning produces the best, but if cloudy skies and a bit of wind are on your side, the bite should last throughout the day. My favorite lure for this time a year has to be the Rapala Shad-Rap RS-5 (original Basal wood version) in fire tiger or clown. This lure has the depth range I’m looking for, now position the boat far enough away from the bank so the lure will have to transient the 10-foot range. If your alone in the boat cast parallel to the shore and try to keep it in the 2 – 4 foot strike range as long as possible. My best success comes when the Shad-Rap hits an underwater branch, limb or cover. I work the lure over the obstruction and then stop for a second, twitch and if a female or buck is within striking range, it’s all over but the weighing. Now depending on the wind and bite. I may have to add a suspending dot just forward of the front treble hook. This holds the floating Shad-Rap in place just a little longer and also points the nose of the bait down, which in turn it looks like an injured minnow. Plus it aids in getting that plastic lip to hit the wood first and allow you to work it up and over without getting hung up. If for some reason they don’t want the Shad-Rap I will switch to a stick bait like a Lucky Craft Pointer 78 in pearl white or shad and work it in a similar manner. The only trouble I have with this method is I Normally get my fair share of Chain Pickerel. As I said before there are many techniques that work for the Pre-Spawn Bass Fishing, if you have one please share with rest of club. This method work for me last year in Bill’s Marine Small Boat Tournament early March. (Big.Old.Bass) |
