Spring Bass: Weather Patterning

The thought of early spring bass fishing brings both a sense of anticipation and dread. We bass anglers are thrilled that now is the time that we have a chance to corral our biggest bass of the year. This knowledge is tempered with the fact that now is also the time when we are faced with somewhat lethargic bass, muddy water conditions, cold fronts before the spawn, high waters, and excessive wind. Here are some tips on how to cope with these conditions and some tackle that can be matched with these particular situations.

LETHARGIC BASS: You arrive at your favorite bass lake, the one where you know where the best spots are where the fish are likely to hold. Yet, after several hours of visiting your favorite honeyholes, you do not have a bass to show for your efforts. For this situation, a good solution is to take a break and remind yourself that much is in your favor. For example, you know what kinds of cover the bass are on in your home lake prefer and how they use that cover. Return to the same locales that you visited earlier in the day, but this time, slow your presentation and employ finesse baits. The bass are where they are supposed to be, but they may need extra prodding, and finesse lures are ideal choices for lethargic bass. One of the best finesse baits is a 2 or 3 inch tube lure. These days, one of the hottest trends on America's best bass waters is to Texas rig 4 and 5 inch tubes with sliding bullet sinkers. This trend is so popular that many anglers have forgotten that for many years smaller tubes were a standard go to bait when bass were extremely turned off. Ideal tube colors should match those of crayfish in your home impoundment. Instead of Texas rigging these tubes, try split shotting them with a few shots 10 to 12 inches above the artificial. Retrieve these tubes very slowly, periodically stopping the retrieve, then allowing the bait to flutter to the bottom. Don't be afraid to leave the lure in one place for 10 or more seconds either, especially if your home lake has any current that may give life to a motionless lure. To get the most from finesse tubes, use medium to light action spinning rods and lines no heavier than 6 pound test. Loosen the drag on the spinning reel, and be prepared for some lengthy battles with some good sized bass. 

MUDDY WATER CONDITIONS: Muddy water can present some problems, to be sure, but this condition can also present some opportunities. For example, after a week of rain, the water has been discolored for a few days. In that situation, bass may go several days without actively feeding, but they are not going to starve themselves just because conditions are unfavorable. They will bite, and the key is to take advantage of that instinct to feed. Two lures stand out for muddy water bass. The first is a tandem spinnerbait with Colorado and/or Indiana blades. Willowleaf blades excel in clear water because their blades give off more flash than other blade configurations do. But in discolored water, Colorado and Indiana blades are superior because their blades emit more vibration, what many anglers call "thump," than willowleaf blades. The second lure is a soft plastic bait, such as a 6 inch worm or lizard, or a 4 inch crawfish that is big enough to add rattles to. By themselves, plastic baits cause very little water displacement or noise, but a creation that has several sound chambers imbedded in its body can give off a bit of noise. These two lures are ideal in that together they entice muddy water bass that are active or inactive. For instance, if the bass are foraging and cruising about over flats or up and down points, a tandem spinnerbait is a superb choice. Fancast this bait to likely areas. Start out retrieving the lure at a quick clip. If strikes do not occur, progressively slow your retrieve until you are slowrolling the spinnerbait. Conversely, if the bass are not moving about but appear to be holding tight to cover, tie on a soft plastic bait that had a rattle or two added. Move in tight to wood or rock cover, and flip or pitch this lure to likely locales. Be sure that you thoroughly work all of the cover and don't be afraid to leave your lure in one spot for a long time. After the soft plastic lure has been allowed to rest, squeeze your rod handle and activate the rattle chambers. Sometimes that action will be necessary for a resounding strike to occur. 

COLD FRONTS BEFORE THE SPAWN: A cold front that crashes through an area right before the spawn is one of the worst hands that Mother Nature can deal to a bass fisherman. You are set to experience some truly hot action, but then a bluebird sky arrives, the air temperature drops, and the bass leave the shallows and return to deep waters. One point in our favor is that the bass that flee the shallows are not hard to find. For instance, if the bass on your home lake typically spawn in shallow coves, flats, or points - as is typical in anywhere in the country - the fish merely relocate to the first dropoff from those locales. Those dropoffs may take the form of a river or creek channel, a ditch that is either natural or manmade, or an old roadbed. Whatever form that initial dropoff takes, you can bet that the bass were shallow the day before are now on the decline in the lake's bottom. The best bait for this situation is a jig and pig, coupled with a medium-heavy baitcaster spooled with 12 pound test or line as heavy as the water clarity in your home body of water will allow. Remember that bass that are ready to spawn don't eat often, but when they do, they usually want a big meal. These fish don't typically desire to expand energy chasing down a minnow, shiner or other baitfish. A jig and pig fulfills a bass' desire to consume a slow moving creature that offers maximum food caught with a minimum of energy spent. Work this bait so that it scoots slowly across the bottom like crayfish kicking up little silt clouds. If your home lake lacks underwater cover, stop your retrieve for a few seconds at a time. If, however, cover lines the bottom, a halted jig and pig is often a lost one. If there are lots of cover, keep this lure moving, albeit slowly.

HIGH WATER: If you have fished for any number of years at all during the early spring, sooner or later you had to deal with high water conditions on your favorite impoundment. Although at times this water can be discolored or even muddy, sometimes water levels are above normal merely because the lake has been temporarily drawn down. The ideal choice for high water conditions should be crankbaits. Medium action baitcasters that are 6 1/2 to 7 feet long and feature a slow tip are ideal choices for early spring crankbaiting. the long rods are great for accurately casting a crankbait, and the medium action and the slow tip are perfect for allowing a fish a little extra time to wrap its mouth around a bait before you feel a strike. Some anglers prefer flat sided crankbaits for the early spring period while others opt for the more traditional alphabet styled crankbaits. Alphabet crankbaits have a reputation for rising to the top a little slower and are often considered the best choice when you need a lure to hover in one area for a longer period of time. On the other hand, flat sided crankbaits seem to give off a fetching side to side action, and sometimes that movement will trigger strikes. A good solution is to affix flat and alphabet styled crankbaits to several different rods and work both baits equally until the bass indicate that they prefer one to the other. The most important thing to do, though, is to cast these lures as far back into cover as is possible. That's where the bass will be.

EXCESSIVE WIND:  You won't mind fishing when the wind is dimpling the surface, and things aren't so bad even when the wind periodically causes waves to form. But when you hear the weatherman proclaim that the wind will be blustery, you know that you are going to have to change your game plan when you visit your home lake the next day. The question is, what is the best game plan? The best way to answer that question is to explain how bass react to various forms of wind. Anglers know well that a breeze that gently disturbs the surface often causes bass to feed more aggressively. The same holds true when the surface has a slight or considerable chop to it. Indeed, bass will often feed just on or near the surface when those conditions are prevalent. When the breeze becomes a stiff wind, as is often true during the early spring, the bass tend to relocate. For example, look for the bass to be deep and around structure, especially point that the wind is blowing in on. Various prey species, from one celled organisms to baitfish, will have been forced into these same areas, and the bass will have followed them. Thus anglers should look upon excessively windy conditions as a challenge, but also as an opportunity. The bass are likely to be active, and the key to catching them is giving them the right lure presented in the right way. One of the most effective windy day artificials is a 1/2 to 1 ounce tandem willowleaf spinnerbait, especially if the water is clear or just slightly stained. The flash from the willowleaf blades makes this lure easy for the bass to see and to home in on, even in the wind buffeted water. Boat positioning is also a key. You will do better if you position your boat in accordance with the direction the wind is blowing. That means pointing the bow into the breeze and casting the lure upwind. Bass will be facing into the current waiting for food to be washed down to them. If the wind shifts direction sometime during the day, make sure that you react accordingly. 

During the early spring period, bass fishermen have the potential to enjoy spectacular success, or to endure spectacular failure. The difference between glorious success and total failure is how well we respond and adapt to the weather conditions. Make sure that you have taken the time to prepare a tackle box that matches the cards that Mother Nature has dealt you on that particular day.