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Springtime
Fishing
This is undoubtably the best time of year to go fishing.
Most all the bass are in shallow water, making them
easier to find and they are in a feeding mode. I probably
put more miles on my Nitro this time of year than any
other. My Motorguide also gets a good work out and it
is usually wide open, since I will fish faster in April
and May than any other time of the year. I'm looking
for active fish and usually running a 3/8 oz. Edgebuster
spinnerbait or a lipless XPS crankbait. Once I get into
an area of feeding fish then I will slow down to a 5
inch Zoom U-tail worm Texas rigged or a Carolina rigged
6 inch Zoom lizard. You want to make sure you have a
good set of Trojan Batteries and a good Guest Charger.
Moving
fast is the best way to locate an area with feeding
bass. Another great technique to use this time of year
is a floating worm (Zoom Trickworm). I will fish this
on a Bass Pro Shop 6 ft. Med Action Woo Daves' series
rod, Extreme reel 40, and 10 lbs. Stren Super Tough
line, rigged with a ball bearing swivel about 12 inches
in front of worm to eliminate line twist. Just go down
the bank kind of parallel casting and hitting each target
you come to. Don't let the worm sink out of site, fish
on a stop and go retrieve letting the worm fall about
12 to 18 inches then twitch back to the surface. When
a fish takes it, let him have it a few seconds before
setting the hook.
The
hook can be very important as a light wire Mustad Ultra
Point hook (1/0 or 2/0) is used for slower retrieves
and a heavy gauge (2/0 to 4/0 Mustad) is used for faster
retrieves..Keep several different colors ( white, yellow,
pink, merthiolate, black) in your Plano box as color
can make a big difference and I change until I find
one they like. Towards May top water comes into play
especially early and late and all day on cloudy days.
One
problem most fisherman make with top water lures is
they fish them on a heavy action rod. I designed the
6 ft. med light Woo rod for top water lures. The limber
tip will give the lure a lot more natural action and
keep it in the strike zone a lot longer. XPS top water
lures are my favorite and a buzzbait can be real effective.
If you try buzzbaits use a 11/8 oz. for a while then
try a 1/4 oz., and then a ½ oz. different days or times
of the day and use the one which works better than the
others. I very seldom fish any top water lures on less
than 14 lbs. Stren line. Lighter lines tend to sink
and take away from the action of your lure. Again try
alternating slow and fast retrieves until you get something
going.
Another
favorite lure of mine especially in the spring is the
4 inch Possum Shad lure in a pearl finish. This little
soft plastic lure can be fished just like a jerkbait
and is deadly on bass. Also the Possum Lure bream is
deadly around bream beds, boat docks, and in the shallow
flats. A lot of time I will just dip the tail section
in Spike-it chartreuse dye and this will drive the bass
wild. They work best on 12 lbs. Stren line and fish
them with a jerking erratic motion (like a stop and
go) and hang on.
Two
new great products to try are the Reel Thang, a great
gadget for putting line on your reels and storing line.
For information see their web site: www.thereelthang.com
and the Line Keeper a great product for use in dropshotting,
Carolina rigging, and just holding your line on your
rod. See them at www.linekeeper.com
Be sure and wear your SOSpenders life vest while on
the water and may God bless each of you.
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