Baits for Early Spring

By Chris Erwin

Cabin fever… are you feeling it? Even though this winter has been mild the desire to get out of the house and wet a line is growing in many of us. While some anglers have been on the water many times this winter, work and cold temperatures have kept me off the lake, but the urge to get on the water is growing daily.

Since spring is just around the corner, it’s a good time to start covering the baits that have not only been catching fish all winter, but will be the “go to” baits this spring as we all start hitting the lakes looking for that first catch.

They are about six or seven baits that we need to cover. This week, I want to concentrate on one group of baits commonly called “Jerkbaits.” For anyone who is learning to fish, and may not know what we are referring to, let me explain a little more.

This group of baits may or may not have any built in action, but all of them can be twitched or jerked to enhance their appeal. They can be made from wood, hard plastic or even soft plastic. A few well-known name brands are Rapala, Smithwick Rouge and Lucky Craft. This list could take up pages, but you get the idea…

If you know these baits, you may be thinking, “These are top-water baits.” They can be used as top-water baits, but when jerked or retrieved under the water, they no longer fit the description of top-water and all of them have some means of driving under the water, such as a lip or front weighted lead.

The strike is usually under the water, but less than ten feet deep and can vary in depth according to the lure used.

Here are some more tips for early spring that will serve you well in the early warming water of spring.

When the sun begins to warm the surface of the water, Bass tend to move up on deep-water points usually in areas where the channel sweeps in against the points. These are prime spots for early Bass and jerkbaits are one of the tools you can use to spur these fish into action.

Boat position is important too. Starting from a parallel position, cast across the point. Let the bait rest on the surface until the ripples move out away from the bait, then drive the bait under the water. In this boat position, you should be able to keep the bait close to the bottom, jerking it down and letting it swim up a little before driving it down again. This jerk-twitch action needs to have short pauses. Depending on the bait, it will start to rise, hang in a neutral position or sink.

You can start moving your boat out, and across the point, until you are casting strait in and retrieving the bait right off the deepest dropping bank. Continue to move the boat until you are in the reverse parallel position, varying your depth until you start to catch fish. Once you start to see a pattern, you can fine tune boat and casting position as well as depth.

Jerkbaits also come in floating, suspending and sinking models. Depending on the mood of the fish, all of these have their place. Suspending models can be a killer when fish are not ready to come to the surface and want the bait to hang in a spot without rising or falling. The Smithwick Rouge is a good bait when this is the action you’re looking for.

As we head into spring, I will cover some of the other baits that will put fish in the boat and give you the edge to make your day on the water productive.