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Post by mcovey on Mar 7, 2013 8:50:52 GMT -5
Until last year I never really fished for bass specifically but after catching some nice ones last summer I got hooked on it. think its a lot of fun feeling the strike and reeling in a good fish. so over the winter I have been buying different bass lures every couple weeks and have a pretty good assortment now.
what seems to work good for some of you guys for catching them early in the fishing season? I have done a lot of reading online on different lures and presentation so have a pretty good idea on what I am going to try and experiment with.
last summer my favorite lure that always seemed to catch bass on every pond I was on was a Zoom Bait Horny Toad Icicle colored. I tried different colors but that one always worked better and I almost always would catch something with it.
so without giving away any secrets could I get some tips from some of you that have been bass fishing around VT for years?
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Post by vtbassin on Mar 7, 2013 10:36:59 GMT -5
My favorite thing to throw in the spring is a crank bait. Last year for me it was usually a silent square bill. Watch Tackle Warehouse and you can get some good cranks on their daily sales. The problem I have is all the other stuff they have too. And I never spend less than the $50 needed for free shipping  |
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Post by rgang4 on Mar 7, 2013 13:49:16 GMT -5
One of the things I like about spring fishing is the simplicity. Don't need lots of different lures and fish are easier to pattern. Until the water hits 55 degrees I only use a few different lures. Selectivity changes year to year but here's what I used last year in order for what was the most successful: 1.) Chatterbait 2.) finesse jig 3.) suspending jerkbait 4.) crankbait 5.) jig 'n pig 6.) spinnerbait 7.)Rat-l-trap. Above 55-60 degress the lures I use regularly increases. A tube, shaky worm and stickbait come into play. Above 65 and the list includes buzzbaits, topwaters and large plastic worms.
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Post by rvq on Mar 7, 2013 17:04:58 GMT -5
Spring means crank baits and jerk baits. I fish the North and South Champlain in the Spring. The water in the South will be 5-7 degrees (or more) warmer than the North, which generally means more active fish.
Bob
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Post by bigb2161 on Mar 7, 2013 17:06:43 GMT -5
Roy are your bait choices specific to the area you fish i.e. CT river and southern champlain or would you suggest those are also successful up the norhtern waters of the lake with those temperature ranges?
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Post by schodackbassman on Mar 7, 2013 19:52:31 GMT -5
I use the same baits as Roy for the most part. You want a tight wobble on your crank baits for cold water (flat sided opposed to big wobble rounder cranks). A Rattle Trap type bait has a very tight wiggle too which is why it's good in cold water. Water clarity will dictate lure color. It's been dingy all year round south so dark color or Chartreuse are good choices. I'll throw a spinner bait too but it's my favorite and always have at least one tied on. Same with a chatter bait. Usually by time I get out the water is into the 50's mid to late April. Good luck and have fun. Remember it is better to be very good with a few different types of bait then trying to master them all. We are lucky, on Champlain you can almost always find fish that will hit what you like to fish with if you find the right place to use it.
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Post by rgang4 on Mar 7, 2013 20:28:07 GMT -5
Roy are your bait choices specific to the area you fish i.e. CT river and southern champlain or would you suggest those are also successful up the norhtern waters of the lake with those temperature ranges? No, I would use them anywhere, they are all pretty much standard bass fishing lures. Try Chatterbaits around weedbeds or any other shallow cover. They excel in stained to dirty water. Chart/white and black blue are good for stained and dirty water. Other favorites like suspending jerkbaits are best in clear to lightly stained water and should do well where you fish on Champlain. Try the more natural colors. Shad/shiner colors are good. Smallies everywhere key on gold/black jerkbaits. Clown patterns are another favorite of most smallmouth fisherman. Jigs I pretty much use just two colors but have them in weights from 1/8 oz. to 5/8" and a few heavier football jigs that I can't seem to ever get largwemouth to bite on  .Crankbaits in clearwater I stay smaller and in natural colors, BUT don't forget the fact that crawfish are sort of orange colored  . Cranks work well for me if they run 1 to 12 feet deep. Occasionally I have success with some 16 footers, but not too much. I usually fish a jig, shaky worm or even a drop shot or heavy t-rig in those depths. 'Traps, I have two favorites also but use a few more. 'Traps from 1/4-3/4 oz. are in my box. 70% of the time I use Chart./Black in 1/2 oz. size. Spinnerbaits as we all know work everywhere and the selection available is endless as are the array of soft plastics and techniques they can be used for. Didn't mention swimbaits in the last post as they were pretty much a failure last year. The year before however.............see my avatar. |
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Post by Brian on Mar 12, 2013 11:00:57 GMT -5
When I was first getting started in bass fishing, lures that didn't work for me at all were a lot of the ones mentioned in this thread. Crankbaits, rattletraps, jerkbaits. Not because "they don't work" (like popping frogs ;D), but because I didn't have the correct technique using the lures. But I was young and Bassmaster television programs hadn't yet educated us all. I relied on buying lures that were featured in magazine articles in Field and Stream or Sports Afield. Good lures in the right hands and situations I'm sure, but not for me at the time.
What I found to work pretty well for me in spring, while bank fishing or out in the canoe bass fishing....floating Rapalas, Mepps in line spinners, Johnson weedless spoons w/ twister tail trailer, spinnerbaits and 1/8 oz. TX rigged worms.
After I'd become a boater and someone showed me how to fish a jerkbait..........a jerkbait is my #1 spring time lure. The venerable TX rig or jig would be right behind as #2 because the fish may be deeper or in a negative mood.
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Post by rgang4 on Mar 12, 2013 16:57:43 GMT -5
When I was first getting started in bass fishing, lures that didn't work for me at all were a lot of the ones mentioned in this thread. Crankbaits, rattletraps, jerkbaits. Not because "they don't work" (like popping frogs ;D), but because I didn't have the correct technique using the lures. But I was young and Bassmaster television programs hadn't yet educated us all. I relied on buying lures that were featured in magazine articles in Field and Stream or Sports Afield. Good lures in the right hands and situations I'm sure, but not for me at the time. What I found to work pretty well for me in spring, while bank fishing or out in the canoe bass fishing....floating Rapalas, Mepps in line spinners, Johnson weedless spoons w/ twister tail trailer, spinnerbaits and 1/8 oz. TX rigged worms. After I'd become a boater and someone showed me how to fish a jerkbait..........a jerkbait is my #1 spring time lure. The venerable TX rig or jig would be right behind as #2 because the fish may be deeper or in a negative mood. We both fished the same lures as beginners B. My go to bait was a floating Rapala in silver/black.Worked great all year except in the spring. Then one time trout fishing in a put and take pond on opening day I landed 4 or 5 nice bass on a Mepps Aglia I took from my gramp's vast lure collection. I was not always good like I am now. That became a mainstay for my bass fishing. Then I found this weird looking spinner a KMART one day, something they called a "Bush Hog". It was not long and my box had a Big O and some Manns jelly worms, a rigged Creme worm with a spinner and a Cordell Crippled minnow and of course a Jitterbug and a Hula Popper. The Mepps will be used more this year than it has recently as last spring I rediscovered how well it can work when all else fails. I have a few large ones to try for pike with this spring, can't wait. Going to get some of the big Johnson Spoons too. Di sized! |
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.Crankbaits in clearwater I stay smaller and in natural colors, BUT don't forget the fact that crawfish are sort of orange colored 
. Cranks work well for me if they run 1 to 12 feet deep. Occasionally I have success with some 16 footers, but not too much. I usually fish a jig, shaky worm or even a drop shot or heavy t-rig in those depths.