MY SHORTCUT TO FINDING SPRING BASS
by Gerald Swindle

Springtime fishing has its ups and downs, literally. Some parts of the country have reservoirs swelling with spring rains, while waters in other regions are low and continue to beg for a good frog strangler.

Fishing the BASS Elite Series tournament trail like I do, it's not uncommon to find myself going from one extreme to the other as we travel from one tournament site to the next. But regardless of the lake and conditions that I encounter, I always spend my practice days this time of year using the same shortcuts for figuring out how to catch spring bass. Here's what I do, and I hope it adds to your fishing success over the next few weeks.

The number one thing I do after launching my boat is to check the water temperature, expecting to find one of the three possible scenarios that follows:

Surface Temps In The Low 60's
This tells me a lot of fish are still on the beds and I'm going to look for them first. This is true for anywhere in the country and becomes an even stronger factor if during a new moon or full moon. Since I'm wanting to see fish, I'm typically concentrating on the lower end of the lake because it is going to be the clearest. The areas I look for are the main lake flats and pockets that have deep water nearby. When I pick a spot, I put my polarized sunglasses on, pick up my Quantum rod and reel, put my MotorGuide in the water and on high, and go looking for beds and fish. Typically when you get in an area with beds, there will be several. I'm looking for the ones that I can see fish on. I want to see my bait and how the fish reacts so I can adjust accordingly. I'll make changes in bait colors or type until I find the right combination to make bass bite.

Surface Temps In The 65 - 70 Degree Range
I know I'm likely fishing a post spawn scenario. That means the male bass will be guarding fry; the females will be resting and sluggish. I'm still fishing main lake pockets and such. The fry are going to be hanging around some kind of cover: brush, boat docks, laydowns, etc. It usually doesn't take long to figure out where the fry are because you'll see them scattering when you're bait hits the water. Those are the areas I concentrate on most. For post spawn bass, I'm tossing my G-Splash pop bait, small spinnerbaits and shallow-running crankbaits. I'm throwing in and around the areas where the fry are hanging, trying to make everything in the area just a little bit nervous with the intentions to make a guard male strike or enticing a lazy female to take in an easy snack.

Surface Temps At 70 Degrees and Above
This is my favorite time. It's when I get really excited because I know I could be in for a phenomenal day of fishing. Shad spawn at 70-plus degrees and bass get really active as a result. I'm now concentrating my efforts more toward the main lake points and on the outside areas of the big spawning flats. The first three hours of the day are especially productive, and there is a telltale sign to let you know when you're in the right spot. As far as I'm concerned, there's only one bait to be throwing for this time and situation and it's a ½-ounce double willowleaf spinnerbait with white or white and chartreuse skirt. Watch it during the retrieve and look for shad following it back in. When you see that, you know you're in an active area of spawning shad, and bass aren't going to be far away. In fact, the bass are moving in and out of these areas, looking for and ambushing shad that are otherwise preoccupied. I like to think of it as, "If there’s that many steaks at Outback, you're not going to leave without eating one." I mean, think about it. If you have shad following your spinnerbait and a bass approaches, the shad are going to split and that leaves your spinnerbait being the only big hunk of meat for the hungry pair of eyes. Then if you catch one fish, get that bait back into the same area as quickly as possible and chances are good you're going to catch another one or two. I love this time of year.

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