Here the bass fishing pattern is one where bass hold deep along bluffs, deep creek channels, ditches and even standing submerged trees. To get you started off this fishing season the right way, here are three tips to locating and catching early spring bass. They are on track to open a new season later this month. Timing your fishing trips when there is a break in the cold temperatures can help. Bait cast with standard baits with and without spoons. The winter thaw has ended and it’s getting warmer which means, it must be spring! I could probably catch some bass off flats or in shallow bays in winter if I spent long enough trying, but in a tournament, I'm better off spending my limited fishing time in high percentage areas. Position yourself towards the end of the lake or reservoir, as the wind will cause the baitfish to pool at the end of the lake. Large expanses of shallow water are critical (10 feet or less on a lowland reservoir or natural lake, 8 to 20 feet deep on a highland reservoir). VanDam agreed to explain his all-purpose approach to bass fishing in his own words to Bassmaster.com readers. In clear reservoirs and many natural lakes, you'll be able to see bass on their beds; a tube bait is awesome here, as is a floating worm. Match lure size to baitfish size. It's real important to keep your presentation up high in the water column, as opposed to bumping bottom. Please help support us by liking Bass Fishing Gurus and sharing pages you like. As the baitfish become pinned, the White Bass will feed aggressively in a feeding frenzy. . These are all places where they can make a major depth change by moving up or down: In cold water, bass are lethargic, and won't swim long distances to change depths. The same goes for jigs, metal blade baits and spoons. Bass feed on large schools of gizzard shad and minnows living in the same general areas. If I had been fishing bluffs in winter, I would now fish the ends of the bluffs, close to some shallower water. Summer is main lake time. You can also find them by fishing lakes and rivers from boats. Nothing allows me to forget about the cold temperatures of winter quicker, than spotting the surface rings from trout feeding on Midges or Blue Winged Olives. Look for large schools of shad, alewives, etc., on your graph. Even as I write this article-day time temps are reaching the low 80's but instead of those 70 degree nights we were experiencing just a few weeks ago the norm is now the high 40's to mid 50's. Oh, and bass will chew when the snow falls. The upper end and the north side of a reservoir are two major spawning magnets. Lures resembling smelt, alewife and minnows provide more success than those that replicate other fish species. This is Striper season. And when birds like crows are sitting on branches and fences, it can allude to a coming cold front. Leadhead grubs also work great now; they probe vertical and fast sloping structure efficiently. Written by: The staff of Trouts Fly Fishing Just a handful of staple patterns will get the job done during the winter months. I follow the classification of bass waters that divides them into lowland reservoirs, highland reservoirs, natural lakes, tidewater lakes and rivers, both natural and dammed. In clear lakes, I like shad patterns; in murky lakes, I want standout colors, like chartreuse with a black or blue back. Trolling is a successful technique for fishing Atlantic Salmon in saltwater. In summer, light penetration is a major factor in determining bass depth. It beats waiting all winter for the spring migration. When spotted bass are not roaming the open water, they are usually hunkered down in a brush pile or some other type of structure with vertical relief. 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