Let me start by saying that the prespawn is the best time of year to catch giant bass. Even though that statement has been made a thousand times over the years, it still holds true and deserves to be repeated because of one simple, fact… people miss it.
Every year, anglers get a little punch-drunk from the monotony of cabin fever and stumble their way through the end of winter, only to hit the water a little late to capitalize on one of the best fishing seasons of the year. From early February to mid-March is a great time to find fish groups and, yes, catch that elusive fish of a lifetime.
To help you catch a big one this prespawn season, let’s look at five must-have baits.
VIBRATING JIG
A vibrating jig like the ChatterBait with its erratic action is enough to send a bass into a feeding frenzy, as the fish aggressively pack on weight in preparation for spawning.
It is also a great idea to use vibrating jigs during the prespawn season because they pass through a lot of cover bass stages. Bass that hold in less than 10 feet of water are frequently attracted to submerged vegetation in particular. A cold winter has left behind these remnants from last year’s topped out mats. And the bass love to hide in these mats.
In this way, you can slowly fish vibrating jigs through submerged vegetation, popping them free whenever they snag grass blades. When spring rains and rising water levels result in stained to muddy conditions, fish are also more likely to find a bait like this because of its sharp vibrations.
SPINNERBAIT
Spinnerbaits are another essential for prespawn. Though many consider vibrating jigs and spinnerbaits interchangeable, they both have a different approach to the fish. Vibration, colorful skirts, and flash of blades are all used to attract fish to vibrating jigs, but vibrating jigs are much easier to skip than spinnerbaits. Therefore, it makes an ideal choice for situations where overhead cover is present, like bushes or docks.
Despite this, the spinnerbait can still outperform the vibrating jig in some places, such as around shallow woody cover. It is also possible to get bit with vibrating jigs here, but they are much more likely to hang up than with spinnerbaits. So slow rolling a spinnerbait around stumps, laydowns, and brushpiles is the best way.
The spinnerbait can also be used for a wide variety of prespawning situations. You can use these baits through submerged and shoreline vegetation, as well as shallow, muddy water. It is still possible to fish a willow leaf/Colorado combo in clearer water if there’s some wind. Choose natural colors on sunny days and translucent chartreuse on cloudy days.
CRANKBAIT
During the prespawn, crankbaits are perhaps the best bait to fish. I am cheating a little here, lumping lipless crankbaits and all the other crankbaits into one category, but you can easily write an article like this on five must have crankbaits for the prespawn. Here are a few that stand out.
Prespawn bass have been caught using red lipless crankbaits, particularly on fisheries with submerged vegetation. Let the lipless dip down into the vegetation and then rip it out to catch them.
In the early prespawn, medium-diving crankbaits and finesse crankbaits both work well. It’s best to fish baits like these along banks that transition from deep to shallow heading into creeks and pockets. There’s also the squarebill, a great bait to throw shallow as fish push higher.
JIG
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When you need a warrior to dig big bass out of the thick stuff, you need the War Eagle Jiu-Jigsu Jig! This flipping jig boasts an exclusive Hole-in-One skirt for a uniqueook you won’t find anywhere else, while a powder-coated, modified Arkie-sty
JERKBAIT
One of the best baits for prespawn bass is a jerkbait. It seems the jerkbait shines the brightest during the early prespawn, when the water temperatures are still hovering somewhere between the mid 40s and the low 50s, even though it can be used throughout the year.
Bass are still a little sluggish at this point, and the water is typically still clearer than it will be as spring rains begin to fall. As fish have time to catch up to the pausing bait, and with higher visibility, they can see it better, it is the best time to use a jerkbait as a lure. There are certainly a lot of cadences available, but it’s hard to beat pump, pump, pause.
Winter is about over itself, too, so if you’re about to be over it, winter is about to be over as well. The spring is on the horizon, but the last few weeks of winter offer a lot of great fishing. Work your way through the chilly mornings, get out there, and get ready to catch a big one. These five baits should help you accomplish that.
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