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The type of bait and lures will all depend on what time of year you’re fishing because the fish act differently throughout the year. In this post, I’m going to be talking about what lures to use for spring bass fishing and how to use them the right way.
I’ll try to talk about lures that will work in different situations so you can be fully prepared. Some are better when a cold front rolls in while others are better for a hot day. Here are the lures you might want to use for spring bass fishing:
- Bluegill Prop Bait.
- White Spinnerbait.
- Shallow Diving Squarebill Crankbait.
- Swim Jig With Swimbait.
- Shaky Head With Finesse Bait.
I’m not saying these are the best possible bass lures out there but they have worked well for me in the springtime. Some worked a lot better in certain lakes than others but they have all been proven to land fish. Continue reading or watch the video below for the full details on what to use for spring bass fishing.
Bluegill Prop Bait
This is a great lure to use on a calm day when the bass is in fairly shallow water. It’s spawning season and there are a lot of Bluegills around so that’s why I like using a prop bait that has a bit of blue in it.
I like using this type of bait on a baitcasting rod that’s under 7 feet. I’ll normally toss on a braided line with a fluorocarbon leader. I’ll use 20 lb braid and then 12-15 lb fluoro. Some people prefer using straight fluoro or straight mono but this has worked fine for me. It’s not really that big of a deal.
What you’ll want to do is figure out where the nests are. Normally they’re pretty shallow and near some sort of cover (shade, rocks, trees, etc). This makes things a lot easier if you’re fishing from the shore.
You’ll want to cast to where you think the fish are hiding. Wait until your splash rings disappear, point your rod down, and then give it a short quick pop. You don’t want to reel it straight back to you and you don’t want to give it a big yank. Give it a couple of quick twitches, reel in a bit, but make sure you keep a little bit of slack in your line (lure should only move an inch or two when you twitch). Here’s one on Amazon.
White Spinnerbait
This is a really good lure to go with if it’s cloudy out, if there’s a lot of wind, and even if it’s raining. There are so many different colors to pick from but I normally like to keep things simple for all my gear. Going with a white-colored spinnerbait will do the job just fine.
You’ll use the same strategy as before so you’ll want to look for areas of cover the bass might be hiding in. Again, I like using a baitcasting reel with this and I’ll use the same fishing line as before. If you want to use a spinning rod or a different type of line then that should work just as well.
If you want to keep things as simple as possible when you’re fishing with these you can simply just cast and reel. You’ll be able to catch them, no problem. It’s normally a good idea though to give your rod a little bit of action. You don’t need to go crazy with it but if you give it a pop every now and then or change the angle then you’ll catch more fish. Also, be sure to keep your rod tip a bit higher. Here’s one on Amazon.
Shallow Diving Squarebill Crankbait
This is another great lure to use in shallow water because the squarebill on the front will block a lot of the weeds and branches that might snag your bait. It’ll still get caught on stuff but it’ll be much less than normal.
I like using something that’s silver and blue. It’ll look like a Bluegill in the water and seems to work the best. I’ll use a baitcasting rod again with the same fishing line as before.
The way you fish this will be very similar to the prop bait. You’ll want to cast it near an area of cover, give it a couple of short quick twitches, and reel in some of the slack. It doesn’t get much easier than that. Just be sure to keep your rod tip down. Here’s one on Amazon.
Swim Jig With Swimbait
The next thing that works really well is using a 1/4 oz jig head with a silver swimbait. All you have to do is put the swimbait on as a trailer and you’re set to go. You’ll want to use the same rod and fishing line as before as well.
Bass will most likely be in the shallows during springtime so that’s where you’ll want to spend your time. I do most of my fishing from the shore so this makes things really easy. You’ll want to look for a fallen tree or a pile of rocks just off the bank. That’s your best bet of finding them.
The way you fish this is exactly the same as the spinnerbait. You can simply cast it out and slowly reel it in but I like to give it a little bit of help. I’ll give my rod a couple of quick twitches (they don’t need to be big) and I’ll change up the angle every so often. Anything I can do to give the lure a little more action. Keep your rod tip a bit higher as well. Here are some of our favorites.
Shaky Head With Finesse Bait
The final thing I like to do is use a 3/16 oz shaky head with some sort of finesse bait. There are a bunch of different kinds out there but anything that resembles a small fish or even a worm will most likely work.
This is one of my favorite rigs and I’ll use it year-round because it not only works super well but it’s also weedless and can go through weeds, rocks, branches, or whatever else is sitting down there. The hook is buried in the bait so it only pops out when a fish bites.
The way you fish this is a little bit different than the previous lures. What you’ll want to do here is cast it out to where you think the fish are. You’ll want to let the hook fall down to the bottom and then you’ll want to jig it up and down. After it hits the bottom, you’ll slowly lift your rod so the shaky head lifts up off the bottom and then you’ll let it fall back down. The bite is most likely to happen on the way down. Here are some of our favorites.
Until next time, happy fishing. If you want to catch more fish, use more hooks.
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