Bass Lures For Spring

Seven Pound Bass on a Buzzbait. Topwater Largemouth Bass Fishing.




Bass fishing techniques for spring weather changes in Dallas (rain, cold, sun, wind)?

Okay, this is for you expert anglers. I fish small local ponds in the Lewisville, Carrollton, Frisco area. The bass were really biting in March, but with all of the cold fronts that have moved through every few days in April, I’ve really had inconsistent luck.

I’ve generally heard that fishing is better right before a front moves in and that seems to have been right. My issue is that after a big rain or when the air temp drops from the 70-80s to 50-60 for a few days. I am not sure what to do.

Can someone help explain the patterns of bass when the air cools down suddenly, when storms/rain comes, when it’s really windy (20-30 mph), when it’s overcast vs cloudy, and how I should be fishing (lures, techniques, etc) in those conditions in north Texas?

Great question!!

Cold Fronts

5 Key Adjustments To Make

Mention an approaching cold front to a bass angler and watch him wince. Nothing ruins a fishing trip more than a sudden change of weather that brings those cool, bluebird skies. That doesn’t mean you should stay home. Bass can still be caught, but you’ll need an attitude adjustment. The day before a cold front, fish usually are aggressive, racing out of brush or weedbeds to take lures. On the day of the cold front, though, the strike zone shrinks substantially, so casts and presentations must be more precise. There are a lot of theories as to why fishing sours during cold fronts. Some experts claim the fish become inactive because barometric pressure remains high; others say that, because of the low humidity, there’s little haze to filter out ultraviolet rays, which fish find discomforting. Spring fronts tend to have a longer negative effect on fish than those that occur late in summer. The clearer the lake, the tougher the bite during cold front conditions. Deep water fish are affected less than shallow water fish.

Be Methodical: Regardless of what part of the country the cold front occurs, there’s no disputing bass seek cover when the sky is blue and bright. You can still catch them away from cover during early morning and late evening hours, and they’ll bite throughout the day if you put the bait on their noses. It is advisable to make each cast count, put the lure tight to cover and fish ever so slowly. Make multiple casts to potential areas. One cast to a good spot is not enough. This is why, on a tough day, the guy in the back of the boat catches most of the fish. Those are the days you have to generate strikes by showing fish a lure more than once. One of the biggest myths about cold front bass is that they always abandon shallow water for deep haunts. They’re more likely to move to the nearest heavy cover, and that could be in shallower water.

Go In After ‘Em: The fish use the same cover they used before, except they’ll get in the nastiest part of cover and be nonaggressive. That’s when a flipping or pitching technique works best. Flipping and pitching is a technique for dropping jigs or worms into thick cover and tight quarters. Long, stout rods and heavy line are used to muscle bass from those areas. The technique covers specific targets in shallow water and works lures slowly. If the water is stained, the lure can be dropped on a short line into cover. If it’s clear or fish are easily spooked, back away and pitch the lure into brush. n either case it’s advised to to slow down even more than normal. When bass are inactive, it’s important to put bait in the thickest sections of cover and hold it there longer. You have to hold it there, shake it around and try to agitate fish into striking. Don’t be afraid to pitch into brush more than once.

Key On Docks: Older lakes and many Northern waters lack stump fields and brushpiles best suited for flipping tactics. That’s when it’s time to head for piers and docks lining the shore. That’s an ideal cold-front pattern if the lake is clear and offers little shoreline cover. Docks always hold a few bass, but when the sky is bright and fish are less aggressive, docks offer the security fish prefer. These fish are not easy to reach. During a cold front, bass abandon easy targets (corners and ends of the piers) moving farther underneath and tighter to the pier posts. The sections of docks most likely to hold fish are those that are hardest to get a bait under. If a wooden dock is 6 inches off the water and providing a lot of shade, it’s holding bass. To reach those fish, use spinning gear to skip a lightweight tube jig beneath the dock, targeting the back corners. The lightweight lure skips easier and offers a tantalizing fall. A small jig-n-pig or soft plastic grub will work, too, but the buoyant tube jig stays in the strike zone longer. You may not catch huge fish, but you can save the day with this pattern when all else fails.

Downsize Your Lures: When fishing gets tough, go for a jig or grub and reduce the lure size to slow it’s fall. For example, if you were catching fish on a 1/4 oz. soft plastic grub when fish were biting, you should switch to a 1/8 oz. weight during the front. When it’s obvious a cold front has affected fish, it’s time to go back to basics and present your lure as naturally as possible. You should choose natural color patterns in grub, such as smoke or avocado, and want them to look more natural on the fall. Also consider using a scent on your lure. Scent is critical, especially if the water is cold. When bait is coated with Real Craw attractant, inactive fish will take a lure deeper and hang onto it longer. It’s also recommended to increase line size to slow the lure’s fall. Another rig to try is the split shot rig. A split shot rig with a 4 inch finesse worm on 8 pound test line when conditions get tough in weedy, clear water. Fish the split shot rig on the outer edge of deepwater weeds or over patchy weeds on the flats. Adjust the distance between the sinker and worm, trying to keep the bait above vegetation. Usually, a split shot is placed on the line no more than 8 inches ahead of the worm. Use a No.1 Gamakatsu hook because its small diameter and sharpness make for easy hooksets. It also keeps the bait buoyant.

Keep An Open Mind: In most situations, slow, methodical tactics are the best way to catch fish during cold front conditions. However, you must keep an open mind. Never assume the cold front has forced fish out of the previous day’s pattern until you test that pattern on your best spots. The reason, is there are those rare exceptions when cold front bass are extremely active. Sometimes, a front will follow a front. There’s usually a feeding frenzy preceding a front, so if you get back to back fronts coming through, you could find bass extremely active on a day when you expect them to be sluggish. Regardless of how radical the weather has changed, begin the day by following your original game plan until the fish indicate that you need to change. A lot of times fish aren’t affected immediately by a cold front, and they may still be active during the early morning period. If that’s happening, you want to catch as many fish as you can before they shut off. At times fast moving lures, like lipless crankbaits, are a must, especially if you’re unfamiliar with bass locations prior to the front. Lures like the Rat-L-Trap can be effective during a cold front, even though they’re opposite of the kind of bait used for cold front tactics. But once you find fish, slow down with a different type of lure.

Cold fronts may mean fewer strikes, but they don’t have to sink be caught. All it takes is patience, insight and the right attitude.

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