Early Spring Bass Fishing

The warmer temperatures that will soon blanket the northern states brings forth some excellent early spring bass fishing opportunities. Often in the early spring you can load your boat with bass if you know where to find the fish and what lures to fish once you locate them. There are several techniques that you can employ to catch these lethargic fish in the early spring months just after the ice disappears from your favorite lake.

One of the first things you must do is locate fish in the spring is to locate the warmest water in the area of a lake that you are fishing. One of the easiest ways to determine this is simply by looking up and seeing where the sun is hitting the banks or use your temperature gage to determine where the warmest water is. There are several locations that bass seem to gather in the early spring months including rocky banks, bluffs, flats, and main and secondary points.
Steep banks such as rocky bluffs will hold heat better than any other type of structure and is easily fished. Fish will suspend off of these rocky bluffs or hold tight against the rocks. There are several techniques you can use to fish these locations, but the best technique seems to be is to fish suspending jerk baits, spoonbills, and crankbaits. To fish these suspending lures use a jerk, jerk, pause technique or a sweep then pause technique. I have found that the jerk, jerk, pause technique works better on the days where the sun is out and the water temperature is warming and the sweep then pause technique works the best when the weather is less than favorable. Also try pausing your bait for longer time periods often these fish will sit and watch a suspending lure for a long time period before deciding to strike. Your pause could be as long a 30 seconds or a short as a 2 seconds depending on how aggressive the fish are. There are two main ways to position your boat when fishing deep water bluffs, you can position your boat straight out from the bluff then cast in to the bank or parallel the bank casting along the bluff. If the fish are hugging the bank then paralleling the bank seems to work the best.

Large flats with wood is also a excellent place to find fish in the early months of spring since the wooded flats will hold heat and flats attract baitfish in the spring. The best flats are ones that receive the suns light during the afternoon hours. Fishing flats in the spring can be fantastic if the fish move up to feed and they can easily be caught with jerk baits, spinnerbaits, and soft plastic jerk baits. The fish that can be found on the flats are feeding on baitfish actively, and will often hit a faster moving bait. When fishing a spinnerbait on the flats make sure to bump every piece of structure that you can. This will often trigger a reaction strike from a bass that is lying on log, stump, or rock. When fishing a jerk bait on a flat use the jerk, jerk, pause technique to imitate a injured baitfish.

Main Points and Secondary Points are also excellent places to find bass in the early spring months. Fish will move to these locations to feed on baitfish that is attracted to the points. Fish generally suspend off these locations and can be caught with suspending jerk baits and spinnerbaits. Points with some type of structure such as a tree, stumps, chunk rock, or brush piles are excellent spots to load your boat with bass in the spring. Fishing can be fast and furious on points in spring due to baitfish randomly moving to the point which triggers the bass to feed all at once. If you hit a point that is holding bass you can easily catch tournament winning bag very quickly.

In conclusion, fishing in the early spring can be very rewarding and also can be very difficult to locate feeding fish. In the early spring months cold and warm fronts keep the barometer moving pretty regularly and can make fishing tough to say the least. However if you manage to get out on the lake when there is a steady warm front and use the techniques mentioned above you are sure to have a excellent day on the water.
Owner of Penns Ads which is a community guide for all of Central Pennsylvania where you can find and post classifieds, events, businesses, and more! Central Pennsylvania Community Page - Penns Ads

So You Want To Take The Kids Fishin'...

So you decided to take the family with you on your big day of fishing...Well, at least the kids are probably excited to go. Here are a few hints/tips to make this day enjoyable for everyone:

• Set up some ground Rules and Stress Safety--no running around with the poles and hooks flying, always look around before you cast--you know that type of stuff...let them know the dangers of these sharp little hooks...
• I used to take my two small boys fishing with me alone--I wouldn't recommend any more than one or two kids per knowledgable adult. Remember Safety first...
• If your children are young--you can pretty much forget about getting any fishing in yourself--Don't worry, you will still have a great time. Remember you are trying to show them the joys of this great sport. Between baiting hooks and taking the fish off the line you will have your hands full...
• Keep it as easy and simple as possible--try not to confuse the issue with any long, drawn out explanations--stick with the good ol' hook and bobber method--Kids love the visual aspect of the bobber, especially when the fish start to nibble and the bobbin' starts. Using livebait(worms) is probably the easiest way to insure a lot of action..
• I found it best to stay in the shallows for now-even just off the dock there usually is an ample enough supply of panfish to keep the youngsters excited-At this time, quantity outweighs quality--children tend to have short attention spans, and the constant hits will keep them drawn to their poles.
• I probably should have put this up a bit farther on the list, but you want to make sure it is a nice moderate day out--bad weather will certainly but a damper on the youngsters spirits, and too hot is not good either...and do not forget the sunscreen!
• I like to bring along a tape measure and camera on the trip. The kids enjoyed measuring their catch, and it brought a little competiton with it. This also helped them stay focused on fishing. Children will love to have a picture of their "big" catch--you know, to show their mom when they get back home, since she suddenly came down with a headache moments before you were due to leave for this big adventure...
• I always brought a large(5 gallon) bucket with me. I would let the kids decide if they wanted to keep their catch. Since they usually decided to keep them at first, I put them in the bucket. By the end of the day, most times they would change their minds. To insure the fish weren't harmed while confined, I used the bucket instead of a stringer. If your boat has a live well, you need not concern yourself with this point.
• Always show patience and have a great time!!!

Unique New Product! Perfect for that Rustic Bathroom!

In my quest to search out all things fishing/boating, I stumbled upon a most unique product. Personally, I have never seen anything quite like it, and I figured if you are an avid fishermen/women, you just might get a kick out of this. It most definitely would be a perfect addition to any cabin or rustic loghome. For more information on this cool seat, just click on the picture...

Got Custom Rods?

Hi, I just had to bring this to your attention. I have found perhaps the best rods made in the entire world. If you haven't tried these, you are doing yourself a terrible injustice--to put it lightly! You owe it to yourself to at least check them out--if these fishing rods are good enough for the pros, I think they might just suit you as well....


Kistler Rods are preferred by the best pros in the world.

You can find Kistler fishing rods in the hands of the best on and off the tour. For serious fishermen at all levels, it is easy to recognize the superior design, quality, and service offered by the staff at Kistler.

Check them out here!!