Tips
& Techniques on
Springtime
Baits
from Lake Fork Pro Jim Reaneau |
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I wrote this article several years ago and thought it would be a good
time to redo it.
The spring is and exciting time of the year. Whether you are a beginner or
expert you will be able to catch fish from the bank or a boat. The shallows
will be alive with all species of fish. Most all fish start spawning at the
same time. Crappie, bass, perch, and many others.
First I will start with the most popular the spinner bait. This bait is the
easiest to fish as you throw it out and reel it back. This sounds easy, but
sometimes this is all you have to do. This bait doesn’t hang up as much as
other baits. As long as you keep it moving it will slide over limbs and
stumps. There are many sizes and colors to choose from. I like a three
quarter ounce because I can slow roll it and it will stay down and not fall
over. The lighter baits will rise quickly when retrieved quickly. This may
not be bad as the stop and go retrieve is a good pattern. Colors are pretty
important but I like chartreuse and white with gold and silver blades. I
like willow leaf blades. This color will work well in muddy and clear water.
Fish this around the grass and timber or parallel to the bank as this will
be the best strike zone. I fish this on a medium heavy Falcon rod with a
Shamino curado reel.
When you get a strike set the hook hard and hold your rod up to get the fish
coming towards you.
The lipless crank bait is the next easiest bait to fish. You can chunk it a
country mile which we all do. But this is not a good ideal as with all that
line out it will be hard to set the hook. Everyone thinks just because it
has two treble hooks the fish will hook them selves this is not true. Bass
can close their mouths over a bait and hold on till they break water and out
the bait comes. This bait comes in many colors and sizes. Lake Fork is known
for red baits. So red would be a good color. The fire tiger and lemon OB are
good colors. Some days the fish want a half and some days the quarter ounce
is the size. Try both sizes and let the fish tell you what they want. The
way to fish bait is cast it out and start your retrieve soon as the bait
hit’s the water. Keep it moving just fast enough to tick the top of the
grass or just off the bottom. If you get caught in the grass jerk the bait
out and let it fall and sometimes this will trigger a strike. Some days the
fast retrieve will work better than the slow retrieve. Remember when the
fish hit’s the bait set the hook quickly and firmly.
The Lizard is another popular bait. It is one of the fishes biggest enemies.
Bass will attack this intruder on site. The salamander which is what the
lizard looks like will invade the nest and eat the eggs. I like to fish the
lizard on a light weight Carolina rig. I use 20 pound big game and a quarter
ounce weight pegged about a foot up the line. Cast this around trees and
parallel to the bank. The fish will attack this bait aggressively. Some
times they will grab the bait and swim out of the nest and blow it out
before you can set the hook. Their protective nature this time of year is to
kill it or remove it from the nest. Colors can vary from the water clarity.
I like pumpkin with a chartreuse tail, black with a blue tail, and
watermelon. I use a 3/0 hook on this bait because of the length. This is a
good bait to pitch around trees and brush.
Weightless baits are a good choice as they will fish over the grass and slim
that invades the shallow water in the spring. These baits come in different
styles.
The Tik stick is a great bait for dead sticking. Lake Fork Tackle Ring fries
and Zig Zags along with flukes, and big lizards are other good baits for
this style of fishing. They all will come through the grass and slim. You
will need a wide gap hook in the 3/0 or 4/0 size. Don’t use any weight or if
you do use a one thirty second weight. Finish nails can be inserted into the
body of these baits to give them weight. You don’t want much as this will
take away from their action. Cast the bait out and let it sit for as long as
you can. Then sweep your rod up slowly or twitch it slightly. You don’t want
to over work the bait. I fish these baits on a medium heavy Falcon six six
with fifteen pound line. When you get a strike let the fish have the bait
for a two count then set the hook.
This will cover only a few of the popular spring baits and I hope this will
help you catch more fish.
Thanks and good fishing,
Jim
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