SeaSoNal teChniques
concentrations and fast action. instead, have patience and focus efforts on making quality casts in different depths along the edges of spawning flats. Make a few exploratory casts in the 5- to10-foot zone. Then turn around and cast out of the other side of your boat, working uphill in the 20- to 10-foot zone. if this fails to produce, work the 45- to 20-foot zone. Stay in key areas where spawning flats are close to winter sanctuary zones. if you don’t connect in the first region, rather than working down a shoreline or bank, hop over to the next spawning flat and work the different depth zones again. Generally, the south facing spawning flats are the first to warm and the first to receive shallow bass. to clarify this, realize the warmer days in the spring are those in which a southerly breeze brings warm air in contact with cooler surface water. This warmer air “heats” the surface layer, and moves the surface layer of the lake in the same direction of the wind. eventually the warmer surface layer hits a south facing shoreline (often the shore at the north end of a lake, or the north shoreline of a cove). The wind keeps pushing warmer water on top of itself, and wave action increases the mixing. The result is a pocket or area of warmer water. Bass in such areas will be the first to increase their metabolism and feeding, and be the first to spawn. Patience further comes into play by forcing yourself to throttle back the excitement so you don’t over work your lure. Cold water temps still mean lower metabolism in both bass and the prey they seek. Fast retrieves and lure movement make sense in the summer; but for spring bass you will do better to work lures slowly and liberally employ pauses in your retrieve. Convince the
interested bass your lure is a struggling prey and that it can catch your lure with little effort. once i work a Staysee to about 5-feet deep, i regularly pause throughout the retrieve. The sudden stop and horizontal attitude of the Staysee suspended in the face of a hungry bass usually provokes a strike. The longer you pause, the harder the bass seem to smash it! This is where persistence comes into play. Working a jerkbait is tough work, especially when your fingers are cold and your wrists are out of shape. Since action is rarely fast in the spring, being persistent and working hard between bites is the key to those magical days in which you land multiple bass of monstrous proportions. Have faith that jerkbaits will work and stick with them if you want to be the guy with the most success! Because spring is your best shot at landing record size bass, it makes sense to spend your time on those lakes or rivers that hold populations of big bass. Good bets include american lake in Pierce County, lake Washington and Sammamish in King County, Whatcom lake in Whatcom County, Potholes reservoir in Grant County, and the always prolific Columbia river (especially in the Umatilla and triCities areas). if you prefer smaller bodies of water, a lucky Craft Staysee is still a deadly lure for big bass. Washington has many local ponds that produce, and spring is when the biggest bass are likely to get fooled. No matter whether you fish big or small waters, work the areas with the warmest water temps. exercise those wrists, work a lucky Craft Staysee with both patience and persistence, and you will find yourself looking forward to spring even more next winter.
two bald eagles stared at the entire fight from their perch on a nearby fir tree.
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