Spring 2018
®
3
MUST-HAVE SPRING BAITS
and when to throw ‘em
by Nate Boomhower
page
10
I
t’s Spring! Finally! The fish are now snapping out
of their winter funk and are ready to feed! We
all know early spring comes with every weather condition known to man... It can be a cold blue bird
day warming in the afternoon, the next could start
out as a windy, rainy day and end up calm with a few
clouds.
This is one of the things that makes fishing in
the spring so much fun. You’ve got to come prepared
for it all and you’ve got to know what you should
throw.
In this article, I’m going to share the three most
reliable baits I use in the spring for all the weather
conditions we face out there.
SPRINGTIME JERKBAITS
First, let’s talk about the ripbait, or jerkbait.
The jerkbait is amazing in the way it mimics a wounded bait fish. Its erratic movements really trigger those suspended fish and make them react and strike.
In the spring, bass are gorging on bait fish as they prepare to spawn, so this is a great bait choice. An overcast sky with scattered clouds and a light breeze are my ideal conditions when throwing the jerkbait because the wind causes the water to be less transparent and it creates ripples, or chop, on the water that encourages the bass to react on instinct. In these conditions, the bass aren’t able to study the bait as much as they would without the wind, which is why jerkbaits work so well.
TARGET AND RETRIEVES:
The jerkbait is also a great search bait to target bass. The retrieve is the most important part when fishing a jerkbait. You have to figure out what the bass want. Sometimes it’s a fast twitch and pause and other times it’s a constant violent twitch. Let the bass tell you what it wants and keep switching your retrieve until you get bit then mimic that retrieve.
The jerkbait also allows you to target fish at different depths, which is so cool. The fish are suspended most of the time in the spring, so be sure to get jerkbaits that fish 0- to 4-feet, 5- to 10-feet, and deep diving.