Spring 2018
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Springtime is a special time in a bass angler’s year
“I really like to try and make the fish respond by covering water with reaction baits,” he said. “I may not be able to put the trolling motor on high and burn the bank, but I still want to keep moving until I find a concentration of fish.”
The Vacaville, Calif. pro said that he likes to use two topwater offerings and a crankbait to trigger strikes. The trick to everything, he said, is to give them an opportunity, without getting too good a look at the lure.
“Any time the water reaches 53 degrees, I put a frog and a popper in the boat, along with a squarebill crankbait,” he said. “I like a smoke-colored Snag Proof Bobby’s Perfect Frog, a River2Sea Bubble Pop 65 or Rico popper and a Biggie Smalls squarebill from River2Sea as well.”
He targets secondary points leading into spawning areas with isolated cover on them. He fishes the frog around the cover, the popper in between cover and the crankbaits as a follow up.
“I use a slow to medium retrieve on each bait,” he said. “I keep the frog close to cover, the popper over the top of shallow areas leading into spawning bays and the crankbait I use to bang into stumps and rocks I can’t see.”
JEFF KRIET – GO POWERFULLY SUBTLE
This Oklahoma pro is known for his finesse prowess, and with his penchant for fishing with light line as an influence, he will scale down at times when bass have seen the standard offerings.
“There are a million and one soft stickbaits that get thrown on every piece of cover on every lake across the country, every day of the spring,” said Kriet. “I know bigguns live in that cover, but they get wary of seeing the same type of thing thrown at ‘em every day; I give ‘em something different.”
That difference is one that Kriet said a lot of anglers have begun to overlook as the Senko and its spawn have become the norm.
“I throw a floatin’ worm a ton this time of the year,” he said. “I run a bunch of the same bank that the rest of the guys do, but I’ve got a 6-inch Big Bite Baits Finesse Worm in Merthiolate or Bubble Gum tied on most of the time.”
Kriet said he likes to rig the worm on a seven-inch, medium-heavy Denali casting rod and 7.3:1 reel spooled with
Jeff Kriet Credit Bassmaster/Seigo Saito
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