With the recent warm weather this is a great time to catch bass. As water temperatures move into the mid 50’s, bass begin to roam around and find food in preparation for spawning on the next full move. All of a sudden just in the last week, it seems that all the bass are surprisingly shallow.

In the upper reaches of the lakes, bass are in the creeks and shallow coves. The fish are all looking for any food and lures as well as live baits are all worth using. As these fish look for food, several baits will work for bass.

As the waters warm up the fish will feed on shad, crawfish and almost anything they can catch. There are several good choices of lures for for this action and the crank bait and the spinner bait can be two of the most productive. There are many choices of crank baits but the basics are small and in two colors.

If the water is stained or muddy use bright colors. Fire tiger, chartreuse and limes are great for this action because the fish can see these lures in the off colored water. Keep bait sizes small early in the pre spawn times for more bites.

If the water is clear use shad and blue combinations for this early spring action. Light lines to as small as 6 pound test can get baits deep to the fish.

This light line allows the lures to swim deeper and with a lot more natural action. Spinner baits in the early spring are great locator baits. In the clear water the blades should be all silver with white skirts. In off colored water, use bright gold blades in the Colorado or Oklahoma styles with bream or crawfish colored skirts. The fish can see these baits better in stained water.

For live bait, never overlook shiners for early spring spawning bass. Live bait requires a good live well or bait saver system to keep the baits lively. Drop these shiners into shallow cover and around docks. Bass love shiners all year. Concentrate on the northwest banks in the lake for the best action. This water warms faster than the rest of the lake because of the early sunlight each day.