The full moons during the early spring months draw almost all the game fish shallow to feed and spawn. At this time of the year fish feed on a lot of bait fish. Matching the sizes of the bait fish can make or break a fishing trip at this time. One of the common mistakes anglers make is to use a lure that is too large.

Bait fish are blue back herring, thread fin and gizzard shad. These forage fish spawn on full moons as soon as the water temperatures break the mid fifties. They spawn on sandy banks and around rocks and will stay in the warmest water they can find for several weeks. In many instances anglers over size lures trying to catch that next larger size of fish. This can make for a long day when other anglers are catching limits of fish.

Small live shiners, small all white buck tails, small shad and Shad Raps and even tiny tube baits will catch a lot more fish in a days fishing. And the quality of the fish taken on these tiny baits can be quite surprising. Since the bait fish are small these small baits look and swim exactly like the food they are already feeding on. Another good bait in the early spring is the spot tail minnow. Many lakes are full of these little fish catchers. But getting this bait can be a challenge because of their body size and shape. Spot tail minnows are too thin and too fast to catch in a cast net. Minnow jars and tiny number ten hooks and some bread is the ticket. Spot tail minnows live around docks and ramps anywhere on the lakes. Use small Kahle hooks and 6 pound test line and a small float will take their share of numbers and sizes of fish.

Keep line sizes as small as possible. Line sizes from 4 to 6 pound test will allow the baits to swim freely and the light tackle is quiet when presented to shallow and sometimes spooky fish. One overlooked bait that is deadly all year and especially in the early spring is the all white buck tail jig. Locally Guide Mack Farr makes a

Super jig with silver tinsel in the bait. These little baits on light 6 or 8 pound test line on a spinning reel are deadly. Add a trailer and the bait will fall slower and this makes the bait look bigger as well as making it easier to cast. Just cast them to the points and reel them back. Down size baits to up size the fish. Another bonus on small baits will numbers of fish on every trip.