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For spring multi-species fishing success, don’t launch the boat or walk the shore without these four high-percentage baits – lipless crankbaits, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits and swimming grubs.
Each of these baits, this time of year, are very effective and easy to use for bass, walleye and pike, says Mark Fisher, Rapala’s Director of Field Promotions. Use them to target points, coves, shoreline cover, emergent vegetation, old weeds and new weeds. “All those things are keys to putting the puzzle together in the springtime and make your fishing successful,” he says.
The most productive spots will likely be transition zones between one or more of the lake features above – where submerged vegetation makes way for reeds and bullrushes, for example, where shoreline gravel transitions to larger rock, where the bottom changes from sand to muck or rock.
“In the spring, because of the spawn, you have an idea of where the fish are coming from and where they’re going to go,” Fisher explains. “As the fish move from deep water to spawning areas, they move up to flats or start moving down shoreline.”
Follow these tips to fish Fisher’s top-four high percentage spring baits:
Rippin’ Rap Lipless Crankbaits
Among the first lures Fisher throws for spring bass are Rapala Rippin’ Raps. “Multiple-rattle, simple-running, high-performance baits like the Rippin’ Rap are perfect for fishing over the tops of new weeds in the spring or along weedline edges, or just simply, just covering flats,” Fisher says.
For covering a lot of water quickly and efficiently in the spring, “you can’t beat a Rippin’ Rap,” he says. “Position your boat in deeper water and fancast across spawning flats with a mix of old, decayed vegetation and new-growth vegetation.”
Fisher employs a moderate-speed retrieve. “Speed is critical,” he says. “You don’t want to burn it, because the fish’s metabolisms are slow, so you have to slow down your fishing.”
If Fisher makes contact with vegetation during his retrieve, he doesn’t shake it off – not at first, anyway. “Rip through it,” he advises. “Then after you’ve reeled the Rippin’ Rap back to the boat, check your treble hooks to see if the weeds are green. If they are, keep casting to that area. Most often, where you find the greenest vegetation is where fish will be.”
When you hit vegetation in the same area in ensuing casts, “pop your bait forward,” Fisher advises. “Oftentimes, even with sluggish fish, that can be the trigger.”
Both flashy chrome minnow-like patterns and more subdued natural crayfish patterns, like bone, brown and red, can be effective in the spring. “Experiment and let the fish tell you what they want,” Fisher says.
Terminator T1 Spinnerbaits
Fishing T1 spinnerbaits over submerged vegetation, through weed openings and along weedline edges will also yield spring bass, as well as Northern pike.
“Just keeping the bait moving is all you’ve got to do,” Fisher says. “You bump weeds, pop it, get it out of there, keep it going.”
For bass, target inside weedlines and clumps of weed growth on the shallow ends of flats, closer to shore. Pike are likely to hit spinnerbaits “anywhere you throw ‘em on top of a flat,” Fisher says.
Because pike spawn earlier in the spring than bass, by the time bass season opens, pike are already aggressively feeding. Walleyes, which also spawn earlier than bass, will hit spinnerbaits in the spring too. “They’re doing the same thing – going to vegetation to rest up and feed,” Fisher explains.
In the spring, throw spinnerbaits with a combination of Colorado and willow blades, for both thump and flash. In clearer water, white is the best skirt color. In stained to dirty water, tie on spinnerbaits with white-chartreuse skirts.
Husky Jerk Jerkbaits
Fisher will often reach for a Husky Jerk when fishing a deep weed edge on the end of a point. One- to three-second pauses between jerks often draws vicious strikes from big bass and northern pike.
“Husky Jerks are probably one of the greatest springtime baits, simply because the lure suspends correctly in cold temperatures, and has a really tight roll,” Fisher explains. “It’s not a very aggressive-action jerkbait, which is perfect for fish that are still pretty sluggish.”
Bass, pike and walleyes will all hit Husky Jerks in the spring. For walleyes, downsize your baits and employ a sweep-sweep-pause cadence. “That gives the bait more of a gliding action, which is better for walleyes,” Fisher says. For bass and pike, you can fish more aggressively, using a jerk-jerk-pause cadence.
Trigger X Swimming Grub
An “old classic,” a swimming grub is one of the simplest high-percentage smallmouth bass and walleye baits in the spring, Fisher says. “It’s a great fish-finding bait and you’ll catch as many walleyes as well as, pike and bass, come spring,” he says. “It’s the slight vibration and the subtle rotation of the tail that gets ‘em.”
In the spring, Fisher throws a grub in the same shoreline spots that he’ll throw a shallow-running Rapala crankbait in the summer, when fish are more aggressive.
For smallies, pair a Trigger X 4-inch Swimming Grub with a 1/8 oz. VMC Half Moon Jig. For walleyes, rig your grub on a 1/8 oz. VMC Moon Eye Jig. Green pumpkin is the usually the best grub color to start with, Fisher says, “but you should experiment.”
Make Return Trips
No matter which of these four baits work best for you this spring, be sure to return a few times to productive spots. “If fish are moving through that area and using it in the spring, they’ll often replenish,” Fisher says.
Fishing openers
While fishing seasons for the various species are open year-round in some regions, some states forbid fishing for several months in order to protect the resource. In those states, the “opener” – the date on which one can again legally fish for a given species – is a red-letter day anticipated feverishly by anglers. Walleye and pike openers generally precede bass openers by a couple weeks, because bass generally spawn later in the spring.
Rapala How2TV
Watch Fisher demonstrate his Top 4 multi-species spring baits in this video.
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