Those Early
Bass
By Wayne Ek
By bass opener most of our fish in central Minnesota have already made their
spawning migration to the shallows. We can see some late spawning fish in our
deeper clear lakes, but for the most part the spawn is over. What we often see are
two distinct groups of fish. We see the smaller males still running the banks
and spawning flats, looking for late spawning females. Then, if we have a
normal spring, we will also see the larger females moving into the shallows to
feed. These shallow fish will be aggressive, but very spooky in clear water
lakes. It’s this group of larger shallow fish that I like to target this time
of year and I have had good success using two different techniques.
By this time of year the whole lake has warmed and almost all the dark-bottomed
bays will be considerably warmer. You should see good weed growth in most of
the mucky bays, and that’s where to start. Look for large bays with expansive
shallow flats, preferably mud bottoms. The water you are looking for is
shallow, sometimes only a foot deep, but don’t let the depth fool you, it holds
fish this time of the year. I throw two baits. The first is a plastic jerk
bait, either Zoom super fluke or Lunker City Fin-s, usually in white or pearl.
For fishing plastic jerk-baits I use a spinning outfit, the rod is either a
6’6’’ or 7 ‘ medium heavy Quantum PT Tour Edition and the reel is a Quantum
Catalyst, spooled with Power-Pro braid. I’ve tried fluorocarbon lines, but they
seem to have too much memory in the higher pound ratings for spinning reel use.
This is a slow presentation, a couple of jerks and a long pause. Don’t be
afraid to go shallow and slow. On some bays my cast lands on the bank, then
gets worked back into the water. You won’t cover as much water with jerk baits
as you will with the next presentation. The next bait is the old reliable
buzzbait, in the ¼ ounce model. I use both Strike King and Accent baits,
depending on whether or not I’m throwing single or double blades. I like the
Accent baits when using double bladed buzzers because of the foam floats on the
front, which allows for a little slower retrieve. My buzzbait fishing is done
with a bait-casting outfit, which allows me to use a fluorocarbon line. I’ve
been using Stren line, in the 14 to 17 pound range. Because of the clear water,
I feel using a fluorocarbon line spooks the fish less and produces more bites.
Make long casts to cover lots of water. Otherwise, you just spook fish with the
boat. There is a down side to making long casts. Anytime you hook a fish at
the end of a long cast, you usually spook any fish between the hooked fish and
the boat as you bring them in. This time of year the fish will not necessarily
be set up on ambush points, they can be roaming all over the place, so fan cast
the whole bay.
The second technique is jig worming. Now you have to move out to the main lake.
Look for large beds of curly leaf cabbage. It helps if you already know where
these beds are from past seasons, as the new growth is sometimes hard to see in
the water. This time of the year the cabbage beds are sparse and the plants are
at various heights. You’re usually not fishing deeper than 12’ or shallower
than 5’. For this technique I use a spinning outfit, on a six-foot medium heavy
rod, spooled with a braided line. I’ve had good results with both Power pro and
Fire line in the 14-pound range. I use Gopher mushroom-head jigs. The weight of
the jig depends more on the wind conditions than the water depth. For plastics
on the jig I’ve been using Berkley 4-inch straight tail finesse worms,
black/chartreuse. The jig is rigged with the hook exposed. Make shorter casts
to the area, letting the worm settle to the bottom. Then just shake the worm
before snapping it off the bottom to re-settle again. When you get hooked up on
the cabbage, and you will, shake the worm before snapping it free of the plant.
A lot of hits come just as it snaps free of the plant. With the medium heavy
rod and braided line, the jig hook will cut right through a new growth cabbage
stem. If you’re fishing it right, you may even see some vegetation floating
behind your boat as you work through an area. As the cabbage thickens and grows
higher in the water column you need to change your technique, but we will
address that in another article.
Good luck on the bass opener and I hope to see you on the water.
Wayne Ek,
Agape Fishing Guides
classicbass.com Field Staff
