How To Fish A New Lake For Bass In Spring

Glenn: There. See? I knew he was there.

Keri: Come-hither.

Glenn: I'm not crazy.

Keri: I know you're not.

Glenn: There was a fish there.

Keri: He's got me wrapped up in a twig. There is a fish there. Yay. You were not crazy. Come-hither, and I'll let you go. Come-hither, and I will let you go.

Glenn: That’s a good fish.

Keri: Yeah, he's healthy. If he's guarding a bed, I'd be surprised at that because he's really healthy.

Glenn: He is. There's no red tail or anything.

Keri: No, nothing.

Glenn: He might be guarding fry maybe?

Keri: Yeah. Maybe. Stop it. Here you go. Bye-bye. Thank you for playing. Are you going to just look at me?

Glenn: Look at this. He's still looking at... There he goes. He didn't know he was released.

Keri: He's just staring at me.

Glenn: Yeah.

Keri: Put me back in the boat. I've never seen a fish do that before.

Glenn: Hey, folks. Glenn May here with BassResource.com, and today I'm going to talk to you about a question I often get, which is, hey, if you went to a brand new body of water, don't know anything about it at all, what are the top five lures that you would use and what would be your approach to find and catch fish? So, today I want to talk to you about that, finding fish on a brand new body of water during spring.

It boils down to about five main lures, and I'll get to those in just a second. But first, I want to talk a little bit about my approach in the spring.

It's all about the spawn, right? So, the spawn is right around the low 60s. Now, there's a group of fish that are going to spawn before that and another group that will spawn a little bit after that, but the main bulls-eye target, low 60s. So, the water temperature is going to dictate a lot about where I'm going to fish. Is it before, you know, pre-spawn? Is it before the spawn, or are we talking during the spawn or post-spawn? That's going to have a lot to do with where the fish are going to be positioned.

Pre-spawn, early pre-spawn, they're going to be deep. They're going to be near those spawning areas, usually on main points, secondary points, deeper creek channels that lead up into the shallow water. Those contour lines is what you want to look at and follow those up into shallower water. They're going to be somewhere along there.

As you get into late pre-spawn, closer to that spawn, the temperature gets in the mid to upper 50s. Now, they're going to be moving up on the flats and feeding heavily. They're getting ready for the spawn. So, I'm not going to look that deep anymore. Now, I'm going to look shallower.

Spawn, of course, they're going to be shallow, so I'm going to be looking there all the time, and then post-spawn is going to be a blend. You're going to have some fish that are up shallow that are guarding fry, other fish that have moved off a little bit deeper recovering from the spawn, and even furthermore, those that are feeding up, recovering from the spawn, you know. There's a period where they won't eat immediately after they spawn, and then they gorge themselves thereafter. It can be a real fun time to catch fish. So, that's kind of going to help me right away, like where am I going to fish?

The other piece of it is a brand new lake, if I don't know anything about it, one of the first things that I always do is when I launch my boat, I beeline it immediately to the closest point. And the reason for that is a lot of tournaments are held right at those boat launches and a lot of guys release their fish right there. Well, the closest structure is that point.

So, those fish will migrate over to there and they'll hang out for a little while before disbursing, you know, throughout the rest of the lake. Well, those fish have already been caught. They have a propensity to bite. So, any fish that are sitting on that point are more than likely more apt to bite your lure, so it's a great place to start fishing.

A lot of guys will launch from a marina and take off, beeline down the lake and pass up that point. I go right to it and I usually do pretty good. So, that's the first thing I'm going to do, and I'm going to try to figure out exactly what depth they're at and what is their disposition.

Are we in between fronts? Are we just after a front? Has it been stable weather? That's going to determine their activity level and what speed or what kind of lure I want to throw. So, getting into that, here are the five lures that I'm going to use.

Let's start off with a Yum Dinger. A Yum Dinger is one of my favorite lures to use throughout the spring because it is so versatile. Early in the spring, if we are looking at, you know, early pre-spawn throughout, you know, middle pre-spawn when the fish are deeper, you can rig it on a Carolina rig, drop shot rig, say a split-shot rig. Where they're hanging on those deeper humps, maybe a hump that's got some grass on it, deeper grass beds, logs, reefs, whatever it is that's down there that holds them, you know, that 10 to 25-foot range, you can get down there with that rig with a Yum Dinger.

And the Yum Dinger is such a subtle approach. You're going to catch a lot of fish regardless of the disposition, but you can speed it up or slow it down depending on what they want. So, it's a real versatile lure to use. So, that's one of the first ones in my arsenal, especially when you get up shallow.

When they're now up in the flats and they're feeding heavily, you can cast it to any kind of target that's out there. Cast it to weeds, to logs, stumps, rocks, docks.

I love skipping them under docks during the pre-spawn and into spawn. Those fish will get up underneath there and you just put it right in front of their face. They're going to clock it. So, it's a fun way to fish it.

And even in the post-spawn when these fish are guarding fry, you can use like a jerkbait and twitch it through that ball of fry they're guarding and an aggressive male will come through and attack it. And of course, during the spawn, you can use it and drop it down on the bed and you can entice the bass to bite it that way.

I only ask if you guys are fishing for spawning fish or even fish that are guarding fry, if you catch them, great, you know, good for you. That's awesome. I enjoy doing that too. Just be sure to let them go right away so they can continue with the spawn and finish what they're doing. Anyway, PSA over.

And then also in the post-spawn when the fish are getting real active and they want to feed up for the summer, again, the Yum Dinger is a really good bait.

Just use it. Weightless. Just Texas rig it when you're fishing shallow. Texas rig it, weightless. You can throw it around any kind of cover. It's not going to get hung up. Just let it fall and slackline and let it do its job and those fish will usually hit it before it hits the bottom. So, great versatile lure to use throughout the entire spring.

He's right here at the point. See him? Go to him. Take it. Let him take it. He doesn't have the hook. There he goes!

Keri: That was awesome.

Glenn: That worked.

Keri: Come here, little guy. Come here.

Glenn: He's not so little. He's not bad.

Keri: No, he's not. He's the biggest one I've caught here. Come say hi to Glenn. Say hi. Hi. Come here. Come on. Come here. Yeah. I had to wait for you to eat it and then you ate it. Are you wore out? He's a good size.

Glenn: There you go. That works.

Keri: That works. All right. Thank you, dude. Thank you. Go have fun now.

Glenn: Next lure I like to use is the jig, a jig for the very same reasons you can fish a Yum Dinger, and why I like it is you can fish it from 60 feet to 1 foot. It's very versatile in all the depths that they're at, which is going to cover where those fish are going to be from early spring all the way through the spawn and into post-spawn. They're going to be at all different depth ranges. They're going to be hanging off on those points, the secondary points, those creek channels, rock homes, weed lines. And then when they get shallow and they're feeding up on the flats, again, cast it on anything you can see, any kind of visible cover. I love to flip and pitch during this time of year. Any kind of cover, thick cover that then can bury up into, especially after a front has coming through. This is where the jig really shines is I can flip and pitch it in that thick bushes, trees, sunken timber, anything like that where they maybe hold up under holding tight to cover, you can get that jig in there without worrying about it to get hung up. And usually, when you get it right in front of their face, they're going to bite it. May have to slow down your presentation a little bit, but a jig is a real good bait to use, especially when the bite is slow.

But also, again, any depth. I go a little bit heavier weight when it's deeper, 1/2-ounce to 3/4-ounce when they're deeper, say deeper than 15 feet deep. When it's shallower I stick to a 3/8-ounce jig. I love that nice slow fall. Usually, that slow enticing fall is what elicits a bite.

We have a customer.

Keri: Another one.

Glenn: There we go.

Keri: It must be the jig strike today.

Glenn: Hello.

Keri: It's got to be the jig strike today.

Glenn: Look at that.

Keri: Oh, he's mad. He's mad.

Glenn: All right. Give me your face. Thank you. Not bad. I can take these all day long.

Keri: All day long.

Glenn: Especially in the summer when you're catching little dinks. This is fun. All right. There you go, buddy.

Okay. Let's move on to my next bait that I really love to use during the spring. Those guys who have known me for decades know that I absolutely love the spinnerbait. It's a great year-round bait for me, but especially in the spring. I absolutely love it. I have one on the deck of my boat at all times when I'm out there fishing in the spring because you can fish at all depths again and at different speeds and it resembles baitfish, and it has a nice bulky look to it that the fish are looking to feed upon.

In early spring, I use a bigger bait, a bigger spinnerbait like a 3/4-ounce spinnerbait with Colorado blades, and I'll slow roll it around those deeper structure that I've talked about earlier. Nice and slow. I almost drag it down there or a yo-yo effect. I've caught fish hanging out in 15 feet of water, just dropping it, you know, throwing it out there, cast it, and just letting it fall and slackline. It just helicopters down, comes down at vertical like that, and a lot of times it gets hit before it hits the bottom. So, it's a great pre-spring, or early spring, early pre-spawn way of catching fish.

As they move up shallower, then you can start moving it faster, moving it more horizontal in those shallow areas. Again, same thing. Any visible structure that they could be hiding on or hanging out in, if they're in a bait chasing mood, they're going to hit a spinnerbait. So, it's a really good bait to use.

I don't use trailer hooks, guys, because I like to throw spinnerbaits in the thickest cover I can. Wherever I throw a jig, I like to throw a spinnerbait. If I can get it through there, I'll use a spinnerbait because it's got that flash and action. And a lot of times guys are too afraid to throw those kind of lures in this thick cover, and so the bass don't see that presentation. So, a good, thick, heavy spinnerbait, big and bulky because...except for early in the spring when the temperature's in the low to mid-50s, the baitfish haven't spawned yet, so all the baitfish are good size. So, this makes a large spinnerbait, 3/4-ounce spinnerbait with a trailer on it a really good choice. Has got that bulk that all the forage base has right now. So, that's why I throw the bigger ones.

Now, right immediately after the spawn, then I'll downsize. I'll use a 1/4-ounce spinnerbait, real small one without any trailer hooks, without any trailer on it. So, a little small, subtle, compact size, and I'll slay them. You know, for the next four to five weeks after the spawn, it's a great bait to use, and then I'll go back up to a 3/8-ounce and a 1/2-ounce spinnerbait as time goes on, as the forage base grows and gets larger. So, great bait to use throughout the spring.

The next bait I like to use is a paddle tail swimbait. You know, I throw in a lot of places where a spinnerbait will work, but because it doesn't have all the flash and vibration and has more of a profile of a baitfish, it's great to use when the bass aren't as aggressive and they're not willing to chase down a bait, or maybe the spinnerbait is a bit too flashy, too much vibration is actually turning them off. Paddle tail is a great time to switch to that.

I rig it with a keel weighted hook, 1/4-ounce keel weighted hook Texas rig. So I can throw it into anything and it's not going to get hung up. I'll go a little bit heavier if I'm fishing deeper, you know, say that 10 to 25-foot zone then I might use a 3/8-ounce, perhaps even a 1/2-ounce, it's a little heavy, but to get it down there and just dredge it along that deeper channels, the deeper structure, the humps, the ridges, those are the things that work in early pre-spawn, but it's most effective during that pre-spawn period when those fish are up shallow and they're actively chasing baitfish, 1/4-ounce keel weighted paddle tail swimbait is really effective.

And I throw that all over the place over the top of weeds. Emergent/Submergent weed beds is really a great way to throw it because those bass are buried up in there pouncing on any baitfish that comes by, and this comes right over their head, and, you know, boom, it's magic. It works so well. It's so much fun, and they clock it, man, you know when they get it. There's no bones about it. They nail it.

And even in the post-spawn. If you take that and bring it through a ball of baitfish that a male is guarding, he'll come by and whack it. Now, he may not take it, so you may have to actually give it some slack when he hits it because sometimes they nip at it in the tail when they're guarding fry. So, when they hit it, give it slack immediately, and then they'll let go and they'll suck it in again, then set the hook. A little tip for you.

Keri: Hey, look at that. Got a little Bucky Boo. Got a little Bucky Boo.

Glenn: There we go. Caught on a frog.

Keri: Caught a frog code.

Glenn: Actually, a toad. If you really want to be specific.

Keri: You got a little Bucky Boo on a toad.

Glenn: He's hungry because that's a big toad for this guy. I'll take it.

Keri: Take it.

Glenn: All right. One more bait that I like to use, again, this is in the spring when there's a brand new lake that I've never seen before. All these baits work really well, but one bait I really love to throw in the springtime is a frog. And I'll throw a frog a lot earlier than you might think.

A lot of guys start throwing frogs when that water temperature gets up in the low 60s, maybe a little bit, you know, upper 50s, but 60, 65, and above is usually when they start pulling out those frogs. And you've missed a lot of fun action if you're doing that. I pull it out when it gets in the low 50s, believe it or not. Excellent time to throw a frog.

There's a lot of different ways to throw frogs. A lot of guys like to walk the dog with frogs, but for me, I like to capitalize on the main characteristic of a frog, and that is it floats, and it floats and stays in place for as long as you want it to do. So, a frog is great when those fish are hanging in those weeds, when they're hanging by the docks, they're hanging out in, you know, those flats where there's lots of flooded timber or what have you, you can throw it out there, bring it across those weeds and let it stop where there's a pocket or an opening or stop it right next to a stump, something where the fish will be hanging, and just let it pause and sit there for as long as you can stand it, and then stick your rod tip and just give it a little nudge, just enough to make it give a little bit of ripple in the water and let it sit again. And this works really well also when the fish are in beds, by the way. Just park it over the top of their bed and you just give it a little twitch, and that fish is going to get annoyed, or he's going to get hungry or whatever it is, if it's pre-spawn, or during the spawn, even post-spawn, there's fish guarding fry, or they're actively feeding. This is a really good time to use that frog where you can just park it right over where they're sitting and just entice them to bite. I really like doing it that way, and I'll plop, plop, plop, plop, plop, plop, get to the next spot and stop and wait. And it can scare you because you're sitting and watching this frog. It's not moving. Nothing has happened, all of a sudden, bam, you know, the water explodes. And, you know, you might set the hook too quick when that happens. So, just be sure to tell yourself, "Don't set the hook. Don't set the hook." Keep reminding yourself because when that happens, you don't react and set it. You got to wait till that fish has stretched that line out. Once he's got that line nice and tight, then pop him and you'll get him. Otherwise, you'll pull that lure away from him when he still has his mouth open and he won't get it.

But a frog can be very effective and I've had it...it works, whether I'm fishing a river system or any kind of lake across the country in the springtime. As soon as the temperatures get above 50 degrees, I bust out a frog and I catch a lot, especially the big fish. They like those frogs.

So, those are the main five lures I'll use trying to find fish during the spring on a new body of water. Now, if I catch fish and I find a different pattern, I may switch to a different lure, say a crankbait, or maybe a lipless crankbait or something like that, but these baits are the ones that I use to search and find fish and figure out what's going on and then I adapt from there. So, I hope those tips help. For more tips and tricks like this, visit BassResource.com.