Top Bass Techniques to Focus on This Spring

During the spring months, it's the perfect time to target trophy bass swimming near the shoreline. From the pre-spawn period to post-spawn, the following five lures cover your bases as the bass transition from staging pre-spawn locations in deep water up to the shallow bedding grounds later in the spring.

A bladed jig is a great option for targeting prespawn bass when worked at a moderate pace along the shoreline. Aim for shallow grass flats, dock channels, and protected spawning bays where bass are likely to pull up and spawn. Use a 7'-7'3" Medium to Medium-Heavy casting rod with a moderate to fast tip.

As the water temperatures begin to warm up in early spring, a lipless crankbait can be effective for targeting bass throughout the water column.

Use a medium to medium-heavy casting rod with a moderate tip that is strong enough to rip your bait through the grass but still tapered enough to help absorb some shock during hooksets.

A casting jig paired with a crawfish trailer can mimic a crawfish scurrying or bluegill or baitfish scrounging for food. Flip a jig near classic shallow water targets like dock pilings, brush piles, and rocky shorelines to catch bass looking to feed on their favorite springtime meal, the crawfish.

Soft plastic swimbaits are versatile lures that can be used in many ways to catch bass during the spring. Smallmouth anglers can pair a ball head jig with a small 2-4 inch swimbait and fan cast prespawn areas where smallmouth tend to roam. This includes rock piles, structures near spawning flats, below a dam in a river, or in the deep pools of local creeks.

For largemouth bass, try rigging soft plastic swimbaits weightless and use them as subtle topwater lures to burn over the top of bedding bass. The weightless feature allows them to be fished shallow without spooking the fish, and the back and forth tickle from the paddle tail can entice the protective bass into taking a swipe. This is a great way to catch trophy-sized bass swimming near the shoreline during the spring months.

Finally, a wacky rigged Senko is an all-time shallow water fish catcher. Cast out a wacky rigged worm and let it fall slowly near shallow water weeds, brush, and dock posts. When the fishing line starts to take off in the other direction, reel down and set the hook. The tantalizing fall of a slow sinking Senko is irresistible to bass, and it's effortless to fish. For those who are impatient or don't like waiting for the slow fall of a weightless Senko, try adding a 1/16 oz weighted wacky hook to increase fall rate.