1. Remember Water Depth – Bass are moving from the deeper waters into shallower waters to feed at this time of year. They are going to be hungrier than usual because it is now that they are gathering the energy and protein necessary for their milk and egg production. Focus on areas where fish have quick access from deep water to shallow feeding grounds. Steep underground drop offs and cliffs will be your best bet. Also look for stumps, fallen trees, rock piles, and even fence lines, that move from shallow to deeper waters.
2. Slow your Retrieve – Remember the water is still pretty cold, and fish are cold blooded. That means they’ll still be moving quite slowly. Slow moving lures like worms, jigs, and even crank-baits seem to work well. If you’re using a crawdad imitation be sure to make it noisy by using a slightly bigger hook than usual, but no matter what lure you choose be sure to SLOW IT DOWN. Take notice of the gear ratio on your reel and use that to help you decide how fast your should be reeling. You should also throw a few practice casts parallel to your boat or the shoreline in some clear shallow water and watch your lure as your retrieve it. Once you feel you’ve found the right speed, take it to the fish and see how they react. The right retrieval speed can be the difference between getting the strike and having that fish just follow the bait over and over again.
3. Don’t get overly excited! – Yes, we all know that fishing can be very exciting! Why else would we do it? But it is important to always stay calm and be prepared. There is absolutely nothing worse than losing fish after fish because your line is old or your hooks aren’t sharp enough. Be sure to take a little time the day before to clean up and organize your gear, reline all of your reels and sharpen your hooks. Always keep in mind, though, that although sharpened hooks and new line greatly increase your chances of landing a monster, the most important thing of all is setting the hook. Not only will the fish be swimming more slowly, but their strikes will be a little slower too. If you have a graphite rod, like most of us to, then you will probably feel the fish almost immediately. Delaying your reaction of setting the hook for just 1/2 a second can mean the difference between getting a deep set hook that won’t come out, and a shallow set hook that the fish can spit out on you.
Douglas Mancillas invites you to learn more of the best kept fishing secrets of the pros at http://www.LargemouthBassExtremeSecrets.com
Article Source: Douglas Mancillas
Image assumed to be by Vineyard assumed (based on copyright claims). Own work assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1480643
See also: Bass fishing 101