stepchild

Here in Ontario, Canada, the season for bass doesn't even open until mid-late June, when the bass are typically done spawning. I guess there's a reason for that and we just have to suck it up until June to get our lines wet....for bass that is. Walleye and Pike opener is mid-May and trout is mid-late April (when there's likely still ice on certain lakes).

I would start by identifying the routes the bass would take to leave their winter haunts to get to their spawning areas. Once you have a rough idea, you should at least be in the right area, and that's half the battle. In my experience, the sharper the drop between the spawning grounds and their winter lairs, the better. It gives the fish a foot out the door if ever they want to retreat back to deeper water. As the water warms, you'll spot the males making their nests. At this point in time, I find the bite to be almost entirely driven by the weather, more so than any other time of year. A few sunny, warm days go a long way in getting the fish active. But it also goes the other way, where a cold snap can just shut them down, so you need different presentations on hand to match up with the conditions you're faced with. In terms of lures, you have to remember that it's still fairly cold, so even neutral bass won't be in the mood to chase, as fish are still fairly sluggish. I have found that suspending jerkbaits are fantastic this time of year, but you have to really slow down and use longer pauses than you're used to. Other classics include a drop-shot or a hair jig. These are both slow presentations that should be done even slower sometimes to tempt fish to bite...but when they do, you can get into the biggest bass of the year!

Strike Zone Slammer/Swammer, 4" Zoom Finesse Worms, 3" Berkley GULP Minnows....all on Trokar SD hooks

For about 3 years now, the DS has been a lifesaver for me. I fish deep, clear lakes with LM and SM in them and I would say that, while it does have its time and place, it has the makings of a confidence technique if you happen to use it correctly. What I mean by that is that most peg dropshotting as a vertical, finesse technique that's as exciting as watching paint dry. While it is a way to use this presentation when you spot fish on your electronics, there are many more applications. I have used the DS sightfishing for cruising bass on sand/rock flats. The reason: there's barely any splash and you can make it sit there all day long. If fishing for bass during the spawn were legal here, I would definitely consider this technique...use your creativeness. You can also use a grub or paddletail to drift with, where you can actually cover water fairly quickly. With a plastic bait that has an action tail, you can even rip it up and down to get a bass' attention, as the tail flutters on the way up and down. For your situation in a kayak (I have also done this on a stand-up paddleboard), I would look for points or break lines that run parallel to the wind, and use the wind to your advantage to slowly drift along the piece of structure. Let the fish tell you what works. Sometimes you need to shake the tail of your bait, other times (which I find works more often then not), just letting it sit there is enough to drive bass crazy. In my personal experience, it's a technique I would recommend to anyone who wants to learn another way to get some fish in the boat, regardless of the depth you intend to use it in.

It's illegal to target bass here in Ontario until the 3rd or 4th weekend of June, when the bass have usually finished spawning....so in short, no prespawn fishing for us! To scratch that fishing itch, the walleye/pike season usually opens mid-May.

All I fish is clear (15ft+) water smallies. I've had great success with various types of baits, but if I had to chose 3 for reasonably warm water (65+), they would be: Strike King Denny Brauer Structure Jig, 1/2oz. in green pumpkin/peanut butter bug - with a Baby Rage Craw (which I also use as a swim jig at times) Drop Shot using various baits, such as Gulp Minnows, 4" Havoc finesse worms, Strike King Gobies, etc. LIVETARGET Blueback Herring swimbait - fast-sinking - in silver blue

Depending on the water you fish, fishing deep isn't always the answer. I fish a deep natural lake filled with trout, perch, pumpkinseed, rock bass and crayfish. More often than not, the fish I catch are found between 3 to 15 FOW. If smallies have no reason to go deep, they won't. There might not always be a cloud of baitfish to find on your sonar, so you have to think outside the box sometimes. I would usually start with main lake or secondary points with rock and/or weeds on it. The bigger the boulders, the better (in my experience anyways). Start fishing for active fish first with reaction-type lures like poppers, jerk baits, spinnerbaits, etc and comb through the area. If you don't get anything, then it's time to slow down and fish the same area with a jig & craw, tube or a drop shot. Work the contours and let the fish tell you what's going on that particular day.

Not sure I quite understand what you're asking, but if I'm interpreting your question correctly, then yes, it can be done. I was in a tournament a few years ago and we got to one of our money spots early on since we wanted to get a good topwater bite to start off....nothing for an hour. It's really weird since it was a nice bay away adjacent to deeper water and the main river. It was loaded with weeds and timber but had some nice pockets in there too. We got our answer when a 17lb muskie nailed my popper on a M spinning rod with 10lb test. I was lucky enough that early on in the fight, the fish managed to get all but one hook out and the lure (and most importantly, the line!) was not in his mouth. Took me about 10 mins to land and felt like a whole morning wasted since we didn't get any fish from our key spot. Made up for it in the afternoon though and placed in the money.

^^^ Yup, same here. Real shallow and just as aggressive. But the key is the deep water nearby and an amply food supply. Even in the middle of a scorching hot day with bluebird skies, they can be seen shallow and ready to hit mostly anything you throw

I'd say I'm an 8. I have a discontinued Eagle 500c w/GPS and between that and an old 2d, b&w unit...a color unit with GPS definately helps take some of the guess work out of your fishing day. Like others mentioned, once you start to determine a pattern, it's a lot easier to go to another similar location when you have a lake map displayed besides your sonar screen! Now I know my unit isn't as high end as what you can now find on the market, so I can only imagine how powerful a tool it can be if the unit has features such as structure/down scan!!! It would likely make it that much easier for you to focus on the details that can really help you put the pieces together on any given day.

I don't fish streams very often but I figure the same would apply. There are some streams that empty out in a lake I used to fish and, after heavy rain, it couded some of the water. Typically, smallies use their vision to feed and obviously prefer clear water to stained or muddy. But sometimes, cloudy water can be a good change since the smallies will use it to their advantage to feed all day long. The key is to use horizontal baits with various vibration strengths. I would start with top-water or buzzbaits to call them up and get them agitated a bit. The more aggressive fish should respond. Then, you slow down and use perhaps a spinnerbait, jerkbait or 4-inch grub with a big tail to help the fish home in on the vibration. If there happens to be a mud line, I would fish that extensively as smallies tend to use this as an ambush point. Hope this helps!

Cranks and jigs have always been my downfall. Figured what's the use when you can use jerkbaits and spinnerbaits instead of the cranks and tubes, senkos and T-rigged plastics instead of the jigs. Well I went out on a limb and bought a few LiveTarget cranks to mimic pumkinseed and perch...since I tied one on, I haven't taken it off! I brought in a solid 4lber the other day on it and as it jumped beside the boat, it spit out a small sunfish looking exactly like the lure in its mouth. When the fish are active, you can't go wrong matching the hatch with cranks!

Going deep isn't always the answer though. The lake I'm on is almost 200ft deep and drops sharply from the shoreline. The surface temp was 82 yesterday with little wind. That being said, I caught all of my fish in less than 5 FOW on cranks, senkos and jigs. Logically, with the sun being as strong as it's been, you'd think it would drive the bass deep but they are out there in the shallows in mid-day ready to annihilate anything presented properly. The jet skis are another aspect. You'd also think it would drive them deep and be somewhat timid...but it's the opposite. Anytime one goes by and creates waves, the bass go nuts as it churns the water and frees up easy meals.

I agree that summertime smallies are harder to catch, but I find that it is also the time where they are the most predictable. If you happen to know of a spot where they are active at dusk and dawn, they don't typically wander too far during mid-day (in natural lakes anyway). I find the key is to comb through obvious areas such as saddles, main lakes points and shoals using fast-moving baits and winding down to slower presentations, if need be. Sometimes they are a lot more active than you think so starting off with something slow might not yield the results that you could possibly get using faster presentations. Keep at it and try to think outside the box when all else fails...you may be surprised by the outcome

I live in the North so I can't really claim to say I've fished warm water. I fish some lakes that have both largies and smallies in it and the surface temp can get up to 85 or so, but that's in a lake that also has lake trout and deep water (200 ft+). Like you, I was always under the impression that smallies would seek colder water, where available, if the water temperature seemed a little high. Even on the warmest of summer days (which is likely around 100 w/ humidity) and I can still see them in 2-5 feet of water over the rocks. This made the gears run a little and it just didn't quite add up. What I came up with was fairly simple...forage. The bass in the lake feed primarily on perch, rock bass and crayfish. There are barely any weeds for them to hide in so I'm thinking they might not have a choice but to be there if they want to eat. ...or maybe someone could give me a better explanation as well!

I too have used the Yum Money Minnow but have had limited success. I have only used the 4-inch version though and I seem to get a lot of "bumps" but not really any takers. I'd throw a tube or senko where I had a hit and would catch a lot of fish doing that, but i's frustrating that they weren't taking the swimbait. I have also somewhat tried to burn a King Shad but I never got a hit. I must say there have been some brutes that follow, but none comitted this year. Spinnerbaits & jerks seemed to work better for some reason...

I would typically start by finding flats or humps that top off around 8-10 feet. If there are boulders, rocks and some weed clumps, you've got your work cut out for you. Start with something like a jerkbait to see if you can get one to show up or even get bit. Then slow down and comb through as they might not be as active as you'd probably like. At this time of year, I would look for the first drop-off near an adjacent flat where the smallies would come up to feed. If they're active, then you'll get them all over the flat on horizontal baits like cranks, jerks and spinnerbaits. If they aren't, then you can likely find them in a tight school where jibs and senkos can get you a limit in a hurry...you just have to watch your sonar closely. As a side note, I was dragging a coffee tube off a break this weekend when I noticed a bunch of fish on the bottom. It was actually a school of smallies mixed in with some large rainbows just sitting there waiting to be picked off!

The tourney trails are catching up on this too as several series are making a point to visit...some even twice. Not only is this a great smallie fishery, but you can also put a 25lb bag of largies in the boat on a good day.

I too enjoy great company almost every time I go out. My girlfriend doesn't always fish, but she loves being in the boat and learns a lot just by watching what I do and she picks up on the small details that make a big difference. Congrats on the smallies and hope there's plenty more to come!

About 5 years ago, I saw some weird "bobbers" floating about in one of the most productive bays on a lake. As I approach with my trolling motor, I see that it's two spearfishermen snorkling. At first I just kind of ignored them and went off to the other side of the bay (but they were pretty much on the spot on the spot). About 15 minutes later, i hear screams and it was the spearfishermen. Low and behold, a 7+lb smallie dangling from the spear and them saying "Hey bud, THIS is where you should be fishing...there's a few of these down there!". It made me sick to my stomach.

I use junebug Yum Dingers and Berkley Handpoured Finesse Worms that have some odd colours as well...they just devour them up here!

I'll actually go in the opposite direction that RW did in his post and say you can also burn spinnerbaits under the surface and get some of the most explosive strikes you've ever come across! I find that at the end of spring or whenever there's a cold front approaching in the summertime is when this type of fishing can really pay off. You even get some good results in the last few hours of sunlight as well. I normally use a Terminator spinnerbait in 1/2 ounce with double-willow blades in either white or chartreuse, basically any color that's vibrant and detectable from afar (even though the waters i fish have 12ft+ visibility). This is a very aggressive technique and it's almost as though they strike out of pure anger than anything else. I've actually had some bass BREAK my spinnerbait as all I have left of them are the arm and the blades! Obviously you can't just do this in the middle of the lake. You have to find some sort of hump, saddle or a flat near deep water where they come up from the deeper water to feed. Don't be afraid to throw out in 15ft+ of water though, as they normally come out of nowhere to strike. If the action happens to be slower than you originally thought, you can normally clean up using a #11 Husky Jerk or other suspending minnowbaits.

Last season was really a learning experience for me as far as telling when and where to use the drop-shot for smallies. The key thing to know first hand is the type of structure you'll be fishing as well as the forage that is present. Since my boat is pretty much always in the water and I don't own a vehicle that can tow it, I'm usually "stuck" to fish the same waters. That being said, I don't rely on my electronics as much since I pretty much have a good undderstanding of the type of structure, cover and bait available. But when they're deep, it's like ice fishing....you see them on the sonar and you see your bait go down. Next thing you know, you feel weight. Set and hold on! I quickly learned that drop-shotting can be used at any time of the year, but has better use in specific situations. For example, where I would normally use a hair jig and trailer, I sometimes used DS since I believe the smallies can see the bait off the bottom at all time, instead of slipping in and out of surrounding boulders. When summer comes around, mid-day is a hard time to stick 'em. But I learned that using a DS can get a few bass to bite when dead-sticking a 3-4" senko. Seems just wave action is enough to wiggle the ends and they just go nuts! If that doesn't work, downscale. Sometimes even a slimmer profile bait like a Zoom 4" finess worm does the trick. If not, then my go-to bait was a 3" Gulp Alive minnow...they can't resist 'em! But just to warn you, if you always use this as a way to catch bass....I quickly found out that being a "one trick pony" doesn't always cut it. DS has its place just like every other tactic.

I have caught my biggest lmb of the year on a musky/pike spinnerbait. Truth is, I WAS fishing for pike since the season wasn't open (muskies neither) and a chunky 7lb'er smacked it real good....and that was after I just boated a few larger pike. Keep in mind that here in Canada, 5lb largies are considered good sized fish and that more likely than not, when throwing oversized spinnerbaits for lmb, you'll hook up with a musky or pike a few times before a big enough bass gets a chance to hit.

It's the same thing here. Way too many perch, sunfish, rock bass and other small fish to target bass with worms. It's actually one of the reasons why I HAVE to use artificials since it weeds out the smaller fish and gets the bigger fish to respond.