Bankbeater

Most of the time in early spring when the water is colder I will be fishing with moving baits. I still bring the Texas rig with me just in case the bass don't want moving baits.

Welcome from your neighbor in Missouri.

Welcome to the forums.

It is what makes my shoulder hurt. I don't know what it does as far as fishing.

I'd fish a 1/4 ounce jig and craw. Work it across the top of the vegetation like you would if it were sitting on the bottom with short hops.

Around here it's called your regular Saturday spring weather.

<-- Cotton Cordell Big-O. It was the first crankbait I ever caught a bass on.

Wow! You had quite the trip.

Rage craw?

I've never thrown one either, and I don't think I have ever seen anyone on the lakes around here fishing with one. It may be an option for heavily fished water.

That is the cover I have been fishing in the past two months. I start off with a swim jig or a spinnerbait in dead lilypads, and then I'll move to deeper water with eelgrass. I've been walking down the bank, but then I'll back up and cast into the same area from a slightly different angle.

This is a pic from Saturday. I caught this one on a swim jig before the wind gusts started.

Last week we were seeing high temps in the upper 60's, 70's, and low 80's. Yesterday the high temp was in the high 40's. At least it keeps the bucket fishermen off of the water.

That's a nice smallie.

If the dropoff has cover like grass or vegetation near the top, or at the bottom, I would fish along the edge of that.

I'll start off with a Texas rig to get an idea of what is under the surface. After that, I will try a shallow running crankbait if the stumps are deeper than say a foot or so. If I want to go deeper I will use a spinnerbait.

Good going.

This year my favorite baits have been a spinnerbait and a swim jig.

Congratulations!

Get better, and don't rush it.

When I am finesse fishing it means light baits, small hooks, no sinker, and light line no more than 10#. Depending on where I am fishing I might need to retie a lot due to the line getting nicked up. I also like to keep a little extra line on the spool just in case I run into a carp or large cat.

Each has a time and place. Spring and fall I will be fishing with baitcasters. In the heat of summer I'll be using a spinning reel more.

Mono backing on a regular spool.

Nice write up and nice bass catching.

I use a little bit of everything. I've had the best luck fishing with a Smithwick Rogue.