Ok this will be my first season fishing for small mouth right after ice out. Normally I am going after salmon but have taken to the sport of bass fishing and really want to learn how to fish them throughout the entire fishing season.  In the north no one that I know fishes them until the 1st of june (too busy going after salmon) so I am kind of on my own here.   I was going to deadstick some senkos or plastic creatures or try jigs with trailers.  I'll try spinnerbaits and jerkbaits as well but I know the presentation has to be slow and from what I have read they are all deep right now anyway when it is this cold so not sure if the shallower lures will be that effective.  Any advice would be great.  I'll be heading out next weekend.  Up here in Maine the ice is 3/4s out on the lakes that I fish and by this weekend I expect them to be competely ice free.

try to find the warmest water on the lake shallow with grass and rocks - twitch a jerk bait - or fish a tube real SLOW - SLOW - SLOW is the key