What are your favorite Spring bass lures when faced with a string of several "blue bird" days in a row ? ...Bright sun , not a cloud in the sky , steady warm temps , little wind and clear to light stained water ? 

Large soft swimbaits or glides over deep breaks.

Jigs or Trigs tracing that break as well.

 

 

scott

Swim jigs or underspins.............

Jigs, or t-rigs

In those conditions i have to slow down and down size. Micro jig, TRD, CrawZ, or shaky head 

I'm curious about people's thoughts about jigs on this list. Lot of people seem to day yes, since in bright sun bass seem to hold tighter to cover and roam less and jigs are great for fishing cover slow. At the same time though, jigs are only meant to create the illusion of a crawfish by kicking up bottom debris to mask the profile of a jig. At least to my understanding. Clouds/darkness could help conceal a jig too. I'm sure water clarity plays a role too. @WRB or anyone else? 

It makes no difference to me what the sky conditions are . I'm fishing shallow cover with the same lures .

11 minutes ago, scaleface said:

It makes no difference to me what the sky conditions are to me . I'm fishing shallow cover with the same lures .

Same here. Catching a few dinks is not really what I'm trying to do. It only takes one good fish to make a day worthwhile.

Either live bait or find every single shady spot and matted cover I can find.

I’ve been struggling on those days. This time of year they usually come right after a wicked cold front. 

To me, those conditions during an Iowa spring garner increased bass activity in the shallows, with the sun contributing to the warming up of south-facing shorelines.  I'm not afraid to throw moving baits in those areas, as I believe the bass will generally be active.  Spinnerbait or a square bill would be the first choices coming to mind.

I call that day...Live Bait Day. 

Great question. For me it depends on what time of year it is. Right now a sunny, warm, bluebird day has fish biting and heading shallow. A cold pattern pushes them out and makes em tight lipped.

 

In the summer, those warm sunny bluebird days are rough. I try to hit the lake early or late in the day, or at night. Fish are looking for relief from the sun and heat, so they often head for shade. Docks, pads, thick weeds, or deeper depths often come to mind.

My go-to search baits in those conditions are a weightless 5-6" watermelon red stick bait or a 3" swim bait with a 1/16 oz weighted hook.

 

Drag it over vegetation, let it sink in the holes, pause when you get to the edge, then pop it off so it sinks a few inches off the edge.

 

Pitch it around wood, bushes, and rock, let it sink to the bottom, make a few twitches.

18 hours ago, the reel ess said:

Same here. Catching a few dinks is not really what I'm trying to do. It only takes one good fish to make a day worthwhile.

The waters I fish this time of year have only a few inches of visibility maybe just an inch or two  . The bass are in cover , so whatever fishes the cover best . 

On those days I head to the nearest and heaviest vegetation, break out the swim jigs, and set phasers to "fun."

Years ago a friend turned me on the using a black spinnerbait with black nickel blades when faced with these conditions.

 

It's worked for me in the Atchafalaya Basin and the fresh water marshes south of Morgan City, LA.

NM. Replied to the wrong person.

On clear, hot days I'll be in the vegetation.  The deeper the growth the better.  Jigs, plastic worms, senkos, creature baits, or shad colored crankbaits.

I use the same lures as any other day or night

On 4/19/2021 at 4:30 AM, ChrisD46 said:

What are your favorite Spring bass lures when faced with a string of several "blue bird" days in a row ? ...Bright sun , not a cloud in the sky , steady warm temps , little wind and clear to light stained water ? 

Spring meaning 3/24/2021-6/20/2021 the Farmers Almanac or the bass spawn seasonal period? Very misleading to evaluate bass behavior by our calendar. 

Blue bird sunny warm days are ideal for bass to spawn, not so ideal for bass to feed without sunlight break lines to aid them.

Tom

Skipping flukes under over hangs and put on plenty of sunscreen. 

Spring open shallow water; 1/4oz jig, tube, wacky worm, 1.5 square bill

 

Summer deep side of weed edges; square bills, rattle traps, 3/8-1/2ozjigs, chatter bait 

Summer boiling hot, jigs and frogs on docks  and buzz bait in between docks

 

Fall; spinner bait late in the day

On 4/19/2021 at 2:30 PM, LrgmouthShad said:

 jigs are only meant to create the illusion of a crawfish by kicking up bottom debris to mask the profile of a jig.

A jig can imitate many types of forage and under a lot of conditions it works best as a vertical presentation.  This makes it an excellent bait for the conditions the OP described as it can be presented close to the target cover.  I'll normally go to a tungsten jig and adjust the trailer for a slower fall rate, or go to a lighter jig with a small trailer then.

If fishing structure, The tungsten jig and a small trailer with a more subtle action will often get me a few bites. 

Thanks for all of the suggestions - more often than not in such conditions bass will be holding tight to cover or bottom  except during lower light periods . The wild card is a top water to bring the occasional bass to the surface .

9 hours ago, papajoe222 said:

A jig can imitate many types of forage and under a lot of conditions it works best as a vertical presentation.  This makes it an excellent bait for the conditions the OP described as it can be presented close to the target cover.  I'll normally go to a tungsten jig and adjust the trailer for a slower fall rate, or go to a lighter jig with a small trailer then.

If fishing structure, The tungsten jig and a small trailer with a more subtle action will often get me a few bites. 

Thank you for mentioning this and for correcting my limited interpretation of a jig. Yeah, I shouldn't pigeonhole jigs.