Next year I think I'm gonna start right after ice out by going small to see what my catch rates are like. Inline spinners, kastmasters, road runners and beetle spins. Been reading about how these kill in cold water yet I've never really thrown them much. Anybody go this route in cold spring waters?

No doubt finesse will work. But I'll be crawling these 6 & 8" baits around looking for bigger girls.

TRD Bug on a 1/8 football head on main lake basin structure has been my #1 producer right after ice out, especially for brown bass.

I have had good luck early in the year with the micro chatter bait with a small single tail grub trailer on my 700 Dobyns BFS rod. Did land quite a few pickerel with it as well. Good luck.

I caught a couple of 1-2lb bass this spring fishing a trout magnet on an UL rod. No better bait if you just want to catch anything. 

I've caught some big ones on Beetle Spins right after ice out. 

 

I'd check out the new Z-man micros. I've been playing with the micro TRDs and catching a little bit of everything on them.