If you are in one of the colder climates and you've been dreaming of the spring thaw all winter, what is the first bait you toss when the ice melts in February or March?  I've had good luck with a 4" Bass Assassin in March the past two years so I'll probably go with that right away.

Definitly a jerkbait!!

Concur - X-Raps and Pointer 78.

The first water I usually hit in the year is a smallmouth lake.  Lures are LC Chart. Live Pointer, 1/4 ounce Kastmaster jigging spoon, and a 1.5 smoke Slider Grub.

Ha...After posting this, I was looking at buying more of these, and I find that there's no such thing as a 4" Bass Assassin....I guess I was using the 5".  How's that for flaunting your ignorance?

Hands down.  1/8 oz jig (swim it) and a super fluke, both in 1-4 ft of water.  Max out those warming coves

Pointers, and believe it or not, a crankbait.

Bandit 200 series thown in lakes.  For some reason you can get good results with a cranktbait on Lake Gaston in February and March.

Jigs and pigs, too.

I already did. My canal is partially thawed, so yesterday I went in the yard and threw a Shallow Shad Rap, X-Rap, and a Wild Shiner.............no luck, but it sure did feel with a rod and reel in my hand again.

Falcon

Probably a jerkbait or jig n pig.

1. LC Pointer

2. LC Flat Mini

3. 3/16 oz finesse jig

4. Zoom 5" Lizard

Usually they will be hitting at least one of these baits when the water starts warming up.

Agree with the jerkbaits, both hard baits and soft. Jigs. Crankbaits.

i would throw a silver buddy

jerkbait on one lake, and either jig and craw or slow rolling a big colorado bladed spinnerbait at the other lake

The opening of the boating season on the NYC reservoirs which usually has been ice free for just a few weeks, will see me fishing the back NE corners of coves for Smallmouth with #8 & 10 X-Raps in Perch, Brewer 3" Grubs in Watermelon with Black flake, and Super Flukes with a nose nail in Albino Shad.

Hands down.  1/8 oz jig (swim it) and a super fluke, both in 1-4 ft of water.  Max out those warming coves

Don't get me wrong, a baby 1 minus, Floating Rapala (retrieved), will work back there along with many other things (in all sorts of colors,hehehe) but the jig is very reliable on the hook up and easy to lip and unhook as opposed to something w/ double trebles and the Fluke gets the attention of not only the bass but the ravenous Pickerel that are very active at ice out also.

Original Floating Rapalas; I usually use #11's, sometimes after ice out a smaller #9 is the ticket!

White Super Fluke type baits.

Jointed Cabelas Glass Raps and X Raps, which I will switch to if the psycho pickerel are chewing up my Balsa Rapala's 8-)

Are we talking about the first week of ice out when the water turns over and the whole column is around 39-40*F and the water is supersaturaeted with Oxygen, or are we talking about early and mid spring lures and patters?

I hear a lot of guys talking about jerkbaits, but I learned that during the early months when the water is still chilly bass will come into the shallows to feed, but they will spend most of their times back in deeper water. Is this ture, or once ice out comes bass will start moving up into the shallows for good until post spawn when they will shift a little more off the shoreline?

I was going to say as far as lures go; suspending cranks, jigs, and tubes should work great. The tubes and jigs immitate crawfish coming out of hibernation, and the suspending cranks can be worked and kept right in the strike zone to trigger lethargic bass into eating a "dying or injured baitfish".

Which winter thaw? The lakes around here have frozen and thawed 2 or 3 times already :-?. We've been having pretty good luck with the mid size Mann's 1-minus.

If it's the No.East your fishing,look for steep dropoffs near the bank.Places where the water drops from shoreline to about 25'. The deeper the water next to the bank the better. If this deep water is the deepest in the system,even better. Key in on any wood you can see or find with your electronics. The bait-- a 3/16 black and blue weedless jig with a pork trailer and some kind of scent. Have fun and tie good knots,your going to need them!!!

I haven't lived where it froze for 7 years now.But when I did I fished small creeks and rivers.Usually started in late january early february.My favorite was a smoke purple fleck tube.And a brown hair jig with an Uncle Josh black kicker frog(not sure if they still make these.)If any of this still works there I dunno,lol.Just my .02.

:-?

I'll probably be throwing Hard/Soft Jerkbaits, Lipless Crankbaits, and Jigs.

Chatter bait, Jig-n-Pig, 1/8 buzz bait, and because i live in Alabama and the water never freezes and fishing starts mid February, a zoom horny toad.

I have also had good luck early season with a 3/16 spot remover pro model for pitching to deeper bushes and dock pilings.

Are we talking about the first week of ice out when the water turns over and the whole column is around 39-40*F and the water is supersaturaeted with Oxygen, or are we talking about early and mid spring lures and patters?

I hear a lot of guys talking about jerkbaits, but I learned that during the early months when the water is still chilly bass will come into the shallows to feed, but they will spend most of their times back in deeper water. Is this ture, or once ice out comes bass will start moving up into the shallows for good until post spawn when they will shift a little more off the shoreline?

I was going to say as far as lures go; suspending cranks, jigs, and tubes should work great. The tubes and jigs imitate crawfish coming out of hibernation, and the suspending cranks can be worked and kept right in the strike zone to trigger lethargic bass into eating a "dying or injured baitfish".

Smallmouth usually are looking to feed on Perch and baitfish when the water temps are just reaching the 40s. Tubes and jigs really aren't that effective as the crawfish haven't really emerged as yet.