Top 4 "MUST HAVE" Baits for Catching Springtime Bass

All right, let's talk about four easy baits you can use to catch springtime bass. I picked these four because they're easy to cast and they catch a lot of fish. Let's get right into it. Let's start with the Ned Rig. The Ned Rig is a real basic, simple lure. It's a small finesse bait. You can rig it on an eight-ounce jig head. I would use a weedless jig head. That way you don't get as much snags and hung up. If you're bass fishing, you're going to get hung up. There's no way around it. So, don't get concerned if you get hung up too much. But one that's got a wire guard on it, that's weedless, enables you to fish a little more often and without catching a lot of junk. It just enables you to get through those weeds and areas and not get snagged a lot.

But the beauty about this little bait is that you can go down a bank that's been pounded by other bass anglers throwing bright, flashy, noisy lures and you can catch a bunch of fish behind them because this bait is unobtrusive, it looks natural, it looks like something the bass are used to eating, and they get fooled by it very easily. It's simple to use. Just get a 6-foot-8 to 6-foot-10 medium power rod. Rig it with 10-pound fluorocarbon line. You don't need braid deleter or anything fancy like that. Straight-up fluorocarbon works absolutely fine. As a matter of fact, I'd really argue that you don't need braid deleter on anything, but we're not going to go there today.

Just go straight up fluorocarbon line. Makes it simple. And you can cast it a long ways. Cast it up to shallow water to about 10 feet deep. You can either do this if you're on a boat, if you're on a dock, or if you're fishing from the bank. That 1 to 10-foot zone with this Ned Rig will work really well to catch those springtime bass.

The next bait is a soft plastic swim bait. These are super easy to use. They catch so many fish. First of all, get a smaller size one, like a 3-inch. Not those big paddle tail, but this is a paddle tail style bait, but a small one, like a minnow style. This one works really well. It catches a lot of different bass all around the country. You rig it on an 8-ounce jig head. And you don't need a weedless one for this one because all you do is you cast it out and wind it back at a slow steady retrieve. That's it. You don't have to do anything fancy with it. This works really well, particularly when it's sunny out, bluebird days, calm water, if the water's clear. You just pick a shad color, bait fish color, trout, that type of color, and just throw it out there and slowly wind it back over the tops of weeds, through lily pads, along boat docks, and that 1 to 10-foot range as well. 1 to 10-foot deep water, use that same medium power, 6 foot 8 to 6 foot 10 spinning rod on that 10-pound fluorocarbon line, and you're good to go.

The next one is a flat-sided crankbait. Now you deal with treble hooks here, so you got to be a little bit careful, especially when you're trying to land a fish. Be careful where those treble hooks are. You don't want to get hooked yourself, but aside from that, flat-sided crankbaits work exceptionally well in the springtime in that 1 to 10-foot range because of that tight wiggle and that tight wobble action it has. That works really well in this time of year. The thing about them is it doesn't take a lot of work to cast and wind them. You just use, I'd have you up a little bit more, maybe a 7-foot, 7-foot-1 medium power spinning rod still works as well. Have you up a little bit on the line, 12-pound line, maybe 15-pound fluorocarbon line. Again, no braid deleter or anything like that.

When you cast it out, just reel it back in at a steady pace. That catches a lot of fish. Throw it over flats that's got scattered boulders on it or over a point, over the top of weeds or along the weed line. You'll catch a lot of fish doing that.

Another variation of that is a stop-and-go retrieve. Cast it out, you're reeling in, some time in the process while you're doing this moderate retrieve, pause it. Wait to count to one to two to three and then start reeling it again. A lot of times that pause that triggers a bass to strike, that change in direction, that change in action, that sudden different movement, that's all it takes. Sometimes the fish will hit it after it's been paused and it takes off again. It's like, oh, it suddenly changes, it's getting away from me, boom, I'm going to hit it. So, that stop-and-go retrieve works really well.

As for colors, you don't have to get too crazy. Springtime crawdad colors work well. Those browns, green hues, crawdad, that red color works really well in the spring. You can use also baitfish colors, that shad, Tennessee shad, exceptionally good color. That's it. You don't have to go really crazy right now this time of the year. Just stick with those colors and that kind of retrieve and you'll catch a lot of fish on crankbaits. They work better when it's a little cloudy out or you got a little stain to the lake or maybe a little bit of wind is chopped so you get some chop in the water, breaks up the light penetration in the water. That's when the crankbait really shines, so throw it under those conditions.

Okay, and the last lure is a beetle spin. Beetle spin, they've been around for decades and for good reason. They catch a lot of fish. More than bass, they actually catch a lot of crappie and other panfish too. It's kind of a universal lure, but beetle spins work really well to catch bass as well. And they're very simple to use. Again, you just cast out and wind back at a slow to medium pace. That's it. You don't do any other action or have to go crazy with it or crazy casts. Cast it along docks, cast it along weed edges, stumpy areas, you've got scattered logs or along a laydown. You've got maybe some timber, submerged bushes. It's pretty weedless, so you'd be surprised how well it comes through that cover without getting snagged. So really works in those areas where you couldn't get, say, a crankbait because you get snagged with a crankbait.

Again, this works really well when the water's got a little bit of dinginess to it. It's maybe got a little color to it, cloudy day, maybe a little bit of wind to it. Use that 6 foot 8 to 6 foot 10 medium power rod on that 12 to 15-pound fluorocarbon line and you just cast it on that 1 to 10-foot range along docks and other areas I just told you and just give it a slow retrieve and hold on. You'll know when a bass gets it. They whop it, man. They wham, they'll rip it right out of your hands. And you'll catch plenty of bass this spring using this lure and all the other ones I just mentioned. I hope that helps. For more tips and tricks like this, visit BassResource.com.