It's here, prime bass fishing is upon us as spring has finally arrived. This is when many anglers across the country go fishing for the first time of the year, and the timing is perfect as the bass are moving shallow and nature is awakening everywhere. Not only is this a great time of year to catch bass, but the weather is also typically very good, and you have the chance to catch your biggest bass of the year.
With that in mind, here are some things that you should consider as you get ready for a new season of bass fishing.
Prepare Your Gear
If you are gearing up for a new season, it can pay to take the time to make sure that all your gear is organized, cleaned, and ready to go for the new year. One thing many anglers neglect is their reels. A simple clean and lube with products like Abu Garcia Reel Grease and Reel Oil, or a full kit like the Ardent Reel Kleen Cleaning Kit, will help you keep your reels performing at their best.
It can also help to give your rods a once-over and check for any cracked or damaged guides by running a Q-Tip around the inside of each guide to inspect for damage that can lead to broken line and heartbreak if you hook into a big one this spring.
Now is also a great time to spool up new line for the season by removing old line and adding some fresh line, so you don't have any issues with weakened line or line memory caused by line sitting on a reel all winter long. To save some time and money, remove two-thirds of the line before adding a new line. This backing can stay on there forever, and no matter how far you cast, you will likely never even get close to this old line, and you won't need nearly as much new line to fill the reel.
Get Organized
When you are on the water, the last thing you want to do is scramble while looking for a specific lure. To cut down on this hassle, getting organized right now is a great idea. Make sure all your tackle boxes are set up the way you like them and that you know where everything is. This will save you time in the long run, and while you're at it, you can inspect the hooks on your baits and make sure that all of your hooks and weights are where they are supposed to be.
Tackle boxes have also become much more organized and efficient, and make it even easier to store baits. Some good ones are those from Evolution Outdoors, which offer smart solutions for various items. This includes their Ballistix Series, which includes the well-built Terminal Tray for your hooks and weights, as well as the Hangr for crankbaits and Twitch boxes for jerkbaits. Some other good ones to check out if you want to be more organized are the Plano EDGE series, which have a box for just about everything and are very durable and sturdy.
Make a Plan
As you get ready for a new season, it can be a great time to put some work and research into your next fishing trip, whether you have fished your home lake countless times or are preparing to try somewhere new.
The internet is a great place to start your research, and you can also plan your next trip right from your phone with mapping apps like the Humminbird One-Boat Network app or the Navionics Boating app. Both of these apps offer highly detailed maps and let you mark spots to check out and find places where bass will spawn this spring. Spending a little bit of time before you hit the water can help set yourself up to catch more bass this spring.
The internet also has some great information: you can research water levels and past tournament results, and use Google Earth to find backwaters and places that may hold fish this time of year. Even if you can't get on the water, you can get ahead of things for your spring fishing trips and head to the water with confidence knowing that you have a plan.
Try Something New
Every bass fishing season is a great time to try out the latest and greatest in lure and tackle innovations. The bass fishing world evolves quickly, and there are always some new baits to try as bass fishing companies continue to push the envelope with new ideas and more ways to catch fish. The staples that have worked for decades will still catch fish, but it's always fun to try new things, and some of them are very effective.
One of the most recent trends is "urchin" baits like the Hideup Coike and Hag's Prickly Pear. These wild lures are catching on in a major way, and anglers are using them to catch bass when rigged with a treble hook and nail weight inserted into the body or with a hook like the Zappu x Ryugi System Hook RPZ Weedless Talisman hook with a weight attached directly to the hook.
Fuzzy "dice" baits have also exploded in popularity in the last year, and despite their very unusual look, they catch fish. There are now many different versions to try, including the Strike King Tumbleweed, Geecrack Imo Kemushi Cue Bomb, and Z-Man Fuzzy NuggetZ, which can all be fished on a drop-shot rig or with a wacky-rig hook and nail weight inserted.
Spring is made for bass fishing, and to help you get ready for the new season, spend some time looking over your rods and reels and getting organized. It's also the perfect time to do your research before you hit the water, as this can set you up for success all spring.
