How to catch early spring bass

[BassSam5]

I am 14 and this is my second year bass fishing. I live in northern Michigan and cannot get bit no matter where I go. I have no idea what to try because I throw my big arsenal at them and still can’t get bit. What are some pointers and techniques to try to get bit? I boat fish and am targeting largemouths. 

[MountainMan83]

Well, fishing from a boat, you already have an advantage. What is your big arsenal?

[BassSam5]

Drop shot, Ned rig, Shakey head I threw every finesse presentation I could think of along with trying some bigger plastics and moving baits.

[diehardbassfishing]

The best advice I can give is advice I've received - when working soft plastics.

SLOW down. Then slow down some more. When lure is cast, let reach bottom, and let it rest there for at least a 15 count.

After that, slow retrieve - 6 inches at a time slow. Drag with the rod, and take up the slack with the reel. 

Keep the slack out of the line so you can fell any "tap" on the lure. 

 

Now is the second phase - the hookset. Maybe you don't need help there...

 

Karl

 

(Oh, almost forgot to mention - this works.)

[Fishin' Fool]

@A-Jay any advice for this young man seeing you are from northern Michigan. 

[A-Jay]

On 5/7/2019 at 6:24 PM, BassSam5 said:

I am 14 and this is my second year bass fishing. I live in northern Michigan and cannot get bit no matter where I go. I have no idea what to try because I throw my big arsenal at them and still can’t get bit. What are some pointers and techniques to try to get bit? I boat fish and am targeting largemouths. 

It will be quite a bit easier to offer pointers if you could provide a bit more information regarding where you're fishing.  

Not the name of the lake but the type of locations you're fishing; flats, points weed beds, or perhaps some sunken wood.  

Also tells us why you chose to fish these areas.

That will really help.

A-Jay

[Hawkeye21]

It looks like you have a good selection of lures so you're good there.  Once you have the right lures with you then it's a matter of fishing the right locations.  Finding fish when it's still cold can be tough.  Fishing very slow is also important.  Sometime just letting a ned rig sit at the bottom for a while can be the trick.

 

[rod snapper]

Come warmer weather Im sure your luck will pick up, but even then whatever your fishing, slow down. if your like me, this will be really hard and boring, but if it catches fish then... oh, and try a senko.

[Fishin' Fool]

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

It will be quite a bit easier to offer pointers if you could provide a bit more information regarding where you're fishing.  

Not the name of the lake but the type of locations you're fishing; flats, points weed beds, or perhaps some sunken wood.  

Also tells us why you chose to fish these areas.

That will really help.

A-Jay

Plus who fishes for largemouth in northern Michigan when there's all those smallmouth bass to catch

[Armtx77]

UP or LP?

 

Sounds like it may still be some ice out conditions, but as A-Jay said: more input on what and where you are fishing.

 

I have not fished in your AO, but I grew up in Northern IL and this time of year, was hit or miss on the best of days. Fish were still roaming, looking for beds. It was not until the week after Mothers Day(why you keep records) that the bite would start to turn on.

[A-Jay]

7 minutes ago, Fishin' Fool said:

Plus who fishes for largemouth in northern Michigan when there's all those smallmouth bass to catch

Around these parts, green bass are pretty much by-catch.

But guess what ?

I caught ONE last week, and it was a 4 - 8.

Decent chance that will be my home state PB this season.

Got it out of the way early this year.

A-Jay

[MickD]

Fish can be very finicky, especially in cold water.  I fished a reliable spit about a week ago a basically fished a two acre area for about an hour before I found the fish.  they would ONLY take a slow-worded tube.  Nothing else worked.  I tried other stuff just to see what would happen, since I knew the fish (LMB) were there, and only the tube worked.  Watermelon green with red specks.

 

In MI go green.  Not the school, the lures.  Many fishermen have told me that they only fish green, a dark green, watermelon.  I like JUnebug for LMB, too, but I always have green ready.  

 

This spot is a little pond off a BIG water bay, is only about 3-4 feet deep, and in summer, weed choked and no good (slimy weeds/algae).   It has a silty bottom, and I think its appeal is that it warms faster than most other water, although last week it was about the same temp as the bay , about 53.

 

Can you think of a spot in your water that sounds like this?  Good luck, stick to it. 

 

Keep a journal of every fishing day with notes about weather and water conditions for the few days before you went and the day you went, the results, what you tried, what worked, etc.  You will learn from it even if you strike out.  As time goes on you will get successful and you'll have the dates and conditions so you can more likely repeat the success.

[papajoe222]

Some good points here and I'll add another; What areas are you targeting this time of year?  Bass are still in early pre-spawn in northern MI, so if you're fishing the same way you would in the summer and fall, you're targeting the wrong areas. Seasonal movements and patterns will get you in the ballpark when it comes to fish location. Once there, you can work to narrow things down.

[ww2farmer]

If you have smallmouth in the water you fish, my suggestion is to forget largemouth, and target them early. They are way less finicky in colder water, and can be caught on everything your already using. Location is key.....rock, sand, and hard bottom areas are good places to start.

 

If you must fish for largemouth, understand that this very unsettled weather we have been having in the Great Lakes, Upper mid-west, rust belt, and finger lakes regions this spring have slowed them down more so than normal. Most of the ones I have been catching have been mixed in with smallmouth. Traditional largemouth areas in my area are SLOW right now, and they shouldn't be. They like wood, green grass, overhead cover, and the warmest water you can find. My problem is, all those areas where I fish are high, muddy, and not warm yet due to seemingly daily downpours of cold rain.

[Mbirdsley]

I was fishing a lake near gladwin Michigan today.  I know where I was at the high water temp was 54-55 degrees  The majority of the 7 bass caught today came on a zoom 4 inch green pumpkin tube Texas rigged.  I was throwing near stumps.  All you do is cast it out let it hit bottom and than drag it back to the shore or boat.  Caught 1 one on a kvd jerkbait.  I have caught bass on a green pumpkin tube every where in all types of cover 

[MainelyBASS]

The issue isn't the lures you are using. Look at a map of the lake or pond. Find an area that the fish will spawn in. Rocky/gravel bottoms in protected areas for smallmouth, and largemouth will spawn in the back of coves in areas that typically have harder bottoms. The base of stumps is a popular choice for largemouth also. Once you get an idea where the fish are going to spawn, locate the closest deepest water that the fish can use to winter in. This process can be a little tricky, but if you can nail down one end or the other, it will really get things going for you as far as finding fish goes. What you will have formulated is the transition map for the fish. They use these same routes almost identically each year. Finding the structure or habitat that the fish use while transitioning is what eventually puts the fish in the boat. As an example, I catch loads of fish ice fishing in this one deeper spot on my local lake. Its about 20ft and has a mixture of rock with grass. Once the ice goes out, I look for the closest spawning area and begin covering water between the spot I caught them ice fishing, and the bank that they are using to spawn. The transition happens slow at first, so only 25ft away from my ice fishing spot is a group of rocks, I drag a jig around the rocks on my first trip out and catch 8 fish in about 30 minutes. As a few weeks goes by I move closer to the spawning area, but not all the way in the back. The first 4 docks in the cove have 10-20 fish on each dock, the next 10 docks dont have a single fish on them. This told me they hadnt transitioned any further than those first 4 docks. I circled back around with my big motor and caught multiple fish off each dock for a second time. In the next 2 weeks, those fish will eventually be up on the bank in the back of the cove. Ive been following them, staying right on top of them since January. Its the same procedure every year. I know where they are going at all times. Weather and bait can cause the fish to move a little off the map that I have developed, but for the most part, constructing the route can be even more difficult than catching the fish.