Spring essentials

[10,000 lakes Bassin]

What baits do you never leave home without pre-spawn through spawning season? Why are these essential to your spring fishing?

 

[FishTank]

3in paddle tail swimbait, 5in Senko, Vision 110jr +1, BFS trout minnows, and a deep diving crankbait 8-15ft. 

 

These are generally a good starting point for me. I can pretty much get a bite on any of them as long as the fish are active. I will also use an A-rig and maybe a jig but these are the ones that have been doing it for me the past few years. 

[Pumpkin Lizard]

49 minutes ago, 10,000 lakes Bassin said:

What baits do you never leave home without pre-spawn through spawning season? Why are these essential to your spring fishing?

 

Pumpkin Lizard, Blue and Black Jig with a trailer, Chart or white Spinnerbait. Maybe a Rat-L-Trap.

[Mobasser]

Plastic worms

[Darth-Baiter]

soft plastics.  

[PBBrandon]

T-rigged lizard. Only time I use it, and one of the only things I use targeting spawning bass

[gim]

Jerkbait and bladed jig for sure.  Fish both as slow as you can in cold water.

[king fisher]

Spinnerbaits, crankbaits, worm.  Any time of year.  

[GetFishorDieTryin]

Prespawn for me is broken up into at least 3 periods, early, mid and late prespawn/early spawn.  The baits and way I fish them changes dramatically after mid prespawn when the grass really starts to come in and the bite windows get much larger.  

Early spawn jerkbait/trap/bladed jig combination 

In midspawn  squarebills/trap/spinner/bladed jig and pitching starts to payoff 

In late pre/early spawn it starts to get hard to fish trebles in some places, so a swimjig starts to take the place of a squarebill around pads, the bladed jig almost replaces the trap and T/Free rigs get heavy use.

On the finesse side of things small swimbaits, shakey heads and neds will be mixed in all year. 

[greentrout]

1. Storm Chug Bug. Bull Frog.

2. Zoom Trick worm and Lizard. Watermelon Red.

3. Berkley Power Blade Spinnerbait. White and White & Chartreuse. 3/16 oz., 1/4 oz. and 3/8 oz. Colorado/Indian. 

4. Baitcasting and Spinning setups.

 

[10,000 lakes Bassin]

1 hour ago, GetFishorDieTryin said:

Prespawn for me is broken up into at least 3 periods, early, mid and late prespawn/early spawn.  The baits and way I fish them changes dramatically after mid prespawn when the grass really starts to come in and the bite windows get much larger.  

Early spawn jerkbait/trap/bladed jig combination 

In midspawn  squarebills/trap/spinner/bladed jig and pitching starts to payoff 

In late pre/early spawn it starts to get hard to fish trebles in some places, so a swimjig starts to take the place of a squarebill around pads, the bladed jig almost replaces the trap and T/Free rigs get heavy use.

On the finesse side of things small swimbaits, shakey heads and neds will be mixed in all year. 

Thanks! Where do you like throwing the squarebill? Only around wood and rock or just burning bank throwing at all types of cover? whatt about using it for ticking grass as its coming up?

[BigAngus752]

5 hours ago, PBBrandon said:

T-rigged lizard. Only time I use it, and one of the only things I use targeting spawning bass

Slow movers (vibrating jig/toad) early pre-spawn, movers (cranks/spinners) pre-spawn, and exactly what @PBBrandonsaid when they hit the beds.

[scaleface]

Pre spawn a spinnerbait with magnum willows are effective. Its also when I start twitching a bomber Prop  A which is a Long a Minnow with a tail prop. Its dynamite and being I'm about the only person who has some , the bass dont see them .

 

[GetFishorDieTryin]

16 hours ago, 10,000 lakes Bassin said:

Thanks! Where do you like throwing the squarebill? Only around wood and rock or just burning bank throwing at all types of cover? whatt about using it for ticking grass as its coming up?

Most of the bottoms of the lakes around here are too soft to grind a cranks, as soon as you touch it the bait fowls with algae, but there are some sections of gravel that can grind a crank on.  I like to bounce them off laydown and wood, but my favorite place to run a crankbait are lily fields before the pads grow in completely.  The roots make for great structure to bounce a crank off of.  If im fishing straight grass.  If I'm throwing a crank in grass, I like to use one with a round bill.  I think he round bill comes through grass better, but if its sparse a SB will work fine IMO.       

[Bankbeater]

This time of the year the bass around here like to chase baits so I will be fishing with spinnerbaits, lipless crankbaits, and square bill crankbaits. If those are working I'll drag a jig on the bottom.

[LonnieP]

Jerkbait, lipless crank, Little John

[primetime]

some split shots  & worm weights, tubes & worms and a few spinnerbaits....also some lipless cranks and you should be good. 

On 3/3/2025 at 8:00 AM, scaleface said:

Pre spawn a spinnerbait with magnum willows are effective. Its also when I start twitching a bomber Prop  A which is a Long a Minnow with a tail prop. Its dynamite and being I'm about the only person who has some , the bass dont see them .

 

I throw the same bomber plug all the time but without the prop. Believe that is the 14 size? I throw the 14 and 15 the most. Love the Bomber floating minnows. I actually lost my last screw tail version years ago but still throw the Bagleys Bang O lure which is similar just balsa and lighter....I agree, Bass do not see topwater Floating Jerkbaits as much, tail spinner is great for waking. 

[RRocket]

Topwater Crankbait

Bladed Jig

Poop Bait

3" Paddle Tail

 

 

[Texas Flood]

C word

jig

jerkbait

TRig stick worm

[Bruce424]

Oh...

The jig

Square bill

spinnerbait 

And buzzbait of coarse!