Photo by Ron Sinfelt

Consistent success on early-season bass requires proficiency with a wide variety of presentations aimed at the many habitats these fish use at this time of year.

Whether you are talking largemouths or smallmouths in rivers or lakes, spring is a time of rapid change for bass. Following a winter of limited activity, warming water and the need to feed trigger initial early-season movements to the shallows. As water temperatures increase, serious nesting begins.

Another transition happens following the spawn as fish gradually disperse from the shallows, eventually setting up in areas that provide the proper blend of food and cover for the summer season.

Much is happening in the world of bass right now, which means they likely won't be doing the same thing from week to week, sometimes even day to day. The successful angler will do whatever is necessary to adapt to these changes.

What follows is a look at several early-season presentation options that cover a variety of situations from open water to heavy cover, in still water and flowing currents.

In an effort to avoid targeting bass when they are actually on their beds, these tactics are geared toward the pre-spawn and post-spawn periods. Also, before uncovering the boat for that first spring fling with bass, be sure to check your state's regulations for restrictions on springtime bass fishing.

SKIRTED AND BUCKTAIL JIGS
Early-spring bass, largemouths in particular, make use of a variety of habitats where a skirted jig is an ideal lure selection. Coupled with a natural or artificial frog-shaped trailer, this offering seems to trigger bites from the larger bass during the spring, particularly during the pre-spawn period.

Skirted jigs employ a heavy wire hook, weighted head and a multi-strand synthetic skirt. Some models also feature rattles.

Skirted bass jigs fall into the power-fishing category, and are best suited for being pitched into thick cover, such as weeds and wood. Laydown trees, especially those exposed to the warming rays of the sun, provide springtime largemouths with cover and warmth. The same can be said of brushpiles in shallow water, as well as beaver lodges. Many good-quality bass lakes feature quick- growing submergent weed cover at this time of year that will harbor largemouths when the conditions are right.

Pitching and flipping skirted jigs typically is not a finesse tactic. Relatively heavy casting tackle, such as a 6-foot, 10-inch rod with 16-pound-test fluorocarbon line, makes an ideal setup for working snag-choked cover.