Other great baits with which to imitate dying shad are metal blade baits. The best ones fall and drop with a flutter that’s so realistic it’ll fool you. Most anglers cast them out toward shore and let them freefall to the bottom. Then they pull them up with a hard snap of the rod and allow the bait to flutter down on a moderately tight line. The only reason you lift this bait is so that it’ll fall back down.

Most of your strikes will come as the bait falls. Therefore, it’s critical that you become a line watcher. If your line twitches, set the hook. If it stops too soon, set the hook. If it does anything else unusual, set the hook. Never forget -- it doesn’t cost anything to set the hook. It’s the only thing you can do on the water for free.

The best blade bait ever made, bar none, was the legendary Silver Buddy. They’re out of business now, because of the death of Kendall Banks, and are almost impossible to find. If you do get lucky and find some, buy them all. If you can’t find the real deal, there are a number of other blade baits around that’ll catch bass. Buy the one you like best and have the most confidence in.

In waters where the forage is more shiner based, a slightly different approach may be necessary. Of course, long-bodied plugs, such as hard jerkbaits, will do the same thing here that they do on shad-based waters. But other lures will sometimes work just as well.

Try soft jerkbaits worked in a slow, stop-and-go manner, but allow them to drop slowly during the retrieve. There are many soft jerkbaits on the market. Choose one that fits your style of fishing.

Regardless of whether you’re trying to match shad or shiners, remember Menendez’s advice: Spend some time looking around to analyze the forage before you choose your lure. Just because the lure looks good to you doesn’t mean it looks good to a bass.

Also, don’t get caught in the trap of throwing small baits just because the water is cold or you think that’s what you should be doing to finesse the fish. Early in the spring, most of the forage will have some size to it. After all, they were hatched last spring and have had a full year to grow. It’s only after the water warms and the baitfish have spawned that there’s a bunch of tiny critters in the water. That’s the time to downsize to match the size of the prevailing forage.

Slow is usually better when the water’s cold, early in the year. There’s nothing in the water that moves fast when it’s cold. Why should your lure move fast when nothing else is? That doesn’t make sense and most definitely doesn’t contribute to matching the hatch. Reaction bites are for warm water, not cold water.

Later in the spring, as the waters warm and rise up along the shoreline, it’s time to consider a jig or maybe a small plastic of some sort. In most waters, the bluegills will move into the shallows before the bass. When the bass arrive, bluegills are the natural food source for them. They’re also the primary predators of bass eggs. So, bass have two good reasons to eat them.

At this time, Menendez recommends pitching or flipping a jig into cover to catch bass that are hiding there. Color matters here. He recommends taking a close look at the bluegills that you see before reaching into your tackle box.