ice out smallies?

[jeepinjeffxj]

are bass still deep or are they starting to stage for the spawn already, im usually fishing brooks or trolling this time of year but had a blast catching 3-5 pound fish all day last summer especially with my nephew cody! so not having much bass eperience i have no idea where to look for them this time of year. any help would be much appreciated! i had the best luck using platics and what not but had almost as much fun catching crayfish in the brooks before we fished (gave me a little trout time while he was busy flipping rocks ) thanks in advace and all fish caught will be put right back to keep the biggins coming

[bassandbucks2]

All of my early spring bass fishing has been for largemouths, but I think some of it will also apply to smallmouths. I catch most of my fish in March and early April fishing in 1-8 feet of water. It shocked me at how shalllow bass were so early. I look for any woody structure first(downed trees, stumps, etc.) in 1-5 feet of water. Next is isolated clumps of weeds on flats and lastley I'll check cement retaning walls also in 1-5 feet of water. If there was rocky structure on the lakes i fish i would definetly check that as well. Good early spring baits are jerkbaits, bass jigs, plastic craws and lipless crankbaits. I do know that largemouths often do some "weird' things in the spring. By that i mean when you get some warm days and a bright sunny calm day the bass seem to bask in the sun. You will pull into a shallow water area and see bass, but they are about as spooky as i've ever seen bass. Just casting over them will scatter them, it's like fishing for wild brown trout. It's happened to me each of 5(?) years that we've had the catch & release bass season and it's some of the most frustrating bass fishing i've ever had.

[jibbs]

if your water is in the high 30's or low 40's those smallies will school up in water 35 plus....a blade bait such as a silver buddy vertically jigged or worked back ot the boat like a jig is the best presentation...i went out last weekend in new hampshire and the water temp was 38 degrees...i was finding schools of bass in 42 to feet and jigging them up from there...they are extremely sluggish which they should be...the bite is lite and not much of a fight...here was my first of the year....i would go shallow until you get steady temps...good electronics help for sure

[jeepinjeffxj]

thanks for the advice, hopefully i can get some pictures up soon

[slamboney]

deep and slow if water is in the 40's. When I say slow I mean it, we stroked them last week on deep rock. Caught a lot of fish just letting it soak dead still. 

[jibbs]

deep and slow if water is in the 40's. When I say slow I mean it, we stroked them last week on deep rock. Caught a lot of fish just letting it soak dead still. 

that's why i have a hard time fishing jerkbaits right now...you have to dead stick those things to get any fish to react when the temps are  in the 40's...we just had a major warm up which pushed the water temps into the low 50's...destroyed them on deep humps with a crankbait last weekend...

[slamboney]

same thing happen here, I was catching them in 25ft on rock humps, then the water got into the 50's and the fish moved up into the shallows under 10ft.    For the deep fish I use a japanese made grub that has been actually been discontinued, it replicates a crayfish.  Why do they stop making the good stuff, I can't find anything quite like it.

[androwildfire]

All of my early spring bass fishing has been for largemouths, but I think some of it will also apply to smallmouths. I catch most of my fish in March and early April fishing in 1-8 feet of water. It shocked me at how shalllow bass were so early. I look for any woody structure first(downed trees, stumps, etc.) in 1-5 feet of water. Next is isolated clumps of weeds on flats and lastley I'll check cement retaning walls also in 1-5 feet of water. If there was rocky structure on the lakes i fish i would definetly check that as well. Good early spring baits are jerkbaits, bass jigs, plastic craws and lipless crankbaits. I do know that largemouths often do some "weird' things in the spring. By that i mean when you get some warm days and a bright sunny calm day the bass seem to bask in the sun. You will pull into a shallow water area and see bass, but they are about as spooky as i've ever seen bass. Just casting over them will scatter them, it's like fishing for wild brown trout. It's happened to me each of 5(?) years that we've had the catch & release bass season and it's some of the most frustrating bass fishing i've ever had.

I find the same thing in the ponds I fish! The only way I have been able to get them when they are all schooled up is toss a night crawler out and they hit over and over.

[Lund sss]

The reports from Lake Ontario this year are starting to make me want to get out there again... temps in the low to mid 40's and LOTS of big fish caught. Yes I mean small mouth. This fish hit a flat line with a gold/orange Bomber 22"-23" long and easy 7lb fish...