By Ted Koppel
When the fishing is at it’s best
Spring is the best time of the year for landing that trophy bass fishing. Get your best bass fishing rod with at least 20# test fishing line ready because these lunkers that somehow manage to escape capture and grow to enormous size, become most vulnerable when the urge to mate occurs in the Spring.
Not even pro bass fishing experts can tell you the exact formula for catching large bass. Neither can I, but I can give you some fishing tips that may improve your chances of hooking up with a big un'.
Where they are
First, you must go where they are, large lakes hold a lot of these trophy size bass. It is not uncommon to find them in smaller ponds and canals either, but your best shot at a large trophy bass is large water. Old phosphate mines from California to Florida hold record numbers of trophy bass, as do many of the other larger natural and man-made lakes.
The next best advice is, fish in springtime. February through May are the absolute best months for trophy size bass fishing. All state records show that most trophy bass are caught during this time of year. This is when they are largest due to their bellies being full of roe.
The bass's spawning behavior during the spring is brought on mainly by the angle of the light. There are other factors such as, water temperature, weather conditions, bottom conditions, and even the area of the lake that determine the exact time this will happen. When the water begins to warm and the sun's rays start coming more from the northern hemisphere, hormones are released within the bass that cause them to begin their move to the spawning grounds.
Shallow water is where these fish move to spawn so that they may benefit from the warmth of the penetrating sunshine. Sunlight and warm water is beneficial to the incubation process of a successful batch of baby bass. When the water reaches a sustained temperature of about 65 degrees, it will trigger the bass to begin to spawn.
The proper tackle
You will want to choose the proper bass fishing tackle so that you may pull these plus size bass from the more often than not, weed ravaged shallows of their spawning area. I prefer a good stiff tipped, 6'6" to 7' long, medium/heavy action, Daiwa baitcasting rod with an Abu Garcia Ambassador 6000 baitcasting reel. I like to spool the reel with a good quality 20# test, braided fishing line such as Power Pro. This type of line, when coupled with a good stiff rod, allows you to obtain a good hook set on these tough jawed fish.
Lures to use
Big lures equal big bass this time of year! If you are interested in weeding out the smaller bass, simply up size to larger lures. Early morning and just before dark seems to be the best times for working large top water lures along the shallows, shorelines, and weed beds. Noise producing, Zara Spook, Magnum Topedo, Devil Horse, and Rapala are all good choices for topwater bass fishing. Working these large topwater lures over the tops of bedding bass could possibly provoke a strike in an attempt to keep it away from the bed.
There are many productive lures to be used during that period of time in the day that is not early morning or pre-dusk, when you will be fishing topwater lures. Large spinner baits and buzzbaits, jig and pigs, even soft plastics such as frogs and worms have been know to produce trophy bass. Just keep in mind that the larger the lure, the larger the bass when fishing these other lures in the shallow waters that the bass are roaming around in this time of year.
Bait to use
When your arm tires from casting artificial lures, or your just looking for an exceptionally eventful bass fishing experience in the springtime, acquire some of the largest shiners that you can. This can be done in many small ponds or canals by simply chumming with bread and cast netting them if your local bait shop is out or does not sell them. Shiners, or "bass candy", as I refer to them, are irresistible to large bass. Just like the lures, bigger is better, a 10" to 12" pond shiner has the potential of attracting the trophy bass of a lifetime.
You will want to hook the shiner from the bottom of his mouth through to the top with a 2/0 to 3/0 hook. Try not to go too far back into his head with the hook so you will not kill him, but be sure that he is not going to be able to wiggle free either. Put a large enough bobber on your line so that the shiner cannot completely pull it underwater, place it far enough from the hook to not spook the bass, but be sure that it holds the shiner off the bottom. If the shiner can go to the bottom, he can often find a place to hide from the bass.
Technique
Cast your shiner near weed beds and where shallows start to drop off, keeping a close eye on your bobber, you will notice it moving if the shiner is not hung in the weeds or on the bottom. When you notice your bobber move swiftly underwater and out of sight, reel up the slack fishing line and set the hook.
These are some surefire tips to producing some monster bass in the springtime, now it is all up to you. Get out there and get that trophy bass of a lifetime while the gettin is good!
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