When the bass spawn in the spring, anglers are often left with one question that leaves them puzzled until summer: What are the bass feeding on consistently and what is the best bass fishing lure during the spawn? Oftentimes, it is shown that crankbait fishing can be a key tactic to catching bass in the spring. In this short blog, we will be giving you some tips to help you Fish Smarter with crankbaits, along with some spring fishing tips revolving around the bass spawn.
Must-Know Bass Spring Fishing Tips:
Although it’s important to gain knowledge on specific lures that can be the best for bass fishing in the spring, it’s also very important that anglers know the basic spring fishing tips. Without these basic bass fishing tips for spring fishing, you won’t be able to get very far. During the spring, bass always go through a spawn where they lay their eggs to keep the population continuously growing. This natural spawn cycle changes where the fish are located and what they are feeding on from each phase of the spawning season. In the pre-spawn, when water temperatures are cold, bass will still be lethargic and only feed on bottom baits. But during the spawn, which is typically in the middle of spring, bass are often much more active and aggressive, which will lead them to feed on moving baits like the crankbait or jerkbait more frequently. With that being said, it’s important to determine whether or not the bass are spawning in your area. If they are still in the pre-spawn phase, there’s a good chance the fish will be lethargic and in deeper waters. During bass pre-spawn, the crankbait wouldn’t be the best fishing lure option in your tackle box to target them.
Spring Crankbait Fishing 101:
Now that you are aware of the general bass fishing tips for the spring, let’s get right into the crankbait which has undeniably been proven as one of the best bass fishing lures. The crankbait is not only highly effective in springtime, but in particular during the spawn and post-spawn phases. As mentioned before, bass are often very aggressive during the spawn and post-spawning phases which is when the crankbait shines as one of the best bass fishing lures during spring. But how do you know what crankbait to tie on and where to throw it? Well, choosing your crankbait is simple and can be determined by what you are looking to mimic in your waters. The three categories of crankbaits that we typically choose are listed below:
- Baitfish: Shad, Bluegill, etc.
- Craw: Red, Dark Natural Colors
- Bold: Chartreuse, Smartbaits Color Changing Crank, Pink
It’s wise to experiment with those three categories of crankbaits in your local waters to find what the bass are feeding on the most frequently. But, color isn’t the only variable that comes into play with crankbaits… There is often one aspect of the crankbait that is overlooked which is the most crucial when deciding what the best crankbait truly is. That aspect is whether or not the crankbait has rattles! Many anglers believe that having a crankbait with rattles is crucial for fishing, but especially in pressured waters, silent crankbaits prove to be far better when it comes to crankbait fishing. If your waters are pressured and get overfished, we would 100% recommend trying out a silent crankbait. That might just be the small adjustment needed to get some more bass in the boat!
With all that being said, if you can determine what depth the bass are at in your waters, what bait they are feeding on, and whether or not the spot is pressured, you have a very good chance at some spring fishing success! We hope these spring bass fishing tips help you dial in your crankbait fishing craft and Fish Smarter for the remainder of the spawn!
To try out one of our personal favorites when looking to set a new personal best catch, check out the Smartbaits Big Boy Crank! Remember, bigger baits = bigger fish!
