Spring Time Fishing!
Here’s the ticket to some of the most exciting fishing of the year. For many of you, springtime angling is fishing a jig and minnow in six to ten feet of water, with some success. You struggle with choosing where to go. Follow along and I’ll introduce you to a whole different fishing world and you’ll be spending your time catching super excited and active fish.
Rule number one: pick a bay to fish. It is necessary to have the bay shielded from the main lake. This feature allows anglers to fish water that is warming rather than the cold main basin water. Post-spawn is not in my vocabulary. The fish have been through a long winter with slow metabolism. The females have been holding eggs and just finished spawning (at least the walleyes and northern pike). They want food and the food is in the shallowest and warmest water. When you fish a jig and minnow or Lindy Rig underneath your boat in six to ten feet of water you are presenting your bait to a fairly small amount of the fish population and usually in a fairly neutral frame of mind because of the cooler water. There are tons of active fish close. Even though water temps are cool the shoreline and islands are acting as heat sinks, absorbing the suns warm rays.
Rule number two: try artificial bait. Believe it or not this can be the best possible time to fish artificial baits. The first baits I like to use are Berkley Gulp, a type of scent impregnated soft plastic. I am not paid to fish their products; I fish them because they are incredible bait in cool water. I have had amazing luck fishing their 3” and 4” Gulp minnows. I use either a 1/8 or 1/4 jig head. Thread the Gulp through the head and slide it up over the keeper barb with the hook coming up through the top of the back.
Rule three: (Here is where your world changes) Cast the jigs right to shore. You can use a variety of retrieves, lift and fall, just swim it back on a slow retrieve, or use it as a jerk bait. I find the jerk method to be deadly. I cast the jig, give two or three quick jerks pick up the slack jerk it again and so on. I am a right hander and at times hold the rod with just the right hand and rip it parallel to the water two to three times then pick up the slack. The water I am concentrating on is rarely deeper than 3-4 feet. The fish will be in the first two to four feet of water close to shore, just before the rock transitions to mud. Fish pick up the jig on the fall. When you go to rip again you are often setting the hook! Every point you see, no matter how small, is a target area. An island can be less than thirty feet long and hold all kinds of fish. The fun part is you won’t know what kind of fish is on your line: walleye, smallmouth bass or northern. There is another reason fish are using this habitat besides the warming water. Hatches start as soon as the ice leaves in the mud. Numerous larvae hatch throughout the year attracting baitfish and in turn predators called walleye, northern pike and bass!
Another jerkbait that provides excellent results are stick baits. Two of my favorites are the Husky Jerk and the X Rap. They are fished identical to the abovementioned baits. Line choice is also something to be considered. 8lbs. Trilene XT and 10 lbs. Trilene XL are great choices for both the Gulp and stick baits. Monofilament will never deter fish from striking. I have had plenty of occasions where Fireline and other like lines will hinder the strikes either because there is too much vibration or so little stretch that the bait’s action is too quick. When the fish are in a very aggressive mood I have had super fishing with the no-stretch lines. If you are not getting strikes with no stretch line switch to mono. If two of you are fishing a great method is to have one person fish mono and the other use no-stretch line and find out what works best on that given day. I hope these tips help you enjoy fishing even more than you already do!
