Two Surefire Methods For Finding Prespawn Bass Fast

We all know that bass rush the banks in spring looking for a place to spawn, which equals good times for anglers. We also know the fish are very aggressive and at their chunkiest this time of year. When it comes to catching them, many of the opportunities are pattern-oriented, which can take time to figure out. But success can also be found simply by covering water. So if you’re headed out this spring and don’t have a lot of time to pattern your fish out, here are two “just go” tactics that seem to get lost in the shuffle, but rarely fail.

Cover Water with A Spinnerbait
No rocket science here. This is as simple as it gets, but there’s genius in its simplicity. Some might argue that this is “hail Mary” fishing, but if you ask me, there’s nothing boring about casting at new bank targets all day. What the method essential does is help you capitalize on the randomness of bass that are moving shallow. You and I both know they can be anywhere. At the same time, did you ever notice you’ll pick up fish here and there covering water with a spinnerbait, but the biggest comes off a very specific log or stump? Enough said. Cover water, and hit as many precise pieces of bank structure as you can.

Work the Docks
Pick a jig, straight worm, spider grub, or compact creature bait and find some docks. This tactic may come as a surprise to some, because these days, this old-school approach often takes a back seat to A-rigs, chatterbaits, and realistic hardbaits. But much like covering water with a spinnerbait, dock work also keeps the game fast and interesting, because you never know when big dog will show herself. Of course not every lake has docks, but almost all bodies of water have some sort of shoreline canopies. If you skip under canopies and keep going until you find more, it’s likely that you’ll eventually to run into some aggressive spring bass that are hiding from the sun, probably because they’re still confused about what that big bright light is that they haven’t seen too much while chilling in the depths all winter.