Using Hard Baits in March to Catch Bass
Fishing with Crankbaits and Poppers for Bass in Spring
As the water warms, minnows and baitfish become more lively, schooling and swimming throughout ponds and lakes. Largemouth bass seize the opportunity to feed on these smaller fish, and when they are doing so, it may be best to throw a crankbait or popper their way.
How to Fish Crankbaits
Crankbaits, (also referred to as plugs and stickbaits), are lures that are typically made of plastic, and have treble hooks, and they swim and wobble when reeled steadily because they have a plastic lip which causes water resistance. They come in a variety of sizes, shapes and colors, and in three main levels of buoyancy. Crankbaits may be floaters, which are lures that float, but duck under the surface to swim when reeled, and float back up when the reeling ceases. Suspending crankbaits get down a foot or two when reeled, and hold their positions in the water column even when the reeling stops. Deep swimmers or divers are weighted crankbaits with large lips that swim near the bottom when reeled, and only come up as the retrieve is ending and the angler pulls the lure up to the rod tip.
The best crankbaits to use in spring are usually floating lures when the water is less than five feet deep. When reeled fast, the lure will dive down about a foot, where it is visible to fish throughout the water column. Also, floating plugs resemble minnows swimming on or just below the surface, an activity performed by many minnows in the spring. In late spring, baby panfish (also known as bream, which are bluegill and sunfish) swim around in shallower waters and closer to shores, attracting largemouth bass. Slowly reeling a floating crankbait along the shoreline where the water is shallow is one of the best ways to catch bass in spring. Minnows abound at the edge of ponds and lakes, and bass congregate to feed on these small fish in the shallows.
Silver Rapala floating crankbaits often work wonders when slow reeled through shallow waters in spring. The color combination known as "firetiger," a green, black, and orange striped patterning, is great on any crankbait or popper when frogs begin to emerge in the spring. Bomber brand plugs, which are robust and resemble small panfish will also entice hungry bass in the shallows. Reeling at a pace that keeps the plug just under the surface works well when fishing water that is around two feet deep. When fishing shallow waters, never use deep diving crankbaits, as they swim on the bottom when reeled, snagging grass, rocks, and sticks. However, in water over five feet deep, it may be best to use sinking crankbaits.
Fishing with Poppers on the Surface
Poppers (lures with cupped faces that splash water and make a commotion on the surface when moved or reeled) also work for bass in spring. These should be fished in water between two and four feet deep, or when bass are actively feeding on the surface in water of any depth. The best way to retrieve a popper is to point the rod tip down toward the water after the lure is cast, and twitch the rod to the side, causing the popper to dart forward a foot or so, splashing like an injured minnow on the surface. Then the slack line should be reeled, and the lure should be jerked again. Try reeling the slack at a slow pace that allows a two or three second pause between pops. Poppers are hard topwater baits that may be found at stores that sell bass fishing gear. Rebel Lures makes a great popper for bass, called the Pop R.
When bass are losing their sluggish habits from winter and minnows are beginning to school and roam ponds and lakes, it may be best to try for largemouth bass with a crankbait or popper. These lures are fun and easy to fish, and if used at the right time, they rarely disappoint.
A Rapala Floating Crankbait from Cabela's
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