To be certain, spring bass fishing is the best seasonal fishing in the United States. Anglers swarm to the lakes like flies (and sometimes with them!) for excellent bass fishing between February and May.
Of course, those new to the sport don’t have the level of experience that many of these longtime fishermen do and still require some tips for where to find the best spring fishing in the country. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest bass fishing lakes in Texas and the techniques used by avid anglers in the area to come up with consistently large numbers and sizes of spring bass.
Lake Fork and Sam Rayburn are probably the best bass fishing lakes in all of Texas, especially if you want to find bass over twelve pounds. In fact, while many area lakes have more fish, none can produce the sizes that these two do every spring. Both lakes are full of preferred hangouts for large bass in spring: creeks branching off (especially those running near shallow water), points, coves, breaklines, and banks with deep cuts. The most common trend you’ll find in spring fishing in these areas is that the bass will hunker down along breaklines. Of course, in early spring, you can search the creeks from the mouth bed all the way up to the top end, and you are quite likely to find several decent sized schools of large bass staging in areas of brush, spawning and simply staying out of the current.
The tactic to use is this: get ready to cover a lot of water, because you can never tell at what point the bass are going to stage. However, when trolling the waters, stay along a breakline. In the spring, bass are concerned with three things only - spawning, eating, and resting. They can take care of all of the above by sticking close to a breakline. Shallower water is better for eating and can also provide options for spawning, especially if there is heavy foliage or cover in the shallower area. For rest and dormancy during daytime, the deeper water along the breakline provides the perfect shelter from overheating, as well as from excess current.
To target these creatures during the season, you will probably get the best response with crankbaits, either deep diving or lipless (the former for deeper waters and the latter for shallow casting).However, if you can find staging females, you should switch to a soft jerkbait or a jig-and-craw. If you work it slowly, you’ll be sure to have an effect on these cows.
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Dan Eggertsen is a fishing researcher and enthusiast who is commited to providing the best bass fishing information possible. Get more information on spring bass fishing here: www.askbassfishing.com/
While it may not seem like there is anything special about saltwater fishing, it is a very different application and sport from freshwater fishing. Many times, you are targeting larger species of fish, you are far from land for long periods of time, and you are in a completely different type of environment.
Rather than looking at lakes with depths of 40 or 50 feet, you could very well be fishing seas and oceans with floors hundreds of feet deep. Saltwater fishing requires a lot of foreknowledge and preparation before you head out into the open waters.
The first thing you need to keep in mind is that saltwater fishing is usually a full day out in the hot summer sun on the water. This means that it is vital to be prepared with skin protection, visors, boat canopies, and lots of sunblock are key to withstanding the heat and the UV rays. You’ll also need to ward off dehydration, meaning that your cooler should be filled with water and electrolyte-enhanced drinks rather than beer. You should have light clothing that keeps you from overheating as well.
Saltwater fishing also requires good, solid equipment. First, your boat should be in solid working order, with no question as to the condition of your motor or any other vital part of the vessel. It’s easy to paddle a mile back to the shore of a lake, but it’s nearly impossible to get back from 30 miles out at sea should there be a problem. Also, because you’ll encounter larger specimens in many instances, you’ll want to make certain that your rod and reel are in good working order and are solid enough to handle some tough interaction.
When you’ve determined that all of this is good, you’ll need to decide what saltwater fishing target you are looking for. Are you going to fish for redfish or for speckled trout? Perhaps you are looking for a tougher catch, including sharks, which will take you out much further from the coastline. This will help you determine the size and type of hook that you use, as well as the bait that you carry. Also, if you intend to fish for very large specimen, you’ll want to be certain you have a boat big enough to hold your catch.
The type of fish you decide you want to target will direct your saltwater fishing trip to certain areas. For example, if you are looking for redfish, chances are you are going to stay near the coastline in the shallows, since this is where redfish prefer to stay. On the other hand, if you are fishing for flounder, your saltwater fishing excursion could take you to cooler, deeper waters where the flounder can position themselves close to underwater structures that break the tide for them and give them a place to “hide”.
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Dan Eggertsen is a fishing researcher and enthusiast who is commited to providing the best saltwater fishing information possible. Get more information on saltwater fishing here: www.asksaltwaterfishing.com
If what you want from your bass fishing is a nice day spent on the lake, then more power to you. Bass fishing for the unadulterated relaxation of it is one of the best and purest reasons to drop a line; however, if you’re angling day isn’t complete until you’ve caught and released a boatload or you’re looking to haul in a few trophies then you are going to need a more head on approach.
You are going to need to know your enemy and plan your assault. Be the bass.
Before deciding what direction to turn your boat for the day, consider the day itself. If you were a big, aggressive but somewhat lazy bass, where would you be in the early morning hours when the deep water might be cold and the day has just begun? Why in the shallows, sitting in the cover of the undergrowth watching the lake come to life. Same is true of the evening as the day winds down and the water starts to cool off. During these times, quietly reconnoiter the tall grass, the fallen logs, the underbelly of the lake world. Many bass may be starting and ending their days here, visible to the naked eye.
As the sun traverses the sky, the fish will start to migrate to and from deeper water; you can often catch them in transit. Cast sinkers that drift into the edges of the grassy interface. Be patient, don’t bob the bait. This approach can be mighty fruitful on overcast days when the bass haven’t quite decided to go deep.
Now that you’re thinking like a fish, consider your bait. Lots of bass fishing is done with big bait because bass are fierce fighting fish and big bait just seems the way to go. Truth be told, bass are hungry and hostile. They will strike on a large variety of lures. Think smaller lures, spinners and don’t forget the lowly plastic worm. Properly cast brightly colored worms are the number one bait for a reason. They catch bass. Shallow water is a good place to try a float worm. Straight worms get lots of bites in undergrowth.
Once you have knocked down few ways to think like a bass, it’s important to write your discoveries down. Keep a detailed written record of the most productive and, unfortunately, the least productive ways you have developed for bass fishing. Make a log book part of your bass fishing equipment. Note the day and date of each excursion, the weather, the vegetation, the distance from the bank, the bait used. When you pull in that trophy, mark down the time; when you pull in that minnow, mark down the time. No detail is too small when developing your bass book.
Bass are strong fish who put up a good fight; that’s the reason most bass fishermen go after them. Study them and their habits and document your findings. You will find that your effort will ultimately pay off with larger and more consistent catches. After all, in order to land them you have to understand them.
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If you want to catch more bass you need to come over to www.AllAboutBassFishing.com. We provide many tips, tactics, articles and more to help with your next bass fishing adventure. Whether you fish for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, peacock bass, or any other type of bass we can help you.
There is certainly no shortage of good Illinois crappie fishing locations, especially in the spring. The state is littered with lakes and rivers where bites are frequent and slabs are quite large.
No matter where in the state you live or are traveling, you are within a few miles of great crappie fishing. Beginning in late February and continuing through spring and summer, you’ll find the peak of Illinois crappie fishing season.
Start with the Mazonia State Fish and Wildlife Area, where there are over 250 lakes ranging in size from an acre to about 50 acres. Here, you’ll find some average sized crappie of about 8-9 inches in length. The best part of the season in these lakes is generally between March and May, concentrating strongly on shoreline areas covered in grass, beaver lodges, and fallen trees that create cover for the crappie. If you visit the “back lakes” of the area that must be accessed by foot, you could be rewarded with 14-16-inch crappie.
Another viable option for Illinois crappie fishing is Evergreen Lake, a full 886 acres just north of Bloomington in central Illinois. Some avid anglers claim that fishing in this lake regularly yields 10-12-inch crappie and up to 40 or more black crappie per hour, as well as 55 white crappie per hour. At these excellent fishing odds, most fishermen go home with their 25-fish limit for the day with no hassle whatsoever. Try fishing the coves of the lake, with jigs and minnows being the number one baits of choice.
While not producing such high quantities, Illinois crappie fishing at Sangchris Lake does yield some of the largest sunfish in the state, averaging 12-15 inches in length. There is a nursery pond onsite where around 70,000 fish are bred and stocked annually that boosts the population for a good catch. Take advantage of the large slabs in February, March, and April, when crappie are easily found in shallow cover and are prone to staying in shallow environments for spawning. Minnows work well here, as do jigs, but keep in mind that Sangchris enforces a 10-inch minimum size and 10-fish per day limit on your catch.
Illinois crappie fishing is at its best in Carlyle Lake, with its extensive 26,000 acres, in spring. Carlyle maintains a 10-inch minimum for your catch, and you’ll find no shortage of keepers, with regular anglers claiming about 80% of the catch being of retainable size. The Allen Branch of the lake is full of stumps and good cover for crappie, making it a choice location for Illinois crappie fishing, though Coles Creek and the West Access area are also popular.
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Dan Eggertsen is a fishing researcher and enthusiast who is commited to providing the best crappie fishing information possible. Get more information on Illinois crappie fishing here: www.askcrappiefishing.com
