Go-To Bait For Bass In Early Spring

“… in that cold, murky water, you may feel like you are out too early, just wasting time. Paying close attention to the retrieve, imparting the little twitch that can trigger a neutral bass to take a swipe keeps it real.”

- Glenn Walker

After the winter hiatus I am more than ready to hook up the boat and head out for some early spring bass fishing. Early spring can be feast or famine, at times depending on fickle weather and fluctuating water temperatures. But I know if I fish some form of jig in the right way in the right location, I’ll likely connect. 

The first goal is to cover water without speeding up the jig action too much. The idea is to hopefully catch some hungry bass, to pick off the low hanging fruit while also putting together the puzzle pieces for that day on the water. Those pieces usually include the depth, clarity and temperature of the water the bass are favoring, the cover to which they are relating, and lastly their activity level.

I know no better presentation for accomplishing all of this than a swimming jig. The swimming action naturally covers plenty of water, and the retrieval speed and other subtle details can be altered to learn not just where the bass are but how they are feeding.

The two basic presentations I employ with the swim jig are a steady retrieve and then I try twitching the jig.

I begin with a steady retrieve, targeting lay-downs and emerging weeds and lily pads.

If I see bass following the swim jig but not committing to it, I give them a little twitch to hopefully trigger a strike.

When cruising down the bank, my eyes stay peeled for casting targets where a bass might be positioned. After making a cast past the target to the shoreline, I begin swimming the jig back towards the boat. If there are no takers, I pause the reel and then