Bass Fishing Tip of the Week 04/12/2010:  Fishing the Spring to Summer Transition

The spring to summer transition starts in April in south Florida. This period follows the bass spawn season as air temperatures hover in the low 80's. The bass move from their shallow beds to mid range depths and some even venture to the deeper drops.

The water temperature also rises and often approaches the mid to high 70's. This raises the basses metabolism and as post spawn depression wears off, the bass kicks their feeding into high gear. The fish will strike anything that approaches the appearance of food. Crankbaits, spinnerbaits, worms and topwaters are all candidates for success.

During this period my personal experience has shown that bass are using mid depths from 6 to 10 foot of water. They are following shad schools, shiners and any other edible prey. Just like other times of the year they will be near cover but do tend to migrate more often as their food supply moves.

Crankbaits are my preferred bait during this transition period. They imitate the migrating shad and can be very effective in these depths. This bait covers water quickly and often leads to bigger fish. Work the deep divers such as DT10 through 14 and bump the bottom (if not too much vegetation exists) in the 6 to 10 foot range. The fish striking may not be bone jarring but rather a surge bite i.e. the rod starts to surge back and forth with each thrust of the fishes tail on the other end. When you get this strike pull back, but don't try to rip the fishes lips off like you would when worm fishing. This prevents the smaller trebles from ripping out of the basses mouth. Also try to keep the fishes head down if it tries to jump by lowering your rod but keep tension on the line.

The Texas rig or Carolina rig can also work at these depths. Try both but let the fish tell you which method they prefer. A soft plastic worm works best during this period such as a Zoom trickworm or even a Culprit style ribbon tail.

In heavy vegetation such as hydrilla or coontail, try ripping a Rattletrap through the stuff in the same depth zones. A #7 shadrap is also an excellent bait to work the edges of this type of cover.

Finally, soft jerkbaits like Zoom Flukes can be deadly along the 7' hydrilla edges and clumps. You would be amazed at the size of fish I have caught on this small bait using this technique.

So for the next month or so, fish the spring to summer transition at the mid level water depths and I'm sure you'll be doing more catching with less fishing.

Until Next Week, Tight Lines!

The Largemouth Herald