Spring is here Start thinking about the pre-pre-spawn...

Well, the ice will all be gone in another month, and as soon as the lakes open up, you can expect to find me (along with a bunch of other guys) out on the water chasing down some late winter/early spring bass. As the temperatures hit 40-45 degrees, the bass will start to move around a little, and after a couple of warm days, you'll find them coming up on shallow flats to feed. Just make sure to look for shallow flats, near cover, and close to deeper water - a quick break into the depths usually holds more fish. Once the temps reach above 50 degrees, the fish will start to stay a little shallower, cruising around for a quick meal. 55-60 degrees and they're almost into spawn mode.

Slow-rolling spinnerbaits, jigs, carloina rigs, and big deep-diving crankbaits are great early spring baits. Once you start to see the vegetation returning, especially in water 7-10 feet deep and near a breakline, lipless crankbaits are almost unmatched, especially on warm days.

Remember, warm sunny days will draw the bass shallow, and once the weather stays warm, overcast days with a little breeze are the most productive. 3 days before to 10 days after th full moon seem to yield the most big fish, and remember to tune your lure size, color and action to look as natural as possible when the bass are inactive/sluggish.