Northwest Fishing Reports

Looking to get on the water as soon as the ice is off. What do you use for early season Bass. Slow anything I would imagine. But creature over cranks? Jerk over top water?? Any ideas for a rookie Bass nut?? Can hardly wait to get back on the water!!!
Kent

Reddog ,

Allow me to throw out a few things to consider once the ice melts . My personal experiences have showed me that you can throw lots of rigs and bait early season , My picks are as follows , Hard baits ~ Jerk baits (suspend) , DD22's .. Soft Baits ~ Senkos , BIG power worms , Smallie Beavers , Lizards , Grubs .. Reaction baits ~ Spinnerbaits , Swimbaits .. Rigs ~ Carolina rigs , Texas rigs , football headz , Neko rig , Jig n Pigs ..

Things to consider once you gt on the lake , Water temps & water levels are one the first things that run through my head early season , Im looking for the warmest part of the lake ,even if its only 2 degrees Warmer . Helpful hint here is that on sunny bluebird day head to the rocky shorelines or a rocky bottom in semi shallow depths (rocks hold heat) . Staging areas is the second thing runs through my head , most late winter / pre spawn bass tend to start pushing up a lil shallow . I look target Big points and also secondary points , another little hint is to start with the points that offers Big spawing flats next to them . Believe it or not this time of year I fish really fast , however allow to explain that statement in detail . I fish many areas on the lake and spend small windows of time with my bait of choice . What you will find is that early season "actively feeding" Bsss will in many cases let you know there present within the the first 5min on a spot . Now im not saying not to fish you baits slow , just dont camp out alllll day on like two spots becuase you could be missing some aggressive fish elsewhere . Last thing to keep in mind is Keep an eye on the conditions , If the day starts bright and then clouds starts rolling in , well just because you hit 5 spots without a bite doesnt mean you can go back to re visit them under new conditions . I could proberly go on and on about soo many there factors here reddog , so feel free to PM me if need be . Hope to shake hands with you at the sportsman show .. Till then , May your next Bass be your Best Bass !!!


BBD :batman:

HaHa,..Dez~Dez~Dez,..a VAULT of information bro,..listen 2 the BBD cause he won't steer you wrong!

TGL~BB

Thanks BBD for the info. Take my notes out with me on the lake check. Pay attention to conditions check.
Wont be at the sportsmans show this weekend. Too far to go. In March is the Big Horn show here in Spokane. Usually make it out there one day. Met Low Tech Joe, Marc Martyn, and Mike Carey at the boat show last year out here. Like to make it over that way (or the middle of the state) some year for the "big" get together/summer picnic some time. We'll see. Went to the one Low Tech Joe put together last year (thanks again Joe!!!!!). Rained a lot. No Trout biting for this Bass guy. But had a good time with my son who was home from college.
Kent

It's a bit of a drive for you but I would head South early in the year. Downs Lake opens March 1 and given the (lack of) winter we've had over here, you should have a very good shot at some March bass there. Downs always warms up early, and there's a good chance there won't be any ice on it come March. Your northern lakes (Deer, Loon, Diamond, Waitts, etc.) won't be bass ready until sometime in April.

Early season cold water is a good time to be on the water, alot of big fish move in and out checking out the flats adjacent
to spawning areas. Fish movements are determined by water temp, available forage and the need to reproduce. I fish cranks,
jerkbaits and drag football head jig and pork combos. I allways sneak a peak at the shallow docks, I've caught huge largemouth
early in 38 degree water, where big bass are suspending under low docks or floating docks. This is where I use allmost a dead-
sticking approach, cast out soft plastics and barely shake the very end of my rod tip with intermittent pauses- sometimes I
just let it sit there. Key is to cover and re-cover as much water as you can. Fish-On

I stopped by Larson yesterday. Spooked 2 shallow fish but no dice. Warmest January on record. Should be lots of fish moving in.

Thanks for all the tips. Yea tnj8222, the ice is off my "home" lake to the point that I can put the boat on it. So, the next "decent" day. Gonna try my luck on those shallow flats. Figure to get an earlier start on the Pend Oreille River this year as well.
Kent

reddog....what is your "home" lake?
My brother (AJ's Dad) and I are headed to Ft. Spokane tomorrow in search of walleye, smallmouth and if all else fails....rainbows.
We'll be trying teh Spokane arm first and then out to the big water if we find nothing in the arm.

Drumdog wrote:reddog....what is your "home" lake?
My brother (AJ's Dad) and I are headed to Ft. Spokane tomorrow in search of walleye, smallmouth and if all else fails....rainbows.
We'll be trying teh Spokane arm first and then out to the big water if we find nothing in the arm.

Eloika. Not a lot of water. But my duck boat does'nt draft much. So there are'nt many places I cant get.