Early Season, On-Deck Baits For Bass

A lot of fishing techniques will catch bass in early summer, but some methods will perform better than others depending on the situation. To get the most from your bass fishing adventures, starting on opening day, be sure to keep the following lures in regular rotation.

A weedless, Texas-rigged soft plastic is essential when fishing for northern bass relating to lily pads, arrowheads, cabbage clumps, milfoil beds, grass flats, and other types of vegetation. The rig’s ability to slide through cover without hanging up also makes it excellent for working docks, fallen trees (aka laydowns), stumps, and other wood cover.

The CrushCity Bronco Bug on a 4/0 RedLine HD Flipping Hook with a Tungsten Flippin’ Weight and Sinker Stop is a great crawfish and bluegill imitator, both of which are sought after by hungry post-spawn bass. A good idea, too, is having a snack-sized flipping and pitching package rigged up. For this, you can’t beat the CrushCity 3.5-inch Cleanup Craw on a 3/0 or 4/0 RedLine Hybrid Wide Gap with a Tungsten Flippin’ Weight and Sinker Stop.

Bass regularly see prey high in the water column throughout the summer. Frogs are active in bays and along shorelines, and sunfish and minnows often suspend near the surface in the shallows.

Topwater lures are fantastic at catching bass when the sun is lower in the sky at early morning and later in the evening. However, mid-day surface bites are common on overcast days and certain dirty water conditions.

The Claptail 110 is one surface bait you’ll want to have for this season. It features a metal prop and back blade that collide during the retrieve. The result is a distinct two-tone sound, a pronounced V-wake, and plenty of commotion to pique the curiosity of bass. The Claptail 110 can be retrieved at various speeds. Move it fast to cover water and get reaction bites, or go slow to infuriate shallow-dwelling bass into striking.

Early summer is also a great time of year for using a smaller, walk-the-dog topwater. Topping the list in this category is the 3-1/2 inch Precision Xtreme Pencil. Long-casting, extremely responsive, and featuring a dual-frequency knocker weight, it’s another great bass catcher to have in your collection.

Stickbaits come in various lengths, but all of them are easy to fish, versatile, and catch a ton of bass. A thin profile and a subtle, quivering action make these soft-baits excellent for pressured or inactive bass. Stickbaits are also essential to have when fishing clear water.

A Ned rig is tough to beat. The CrushCity Ned BLT or Salted NedRoll on a Ned Rig Jig are very effective stickbait presentations for smallmouth and largemouth bass. Go with as light of a jig as you can get away with given the day’s conditions. Experiment with different retrieve styles, including shaking, swimming, dragging, and hopping.

A wacky-rigged Pigstick’s shimmying fall is irresistible to bass. At 5 inches, the Pigstick does an excellent job getting the attention of big bass, while also attracting fish from afar. Using a Crossover Ring and Crossover Pliers makes rigging a Pigstick quick and easy. The ring also extends the plastic’s lifespan. Use a RedLine Series Weedless Wacky Neko or Wacky Neko hook for a slow fall, and a Wacky Weedless Jig for a quicker drop.

The erratic, slashing action, rattles, and flash of a jerkbait are key reasons these lures are so good at drawing in fish and stimulating strikes. A fast retrieve with a long-casting jerkbait like the PXR Mavrik 110 is a great way to cover water and locate scattered, roaming bass. The PXR Mavrik 100 also delivers a strong sonar return and responds immediately to retrieve adjustments, making it ideal for forward-facing tactics.

Jerkbaits will catch bass from shorelines, sand flats, points, rock reefs, riprap, river current breaks, and plenty of other areas. The lure is also well suited for catching suspending smallmouth feeding on schooling baitfish in open water.

Early season bass sometimes show preferences towards smaller jerkbaits. In this situation, look to the 3-1/8-inch X-Rap or 3-1/2-inch Shadow Rap Shad.

Putting the trolling motor down and working down the bank with a BX Brat or OG Rocco 5 is a reliable early summer tactic for bass. Bumping and grinding one of these shallow-running crankbaits along the bottom, and banging it off of dock pilings, boulders, and other obstacles, are proven ways to activate a bass’ predatory instincts. Swimming a crank through lanes and openings in vegetation also catches plenty of fish.

Don’t ignore lipless crankbaits. Heavy vibrations, loud rattles, and a tight swimming action make the Snare 50 and Rippin’ Rap impossible for bass to resist, and make these lures great for quickly sifting through large expanses of water.

Regardless of where you’re wetting a line, you can be confident largemouth and smallmouth will be easily fooled by a soft-plastic minnow on a jig retrieved within striking distance. The CrushCity Mooch Minnow, Freeloader, and The Jerk are popular finesse minnows. Stellar, too, are The Suspect and The Mayor, which deliver more vibrational oomph due to their thumping tails.

VMC offers loads of jigs for pairing with plastic minnows. The RedLine Series Tungsten Swimbait Jig, Grip-R Jighead Finesse, and Minnow Shaker Jig are good options to start with.

Soft-plastic presentations are excellent for open-water areas where bass commonly ambush minnows and baitfish. Places like weed edges, rocky shorelines, points, over a weedbed’s canopy, and sections of a lake where the basin meets islands, humps, and other structures.

This bass season, avoid leaving anything to chance. Rig up your favourite fishing rods with a good selection of the baits discussed above, and you’re sure to experience some of the best fishing action of the year.