By Mike Frisch and the Fishing the Midwest Team
Largemouth bass can be found in lots of lakes, rivers, and ponds across the country. In the southern regions of bass country it’s already mid-season for bass catching, but in the Midwest the bass action is just starting. In fact, in some states that have an open and closed season for bass fishing, the legal season for catching bass is just starting. Here’s how you can take advantage of the outstanding fishing for largemouth bass that can be found across the Midwest.
The first thing to consider is that much of this early bass action will be in shallow water. Whenever you’re fishing in shallow water, for any species, you must be quiet. Fish in shallow water are very spooky, so any loud or unusual noise, and any movement will spook them. Shut the outboard off before you enter the area to be fished and move in slowly with the electric motor. Keep the power on the electric on low: Move in slowly and quietly and avoid giving the electric motor bursts of power.
You’ll also want to make long casts, especially in clear water. Again, if you make long casts and stay away from the bass, you’ll be less likely to spook them.
Lures that enter the water quietly will be productive. A lure that lands on the water quietly attracts bass, while a lure that splashes down loudly will spook them, especially if it lands close to the fish.
A real winner for bass in the spring is a stick style plastic worm rigged wacky style. Wacky rigging is simply hooking a worm right in the middle. You use a larger sized hook, about a 2/0 size for a five-inch worm. You don’t use any weight, as you want the worm to sink slowly. Cast the worm around rushes, docks, trees lying in the water, or anything that provides the fish with some cover. Bass like to be around stuff, especially when they’re shallow.
This wacky rigged worm is a pretty light bait, so some anglers like to throw it with spinning gear. As for the fishing line used, we prefer using a braided line of 15-pound test mainline with a 12-pount test fluorocarbon leader tied in. We use CONTRA braid in the yellow color as that line is very visible allowing us to see hops and twitches in the line that indicate a fish is biting. CONTRA fluorocarbon is our choice for the leader as it is low vis so the fish don’t see it.
An Ocho worm doesn’t have much tail action, which makes it perfect for wacky rigging. Plus, this eight-sided lure reflects like creating fish attracting flashes. Cast it out, let it sink a bit, then start a twitching retrieve. You might want to let it rest on the bottom for a second or two, and sometimes an even longer rest is good, but most of the time you’ll want to keep it moving. In colder water give it light twitches, as the water warms move it more aggressively. Experiment with colors, but in clear water start with watermelon seed.
Right now is an outstanding time to be on the water. The weather is usually nice and the bass are biting, and that creates a wonderful afternoon of fishing.
Photo Caption– The author releases an early season bass caught wacky rigging!
Mike Frisch hosts the popular Fishing the Midwest TV series. Follow Fishing the Midwest on Facebook for more “fishy” information or visit www.fishingthemidwest.com.
