There’s a certain moral victory attained during those first outings after the ice has left the lakes. Great-to-be-back-on-open-water emotions aside, it’s also okay to catch some of the year’s biggest largemouths.

And the state’s smaller lakes can be a great place to do so.

Early spring warming trends quickly elevate water temperatures up into the 40s, which in turn sends bass to the shallows.

Invigorated by the warming water, the objective of these movements is to feed.

The numerous smaller lakes scattered around the state — 200 acres or so and less — often furnish some of the earliest action. Given their modest size they tend to warm quicker, sometimes providing action a week or two earlier than their larger counterparts.

And small lakes don’t necessarily mean smaller bass; such lakes often produce largemouths in the five to seven pound range.

Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission lakes — ones such as Kahle Lake, Somerset Lake and Kyle Lake — are often good choices for early season bass action.

Just be sure to check the status of the lake in regard to the stocking of adult trout.

Stocking closes these waters for a segment of the spring prior to the trout opener.

And when the trout season opens, there will be lots of attention from trout anglers.

The lakes I bass fish during the early spring are not stocked with adult trout.

Early season largemouth bass strategies are fairly simple.

The first component is picking the right day.

Cold fronts, regardless of the season, can be a largemouth bummer.

This is taken to the nth power during the early spring.

The best weather pattern is one of bluebird skies with little to no cloud cover to block the warming rays of the sun.

Light winds out of the south carry warm air.

The longer the warming trend, generally, the better, so if the forecast is for gradually warming weather spread over three days, it’s wiser to pick the last day rather than the first.

Finally, the last half of the day tends to be much more productive than the first.

Fish from noon until the sun is ready to drop below the western horizon and you’ve chosen the best part of the day, all other factors being equal.

Many lakes of this type are limited to electric motors. This can be a good thing for two reasons. One, it forces the angler to slow down, a definite plus this time of year.

Also, often you have the lake pretty much to yourself, since the use of large rigs isn’t practical.

Though several presentations will take early season largemouth bass, I usually limit things to three basics: a jig-n-pig, a Texas-rigged tube and a suspending hard jerkbait.

Bass relating to wood, rocks and leftover weeds are suckers for a jig flipped tight to the cover. Jigs like a Booyah Boo jig dressed with a Yum Chunk trailer, and also four-inch flippin tubes rigged weedless, score well.

Early in the season bass will suspend over flats, this is where a jerkbait like an XCaliber Xs4 stickbait excels.

Work the bait painfully slow, incorporating lengthy pauses.

The idea is to present a bait that looks like a lethargic shad or minnow, ripe to be plucked from the water column.

In addition to jigs and jerkbaits, rolling/grinding a single-blade spinnerbait through brush and weeds can be productive.

A bit later in the spring a swimming a jig or Chatterbait-style lure through newly emerging weeds can be a top pattern.0

Jeff Knapp is a fishing columnist for the Butler Eagle.