Small lakes can hold big largemouths
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 OK to catch some of the year's biggest largemouths. The state's smaller lakes can be a great place to do just that.
Early spring warming trends quickly elevate water temperatures into the 40s, which, in turn, send bass to the shallows. Invigorated by the warming water, the fishes' objective for these movements is to feed.
The numerous lakes of 200 acres and smaller scattered around the state 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 5- to 7-pound range.
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission lakes, such as Kahle Lake, Somerset Lake and Kyle Lake, often are 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 before the trout opener.
When trout season opens, they will attract plenty of attention from trout anglers. The lakes where I fish for bass in 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 blue skies with little to no cloud cover to block the warming rays of the sun. Light winds out of the south carry warm air.
Generally, the longer the warming trend, 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.
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, you often 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 dressed with a Yum Chunk trailer and 4-inch flippin' tubes rigged weedless, score well.
Early-in-the-season bass will suspend over flats, and 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 fall, swimming a jig or Chatterbait-style lure through newly emerging weeds can be a top pattern.
Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle.
