Fishing Docks Using a Shaky Head for Early Spring Bass

A shaky head is a fishing rig used for bass fishing that consists of a jighead with a hook and a soft plastic worm or other bait attached to it. The jighead is designed to sit on the bottom while the worm wiggles and shakes when moved, creating a lifelike action that attracts fish.

The shaky head rig is particularly effective for early spring bass fishing when the water is still cold and the fish are less active. The slow, subtle movements of the worm on the shaky head rig mimic the natural movement of prey in cold water making it an enticing target for early season bass.

Fishing docks with a shaky head in early spring can be a great presentation for catching prespawn bass moving shallow to feed before the spawn begins.

Here are some tips to help you fish docks with the shaky head successfully:

Choose the right tackle: Use a 6.5-ft to 7-ft medium-light or medium power, fast action spinning rod matched with a 2500 or 3000 size spinning reel, spooled with 6-10 lb fluorocarbon line.

Use the right bait: Choose a shaky head jig with a 4-7 inch soft plastic finesse or trick worm in natural colors like green pumpkin, watermelon or black.

Yo-Yoing Lipless Crankbaits for Spring Smallies

Seems Rapala has been busy in their labs again, this time creating their third generation of lipless crankbaits, the Rippin’ Rap.

According to Doug Stange of InFishermanTV, this new design has a different profile than its predecessors (Rattlin’ Rap & Clankin’ Rap) as well as different sound, vibration and fall pattern.

In this instructional video, Doug uses a Yo-Yo type retrieve to connect with quality early spring smallmouth bass and explains the difference between the different Rapala lipless crankbaits…

From the look of the Ripplin’s Rap, it seems like Rapala might be mimicking Strike King’s Red Eye Shad…

What do you think?

P.S.

The yo-yo retrieve is a favorite of mine for bass in the spring and late fall using lipless cranks from several different manufacturers, just sayin’ 

Ice-out and Early Spring Bass Tips

Here we are heading our way into the third month of the year in the north country and most of the bass anglers are really starting to notice the longer days and Sun rising in the afternoon sky.

Even in years like this when the local lakes have been frozen for months, feeling the increasing warmth of the Sun turns our thoughts to the approach of ice-out and gearing up for some early spring bass fishing action.

It has been a long and cold winter after-all!

So as you head out into the shed and start to dig-out your rods and reels along with all those boxes filled with your favorite bass catching baits, here are some success tips to help keep you in-tune with the changes at hand.

Location, Location, Location …

And when searching for ice-out and early spring bass, it really is about location.

Though most of us will take what we can get when it comes to accessing bodies of water, early season bass fishing success is definitely increased on smaller bodies of water since they are often more protected and water temps rise fairly rapidly.

With water temperatures still in the 30’s and 40’s, most fish (including bass) will often seek out warming sections of the lake or pond.  Since the Sun is still rising in the southern sky, coves and cuts on the northern shore (especially those with darker bottoms) offering protection from the wind are often bass magnets.

Add in rocks, stumps, logs and other types of solid cover and the magnetic character increases greatly!

Here is one of my favorite ice-out/early spring bass fishing haunts with several keys areas highlighted with white arrows:

Once you’ve located areas with these key fish-attracting elements, it’s time to turn your attention to selecting the right kind of bass tackle for ice-out conditions.

Shoreline Fishing for Ice Out Bass

Here in northern New England, “Old Man Winter” finally starts to lose his grip as longer days and warmer temperatures sometime in March mean receding ice on our local bass haunts!

Though it seemed like may never get here, the first open water bass fishing opportunity of the new season is always welcome when it starts to present itself 

Once the ice withers back from the shoreline and yields more than a cast length’s distance to it’s edge, it’s time to head out and take full advantage of this late winter bass angling bonanza …

Take a few minutes and watch as Kim Stricker of the Hook n' Look YouTube channel identifies some of the shallow water features that ice out Bass gravitate to...

Being a good scout, I’ve already renewed the license, prepped  some rod and reel combos and assembled a small tackle pack with lipless crankbaits, chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, some stick baits and jigs.

That’s right, I’m all set to hit the water’s edge on a moment’s notice!

How about you?

I look forward to seeing you out on the water's edge soon…

Mindset and Early Spring Bass Fishing

Long winters without making a cast leaves all of our bass fishing (and catching) skills more than a tad rusty.

But spring has sprung and all of bass fishing nation will be heading to their local bass haunts in search of that holy grail of our sport … the elusive bass!

If you are anything like me and have grown impatient waiting for those days of early spring bass fishing opportunities, you’ve already been out in the yard re-honing those casting skills (even with the strange looks and comments from your neighbors).

Even with many of the potential mechanical kinks worked out, many of us struggle on those first outings of the new season and miss more than a few of the subtle strikes of the still sluggish bass.

So what can we do to shorten the time it takes to “get back into the bass catching groove”?

Elementary my dear bassing friend …

Focus, Concentrate and Analyze!

I am sure you’ve all heard TV fishing celebs and the bass pros talk about it but …

1. Focusing on the environment around you plus;
2. Concentrating on the details of your efforts then
3. Analyzing the conditions around your activities …

These three factors allow you to tune into the bass’ environment and “attitude” (active, neutral or inactive), determine how you need to adjust your approach and presentation and ultimately do more early spring bass catching rather than just fishing.

How does this work?

Fishing for Ice Out Smallmouth Bass

After a long north country winter, cabin fevered smallmouth bass anglers itch for the day the ice leaves and we can hit the water to connect with then ole brown fish.

Armed with our favorite ice-out baits like:

• hair jigs
• suspending crankbaits
• thin, flat-sided crankbaits (like shad raps)
• Small spoons or jigging minnows

we head out to find transition areas between their deep water wintering homes and the shallow feeding flats and spawning bays and probe those areas with our traditional ice-out lure arsenal.

There is one bait and presentation we sometimes overlooked shortly after the ice cover departs... using a yo-yo retrieve with a lipless crankbait. 

It can be a smallie killer under the right conditions as Doug Stange from InFiseherman demos in the following video...

I often use yo-yo retrieves with lipless cranks for ice-out largies with great success, time to try it on smallies as well!