Bass Opener

[minnkota]

For many competitive anglers across this fine region, the fishing season begins on the fourth Saturday of June; bass opener.
Bass are one of the most sought after sport fish in North America, mostly because of their abundance, their willingness to chase a lure and their fiery demeanour.

With this incredibly warm spring we have had, by the time the bass season is underway the bass will be in their summer locations, well recovered from the spawn. To me, the bass opener means largemouth bass fishing. Likely locations to find them are docks, trees, weed mats, weed flats, lily pads and undercut cane. What will I be using to get into some "largies" on the opener?

Here are my top five largemouth bass lures.

- Spinner bait

This is probably my number one search bait to find active bass. If you are in an area you have never fished before, fan-cast and drift through the area quickly. You can also use swim jigs, crank baits, and chatter baits as search tools depending on weed cover. Once I locate active bass, I like to slow down and move to one of the baits listed below.


- Soft bodied swim bait

Use this bait in water depths of one to four feet where spinner baits get hung up in weeds and you want to slow down your presentation to a medium speed. You should use swimbaits around channels and holes in thick weed beds and heavy cover; pausing often to let it fall into holes and beside thick clumps of weeds.


- Jig&Pig

This is my absolute number one favourite lure to use around docks and trees; pitching and flipping it into tiny spots is the ticket. Pitching a jig is a skill that requires practice so check online for video tips and techniques by tournament professionals. Mastery of this tactic is a must for any serious bass angler.


- Texas rigged soft plastic creature bait

This is my next favourite summer bait that catches some of my biggest bass. I recommend life-like plastics such as crawfish, worms, salamanders, or any funky creature bait that catch your eye. When fishing these baits look for the thickest weed mats you can find and pitch it right into the centre letting it freefall to the bottom. Rig them weedless with a half to one-ton tungsten bullet weight and a stout 3/0 to 6/0 sized "flippin" hook or extra-wide gap worm hook.


- Senko

This bait has revolutionized the bass fishing world over the last decade, and no angler should go fishing without at least one of these tied on. Rig them wacky and weightless to get the full action out of them; the slow seductive quivering fall is hard for any largemouth bass to ignore. If you know bass are in an area and nothing is working, this is a bait that should get the nod. Toss the bait out and let it slowly fall to the bottom on slack line. Watch your line carefully as a strike indication will often be nothing more than a slow gentle tightening of the line to the left or right, or a slight "tick" in the line as the bass inhales your bait.

If you don't have any of these baits, don't fret too much. Bass are not that smart, and they can be coaxed into hitting anything from a beer cap with a treble hook to a hunk of bologna and a hook. The most important part is to get out there and participate.

[sniperlee]

Great selection! Can't go wrong with either one of those choices. Time and place for each. Hard part is figuring out which one they want. The fun part! Happy fishin!