Early spring is prime time for catching giant largemouths and smallmouths alike, but you must have the right tools for the task. What follows is a "Dream Team" list.
1) Smithwick 5 ½-inch Suspending Rattlin’ Rogue – Clown
The suspending jerkbait that put suspending jerkbaits on the map, a Rogue is the bait of choice for giant smallies when they stage just off spawning flats. Pause it as long as you can stand between jerks – and maybe a little longer – and remain ready.
2) 7-inch YUM Dinger - Watermelon Pearl Laminate
Big, bold offerings often trigger heavyweight spawning fish into committing, and nothing will do that job quite like a 7-inch YUM Dinger. Big Dingers’ also produce hoards of hawgs when pitched around shallow cover throughout the spring.
3) BOOYAH 3/4-ounce Football Jigheads – Brown
During early spring many big fish remain in or very near their winter areas, which dictates hitting deeper structure. A BOOYAH Football Head allows you to keep soft-plastic offerings close to prime structure and comes equipped with a 4/O Gamakatsu hook for putting those big fish in the boat.
4) YUM 5-inch Gonzo Grub - Green Pumpkin/Orange Flake
A perfect match for the Football Jighead, a Gonzo Grub has a fluttering skirt and twin tails that provide an incredible amount of action. The 5-inch Gonzo provides the necessary bulk to get a lunker to commit.
5) Bomber Fat Free Shad - Dance’s Citrus Shad
If you ever travel to Mexico without a stock of Fat Free Shads you’ll buy some before the trip is over, and if you fish anywhere bass grow big without ‘em, you’re leaving something significant on the table. Fat Frees dig deep to get down among ‘em and have just the right profile and wag.
6) 1-ounce Double Willow BOOYAH Blade - White Chartreuse
Another trophy bass gem for when the lunkers are laying low in the water column, a big Double Willow BOOYAH Blade offers a large profile to suggest a serious meal. Let it fall to the bottom and slow roll it across the deepest edges of flats and the ends of points
7) ¾-ounce Single Colorado BOOYAH Blade – Coleslaw
When early-spring storms stain big bass waters, it’s time to pull out a thumping single Colorado. The fish will move tight to shallow cover, and they will dart out of bush to ambush something that’s creating big vibes. Work close and make short accurate casts, working the bait tight to the thick stuff.
8) BOMBER Deep Flat A - Apple Red Crawfish
The Flat A’s extra-tight wiggle suggests an easy meal, which is something bass cannot resist while their metabolism levels remain low. Use a steady medium-slow retrieve and kick it off rocks and the bottom whenever possible.
9) Cotton Cordell Super Spot - Tomato Red
A first-season classic on grass lakes, the Tomato Red Super Spot accounts for a tremendous amount of hawgs this time of year. Let it fall into patches of submerged vegetation, rip it out of the grass and hold on tight!
10) 20-pound-test Silver Thread Fluorocarbon
Silver Thread Fluorocarbon allows baits to get down among winter fish a little easier and provides the toughness needed to wrestle them out of cover. And because of its extremely low visibility, you can get away with heavier line in clear water, and be better equipped to get the big fish that bite into the boat.