Bass

Learn about Chris Jones’ long-time secret weapon, its doubly important Bassmaster Classic role, and its virtues for pulling bass from shallow cover.

The only bad part about a “secret weapon” lure is that eventually the secret gets out. Ask Oklahoma bass pro Chris Jones. He watched that happen with his favorite lure – a swim jig now known as the Mobster and soon available from BOOYAH Bait Company – when he used it to win a 2020 Bassmaster Central Open on the Arkansas River in Oklahoma and then rode it to a third-place finish in the 2021 Bassmaster Classic last week on Lake Ray Roberts in Texas.

The Open win, which qualified Jones for this year’s Classic, coupled with Jones’ Classic success, brought national attention to jig that Jones has been winning tournaments with for the better part of two decades.

What you need to know about the Texas impoundment that will host the 2021 Bassmaster Classic.

When March 11-13 sees the 51st Bassmaster Classic unfolding on Lake Ray Roberts, the fishing world will get its first major look at a lesser-known East Texas fishery. That is no slight to this timber-strewn reservoir that is located just north of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. After all, the lake record of 15.18 pounds screams quality. We simply haven’t had much opportunity to get to know the fishery.

Classic qualifier Stetson Blaylock said the Classic practice would be his first look at Ray Roberts. The Arkansas pro arrived with a reasonable level of background knowledge, based on internet and map study, but Blaylock said he’ll be learning this one as he goes.

“This time of year, the challenge is figuring out if you can win on the bank or do you almost have to be out where the majority of fish are going to be living,” Blaylock said. “From what I understand, this lake doesn’t have a lot of shallow structure. To me, that means you have a Texas lake without a lot of vegetation, so those fish are going to be on something — more than likely offshore.”

If you learn the times, places and strategies to capitalize on the shad spawn, spring bass action can be spectacular. Here’s what you need to know.

The bass spawn may be over but don’t head for deeper water yet. On lakes that team with shad, one of the best shallow fishing opportunities of the season happens when these baitfish spawn. Anglers who take advantage of this phenomenon to catch spring bass, such as Alabama bass guide Jimmy Mason, refer to it simply as “the shad spawn.”

“I start seriously looking for spawning shad in the spring when the water temperature stays above 70 degrees at night,” Mason said. “Here in northern Alabama that usually happens around the last week of April to the first week of May.”

Do you ever wonder which crawfish-imitating soft plastic lure would work best for the way you want to fish? We’ll look at distinguishing features to help you make the best decision.

Bass love crawfish. This much we know. Crawfish provide important forage to all black bass species, and the craws’ locations and behavior dictate much about the bass’ locations and behavior.

Because crawfish offer such an important food source and because they use a broad range of habitats, countless lures are designed to match crawfish in their profile, action and/or color patterns. Interestingly, not all crawfish-imitating lures look alike. In fact, even if you take a single category, such as soft plastic crawfish-imitating lures, they take on a broad range of shapes. That’s because different crawfish lures are designed with different fishing situations in mind.

Crankbaits have almost become foreign to modern anglers in the pre-spawn in exchange for umbrella rigs, modern jerk baits, or the plethora of soft plastic rigs available now. But the reliable mid depth crankbait is still catching solid bags for anglers that choose to take that route. Bass tend to “hang out” in the 4-10 feet zone this time of year before heading to the pockets to spawn so a crankbait can be a great way to collide with some healthy pre-spawners. In our blog this week I will go over three of the best picks for cranking up some excellent bass fishing during the pre-spawn months.

You read that title correctly. The BOOYAH Covert Series spinnerbait has some new options for when things go “dark.” The new Night Time Series Covert has been added to the line for night fishing or when water gets extremely muddy.

When asking Jason Christie why this addition had to be made to the line, he jokingly said, “to fish at night…”, but after some laughs, he gave me some real knowledge of why this lure had to join the ranks with the other highly successful Covert series models.

The best time of year to catch trophy largemouth bass is when they transition from their winter patterns into the pre-spawn phase. Egg-laden lunkers are pounds heavier at this time than they will be after spawning. Plus, they stage in predictable places and chow down before moving onto beds.

Bear in mind that bass are sluggish during the early pre-spawn because the water is typically in the 40s in most parts of the country. They will bite, but you must select the right lures and fish them effectively in the places where bass hang out prior to spawning.

Any time you can tie on a lure in the morning and fish it confidently all day, that’s a good thing. Make that a topwater lure that prompts violent attacks, and a good thing becomes a great thing!

Welcome to autumn.

Moderating water temperatures, an instinctive drive to “feed up” before winter and shallow congregations of shad and other forage species make bass active and prompt them to look high in the water column this time of year. Surface lures get their attention and prompt strikes all day long.