Freshwater Fishing

Spring awakens exciting topwater bass fishing opportunities, and a Pop-R is ideal for igniting the action in many situations.

Spring means different things to different people. Some think about baseball, azaleas blooming or the Masters. In the minds of many bass fishermen, springtime is Rebel Pop-R time.

Bassmaster Elite Series pro Stetson Blaylock is one such angler. He has fished a Rebel Pop-R during the pre-spawn and spawning periods for many years, and a few springs back a Pop-R delivered him 1^st and 2^nd place finishes in consecutive Elite Series events.

It’s not that a Rebel Pop-R doesn’t produce excellent action all summer and through the fall. It does. Spring has extra virtues that make it especially good, though, along with being the time when the Pop-R bite first heats up each year.

Learn when topwater bass fishing calls for a finesse approach and how to downsize effectively to catch more fish.

I’ve fished the Zara Puppy for many years. It stands as one of my favorite topwater bass fishing lures for catching smallmouths and spots from creeks and small rivers. I’ve rarely tied one on to target bass in large rivers or lakes, though, because the Pup lacks the weight to cast efficiently on the tackle I favor for those settings and because the hooks and hardware are a bit small for bigger bass.

I typically choose a Super Spook Jr when I want to walk the dog for bass with a finesse topwater lure in bigger water, and often the Junior size provides the perfect answer. At times, though, I’ve wished I’d had even more of a finesse topwater lure that still could be cast efficiently and that was made as tough as the Super Spook Jr.

Seemingly, I was not alone. The folks at Heddon Lures heard about the need for such a topwater bass fishing lure enough times over the years to put engineers to work designing a new Spook. The result was the creation of the Super Spook Boyo, which is only 3 inches long but is built tough like the other Super Spooks.

Understanding the purpose behind various crappie bait profiles and how designs affect bait movement can help you choose the best crappie fishing bait for every situation.

The sea of crappie baits available today can make lure selection a daunting task. Aside from all the brands, shapes and body styles, there are the colors … lots and lots of colors.

Having been responsible for the Bobby Garland Crappie Baits lineup for the past 16 years, I’ve seen countless blank stares and fielded scores of frustrated questions from tackle show attendees across the country, with many asking, “Where do I start?”

Although I don’t know the background for every crappie lure out there, I do for the development of every Bobby Garland product. Perhaps you’ll find some of the insight shared here helpful in making bait selections for your style of crappie fishing.

Unsure what lures to tie on to find fishing success? These hand-picked fishing tackle kits simplify the answer.

Do you like easy?

Do you like catching fish?

How about combining these two?

That is what Lurenet offers with numerous fishing tackle kits, which range from a few carefully matched baits to large sets, and which collectively provide something for pretty much any fishing situation. Fishing tackle kits commonly combine baits that compliment each other, provide all the tackle needed for a technique, or provide multiple sizes and/or colors of a highly effective bait.

Learn about the Norman Speed N Jr and its important role for spring bass fishing.

Reeling slowly to tiptoe my bait through the shallow wood I was feeling, I knew my Speed N Jr was in a good place – on the outer edge of what looked like an ideal spawning pocket. When the bait stopped wiggling and began moving sideways on its own, I set the hook with a satisfied smile. When the fish pulled back and I could feel that it was a good one, I’m certain the smile widened.

It was my first time fishing with the new Norman Speed N Jr – maybe my fourth or fifth cast – and the bait performed exactly as intended, deflecting shallow cover, and appealing to a stout spring bass. I was near a parking area at a small public fishing lake that gets a lot of use, fishing a pretty pocket where the bass undeniably see a LOT of lures.

Let’s take a closer look at the Speed N Jr, considering why it was created and how to use it to catch more bass.

Choosing the right crawfish lure and presentation can trigger great days of catching many different types of fish from creeks and rivers.

“Cast across the creek and a little upstream and reel back steadily, reeling just fast enough to feel the crawfish wobble.”

I’ve given that instruction to all my children and to many friends over the years when we’ve stepped into a creek or river and I’ve handed off a lightweight spinning or spincasting combination. The instruction has been the same because the lure has been the same: a Rebel Crawfish.

Depending on the stream and season, the target species might have been rainbow, brown or brook trout or smallmouth, shoal or redeye bass. Or, we might have been fishing for whatever bit and expecting a nice variety. The Rebel Crawfish excels for all of the above. I commonly choose this bait when I’m taking someone fishing because of the ease of use and effectiveness. It isn’t only for teaching, though. It is also the lure I tie on for the broadest range of stream applications and species.

Spring can be an unpredictable time for bass fishing, but the big bass action can be outstanding. Here’s how to pick the proper crankbait to maximize your success.

Catching bass on crankbaits in spring is one of the most fun and successful techniques when fish are on the move. Whether bass are in transition to shallow water, amid the spawn, or hanging around cover to feed, throwing the best crankbaits for spring bass fishing will keep your line tight.

Crankbaits come in a variety of sizes and shapes to mimic baitfish, bluegills, perch and crayfish. The shape and size of the crankbait’s bill will help it stay shallow or dive to specific depths. The bill’s shape might also help it deflect more easily off wood or rock cover and may impart different action to the bait during the retrieve. A crankbait is designed with specific degrees of angle to the bill, body shape, position of the hooks, eye-screw and split ring for the line, and how water flows over it during the retrieve.

Spring weather can throw curveballs to crappie fishermen. Here’s how to adjust and catch crappie despite ever-changing conditions.

There’s truth to an old English Proverb that brings hope this time of year to the hearts of crappie fishermen everywhere. . . “No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.”

Sure, you can catch crappie throughout the year, but there’s something extra nice about spring crappie fishing. The weather is warming, the trees are beginning to bud, and the slabs are hungry and moving up to spawn.

But it’s not all a bed of roses. Spring crappie fishing also including rising water, falling water, bizarre cold fronts and those ever-present in-like-a-lion winds that can blow even the best-planned trips up onto the bank.

Learn from an in-the-boat account of how Jason Christie attacked an Elite Series tournament day on Florida’s Harris Chain.

I couldn’t sleep! The last time I had been so excited was before fishing my first bass club tournament as a teenager. This time, I had been selected to participate in the BASS Marshal program for the BASS Elite Series Tournament on the Harris Chain of Lakes in Central Florida.

For the first day of the tournament, I had been selected to participate as a Marshal with none other than BOOYAH Pro, Jason Christie. Christie is known as being a quiet but intense competitor. That was fine by me as I am a quiet person, and I knew I would enjoy watching him break down the waters in his own way.