pre-spawn

[skeeter944]

what baits do yall have the most succes on during the pre-spawn and how to fish them?

[Fishie]

I have a lot of success with throwing rattletraps in the early spring on deeper dropoffs and channles. Once the water hits 45 degrees or so they can be effective. Also you might want to try suspending jerkbaits off points and shakeyhead worms on deeper docks next to spawing coves. Just fish deeper water next to spawning flats with a barrage of baits and you will find something.

[rrw4258]

there is a reservoir within like .5 miles of my house so usually i just walk. This res. heats up of any of the lakes around here because it is fairly small. I attached a couple of pics... anyway back to the question
The prespawn at this particular lake starts aroud february to march and if we have a cold spring even into early april. The spawn lasts until around the first of june. But during prespawn i have three lures that i will throw here: 1) Rat - L - Trap. I fish it with a slow steady retreive, or a yo yo effect in mostly a silver/chartreuse - silver/blue - or silver/black. I usually use the countdown method.
2) Suspending Jerkbait - i throw it out as far past a piece of cover as i can and work it down to oh about 12 - 15 feet. Usually in a clown color. Once i get it down to that depth i reel very slowly until i feel something in which case i set the hook.
3) Spinnerbait - usually a 3/8 to 1/2 ounce in white. Any other color will not work at this particular place. Just basiclly chunk and wind it it or i will slow roll it back to shore.
** A side note on this reservoir ** - A very good bass, crappie, and bluegill hole. ( Also contains a few walleye and yellow perch, northern pike too) There are many of weeds around the banks. All lined with rip rap. Also in these pics the lake (res) is down like 15 to 20 feet. In the spring it will come back up and the fish will come into explore the new areas adn thats is when i like to prespawn fish**!

Here ya go..

Thanks

Ryan

[Christopherkeene9]

You think you have weeds bad. LOL ha ha come to a Florida Retention Pond and tell me how bad weeds are. Nice hole though. Always wanted to fish those looking ponds that I see from 75 on my way to Perrysburg or Gibsonburg.

Chris

[flfireman]

ratltrap is good.

[rrw4258]

ck9,
do u visit up here much or not? If you are up here sometime stop around and ill show around some of the reservoirs we have here in northern ohio and lake erie!

Ryan

[1FASTLASER]

I gotta jump in here on this one. EVERYONE throws a rattletrap in the prespawn. Standard procedure and standard fish. Think about this.....fish my not have much of a memory but they do become conditioned, this is why I usually throw something outta the normal. Look at your statistics....Remember what Dean Rojas did on Toho. Now thats what I call using your head for something other than a hat holder. He threw a white lizard while everyone else was throwing...you guessed it a trap. I throw a babybrush hog it watermelon candy 90% of the time and have EXCELLANT results.but. you really want to have success take a bag of the above mentioned baits and spray a good dose of Jacks Juice in Garlic flavor the night before.......THEN HANG ON. Watermelon candy works in ANY and I do mean ANY water color. The Jacks Juice makes em hit the bait like its a runaway freight train.

[zooker]

umm i like paca craws or baby bush hogs. during the prespawn up till water hits 60 degrees i use lunker sauce crawdad then switch to fish forumula garlic.. p u smell my paca craw ....now tell me that suck don't stink..

zooker

[lovinfishin9]

How do yall fish with the brush hogs??

[Curado]

Fishin grass with a Cordell spot or Strike King diamond shad is my favorite technique. I also do alot of C-riggin, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and jerkbaits.

[Basspro wannabe]

I'm like Laser I like something different so I throw tubes, usually black neon, and have won many tourneys during prespawn on tubes.

[1FASTLASER]

Fish the brush hogs as you would any other plastic. The baby brush hogs do well with a 4/0 EWG hook and 1/4oz sinker the standard hogs need at least a 5/0 EWG Plus hook to get a good hookeset without the plastic gettin in the way.

[lovinfishin9]

Ok thanks laser

[basstech]

Just a curious question rrw4258, How do you get a suspending rogue down to 12 or 15 ft. Is it overweighted so it actually sinks? Most of my sus. rogues actually rise.
I would say the Jerk baits, wiggle warts, and trick worms are my three most productive pre-spawn baits. Lizzards, tubes and Brush hogs as well a 4" finesse worms and twin tailed skirted grubs and jig-n-pigs, are a must have for prespawn fishing. Early I will use the cordell rattle spots, then later the rattle traps from lewis. Don't start throwing spinnerbaits till I at least see algae starting to grow back (middle of march). In april if the water is clear I'll throw Zara spooks as well.