Need Spring Fishing Advice!

[Deluca]

I live in NH, so waters will be colder than most places come March, so I was wondering what the best stuff to fish would be. I was thinking of throwing alot of crankbaits, orrrr carolina rig with soft plastic Craws on a jighead. Any advice or better setups would be appreciated.

[Lee Smith]

A whole different world up there Deluca, I'm sure some of our Northern brothers will be along to help, cause I think it will be just alittle different from down here 

[-Shawn-]

I think it will be late march or April up there before you are doing the same things we do in february down here.
In march up there I think a Jig and Rattletrap would probably be your best best. 

[stickum]

As soon as the water is 50+ I like a spinnerbait with a colorado blade fished slow and a lipless crankbait, redeye shads are good. I will also flip a jig and pig or plastis to wood or rock that warms faster. Look for the warmest water.

[Camden]

im not all teh way north but in very early spring here in missouri i have good luck with exactly what you said.
plastic craws fished real slow and shallow crankbaits around cover.

[wvbassangler]

if you like fishing for them big one mid march and early april is real good here in WV almost the same weather you have there.
I like to use drop shots,slow roll spinnerbaits and jerk baits most of them bass are ready to move up so you will find them on ledges and points easy for them to move back in march by April you can start using tubes,swimbaits and the jig bite is starting to pick up big time.

[NateG]

Here in PA we go with tubes and jigs, jerkbaits, and spinnerbaits.

[tim4081]

Deluca, me being in Michigan, I would assume our  climates are pretty similar.  Usually the water softens up here in March but sometimes not until early April.  I've found small jigs worked slowly right on the bottom to be great right after ice out.  I like using single tail grubs on a Bite Me shakey jig heads or strike king's bitsy bug jigs with.  Also, suspending jerkbaits can be great very early.  The key to success with these is to work them down to their max depth and then twitch and pause, twitch and pause.  The pauses may be as much as ten to fifteen seconds.  If you can get a bait that works right near the bottom this can be dynamite.  A third option for you would be small senko type baits.  Again fished very slowly along the bottom.  I've tried lipless cranks and spinnerbaits right after the ice is gone but only managed to catch pike with them until the water starts to warm.  One other key is to find the warmest water so I'll often key on northern shorelines that receive the most sun.

[gdaddybassmaster]

Spinnerbait or jig would be my choices, either on should be worked very slowly. One old somewhat forgotten lure is not to be overlooked either: a spoon can be killer @ times.

GD

[Deluca]

Thanks for some of the advice, forgot to mention, my options are limited due to not having a boat. I am also fairly new at fishing, so I am still learning more of these complicated things.

[bass1cpr]

   I think a Jerkbait would be a good place to start fish it slow with long pauses. Use the rod to move the jerkbait not the reel the reel is for taking up the slack. I like to move the bait a foot or so with the rod then pause then a small twitch once or twice then pause then start it over. Play with the cadenace twitch twitch twitch pause. you'll find what works it's patience early in the year.

[Deluca]

   I think a Jerkbait would be a good place to start fish it slow with long pauses. Use the rod to move the jerkbait not the reel the reel is for taking up the slack. I like to move the bait a foot or so with the rod then pause then a small twitch once or twice then pause then start it over. Play with the cadenace twitch twitch twitch pause. you'll find what works it's patience early in the year.

Thanks, I will definitely try this. Any recommendations for a good brand or specific jerkbait lure?

[Deluca]

Also, would I use that with a topwater type rod with a fast tip?

[bass1cpr]

   A husky jerk is a good affordable jerkbait also very castable. There are others but since your fishing from the bank I'd keep them lower price. If you don't mind spending money you can go with a Lucky Craft about 15 dollars a pop. There's pleanty of knock off Lucky Craft stuff out there but I'd keep the choice simple. Husky Jerks Chrome/Blue back, Chrome/Black back, and Clown, Red nose chrome belly yellow sides.
   Knock off Lucky Craft colors Ghost Minnow, Chartreuse Shad, Aurora Black, Nishiki which is clown.
   What ever you choose in rods just make sure it has a soft tip for those twitches. I use a medium composite rod to a medium heavy rod with a soft tip. I personally like the composite because it is a slower action and lets the rod do the work during the fight and I have less chance of pulling the hooks out of the fish.

[ronalddipietro]

I caught fish last weekend BASS that had egg roe forming...so when is the spring..and when do you begin fishing it...is a good quiestion...If the lake ain't frozen, go fishing, and if it is frozen...put a hole in it and fish anyway...ha ha...

[-Shawn-]

Ronald, Bass start forming Roe a month after they spawn, So that is not a good indecator of when to fish. 

[DanielR]

I'm from up north, but I'm in Washington State.

Crankbaits, Jerkbaits, Finesse Plastics, and Jigs are my favorite. Guess I could link to a few for you to see:

Lipless Crank - Bill Lew Rat-L-Trap

Lipped Crank - Bomber 4A

Jerkbait - River2Sea Trophy Minnow

Finesse Plastics - Roboworm Straight Tail on a Shaky Head

Finesse Jigs - Strike King Finesse Jig

Just a few for you to look at, but once again, I fish very cold water so finesse fishing is actually my strength. Patience is going to be your key - Don't fish like you see on TV. You can comfortably work an area for 30 minutes to an hour depending on your water temps.

Crawl your lures as slow as possible, and don't just move on after one or two casts. You'll need to put it in front of their eyes - Hope this helps!

[tim4081]

Thanks, I will definitely try this. Any recommendations for a good brand or specific jerkbait lure?

Lucky Crafts, as mentioned above, are great but expensive.  Rapala XRaps and Bomber Long A also were good producers last spring and again in the fall, for me.

[bassbmx]

I like 2 opposite tactics in early spring.  One being finessing a 3 inch grub and the other burning a rattle trap.