By Daniel Mires
April is a favorite month for anglers simply because it often provides our first favorable weather and people are extremely ready to be outside.
It’s true, most think tom turkeys and slab crappie during this magical month, but it is a productive time for bass anglers as well.
April is generally a time when veteran anglers have abandoned the umbrella-rig type baits and have moved to other timely, tried-and-true tactics. One’s angling options certainly become broader in the calendar’s fourth month.
Nothing is sacredly solid, however. April in Tennessee can offer all three stages of the bass spawn. Which phase you fish will be dictated by water temperature, moon phase and the size of the body of water you visit. That said, predominantly most bass you encounter will be in the pre-spawn phase.
Pre-spawn bass will more than likely be staged on points that extend further out into a lake. Another good area will be transition locales like between flats and drop-offs. If your body of water has riprap that is an excellent area to fish due to the sun warming the rocks and in turn warming the water around them.
When fishing these areas, a lot of anglers agree the go-to baits are spinnerbaits and square-billed cranks.
Another very popular method, is topwater, and is most often the case, prime times to toss them is the famed early and late. And there’s an arsenal of offerings designed for fishing on the surface. Among them are the traditional top three tops: poppers, buzzbaits and frogs.
If April finds the bass in the mid-spawn, a trick worm or whacky rig are great baits when it comes to enticing a big female to bite. Another good one, and my personal favorite for bedding bass, is a large lizard worked in or just off the bed.
Many times, spawning bass simply do not eat. And the line of thought has always held that bass nail lizards as much (or more) to protect their spawn rather than for a meal. Either way, they will really begin hammering plastic lizards in April.
If you find the bass in a post-spawn pattern this month, know the males will be left guarding the nests, and will likewise be especially aggravated with plastic lizards.
As the females move out to deeper water to feed, a few likely spots to find them will again be those points that extend farther out into the lake. Rocky areas and basically any structure will hold these fish as they wait for their next meal to come into range.
Post-spawn bass fishing can be a feast or famine situation. If you can locate them, however, you can certainly hook your share.
Lizards still work during the post-spawn, but many anglers switch from Texas-rigs to Carolina-rigs in this stage. Of course, swim baits and crankbaits are also good to toss at ’em in the post-spawn.
Though lures, stages, and tactics may vary from angler to angler, and April to April. One thing doesn’t change and that is it’s an excellent month to fish for bass.
