Bass fishing will be on FIRE this April! One of the most productive patterns will be fishing around lily pads and other shallow grass where bass fry are present. Artificial lures like a buzzing frog or swimbait moving quickly over and through the grass will cause the fry to jump from the water in an attempt to escape what they think is a predator. Momma and daddy bass lay directly under those fry, guarding their hatch. The panicking fry often trigger a violent response from the guarding parent.
Buzzing frogs like the Gambler Cane Toad or Zoom Horny Toad are my favorite simply because there’s nothing better for covering miles of shallow cover searching out the hot-spots. And let’s face it, nothing is more fun than an explosive top-water strike!
Once you’ve located an area with bass fry, you’ll likely find that you don’t get a top-water strike every time your bait scatters the school. Come back to those specific spots a little later and work them over slowly with a soft stick bait like a Gambler Ace or a Senko. I think the Ace has a bit slower rate of fall which makes it a better pick in this application, but both work great as do other brands. The trick here is to get the stick bait to fall slowly around the panicking fry. This will trigger bass that snubbed your top-water presentation. Rig your bait weightless with a 5/0 EWG hook on 15 lb. fluorocarbon line because most shallow areas of the lake will likely be very clear.
Hydrilla beds along main lake humps and channel swings are going to be getting thicker by the day and becoming more productive for really big bass. Deeper running swimbaits, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, jigs, big worms and top-water plugs will all produce well this month. Later in the month, if you see mats starting to top out on the surface, you can bet that a punch bait dropped in there, will get bites too.
There’s a wide variety of fishing options this month and there will be fish both shallow and deep. The post-spawn bite can be tricky some days, but more often than not, it’s HOT!
Tournament anglers, be sure to start taking better care of your catch. Try adding about 4 oz. of hydrogen peroxide with your green additive to boost oxygen levels in your livewell. This and some ice or frozen water bottles on occasion throughout the day, will up your catch’s survival rates considerably. Tournament mortality rates skyrocket because post-spawn bass are fragile due to the rigors of the spawn so do all you can to take care of them. Low oxygen and heat is a bass’ worst enemy now.
Good fishing and God bless.
CAPT. RANDY “C-NOTE” CNOTA
C-note Charters
Panama City, FL
cnotecharters.com
(229) 834-7880