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The 5 Best Pre-Spawn Bass Lures

The pre-spawn time period is one of the best bass fishing times of the year. Bass are active, temperatures are mild, and the bass get very fat.

That means you can catch some very, big bass this time of year.

Pre-spawn bass fishing is fairly simple to understand, and once you do, it can give you some of the best fishing of your life!

What is the Pre-Spawn?

The pre-spawn fishing season is the time period between the end of winter and the bass spawn.

Typically, the pre-spawn starts between February and March depending where you live.

During the pre-spawn, bass begin to move up into shallower water for two reasons.

First, they need to feed up to prepare for the exhausting spawning period.

Second, bass are actually searching for the general areas where they will spawn.

They aren’t necessarily building their beds or finding the exact location for their bed, but they are getting a rough idea of where they will spawn in a month or so when the water gets warm enough.

Key Characteristics of the Pre-Spawn

The first important takeaway for the pre-spawn is that bass move up shallower.

The temperatures are slowly getting higher, so they don’t need to stay out deep to stay warm.

Second, bass are very aggressive because they need to feed up before they spawn.

Since bass are looking to feed and chasing after prey, you can cover a lot of water and primarily use power fishing techniques.

In terms of bass behavior, the pre-spawn is actually very similar to the fall fishing season.

Bass are in shallow to medium depths of water and are feeding up, primarily on baitfish, to prepare for intense conditions ahead.

The only difference is that bass are feeding up to prepare for the spawn instead of the harsh winter season.

The Best Pre-Spawn Bass Lures

1. Chatterbait

The chatterbait is the first lure I tie on when the pre-spawn season comes around.

These days, everyone knows about the chatterbait. It has become one of the most productive lures year after year and has entered into the truly elite lures.

A chatterbait puts off a ton of vibration and has the skirted body style that has proven to trigger tons of bites.

Another great thing about the chatterbait is that because it is a sinking lure, you can very easily control the exact depth that you’re fishing the bait in.

For super shallow water, you can use a bit lighter version and start your retrieve as soon as the bait hits the water.

In a bit deeper water, you can use a bit heavier version and let it sink down to the proper depth before beginning the retrieve.

Also, the chatterbait has a single hook on the top, so you can crank it right along the bottom or over top of wood and rocks without getting hung up.

During the pre-spawn, tie on a chatterbait and cover as much water as you can. You will not only catch a lot of bass but very big bass.

2. Squarebill Crankbait

The squarebill is actually very similar to the chatterbait. The both put off a similar vibration and mimmic baitfish.

The squarebill excels in shallow rocks and wood. When targeting pre-spawn bass in 2-4 feet of water, it’s hard to beat bouncing a shallow diving squarebill off of rocks and wood to trigger reaction strikes.

Squarebills also have beads or rattles in them which drive these bass crazy and make it easier for the bass to hone in on the crankbait.

For this reason, I have found that squarebill crankbaits outperform a chatterbait when fishing in very stained to muddy water.

When there is less than 8-10 inches of visibility because of the spring rain, a squarebill crankbait might just be the best lure you can tie on.

3. Jerkbait

Although the water temperatures are warming up this time of year, they are still relatively low.

And there isn’t a more iconic cold water lure than the suspending jerkbait.

In my experience and from what I have gather from other expert anglers, jerkbaits work the best when the water is fairly clear.

This means that the early phase of the pre-spawn is when a jerkbait really shines.

During the first 2-4 weeks of the pre-spawn, the water temps are still low and the spring rain hasn’t quite arrived to muddy up the lakes and ponds.

Jerkbaits are also phenomenal lures all throughout the winter season, so you can just keep using them all the way through the winter to spring transition.

But once the pre-spawn rolls in, you do want to fish the jerkbaits a bit more aggressively.

Instead 1-3 jerks and then a 5-10 second pause, do 2-4 jerks followed by a 2-5 second pause.

The early spring bass are getting more aggressive and will react better to a faster moving jerkbait.

4. Frog

Only in recent years has the frog gained popularity during the pre-spawn period.

Lots of guys believe that topwater lures won’t work until the water gets super warm and there is tons of vegetation in the water.

But this is simply not true, especially for anglers in the Southern states. If you live a bit farther south, chances are your lakes still have some reeds, lily pads, or partially alive vegetation up in shallow water.

And these pre-spawn bass haven’t seen a topwater lure in months, so they absolutely love to eat them.

During this time, you do want to fish the frog much slower than you would during the summer months.

One or two pops and then pause the frog. Fish the from essentially like you would a jerkbait, but just up on the surface and up in shallow water.

5. Drop Shot

Although most of the pre-spawn is power fishing oriented, there are always going to be times when that just doesn’t work.

Bass are unpredictable and sometimes they just don’t want to chase bigger, louder, faster lures.

When this happens, I always tie on a drop shot. To be honest, there are a variety of finesse rigs that work great, I just have the most experience and confidence with the drop shot.

During the early spring, I like to use small baitfish soft plastics on my drop shot because bass are focused on eating baitfish during most of the pre-spawn.

Just pitch the drop shot near structure, ledges, grass lines, or creek mouths and you will get bites.

Lure Colors for the Pre-Spawn

There are three main lure colors that I have found to be the most productive during early spring period.

First and foremost is red. Everyone knows how good the color red is during the pre-spawn season.

There are a bunch or theories why it works, but we actually have a full article breaking down the Real Reason Red Lures Work in the Spring.

The second color I use is a variation of silver or white. Silver or white mimics baitfish very well.

Obviously shad are naturally a silver/white color, but even bluegill, crappie, and small bass lose most of their color during the wintertime and become a pale white color.

And the last color I use is black and blue. I love black and blue for fishing swim jigs and flipping baits in heavy cover.

Pre-Spawn Time of Year Chart:

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