Nothing is more exciting than day-long Spring Fishing trips with your friends and family. That happiness doubles when you catch largemouth or smallmouth bass for a late-night BBQ. Every year, anglers wait for this spring season when fish emerge from their winter habitats.
In spring, the water warms up to 40 degrees Fahrenheit, and it becomes more buoyant than cold water. This light and warmer water flows down lakes in the late afternoon and early mornings. In early February, when daffodils push off the soil, the fishing season begins.
For successful day-long fishing trips in the spring, you need a quality fishing boat. Fishing boats can be used to catch fish in rivers, lakes, or at sea. Depending on your needs, they have different kinds of boats- recreational fishing, artisanal, or commercial.
The basic parts of a fishing boat include beam, hull, keel, Gunwale, and more. Depending on the size, shape, and capacity of the fishing boat, prices may range from ten thousand pounds to over one hundred thousand pounds. You can buy either brand new or used fishing boats from vendors offering fishing boats for sale.
Other than quality fishing boats, you must know a few basic tips to catch fish in the early spring fishing. Below are some tips to help you succeed in catching fish.
Tips to consider before going to Early Spring Fishing
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Look For Weather
Weather varies a lot in the early spring season. You may find scorching heat of the sun followed by clumsy clouds or heavy winds from nowhere. Also, there are chances of showers or evening chills while you are fishing.
Make sure you prepare yourself to face these variable weather conditions. Bring jackets and raincoats to fight weather challenges. Also, bring an umbrella for day-long fishing on a sunny day.
Most experts believe that afternoon is your best success in fishing because the whole water body gets the sunlight heat throughout the day, and the water temperature increases marginally, which increases fish metabolism, feeding, and respiration. Because of increased movement, there are more chances to catch fish easily.
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Identify Locations
Identifying locations can enhance your spring fishing success. Not all areas of the lake have similar depths. So, in low-depth areas, shallow water gets warmer quickly. Warm water often accumulates more forage and attracts more fish.
In case you are trying to catch largemouth or smallmouth bass, then apply pre-spawning bass fishing in rocky slopes. The best use of crankbait under 20 to 30 feet deep waters in their spawning areas can help you catch bass easily.
To grab the fish’s attention, you can throw rocks or gongs or slits to mimic the crawdad movement in that area. That will attract more fish, and you can fill your basket quickly. Make sure you pause your bait for a while when you are striking boulders in a targeted area. Be patient, and let them fall in your well-planned trap.
Related: 11 of the Best Freshwater Aquarium Fish That Are Perfect for Your Tank
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Use a Thermometer
Water temperature is an important factor in fish behavior, so it is important to know the water temperature in changing weather conditions. Also, the water temperature correlates with fish spawning. In general, a temperature between 45 degrees to 55 degrees Fahrenheit attracts largemouth bass.
Fish spawning behavior is affected by water temperature and moon phase. The moon phase is important in case you are planning for fishing at night. Most fishing boats have a temperature gauge to track current water temperature records. This thermometer can track temperatures in every five feet of depth.
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Choose Your Bait
There are two main types of bait to catch fishes: artificial and live bait. Which bait is more effective for fishing? This depends on your spring fishing strategy. If you are planning to catch salmon or largemouth bass, then crankbait would be enough.
Other than that, you can use live bait like worms, frogs, or insects to catch fish like lake trout, herring, or shad. Live baits can have better results in some cases because of their natural smell. Most anglers believe nightcrawlers and earthworms are the best bait to start with for beginners.
Other than bait variants, bait size has an impact on catching big fish. There is an old proverb that big baits are for big fish. However, that saying is not always true. If you have medium size bait, then bass would still attempt it, but trying big bait can turn on fat mamas to fall in your traps.
Related: 7 Best Species Of Fish For Your Backyard Pond
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Be Patient in Setting the Hook
Fish can be slow to bite and even slower to notice your fishing lure. So, patience is the key to successful fishing in spring. When you feel a bite, do not pull immediately. Wait for a few seconds to set the hook. Do not wait too long or the fish will be out of your hands. An intermittent break of 5 to 10 seconds would be enough to hook a freshwater fish.
Catching a large bass or salmon could damage your fishing equipment if you are not an expert in handling it. So you should also know some basic fishing tackle preparation for the spring season. Also, you can bring some extra gear to support you in the middle of certain hiccups.
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Change Your Hard Lures
To cover your fishing area with success you need to change hard lures strategically. If you catch a bass or shad with hard bait, change your method to catch fish in that same area. Maybe you can try a live bait or jig n pig to outfox fish attention. A change of gear and playing this mind game can earn you more success when fishing in spring.
Other than that, change your fishing locations for a while and then come back for a second strike. Sometimes repeated striking in the same place may not be effective. For that, move the boat slowly more like a kayak and strike intelligently.
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Use of Technology
To catch more fish, try some of the latest technology such as fishfinders, GPS, acoustic cameras, echo-sounders, Radio-frequency identification (RFID), smartphone monitoring, and many more.
This technology can be expensive but it can put more fish in your basket. In general, professional fishermen try these techniques to fill up more baskets. If you are going for an outdoor expedition or just for a hobby, then you don’t need to worry about sophisticated technology.
Also Read: 20 Things To Do This Summer Vacation
Final verdict
Fishing is a fun and great sport to keep you agile. To catch a large salmon or largemouth bass, you just need to be smart and strategic. Try the above tips to make some memories of early spring fishing.
