"I'm a jig fisherman, but spring is not the best time for jig fishing," says Florida's Chuck Economou. On the other hand, "high water conditions favor jig fishermen."
With that in mind, bass can be caught on a jig in spring, and in the following Economou gives a few pointers on how he goes about it.
1) Fish Shallow
Even in spring "you can go to the bank and fish a jig because there's always some fish shallow," he says. "With the back pockets and bays warming, the fish want to stage and warm up." Concentrate on northern (southern-facing) banks.
"There will always be fish up shallow when the water is high, especially up on flats," he adds. "A lot of other guys will avoid these areas, but there will be some big fish in shallow water.
"Usually it's best at mid-day -- beginning at around 10:30 or 11:00. Off-color water helps (warming), too," he says.
2) Laydown Migrations
Other productive early-spring places to work a jig are laydowns. The key is finding where the fish are, Economou says.
"They could be suspending near the tips of a laydown or they could be up shallower. You have to work all the way out to figure out where they are -- and they're moving, so you don't know exactly where they'll be."
He notes that in the spring the bass perform "daily migrations, from deeper water up to the bank." Because of that "deep water is key," he says. "You have to have deep water nearby. If you have a deep lake, look for an area with a channel swinging toward the bank and near a flat. If you're on a shallow lake where around 10 feet is deep, look for a 3-4 foot flat with cover."
3) Deep Jigging
In spring, the water and bass warm as the day goes on. But that doesn't mean bass can't be caught early in the morning, when the water's colder.
"You can still catch fish on a jig early, but you have fish deeper -- and you also can't assume that it will be warming during the day," Economou says. "When it stays cold (and cloudy), it gets tough."
Under those conditions, "you don't have the movement up to the bank. The fish stay deeper and move slower."
Economou looks for channel bends. "I won't get too far from them," he says. "I want to be in areas where the channel is swinging toward the bank. I'll stay plus or minus 100 yards from that area."
Make sure to fish slowly, he says. "Dissect the cover. You tend to go over way more fish than you realize."
He notes that when the sun comes out after a few cold and cloudy days, bass will move shallow quickly. "In very southern waters they will move up that day to take advantage of that sunshine, especially when they really want to spawn and during full-moon periods."
Smaller, Lighter Jigs
For spring jigging, Economou likes "smaller baits and lighter weights. I'll start with a 3/8-ounce jig and will experiment with a 1/4 and even a 3/16."
His jig of choice is a Hawk jig (Knoxville, Tenn.) -- black/blue -- and he almost always uses Zoom plastic chunks. "For me plastic has worked, even in 50- degree water," he says. "When it's below 50 degrees I might consider pork, but it's harder to find now. It's not carried by stores as much, and can be stiff and hard."
