What was the BEST BAIT in April?

 As April comes to a close I reflect back on my time on the water.  There were some good days and few days where I was left scratching my head when loading the boat.  It is fishing, and Mother Nature was not very kind this April.  The weather patterns were like no other year I can ever remember.  The temperature swings definitely had the fish on the move, which caused me to try a lot of different techniques to try and catch fish.  No matter what we as anglers are thrown, and no matter what the weather may be, we have to figure out a way to trick the fish into biting.  We have to solve the question, "What are they biting on?"

On to the bass...April was, as stated a mess for weather and trying to get anything consistent going.  I did try a lot of different baits this past month, but overall the two main baits that kept catching fish was a jig and chunk combination and a Strike King spinnerbait.  I was able to work the jig and chunk on a 7ft 3in MedHvy power/fast action Lew's Speed Stick with a SuperDuty reel.  The SuperDuty reel has a flippin switch, which is something I have used for decades with pitching baits at shallow cover.  The Spinner bait setup was a 7ft medium power, fast action Lew's Custom Lite, really smooth action, great drag and the rod is so "lite".  These two combos and baits are no surprise for spring time bass fishing, but it does show that no matter what the weather may be, they still catch bass.  Typically a spinnerbait is considered a cloudy day presentation, however in the spring when the sun comes out the bass get active.  On these days the bass have a hard time not chasing down a spinnerbait.  When the bite is slower, perhaps on a cooling trend, then the jig and chunk really shined.  As stated, I tried many baits through April, crankbaits, jerkbaits, swimbaits and finesse baits, a lot of baits will catch bass this time of year.  I did catch several smaller bass on stickbaits, but the larger bass all came on the jig or spinnerbait.   Each spring is a little different, keep your mind open every year to those baits and make sure and use plenty of your confidence baits as well.   

Strike King Slabalicious

On to the bait that caught the most fish in April.  It was by far the Strike King Slabalicious.  This plastic bait caught so many crappie for me and others fishing with me in April.  There was not a day where I couldn't find some hungry crappie, whether on the rivers or on a lake.  This bait is fantastic for vertical fishing as well as casting towards structure.  It is basically a mini version of a paddle tail used in bass fishing.  It has a lot of action that allows the crappie to feel and find it.  It also travels through the water a bit slower due to its unique tail, making it an "easy" meal for a nearby crappie.

May certainly has some better weather in store...we all hope.  Either way, get out there and enjoy the water when you can, be safe everyone, and if you can get a kid out there with you.