Early Spring is a great time to get into some big Bass and in this post you’ll see 10 of the best early spring bass lures.
Best Spring Bass Lures
Every angler looks forward to the Spring season because that means one thing, the Bass are on the move! Most Bass anglers spend all winter long organizing their tackle box and buying new lures prepping for Spring.
If you’re a new angler or new to fishing for Largemouth Bass you’re probably wondering where to start. Down below you’ll see 10 lures broken down into two categories, moving baits and Finesse Lures. That way you have something for every situation out on the water.
Spring Bass Fishing Lures – Moving Baits
Depending on where you are on the country, Bass could still be out deep, or they could be shallow chasing baitfish, or even on beds! Moving baits or search baits can make finding Bass faster and easier.
These baits are intended to trigger a strike by making a Bass react. They could be reacting to the movement of the lure, the noise the lure makes, vibrations from the lure, or the flash the lure is making. The goal is to trigger a reaction strike so you can catch that fish.
1. Suspending Jerkbaits
Suspending Jerkbaits are a favorite for those colder early spring days. They are versatile and can be fished slow or fast.
In colder water you’re going to want to fish them slow. Cast the lure out and reel down quickly to get it to its target depth and then give it a couple twitches, pause, and then twitch the lure again and repeat until a fish strikes. This technique mimics a dying baitfish with erratic twitches and then suspending in the water column.
We recommend varying your retrieve by change how many times you twitch it if you aren’t getting any bites. It’s also best to twitch your lure with semi-slack line. This will make your lure more erratic and the movement more exaggerated.
In the warmer days you can fish a suspending jerkbait fast with a straight retrieve. You can work it more like a traditional crankbait and the wobbling action will trigger a strike from aggressive feeding fish.
Our Favorite Jerkbait is the Berkley Stunna. The erratic action and the slow sink when it’s paused really mimic a dying baitfish. The profile is sleek and the Gold color is amazing for most water conditions. Give it a shot by clicking the link below!
Berkley Stunna Jerkbait
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Lipless crankbaits are a staple hard bait for most Bass anglers. They are a great bait to throw in almost any situation and excel in the Spring when Bass are feeding aggressively getting ready for the spawn. They can be silent or make a ton of noise and most all wobble side to side as they move throughout the water column.
In colder Spring days you’re going to want to fish them slow. Cast your lipless where you think fish would be staging and work it slowly. My favorite way to reel in this lure is to reel my lure for 3 turns, pause for 2 seconds to let it sink, and then reel it in for 2 more turns and let it sink again. I’ll repeat this cadence until the lure gets bit or has made it back to me. You can also give it a constant slow retrieve, as slow as you can making sure you feel the wobble. And to mix things up you can give it some slight twitches as you retrieve it. The point is to move it painfully slow.
In warmer water you can fish them fast. I normally start with a straight retrieve and play around with retrieve speed until I’m eventually reeling it in as fast as I can. If I’m doing this I make sure my rod tip is pointed down so the lure does not come up to the surface. If that doesn’t work I start moving to my cadence of reeling and pausing, but at a faster pace than I do in the winter time. Another retrieving technique is the “Yo-yo” technique. Super simple all you need to do is lift your rod tip up to raise the lure in the water column and then let it sink down. Reel in the slack and do it again.
Our Favorite Lipless Crankbait is the Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap. It’s a classic and comes in different colors. We like the action and comes in different sizes and you can even get floating versions. We like the classic chrome with blue stripe.
Bill Lewis 1/2-Ounce Rat-L-Trap
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Bladed Jigs are a great search bait. You can work them throughout the entire water column and produce fish. The vibration from the blade is what attracts fish to your lure as well as the wobble of the bait. This is a great bait to use in muddy or stained conditions and can catch fish in most water conditions. The only warning I have is be careful around wood structure. While the blade does make it slightly weedless they do tend to get stuck in wood pretty easily unless they have a good weed guard.
In colder water you’re going to want to fish this lure slow. We mean slooooooow, but not too slow that the blade isn’t wobbling. Cast it around and start retrieving your lure and reel in as slow as you can. As long as you are feeling the vibration of the lure you’re fine. If you can’t feel the lure vibrate, give it a twitch or two. Mix in a light twitch or two to try to get a reaction strike.
In the warmer days you can burn this lure as fast as you want. Give it some erratic movement by varying your retrieve cadence and move it slow or fast. The point is to try and find the fish and if Bass are feeding aggressively getting ready to spawn they will hit this lure.
Our Favorite Bladed Jig is the Z-Man Jackhammer. It’s on the pricier side, but worth the cost. Tungsten jig head, high quality skirt and hook. You can also use the Z-Man Original Chatterbait, but the action on the Jackhammer is better. Paired up with your favorite chatterbait rod, you are going to get some bites!
Z-Man Chatterbait Jackhammer 3/8 oz. Black and Blue
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Another search bait we keep on hand. Spinnerbaits used to be all the rage before the Chatterbait became the popular search bait of choice. They essentially do the same thing, flash and displace water. Recently spinnerbaits have been becoming popular again in bodies of water that have been overfished by the Chatterbait.
You can fish these in any temperature, but in cold water it’s a slow retrieve. You want the blades moving and causing flash and displacing water, but if the fish are lethargic you want to give them time to key in on the bait. I will also pause my retrieve and let the lure sink a bit and then start reeling it in again.
In the warmer days you can fish them faster and more erratic. I like to give it light twitches and pause it to give it more action and draw more attention.
My Favorite Spinnerbait is the Booyah Blade Spinnerbait. Great cost and good quality lure. The blades spin really well and come in different blade color and blade type combinations.
Booyah Blade SpinnerBait
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Crankbaits are great Spring Bass lures. The erratic wobble, baitfish profile, and noise can draw in aggressive bites. They come in different weights and sizes. You can find some crankbaits that are really loud or silent versions too. Unlike lipless crankbaits, standard crankbaits all come with a bill on the front. The bill helps get the lure down to the target water column.
In colder temps. we’ll retrieve it slowly and use deep diving crankbaits. You basically want to be where the fish are and if the water is cold they are most likely in the deeper pockets.
In the warmer days you’ll want to stay shallow or higher in the water column. You can be more flexible with your retrieve as well burning it as fast as you can or varying your retrieve from fast and slow.
Our Favorite Squarebill Crankbait is the Strike King KVD Squarebill. We like to bounce it off rocks and structure to cause a bunch of noise and let it slowly rise up before cranking. We will also drag this along the bottom disturbing a ton of water.
Strike King KVD Square Bill 2.5 Pro-Model Crankbait
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Best Early Spring Bass Lures – Finesse Lures
Sometimes you need a more discrete approach. Smaller, slower, finesse. These lures are for when the fish don’t want to bite anything moving too fast. When the water temp is cold or they are already on beds don’t want to eat a thing. Finesse lures will help you get that early spring bite.
6. Finesse Jigs
A Finesse Jig is a great way to get a bite when Bass are finicky. You can work them several ways fast or slow, but I like to fish them slow and tend to go as small and light as I can.
If Bass are just slow to bite, work it like a swim jig, twitching it and retrieving it in. Hop it around, bounce it off structure and search for fish.
If they are on bass are on beds we recommend changing it up. We aren’t searching anymore because we know where they are. This is when you should slow way down. Pitch it past the bed and slowly drag it across a Bass’ bed. We mean painfully slow. Like you’re trying to lift your rod tip up without moving the bait slow. Drag the lure a bit, and wait 5-10 seconds and wait for the Bass to notice the bait. If nothing happens drag it a little more and repeat.
Our Favorite Finesse Jig is the Strike King Bitsy Bug. It’s small and versatile. Comes in a wide range of different colors and you can find them almost anywhere. Pair it with a small softbait craw or minnow as a trailer to get some added action.
Strike King Bitsy Bug Mini Jig Bait
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Soft plastic craws are one of the best finesse baits for early Spring Bass fishing. They are super versatile and can be fished several different ways. You can use them as a trailer on a bladed jig, spinnerbait, or finesse jig. You can also put them on a ball jig head or a Texas Rig.
The technique really depends on the conditions. In the spring time when searching for fish it’s mostly used as a trailer or a Texas Rig. This allows you to find fish quickly and hop it around. If Bass are on beds we recommend using this either on a finesse jig or on a weighted Texas rig.
The weighted Texas rig keeps the claws up in the water while the tail of the bait is down in the ground. Slowly drag it and pause it across a bed to trigger a bass to bite it.
Our Favorite soft plastic craw is the Zoom Super Speed Craw. They are super affordable and can be found in most bait shops or big box stores. The action on the claws are pretty good and they come in a variety of colors!
Zoom Super Speed Craw
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Stick baits or soft plastic worms are an all time favorite. They can be fished a ton of different ways and fished fast or slow. The two most common ways to fish a stick bait in the early Spring for Bass is as a Wacky Rig or Texas Rig.
A Texas Rig is a good way to find Bass. You can fish this deep or shallow, fast or slow. Simply cast this out and either bounce it along the bottom while you search for bass. If bass are feeding aggressively you can trigger a bite by working this past them quickly.
Our favorite way is a Wacky Rig, specifically a Weight Wacky Rig. This presentation is a much slower way to fish a stick bait, but it’s very effective when you’re struggling to get a Bass to bite. The action of the bait slowly sinking down mimics the motion of a dying baitfish.
Our Favorite stick bait is the Berkley Powerbait General. We recommend sticking to a few color options. A green pumpkin for natural presentations in clear water conditions or black and blue for dark water conditions.
Berkley Powerbait The General Soft Bait, 5 1/4″ Green Pumpkin, 8 Pack
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Paddle Tail Swim Baits are great for trailers, Texas rigs, or even Ned Rigs. When the bite gets hard we like to use small sizes, usually 4 inches or smaller.
You can run these on a ball jig head or a small ned rig. This allows you to fish it and retrieve it slowly. You can pause it and let the bait sink to the bottom and sit while the paddle tail moves side to side in the current.
If it’s on a Ned Rig head you can drag it or hop it like a Ned rig and the tail will move as you work the bait back.
Our Favorite paddle tail swim bait is the Donkey Tail from Mule fishing. It’s durable like a Z-Man plastic and buoyant. The action on the tail is incredible and moves even in the softest of currents.
Mule Fishing Donkey Tail
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10. Soft Plastic Minnows
Just like with the paddle tail swim bait, soft plastic minnows are great spring bass lures. Most brands make a fluke or minnow profile and they come in a variety of colors. When it comes to finesse fishing, the smaller the better. Stick to baits 4 inches or smaller and try to match the hatch to your local forage.
One of the best ways to work a minnow is like a small jerkbait. Retrieve it slowly and add some light jerks to give it some erratic motion. This works in both cold water conditions or warm water conditions. You can also rig it as a drop shot when the bite gets REALLY tough.
Our Favorite soft plastic minnow is the Mule Minnow from Mule Fishing. Pair this with a Mule Jig and fish it wherever I think Bass will be. You can even use it to bed fish. It’s a great bait to keep on hand when the bite gets tough.
Mule Fishing Mule Minnow
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Hopefully you’ve found a new lure you can try next time you go out fishing for Bass. The Spring time is always a good time for big ol’ Bass! If you’re interested in learning how to catch spawning Bass, make sure you check out our post!
