Early spring can be a great time for “cranking” up some bass in the Ozark’s deep clear water reservoirs. Deep running crankbaits will produce largemouth, smallmouth and Kentucky spotted bass, along with some occasional white bass action in a variety of areas. As mentioned, deep running lures are the first choice. (link to magazine) Baits such as Norman’s DD22 and Deep Little N, Rebel’s Spoonbill Minnow, Storm’s Thunderstick and Wiggle Wart, and Mann’s Depth Plus and Deep Loudmouth are all productive designs for this type of fishing. Although not considered as a normal deep diver, a few Rat-L-Traps should be on hand to cover a variety of depths, especially if some quick schooling action appears on the surface.
My most productive colors in these areas have been chrome/black back, chrome/blue back, pearl/blue back, Tennessee shad, and blue shad. Other colors which should be in the tackle box to cover changing light and weather conditions are crawdad, fire tiger and bone/orange.
At this time of year the bass are heading towards their spawning areas, and so they can be found along a variety of shoreline conditions. Gravel areas usually produce the best smallmouth action, with a few Kentucky spots along the points, while largemouth are more predominant in standing timber, shelf and chunk rock, and bluff areas. Kentucky bass also like the bluff areas, especially the bluff points. These are general areas in which these species are most likely to be found, but they can show up anywhere.
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