Go Big with Late Winter Rattle Baits

The late winter with water temperatures in the high 40’s and low 50’s is the ideal time to go to a 1 oz. rattle bait. The bass are in many phases of transition going into the spawn during this time of year; you have them shallow and mid range and many are still deep. The bigger bait catches them big boys especially the bass that are in the transition from winter to the pre-spawn. As the fronts move in and out, as they do so often this time of year the bass are moving with them, the cold morning is ideal for the bass to be down to 12 feet of water and moving up as the day goes on. Take out that big rattle bait those first few hours of the morning and work it out in the deeper water.

I find myself using several different retrieves, I speed reel it trying to get the bait to hit and recoil off the deeper grass and I also slow roll it just letting it tick the top of the deeper vegetation. When you move it slowly over the grass the big rattle baits have a tendency to rip through the grass, so use braided line and let it move the bait through and over grass causing a deflection while you’re moving it. I also do some traditional stop and dropping with the bigger rattle bait, for this you need a high speed reel to catch up to the bait and keep it from hanging in the deep grass.

Some areas that I try to target with bigger rattle baits are creeks and ditches leading to the back ends of the traditional pre-spawn areas that we all catch fish. The creeks act as highways for the bass and those big profile rattle baits are just perfect to find them moving along those natural highways as the weather warms from morning to noon.
This big rattle bait theory is one proven many times by the winners of many of the late winter tournaments. Try it you’ll be rewarded with the results.

Fish Lake Guntersville Guide Service
www.fishlakeguntersvilleguideservice.com
Email: bassguide@comcast.net
256 759 2270
Captain Mike Gerry