Is it too soon for bass
 

I was just told that we could fish at that boat house by the turtle back zoo and that there's a good amount of bass there. And since trout are being a pain in the arse it would be nice to switch it up. But I was wondering maybe it's too soon or cold for them.

Re: Is it too soon for bass
 

I've actually done well around this time for pre-spawn bass. Texas rigged worms by structure does well for me. However, that lake near turtle back zoo has been severely overfished and a lot of the bass are gone. I used to sneak in when I was a kid and the fishing was awesome. When it opened publicly years ago, the fishing was great but IMO it's deteriored ever since.

Re: Is it too soon for bass
 

Could you recommend any other good lakes in the Essex/union county area? All of the other lakes are either overfished or were drained or had something else happen to them.

Re: Is it too soon for bass
 

run your lures real slow the water is still cold and the bass are being lazy

also don't forget bass are catch & release only 4/15 - 6/15

Re: Is it too soon for bass
 

the water is much colder right now than it usually is at this time in april so it's def going to be slow slow going....painfully slow...

i haven't hooked into one yet open water...actually i haven't hooked into anything other than trout and chubs open water yet. You never know though, they'll snap on and start feeding for pre spawn any day. I just hope they finish before the end of their closed season!

Re: Is it too soon for bass
 

It's never too soon for bass! You'll need a slow presentation (jig, slowly twitched jerkbait, worm) and target deep water and drop-offs near likely spawning flats. Once the water starts to warm up those bass are going to want to move up quick.

Re: Is it too soon for bass
 

If we get two warm sunny days in a row, go to a very shallow lake and fish after 3:00pm. Fish should start to push shallow and you can get them on suspending jerkbaits and weightless soft plastics worked very slowly.

Re: Is it too soon for bass
 

I took my son to the trout contest on Spring Lake opening day and while using a phoebe VERY slowly i caught 3 bass and no trout :confused:

Re: Is it too soon for bass
 

Got a fair bass Spruce Run Reservoir from shore Monday, temp somewhere in the 40's, low 40's I think. Live-lined a shiner intended for pike. They'll come into shallows near depth or with something leading them in close, especially with warmth inching water temperature higher. But I once caught a nice bass same res., same cove, same way--35 degrees out & snowing.