Spring is not so tough to tackle

Know the tricks for fishing when water temperatures get into the 60s.
By ART LANDER JR.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
When water temperatures move into the 60s, spring fishing is at its best.
Here are some tricks and new spins on tackle and techniques that will help anglers boat more fish:
Dropshot rigs aren't just for deepwater bass.
The plastic bait finesse technique, which is used to catch finicky summer bass in deep water on light line, also works well when bass are shallow in the spring. Just use heavier line and a longer rod.
When lake levels rise with spring rains, and bass hold tight to shoreline cover in dingy water, try a dropshot rig instead of flipping a jig.
Tie a light wire worm hook (barb up) on 20-pound line with a Palomar knot, leaving about a 12-inch tag end below the hook, to which a one-ounce bell sinker is tied. To complete the rig, hook on a plastic bait, such as a worm or creature bait.
When fishing the rig, lower it into the cover and let it fall until the sinker hits bottom. Take out the slack and shake the rod tip to give the lure action. Hang on.
Try shallow-running crankbaits instead of spinnerbaits when fishing shallow shoreline brush.
The spinnerbait is king of spring bass fishing, but sometimes a different presentation can lead to bigger catches.
Try fishing a short, floating/diving crankbait with a lip that's square and angled sharply downward. This keeps the nose of the bait down, and its tail up, which makes the lure less likely to get hung up.
Keep cranking when the lure hits a log, brush or weeds. The erratic, darting action that occurs when the lure breaks free of the cover is what triggers strikes.
Jigs are proven spring lures for a wide range of fish from white bass and sauger to smallmouth bass and crappie. They are one of the most versatile lures.
The ball-style lead jig head, rigged with a plastic curlytail grub body, sinks fast and works well when casting or vertical jigging. Jigs can be fished with a steady retrieve (swimming), or hopped across the bottom.
Three other retrieves that are used less frequently by anglers, but work well in the spring, are dragging, buzzing and ripping.
Dragging works best when drifting over gravel flats or long, sloping points. Let the jig fall to the bottom, then allow it to drag across the gravel as the boat moves. Also try positioning your boat in deep water and casting to a submerged creek channel ledge. Then slowly reel the jig back across the bottom into deeper water.
Buzzing is a fast retrieve technique that works on bass when water temperatures rise into the 70s and fish will chase lures (post-spawn). Fish the grub like a crankbait or buzzbait, casting to cover and bringing it back to the boat quickly, just under the surface of the water, or allow the jig to sink down a few feet and swim it back to the boat.
Ripping triggers instinctive strikes and works well with lipless crankbaits (such as the Rat'L Trap) too. Cast the jig to the banks or submerged cover, let it fall to the bottom, then rip (jerk) it off the bottom. Repeat, all the way back to the boat.
The surprise and sudden speed of the lure ripped off the bottom is too much for some fish to resist. Ripping also works well with short-arm spinnerbaits, fished down long, sloping points in early summer.
Lures that glide "back up" trigger strikes because it's a natural presentation and fish don't often see this kind of action in an artificial lure.
One example is the Suick, a neutral buoyant muskie jerkbait with a finned tail that glides and pauses, with no back-and-forth wobbling action.
Bass anglers can capitalize on this concept by Texas-rigging an un-weighted straight plastic worm with an offset hook, and placing a small (1/32-ounce) nail weight in its tail.
When the worm is twitched, or popped off the bottom, it will pause, then glide backward (away from the angler). This action mimics a frightened crayfish, and often triggers violent strikes.