I want to start by thanking each of you who cheered for me during last month’s Bassmaster Classic in Knoxville, Tenn. Being the Carhartt College representative in bass fishing’s biggest event was not only an incredible honor, but was truly one of the greatest weeks of my life, and the amount of support I received was absolutely humbling.
Speed ahead just five weeks later and we find ourselves in the heart of bass fishing season throughout much of the U.S., and celebrating Easter.
My memories of Easter as a kid were a combination of church, followed by a healthy plate of ham, green beans, and mac and cheese at Grandma’s – and then, generally getting into a little trouble, because I’d ditch the family gathering and sneak off on my bicycle to go fishing down the road at Freeman Lake in our hometown of Elizabethtown, Ky.
So if any of you are planning to sneak off over Easter to do a little bass fishing, here are three lures you might consider packing in your “Easter basket.”
The first one is a big 3/4-ounce spinnerbait with a funny name. “The Uncle Al Slaunch Master” from Cumberland Pro Lures. I like a heavier spinnerbait than a lot of anglers because I can fish it deep if need be, and speed up my retrieve just a little if I’m casting shallow. I like a Colorado blade in front of a willow leaf. The key place to cast it is on the slightly deeper banks and points leading into the ultra shallow spawning pockets, bays and coves. I tie this beast of a spinnerbait to 17-pound line.
Secondly, I’m packing a Texas-rigged 4-inch Berkley Havoc Pit Boss that I can slow down and pitch to any wood cover I see along the bank, and also around shallow boat docks.
Thirdly, if the fish are spawning around your part of the world this Easter, you gotta pack the ultimate bite getter of springtime soft plastic lures – Berkley’s “The General.” Rig a hook “wacky style” through the middle of this 5-inch stick bait and cast it on light line with your favorite spinning rod and reel. You can plan on getting bites on “The General” with the same kind of predictability that Grandma is gonna whip up some killer ham, green beans and mac and cheese.
And you can also bet I’ll sneak off after dinner to try and catch a big ole springtime largemouth in the shallows of Freeman Lake.