How to Catch Bass in the Spring | Top 5 Tactics

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This video is about developing a shallow water bass fishing mindset and the tactics and techniques Bassmaster Elite Series pro Carl Jocumsen has developed and honed to consistently catch and find bass in the spring and anytime they’re using shallow water cover. While discussing several tactics, he focuses his teaching on using Texas-rigged creature baits around prime shallow-water cover.

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X Zone Lures Adrenaline Craw, color – Junebug
HOOK – Owner Offset Shank Wide Gap Worm Hooks, 5/0
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PEG – Decoy Texas Lock Pegs L-1
SHALLOW WATER ANCHOR – Minn Kota Raptor Shallow Water Anchor

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Jocumsen views spring as the most rewarding time of year to target bass. With fish are various phases of the spawn — prespawn, spawn, and post-spawn — you get to head shallow with a mix of baits and fish how you like, with the best tactics often varying spot-to-spot and day-to-day. Shallow water makes bass spooky, so Jocumsen prefers approaching spots with the wind to his back. A controlled drift reduces trolling motor use while shallow water anchors contribute stealth and boat control.

He shares his top 5 tactics for the spring months, ranging from topwater poppers to hollow body frogs to subsurface moving baits, but focuses on his go-to flipping and pitching setup. In addition to his favorite lure, it’s essential to choose the right-sized weight. Jocumsen explains how to make this critical decision and why going as light as possible improves success.

Oh, and if you like watching huge fish catches, check out Carl’s giant 10-pound bass catch from our spring 2021 shoot with him.