April is one of my favorite months for bass fishing, and part of the reason is simply… it’s usually the first month that I can. For us up north, most of the ice is finally gone and we’re looking at temps in the 70s here in Wisconsin this week… aside from the way, way north who may have one more week of ice, bass fishing season is upon us for nearly the entirety of the country. Some states have a closed season on bass in the spring (although many have now shifted to year-round catch and release), but overall, this is when the waters start to come alive for us northern anglers.
Overall, April is a prime month for bass fishing, but it’s a mixed bag depending on where you live, and can even be a mixed bag day to day on your local lake. You can generally find bass in all three phases of the spawn, depending on where you live. Up north, they’ll be coming into the pre-spawn, perhaps shifting around as the weather warms and cools again. A warm front will push them up shallower and heat up the bite, and a cold front will push them back deeper, so you really have to let the bass tell you where to fish and what to throw… don’t force it. They’ll be moving up to spawn or even on beds in many parts in the middle of the country, and in the deep south, they’ll most likely be in a post-spawn phase with the shad spawn starting to heat up.
The best bass baits during this time will capitalize on that bass behavior… that means they are feeding aggressively before spawning, defending nests, or taking advantage of the shad spawn. Either way, bass should be pretty hungry and pretty active. Without further ado, here are my top five bass lures for April.
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1. Chatterbait
The Chatterbait might be the most popular pre-spawn bait in bass fishing, and for a few reasons… it works, and it’s fun. But I will say, there is on caveat to Chatterbait fishing that most people who are new to the technique don’t realize… you have to change up the retrieve. Sure, you can catch them on just a straight wind, but… if you give the rod some pops and shakes, speed up and slow down the retrieve, and even kill it at times, you’ll catch way more fish. You’re gonna want to find some grass and rip it on through there to maximize your chance for bites.
I wrote a whole guide to Chatterbait fishing HERE, and also about my favorite trailers here, but the Z-Man Evergreen Jackhammer is the pinnacle of vibrating jigs. The Evo is a cheaper alternative, and there is a newer Evo Tungsten model that is pretty cool too… gives a bit of a different sound than the Jackhammer.
When you want to downsize, which I love to do up here in the north where fish run a little smaller than down south, Evo Mini Max, is a better quality version of the Mini Max, for a smaller presentation. I like more natural colors in clearer water, and black and blue in dirty water, but don’t sleep on red this time of year either. If you’re fishing the shad spawn, or have shad in your lake, a silver/white color can be great too.
Z-Man Evergreen Chatterbait Jack Hammer – 1/2 oz.
Colors: Green Pumpkin, Clear Shad, Green Pumpkin Shad
Z-Man Chatterbait Elite EVO – 1/2 oz.
Colors: Green Pumpkin, Electric Shad, Bama Craw
2. Big Swimbait/Glide Bait
April is the month when you can go BIG. That means big glides, big swimbaits, or maybe just size up the paddle tail to one larger than you’d normally use. But if you live on a big shad lake, a glide bait can be a game changer, but even up here in Wisconsin, where largemouth bass top out around 6 or 7 pounds for the most part, and a 4 or 5-pounder will win you “big bass” in most local derbs, you’d be shocked how many bites you can get with a 6-inch swimbait. The second the ice comes off I tie on a 6-inch Magdraft, and I catch a ton of fish.
You’re gonna wanna beef up your rod a bit (probably 7’4″ or bigger, Heavy Power rod for anything 6-inches, and even bigger for the 8-inch baits), target points & drop-offs, or other transitional cover. Docks & overhangs are also great places to find big bass hiding in shade. And if you’re on the pre or post spawn phase, shallow flats are money.
Of course, big baits can get very pricey, so here’s a few of the more affordable options.
Megabass Magdraft Swimbait 6-8″ – $17.99-$29.99
Colors: Albino Pearl Shad, Pro Blue Chart, Borealis Shad
Berkley Chop Block Glide Bait 6″,8″ – $15.99-$24.99
Colors: Burnt Bone, MF Blue Gill, Shad
Other good prespawn options can include a spinnerbait, a paddle tail and/or an underspin, a lipless crankbait or other crankbaits, and a jerkbait.
3. Texas Rig
If they’re spawning, your favorite Texas-rigged creature or craw is tough to beat. But even if they’re in pre or post spawn, flipping and pitching around shallow cover is gonna play. Here in Wisconsin, I generally don’t start flipping until the water hits about 50 degrees, and then I’ll usually start with a jig, but once they get close to the spawn, it just seems like a soft plastic performs better.
Feel free to use whatever soft plastics you’re the most confident in… some like craws, some like big creature baits or even lizards and hog-style baits. Also, don’t sleep on flipping a tube… works wonders for me up north and comes through the grass really well.
But if you haven’t found a favorite yet, here’s a few I really had a lot of success with last year, along with some colors I recommend. I generally like different shades of green pumpkin, but if they’re on beds, white is a great option because you can usually see it with your eyes.
Rapala Crush City Bronco Bug – $6.99
Colors: Black & Blue Flake, Green Pumpkin Blue, Candy Bug
Rapala Crush City Cleanup Craw – $6.99
Colors: Tilapia Magic, Green Pumpkin Blue, Bama Craw
Colors: Bluegill, Dark Gill, Green Pumpkin Watermelon Red
4. Wacky/Neko Rig
Another one that comes out in April and probably doesn’t disappear for a long time is some kind of stick worm… usually on a wacky rig, but on the Neko as well. It’s great for bed fishing, pre-spawn staging areas like docks, shallow flats, isolated cover, back pockets and bays… you almost can’t go wrong anywhere in 10 feet of water or less.
There’s a million stick baits out there, and most will do the trick, but it’s tough to beat a Senko. Of course, they might only last you one fish. The Berkley General with the Maxscent is awesome and the Crush City line’s Pig Stick has a great groove for the O-ring so I’m starting to really like that one as well.
Colors: Green Pumpkin, Black and Blue, Baby Bass
Rapala Crush City Pig Stick – $6.99
Colors: Green Pumpkin, Black Blue, Plum
Colors: Green Pumpkin, Black Blue Fleck, Grn Pumpkin Watermelon
Other good spawning options are drop shots or even a power shot, a shaky head, a jig, or any other kind of bulky soft plastic bait (lizards, tubes, craws, creatures… whatever you like best on a Texas rig).
5. Frog
As soon as the spawn rolls around, and especially in the post spawn, I pick up a frog and I don’t put it down until the late fall. There might not be a more fun way to catch bass on the planet, and it’ll catch you some BIGS too.
When it comes to colors, I keep it REALLY simple… black, white (or silver), and some kind of bluegill pattern that has an orange or yellow spot on the belly. I’ll usually pick up the gill patterns, but generally you want to throw something dark in cloudy, more overcast weather, and then on the other hand, something white on bright, sunny days. But feel free to play around with different colors and figure out what works… there’s no hard rule.
Toad Thumper Swamper Frog – $9.99
Colors: Bad Bone, Black, Bad Gill
A topwater walking bait can work well too, especially in the post spawn, as will a buzzbait, but I prefer to use a frog… especially if i can find some matted cover or duckweed. Once the shad spawn starts after the spawn, a spinnerbait is a good call too.
And for a more detailed bait recommendation, specific to your exact location and waterbody, check out the Bass Forecast Bait Advisor. Just input your ZIP code or share your location, and Bass Forecast will give you 5 bait recommendations, a bite rating, and suggestions for peak feeding times.
Bass Forecast Bait Advisor
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