Here are a few quick tips to keep in mind when fishing this time of the year:

• Bass are looking for warmth, try fishing spots that are fully exposed to the sun.
• Make your casts count. Bass will be easily spooked this time of year.
• Rely on natural colors for your bait.
• Fish the Northern waters, these will be the warmest.

Bait

If you have never fished this time of the year in New England, you may be wondering what types of bait to throw in early spring. Obviously it depends on what you are going to target. Smallmouth bass tend to be more active this time of year than Largemouth bass. Try to stay with natural colors, the fish also know what time of year it is. They may not be interested in a bright orange lure they are seeing for the first year, but may entertain a green pumpkin color lure, for example. If I don’t get any action on the natural color, my plan b color is always white.

Some of the most effective baits for this time of year are Jerk Baits, Plastic Stick Baits, and an extremely effective lure is the Rapala X-Rap Walk Bait.

The Jerk Bait is a practical lure that has been around for a long time. Fish this lure slow, and be patient with multiple pauses on your retrieve. The water is cold, and the fish are still sluggish. You can pick up these Jerk Bait lures for under six dollars.

Plastic Stick Baits in a natural color should produce well. Plastic Stick Baits have a more natural action than a Jerk Bait. Wacky Rig will provide plenty of action, and if you find some deeper vegetation left over from last year, I highly suggest throwing a Texas Rigged Stick Bait into the weeds.

Rapala X-Rap Walk Bait

Rapala Husky Jerk Bait

The Rapala X-Rap Walk Bait is also a good choice for the ice-out. With the fish being so sluggish, they want to make their meal worth their while. These lures are very flashy, and when “walked” can strike the attention of the fish in an instant. Check out this video by Cabelas about the Rapala X-Rap Walk Bait.

These are just a few of my favorite ice out lures.

Techniques

Like I’ve said, fishing this time of the year is very tricky. It will take some practice and patience to hunt down these cold weather hawgs. Don’t give up if you struggle at first, there are some big fish to be caught.

The best technique is to focus on the Northern part of the body of water. This will be the warmest part, and that’s what the bass are looking for. Be stealthy, and seek up on prospective spots. If it’s a really warm day, you will find bass on the flats. Regardless of the time of year, everyone knows that bass like cover. This is always a fail safe. If you aren’t getting any bites in the open, find some old weeds from last year and go with a weedless lure.

If you are from New England, you can deal with any weather, snow, sleet, hail, 100+ degree days. You should be able to bear the weather to get a few casts in!

We will be reviewing:

• Bait / Tackle Manufacturers
• Rod Builders
• Charters & Guides
• Got a fishing related product? Try us!

Your company will get:

• Permanent page on our website.
• High Definition photos of your products.
• A lengthy, quality write up about your products.
• Added to our directory, with future opportunities to sell in our online store.

What we require from you:

• Basic information about the company
• Your logo in digital format
• A few photos of your products and/or fish caught with your products
• 5-10 of your best products
• A 10 question written interview

Boondock Stew will compose a video with your products to go on your page of our website, as well as Youtube, and our other Social Media accounts. Your logo and website will be included in future videos where we use your products.

We want to help you expose your products to anglers in New England and beyond. Our members are active on many message boards and have ties to many networking sources. If you have a connection to a fishing company in New England, please contact us with information to make this project a success.

A steady retrieve with the Swimmin’ Super Fluke Jr. creates a thumping action from the tail that mimics a small minnow or bluegill.

I’ve been hearing lots of success stories when using lures that mimic bluegills. This is something on my explore list for this year, but back to the bait. The Zoom Swimmin Super Fluke Jr is a 4″ soft plastic bait that can be rigged with a jig head or throw it on a Buckeye Su-spin blade.

I for one will be giving these a shot, and post an updated review once I get to fish it (snows almost gone!).

One thing in particular I am very excited about is the addition of the Bass Blast Seminars. This is a new addition to the show in 2011. Everyday there will be bass pros talking about different techniques and approaches for fishing. Their website says:

With the introduction of the all new Northeast Bass Blast Expo, we have put together an amazing line up of bass fishing seminars. Bass Pros will be presenting all four days of the Springfield Sportsmen’s Show in the Young Building. Take part in their fishing seminars and learn the latest techniques, tips, and tricks from our panel of bass fishing experts.

These seminars run everyday of the Sportsmen, some as early as 9am. Here is the schedule for the 24th through the 27th:

Thursday Feb 24th

 3:00 PM    Skip Bryant              How to Keep Kids Fishing

 4:00 PM    Terry Baksay           Professional Angler Secrets to Top
                                                      Water Bass Success, where and why
                                                      to use which bait

 5:00 PM     Tony Bean               Un-Cover why Grubs are the Greatest
                                                      Smallmouth Meal, learn proper
                                                      presentations from the Legendary
                                                      Smallmouth Expert, Guide and Author

 6:00 PM    Billy Decoteau         Power-Finesse Techniques for
                                                      Dragging Football Head Jigs, and
                                                      Flippin West Coast Skinny Bear Style

 7:00 PM    Terry Baksay           A Pro Guide to ‘Covering the Water
                                                      Column with Jerkbaits’ and
                                                      establishing seasonal patterns

 8:00 PM    Don Meissner          The St Lawrence County Ambassador
                                                      reveals why this area is the World
                                                      Capital of Fishing

Friday Feb 25th

12:00 PM    Joe Kowalski          TV’s Rod & Wheels Star opens his
                                                      Tackle Box for Basin Basics

 1:00 PM    Don Meissner          ‘St Lawrence County the Best Kept
                                                      Secret,’ hear why BASS founder Ray
                                                      Scott is going there

 2:00 PM    Tony Bean                Finding Smallmouth Bass, and then
                                                      Entering their House

 3:00 PM    Billy Decoteau         Pro-Bass Fishing’s Hottest New Lure
                                                      ‘The Lateral Perch’

 4:00 PM    Jimmy Kennedy       While cooking, Jimmy reveals his
                                                      recipes for Fabulous Fish.  Learn how
                                                      and where to catch your next fish
                                                      dinner, preserve it and prepare it to
                                                      perfection!

 5:00 PM    All Pro’s Group Sessions – Bassin Answers to your
                                                                  personal Angling Questions

 6:00 PM    Tony Bean                The Legendary ‘Grub and Fly Man’
                                                      discloses his 4-P’s to Smallmouth
                                                      Fishing Success

 7:00 PM    Nate Laskiewicz      Learn how to approach new bodies of
                                                      water, with proven results, as this TV
                                                      Host of the ‘Lake Region Fishing’
                                                      show cameras take you out on the
                                                      water

 8:00 PM    Eric Kaplan              Wormin 101, from rigging to setting
                                                      the hook and landing bass

Saturday Feb 26th

  9:00 AM    Eric Kaplan             Jerkbait Basics, learn the  ”How’s and
                                                      Why’s” for Jerkbaits

10:00 AM    Nate Laskiewicz     Learn how to approach new bodies of
                                                      water, with proven results, as this TV
                                                      Host of the ‘Lake Region Fishing’
                                                      show cameras take you out on the
                                                     water

11:00 AM    Tony Bean              For the Love of Smallmouth, Tony
                                                      Bean’s Smallmouth Guide

12:00 PM    Jimmy Kennedy     While cooking, Jimmy reveals his
                                                      recipes for Fabulous Fish.  Learn how
                                                      and where to catch your next fish
                                                      dinner, preserve it and prepare it to
                                                      perfection! 

 1:00 PM    All Pro’s Group Sessions – Bassin Answers to your
                                                                  personal Angling Questions

 2:00 PM    Billy Decoteau         The Hottest Bait on the Pro-Circuit,
                                                      ‘The Lateral Perch’

 3:00 PM    Tony Bean                ’The Last Smallmouth’, Understanding
                                                      the Bronze-Back Jewel

 4:00 PM    Nate Laskiewicz      Learn how to approach new bodies of water, with proven results, as this TV Host of the
                                                      ‘Lake Region Fishing’ show cameras take you out on the water

 5:00 PM    Joe Kowalski           TV’s Rod & Wheels Star opens his Tackle Box for Basin Basics

Sunday Feb 27th

10:00 AM    Joe Kowalski          TV’s Rod & Wheels Star opens his
                                                      Tackle Box for Basin Basics

11:00 AM    Don Meissner         ’St Lawrence County the Best Kept
                                                      Secret,’ hear why BASS founder Ray
                                                      Scott is going there

12:00 PM    Nate Laskiewicz    A guides approach new bodies of
                                                      water, with proven results

 1:00 PM    All Pro’s Group Sessions – Bassin Answers to your
                                                                  personal Angling Questions

 2:00 PM    Billy Decoteau         Power-Finesse Techniques for
                                                      Punching Vegetation West Coast
                                                      Skinny Bear Style

 3:00 PM    Nate Laskiewicz      Learn how to approach new bodies of
                                                      water, with proven results, as this TV
                                                      Host of the ‘Lake Region Fishing’
                                                      show cameras take you out on the
                                                      water

 4:00 PM    Eric Kaplan              Wormin 101, from rigging to setting
                                                      the hook and landing bass

So, I had this package of bait for a little over 2 months before I actually used it on a fishing trip. Let me tell you, I hammered some bass with these little creatures. In the brush, in the weeds, in the thick lily pad cover. It didn’t matter where I was throwing this, it made the bass go nuts! The key is to get it as close to shore, or the structure you are fishing, and slow down your presentation. Let the Salleemander sink. Stop. Wait. Slowly reel one turn. Stop. SLAM! I started setting hooks in the heat of the day, in high winds. I don’t know if the bass felt threatened by the bait, or if it was the F2 attractant that was doing it, but this bait was working.. hard.

Pros
Drives bass nuts. They won’t just nibble at it, they will destroy it. This bait also has some weight to it, so it’s easily castable from a good distance to help you not spook the fish.

Cons
The only downfall to this bait is the material is a little weak. I did manage to only use one all day, but at the end of the day it had huge holes in it, shredded up quite a bit. But that’s all in good fun!

From the Manufacturer
Move this through the water and witness a swimming action never before seen in a soft-plastic lizard lure. Four swimming legs and a knob at the end of the tail create a realistic motion in the entire lure, and the resulting water displacement brings curious fish in for a closer look. Though ideal for Texas and Carolina rigs, it also drives bass crazy when worked weightless over grass. Now infused with YUM’s Ferocity Squared (F2) attractant. F2 is a concentrated natural formula that has been clinically tested under strict conditions. Results show that F2 is preferred by bass by a margin of more than 30% over other attractants. What’s more, F2 can be infused into soft plastics of any shape with lasting effectiveness and no need to “refresh” with more scent every few casts. F2-infused lures also don’t dry up left out of their package, but maintain their supple swimability. Per 8.

• MSRP: $4.69
• Purchase: Buy online for $4.69