By Mike Frisch and the Fishing the Midwest Team
The early part of the fishing season is a great time to be on the water! The weather is often pleasant, nature is coming back to life after a long winter, and the fish are usually cooperative. While I devote some time in spring to chasing crappies, casting for bass, or slow trolling for walleyes, there are other days where I just want to “get bit” and don’t really care what is doing the biting. Those days, I often head to shallow water and use a casting approach.
Shallow flats, often those coming out from shore, usually feature emerging vegetation, host roaming schools of minnows and are home to bigger, hungry predators. Northern pike, walleyes, and bass all spend time shallow during spring.
To find fish in the shallows, I often look for large flats, preferring those where recent winds have been blowing on. From there, I simply hold the boat near the flat’s edge, work along paralleling the flat, and cast and retrieve. I keep moving until I get a bite and then hold in the spot for subsequent casts hoping I’ve found a school of fish. If not, I simply resume moving and searching.
This technique involves using a spinning rod and reel with a jig head tied on and a medium sized swimbait threaded on the jig. Often a bait in the 3- to 4-inch size range is my choice. The 3.75” Rage Swimmer has long been a favorite when fishing this pattern. Recently, I have added the new Rage Slim Swimmer to my arsenal with good success as well.
In either case, I prefer rigging these baits on Tour Grade Rage Swimmin’ Heads, often in the 1/8- to 3/8-ounce size range depending on depths being fish. These jigs help maintain a natural swimming bait action on the retrieve and they have sharp hooks too.
When selecting bait color, I let water clarity help me choose. If the water is clear, I select a natural baitfish color. When the water is a bit off-colored, I go with a brighter pattern.
The right rod, reel, and fishing line complete the set-up. A 6 ½- to 7-foot medium light or medium power, fast action spinning rod works well. The new LFS rods that I have been using are lightweight and sensitive, with several models that work well with swimbaits. I pair them with smooth, long casting 300 size Custom Spinning reels spooled with 15-pound test braided line tied to a 5- foot leader of 10- to 12- pound fluorocarbon. The size 300 reel allows for long, smooth casts and I like braided line for solid hooksets at the end of long casts. The fluoro leader reduces visibility so the fish can’t see my line and I prefer lighter test if some walleyes are around. I might upsize my leader line if more bass and pike are expected.
Having a fish stretch my fishing line is something is I look forward to all winter. When spring finally comes, fish of all species head shallow and are susceptible to a simple cast and wind approach with a swimbait. Using some of the suggestions mentioned above regarding swimbaits can, in fact, help stretch your string this season as well!
Good luck on the water and remember to include a youngster in your next outdoors adventure.
Mike Frisch is a fishing guide and hosts the popular Fishing the Midwest TV series. Visit www.fishingthemidwest.com to learn more.
Photo – The author with a big walleye. Swimbaits catch fish of all species during spring!
