With the movement toward spring one of the first things that occur is the fish scatter out and we find them very difficult to find. As a result we have some tough days on the water. When this occurs the fish move into what I refer to as “transition.” The bass aren’t really deep, they’re not really shallow and they are not bunched up. So where do we go and how do we find them and what can you do to catch fish? 

Let me first say that there is no definite answer, this can be a time of year when you struggle and get somewhat frustrated on the water!
Here is what I do; I hope it works for you! First thing you would notice if you were fishing with me is that I would have several rods all rigged differently. The key is that my rods are rigged for different depths of fishing. I might have crank bait rods rigged with crank baits to fish from 3 ft. to 20 ft. The reason for this is that transition fish do not necessarily stay at any one depth for a long time. They have a tendency to move up and down in depths as well as suspend. Their bodies are pushing them toward the spawn but water temperature may not be warm enough to really push them toward bedding.  

This year may be quite the opposite as the water temperature is warming faster than their biological clock is pushing, so the transition stage may actually last longer than when the water hasn’t warmed. The next thing you would notice is that I have rods rigged for different baits for presentation changes; I want to be able to move baits by them with fast presentations or slow down and even dead stick baits to get a bite; or I work on trying to do things that get bass to react like throw a buzz bait. In fact I find that transition fish are more reactive and buzz baits are a great way to annoy a bass into biting. The key being is; try different, depths, patterns and presentations and keep fishing until they finally bite!

Captain Mike

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