Spring Fishing Presentation
A quick slide show: the best species for the season, how to fish them and lakes to try.
Max Creel presents
Spring Fishing: What's Biting and Where
Ice-out, rising water and the spawn. Fish move shallow and feed hard, and the shallows warm first.
Use the arrow keys or the buttons below.
Spring · Top pick
Rainbow / Brown Trout
In spring, lakes at 45-55F bring trout to shallows and inlets, 3-15 ft. Small spoons, spinners and PowerBait draw strikes. Browns often feed at low light.
- Small spoons
- Inline spinners
- PowerBait
Spring · Top pick
Crappie
At 50-60F, crappie move from deeper brush to shallow coves, bushes and docks in 3-10 ft. Small jigs or minnows below a float find them. Fish early in the day.
- 1/32-1/16 oz jigs with soft plastic bodies
- Live minnows
- Small spinners
Spring · Top pick
Walleye
After ice-out, walleye gather near tributaries and rock and gravel shorelines at 40-50F in 3-12 ft. They feed best at dusk and into the night. Jig-and-minnow, stick baits and slow crankbaits work well.
- Jig with minnow
- Nightcrawler harness on a bottom bouncer
- Crankbaits
Spring · Top pick
Lake Trout
Right after ice-out, with water around 38-45F, lake trout feed in shallow water near rocky shores, 10-40 ft. Casting spoons or trolling is productive.
- Jigging spoons
- Tube jigs
- Cut bait
Spring · Top pick
White Bass / Wiper / Striped Bass
At 50-58F, white bass run up rivers and tributaries to spawn. Wipers and stripers also move to shallow flats. Small jigs, spinners and minnows in current are great.
- White jigs and curly tails
- Spoons and slabs
- Inline spinners
Spring · Top pick
Channel Catfish
At 50-60F, channel cats move out of deep holes to shallow flats, creek mouths and riprap at 3-12 ft. Cut bait, worms and stinkbait fished on bottom work well, mostly evenings.
- Cut shad or bluegill
- Chicken liver
- Nightcrawlers
Spring · Top pick
Bluegill
At 50-60F bluegills move from deeper holes to warm, shallow flats near weeds in 3-8 ft. Small jigs, worms, and tiny flies do well on bright afternoons.
- Worms and crickets
- Wax worms
- 1/64-1/32 oz jigs
Spring · Top pick
Smallmouth Bass
When water reaches the mid-40s to low 50s, smallmouth move from deep wintering holes to rocky flats and points near spawning areas, usually 8-20 ft. Tubes, hair jigs and suspending jerkbaits crawled along rock are tops.
- Tube jigs
- Drop-shot with small minnow plastics
- Ned rig
Before you go
Pack it, check it, fish it
- Check your state's regulations, because limits and seasons change.
- Open the lake page for the map, ramps and nearest bait shop.
- Run through the trip checklist so nothing stays on the kitchen counter.