Bass fish ponds and small lakes now for hot action Bill Cooper 3-6-24 Mid-February through March is prime time for hot bass fishing action in farm ponds and small lakes across the Midwest. Increasing day length and warming temperatures begin to have magical effects on cold blooded bass and they go on a feeding rampage after a long winter of lethargy. Not only does the bass fishing action pick up, this magical time frame offers one of the best opportunities of the year to catch a bass of a lifetime. The bigger bass are looking for bigger meals and quite often a very big bait turns the trick and coaxes the big mammals into striking. I ventured to a 10-acre lake recently on a 70-degree Sunday afternoon in late February. As I broke over the hilltop and the secluded lake came into view, I immediately knew where I was most likely to encounter bass by the numbers. A stiff wind blew into the eastern bank of the lake, which happened to be rather steep and very rocky with standing cedars in the water. From past experience, I knew largemouth bass should be in feeding mode, and the combination of wind, warm temperatures and a steep, rocky bank would be the place to look for concentrations of bass. The wood and rock found on the bank in question absorbed heat from the bright sunshine, and consequently, warmed the water in that area by a few degrees. The warmer water and stiff wind were perfect attractors for bait fish to congregate. And wherever baitfish congregate, hungry, marauding largemouth bass will be in hot pursuit. It’s a phenomenon which occurs every year as climatic conditions line up to kick off the annual pre-spring feeding spree of fish. It seems like pure magic, when in reality it is simply Mother Nature doing what she does like clockwork every year. My fishing companion tied on a chartreuse and white spinnerbait with double willow-leaf, silver blades. I opted for a 6-inch Smithwick Rattlin’ Rogue in Violet-Charteuse color. Spinnerbaits are great baits to throw during this time frame. It is easy to cover a lot of water with a big spinnerbait. I often switch baits after I find the fish with a spinnerbait. Big stickballs present big profiles that fit the bill for those bass looking for a big meal and Rogues are about as good as they come. We began walking the bank and casting from the dam of the lake into deep water. As I suspected, neither of us got a single strike while casting along the dam, which was on the south end of the lake. As I turned north at the east end of the dam, I expected to begin getting strikes almost immediately. Choppy waves crashed into the sunbaked, rocky shoreline creating ideal conditions for both baitfish and hungry bass. I admit, I was stunned when I didn’t get a bite in the first 50 yards of the rocky shoreline. I still had hope as shoreline conditions began to change. The bank became much steeper with a 30-40 percent slope. Too, much more woody cover stood in the water, including a massive beaver lodge that ran from above the shoreline into deep water. I’ve always caught bass there. I fished the Rogue with the usual jerk-jerk, pause-pause retrieve. At last I hooked my first fish of the day, which promptly got off. Several casts later I felt that familiar thump of a hungry bass attacking my bait. I landed a fat 14-inch largemouth. Strikes weren’t coming as rapidly as I’d like, so I elected to move on down the steep shoreline. Too, I decided to change my retrieve. Rather than utilizing a jerk and a pause, I began retrieving the jerk bait fast enough to get it to its maxim dive depth of 6-feet. I immediately began getting hits. Hungry bass chased the stickball all the way to the bank, often in twos and threes. In short order I began getting strikes almost every cast. Most hits occurred within 15 feet of the bank. Then I hooked too fish on one bait and landed them both. It didn’t seem to matter if I cast to open water or near one of the standing cedar trees in the lake. It quickly became clearly obvious that largemouth bass were schooled along the steeply sloped, rocky shoreline. I caught fish after fish. Bumping either standing wood, or wood beneath the waterline worked like a feeding call and brought repetitive strikes. I caught a dozen or more bass from 13-17-inches off of one standing cedar tree. I cast to another and repeated the process. However, before casting to a second cedar tree, I thoroughly work the water between the two trees and picked up astounding numbers of bass as well. My thumbs and forefingers began to take on that sandpapery look from handling so many bass lips. Unhooking fish took considerably longer than I would have liked. I left my pliers in the truck. As the bite began to wane in my hotspot, I moved on up the shoreline into a heavier concentration of woody cover. Hangups became frequent, but so did the strikes. I became concerned about losing my Rogue, because the one tied to my line was the only one I brought along on the hike. I had dozens more back at the truck. I think I was literally so excited about the grand fishing opportunity that I did not plan well before elevating the truck. However, all worked out perfectly. In roughly 1-1/2 hours I landed 48 largemouth bass and lost perhaps 15 more. It truly was one of the most incredible February days of bass fishing I had ever experienced. And to think…my fishing partner chose to not make the hike and only caught one fish. No pain no gain. Photo cutline: As day length increase and temperatures rise, hungry bass follow bait fish and often are looking for a big meal. A Rattlin’ Rogue fits the bill.