Now your next tournament is just around the corner, and if you hope to be in the money, you're going to have to bulk up your bag of bass big-time. Here are some prespawn tips from some of the best bass pros and guides in the business that can help you tap into a way-bigger class of fish.
     
#1 for a Reason
Most bass experts agree that the #1 prespawn big-bass lure of all time is the jig 'n pig. You won't get any rebuttal to this statement from Arkansas pro Ron Shuffield. "I've caught more big bass, and won more money, fishing a jig during prespawn than by any other method," he told Bass Pro Shops' OutdoorSite.  "A spinnerbait is a lot faster lure to fish and will catch plenty of keeper bass, but for sheer tonnage, the jig rules...period!"

The jig 'n pig (a skirted jig matched to pork trailer) mimics a live crawdad, something anglers should keep in mind when presenting the lure. "Live craws move in short bursts, shooting off the bottom and then settling back down slowly," Shuffield said. "Work the jig around wood and rock cover in the same fashion, with light pops of the rod tip. When you come to a submerged bush or tree with a network of branches, don't let the jig drop into the tangle or you'll eventually get hung up. Instead, hold the rod tip at 10 o'clock and reel slowly and steadily, swimming the lure through the branches rather than hopping and dropping it. If you feel the bait hang up momentarily, reel down tight so the lure shoots off the branch -- usually that's when they'll eat it. I've caught some of my biggest tournament bass using this tactic."

Shuffield likes any color jig 'n pig, as long as it's black and blue. He favors a 1/2 to 3/4 ounce jig with a big, fat pork or soft plastic trailer. "A bulky, slow-moving lure is what the big sows prefer in prespawn," Shuffield insisted. "Forget those downsized jigs with small trailers, and don't thin out the skirt too much. Give 'em a full-meal deal."
     
Cold-Water Killers
"Prespawn bass have this thing about suspending in the water column," Mark Davis, another Arkansas pro, said. "For years we were taught to believe that in early spring, a bottom-bumping presentation was the only way to go for sluggish bass, and indeed on some days, you can wrack up an impressive catch by crawling a jig or soft craw on the bottom. But when you're haulin' water with bottom-bumpers, the bass are probably suspending, and that calls for a different approach."

Davis, a former B.A.S.S. Masters Classic champ, puts his faith in suspending jerkbaits in prespawn tournaments. "If the lake is anywhere from 42 to 58 degrees and has excellent to moderate clarity, a suspending jerkbait is the best big-fish bait you can use," he said. "These lures were the secret weapons of the pro tour for years, but for some reason have been slow to catch on with weekend fishermen. Trust me, once you use 'em, they'll quickly become your #1 prespawn lure choice in clear water."

Davis looks for "big pieces of structure with an entry to shallow spawning areas" as prime targets for suspending jerkbaits. "Long points with a slow, gradual taper; big main-lake flats; the channel side of tributary banks -- all of these will hold big bass in prespawn," he indicated.

Most important to a winning tournament strategy, suspending jerkbaits are bona fide lunker lures, provided you fish them correctly. "When conditions are right, you can catch 5 fish weighing 20 pounds or better in many bodies of water nationwide on a suspending minnow," Davis claimed. "The biggest mistake I see fishermen make with these baits is fishing them too fast. You've got to slow way down. Make a long cast, wind the lure down to its maximum depth, pause, then let the bait suspend motionless in the water column -- for how long depends on how cold the water is. I've seen days when bass wouldn't jump on a suspending jerkbait unless it sat there for over a minute." Take your sweet time playing jerkbait bass, Davis cautioned. "Bass often flash on these baits and get foul-hooked; when a fish loads on, merely reel down to sink in the barbs -- don't set the hook! Use a long, soft-action rod for maximum shock absorption."

Flash & Depth
Every spring, legendary Dale Hollow (Tenn.) guide Fred McClintock (931/243-2142; www.trophyguideservice.com) racks up unbelievable catches of monster smallmouths on heavy spinnerbaits. "Most anglers relate ordinary spinnerbaits to shallow, murky water and visible wood cover, but heavy spinnerbaits are deadly in clear, open water," McClintock noted. "Smallmouths often suspend off points in prespawn, sometimes at depths of 15 to 20 feet. Slow-roll a 3/4 to 1 1/2 ounce spinnerbait past 'em and they're liable to jerk the rod out of your hands."

Keeping his boat a safe distance from his target, McClintock casts the spinnerbait to the end and sides of the point, letting it sink on a tight line as he counts the lure down to the desired depth. He then engages the reel handle and swims the lure back to the boat with a slow, steady crank. "I've seen a half-dozen big smallies follow a spinnerbait right up to the boat, but usually it doesn't get that far before one nails it. My biggest smallmouth with this method weighed nearly 8 pounds. I fish the bait on 20 pound line and a 7-foot baitcasting rod -- this is no tactic for ultralight gear."

Pitchin' in the Headwaters
Having trouble putting a big-fish pattern together on your local lake? Head for the headwaters, advises Tennessee bass expert Joey Monteleone. He's caught hundreds of monster largemouths by focusing on the extreme upper end of area reservoirs.

"Most guys with a big bass rig stay out of the headwaters of a reservoir because they're afraid of scratching up their boat and dinging their prop in shallow water," Monteleone, who fishes from a small aluminum boat, observed. "But in spring, you'll usually find the warmest water in the system in the headwaters. And warmer water means more active bass. Combine this with the lack of fishing pressure in this area of the lake, and you can see why bass tend to grow bigger here."

Monteleone keys on laydown wood cover with two lures: a spinnerbait and a jig 'n pig. No big news here, you say? Joey says it's all in the presentation. "Overhand casting is a losing proposition for lunker bass. I always pitch my lures to their targets. Big bass are highly successful predators, and as such, they've learned to be extremely wary of anything unnatural entering the water. A pitched lure s-l-i-d-e-s into the water with very little noise or splash, so bass are much less likely to get spooked by it."

Although Monteleone is quick to admit that a heavy rain can trash a headwaters pattern, he's managed to catch many 7- to 9-pounders even after the water had turned to chocolate by making some presentation adjustments. "The key is to use a bulkier jig with a loud rattle, or a spinnerbait with a hard-thumping Colorado blade," he pointed out. "Fish closer to cover; once you've worked the lure a foot or so past the log or stump, reel in quickly and make another pitch. Bass are unlikely to move more than a few inches from cover in muddy conditions."

Do Something Different
"When I'm fishing a tournament on a lake that receives a lot of pressure from local anglers, I always try to determine what the masses are using, then focus on a different presentation," said Missouri pro Rick Clunn. "I'm convinced that, over time, bass can become accustomed to seeing the same lures over and over again, and may react by refusing to bite them, especially on tournament days when there are a lot of fishermen pounding the banks."

On many lakes, the most popular springtime bass lures are spinnerbaits, Clunn noted. "In spring, I've had success using an alternate lure capable of probing the same shallow areas everybody else is fishing with spinnerbaits, such as a shallow-diving crankbait. I've gone right in behind local anglers casting spinnerbaits and mopped up on shallow cranks."

Make Some Wake
No pro has fished the cast-for-cash circuit longer than Missouri veteran Basil Bacon. He's got a killer presentation he relies on in spring tournaments that draws savage strikes from whopper largemouths. "I call it 'waking' a spinnerbait," Bacon said. "I started using this technique on the B.A.S.S. circuit back in the Seventies and managed to keep it under my hat for a couple of seasons, but eventually word leaked out. I've lost count of the number of 6- to 8-pound bass I've caught with this method."

Don't even attempt this presentation without a man-sized lure, Bacon warns. "It takes a half-ounce spinnerbait with two huge Colorado blades and an extra-long wire arm to create a bass-attracting wake.

Using a beefy baitcasting rod and 20 pound line, Bacon casts the magnum spinner past his target (usually a laydown log or stump), points the rod tip straight at the bait and begins reeling as soon as the lure hits the water. "The object is to make the blades run just under the surface, almost, but not quite, breaking free of the water," Bacon instructed. "When you've got the lure running correctly, the oversized Colorado blades will create a bulging wake that looks exactly like the wake of a frightened gizzard shad. This is an awesome big-fish tactic." I can attest to that. While serving as Bacon's press observer in a Bass Masters Classic event on Lake Texoma several years ago, my jaw dropped as the pro stuck a bass that looked to be 12 pounds on his wake-maker. That fish came unbuttoned at boatside, but several months later, while fishing with Bacon at Lake Barkley, Ky., I saw the pro catch a dozen bass from 4 to 7 pounds using this exciting technique.
     
Float a Worm
The best big-bass technique I've tried in the past 10 years is floating a worm in prespawn. I caught a 9 1/2-pound bass on this method from a Tennessee lake last spring, my biggest northern-strain largemouth ever, and credit Texas pro Jay Yelas with introducing me to this killer tactic. "I like a floating worm once the water gets into the mid-50s in spring and will fish it all the way into post-spawn," Yelas said.  "It's a great tournament technique because it catches lots of quality fish. The only problem I have with the floating worm is remaining calm when bass are really on it. This is the most visual and exciting bass fishing method ever created!"

Using a straight-tail, 6-inch worm in a high-viz color such as bubble gum, Yelas skips the lure beneath overhanging bushes and tree branches in quiet, sheltered bays and pockets where bass are likely to locate prior to spawning. He uses a 6 1/2-foot medium-action spinning rod and 10 to 12 pound mono with this lure. "Skipping the worm into the target zone is very important, for the bass are often holed up right next to the bank now and may be virtually unreachable by overhand casting," Yelas said. "Once you know where you want the lure to end up, focus on a spot a few feet in front of your eventual target and deliver the worm there with a whip-crack sidearm cast. With practice, you can make it skip several times so it ends up right where you want it."