JEFF SPRAGUE: Try Something Different with a Wakebait this Spring

This time of the year is a great time to fish, but it can also be pretty tough. These fish can get beat up on in the spring and won’t always bite the normal springtime baits you’d usually rely on. That’s why going with something a little bit off the beaten path can be really beneficial.

You see some guys talk about “subtlety” while using a Senko or something like that. While I think that’s a good strategy, I also like to have a little more not-so-subtle approach.

I love to throw a wide-wobbling shallow-running crankbait, something like a Strike King KVD 2.5 Wake Bait. It only goes about a foot to 18 inches under the water, which makes it perfect for working up shallow near beds.

Why a Wakebait?

I like using a wakebait because it’s a bait the fish don’t really see a lot of this time of the year. They’re all up really shallow, really aggressive, and protecting whatever territory they need to, and that wakebait is just so intrusive to them.

If you know a bed is in the area, I like to work it near that bed and stop reeling it in when it gets right over it. That bait doesn’t sink, it floats, so the fish just crush it when it’s on its way up to the surface.

This bait is also a really good search tool to find fish. You won’t always be able to sight-fish the bank, so having something tied on that can go out and find the fish when you can’t is huge.

I’m always looking for the right bank, the right type of bottom, the right sunlight, and the right protection from the wind when trying to find a good spawning area. It could be a shallow pocket or a steep-graded bank. No matter what it is, I think a wakebait can get the job done.

Another good thing about this wakebait is that it’s really tough to get hung up in laydowns. It deflects off of cover and structure so well that you can throw it in places that you normally wouldn’t throw a crankbait with two big treble hooks hanging off of it.

Wakebait Colors, Tackle

This time of the year, I really like using bright-colored chartreuse or a natural-colored bream. That chartreuse is nice because it’s a color I can easily see, and I can see the fish eat that bait. I like the bream color because sometimes those bass are actively chasing bream off their beds.

When picking out my tackle, I turn a heavier fluorocarbon line, like 20-pound Strike King Tour Grade. That heavier line allows me to make the bait drop more, even just a couple of inches, if I need it to and get it a little deeper. If I don’t need it to be deeper, then I will use a 20-pound Strike King Tour Grade Monofilament because that mono will float.

I like using those two lines on a 7-foot-2 medium-heavy Team Lew’s Pro Ti rod paired with a 7.5:1 Lew’s reel. That high-speed retrieve allows me to just burn that bait through the water. I like to be able to control my baits with my handle. Some guys like the reel to be able to control the baits, but I prefer to know that all my reels are the exact same and that I am the one who varies the retrieve.

I hope everyone stays safe during this time of social distancing. I look forward to being back out there on the water and competing against the best when all of this passes.