During much of the year, bass fishermen have many choices to make when it comes to where to fish and which lures to use. In spring, when the weather is warmer and bass are spawning or preparing to spawn, the choices are fewer. We know that most of the fish will be in shallow water and that’s where we need to look for them.

Another thing I like about spring is that I can get by with three different rigs, though I might switch the baits and colors I use with them from time to time. When I am looking for fish in a general area where I think they might be coming into, I like to use a topwater lure to make them bite. If the bass don’t seem interested in a topwater lure, I will slow down and fish with a wacky rig with a Gamakatsu G-Finesse Wacky Head. The other thing I do when I find a bed, or fish under a dock or somewhere I think there might be a bed, is to use a lightweight Texas rig with a Yamamoto Senko. This is for when bass are very picky. I have found that this will work most of the time, so I don’t change a lot. Three different ways; I try to keep it simple.

— FLW Tour pro Shinichi Fukae of Palestine, Texas