In early spring when the water is still cold – say, in the mid to high 40s – I never want my jerkbait floating on top. It needs to be suspending or even sinking a little. First of all, I fish it with 8- or -10-pound-test Berkley 100 percent fluorocarbon line, which sinks. I also add an extra split ring to each lure hook at its hanger. Usually, that’s all it takes with a Lucky Craft Pointer 100, which is a spring favorite of mine. The reason I do that is because, in lakes where shad are the primary forage, a suspending or slowly sinking jerkbait mimics a dying shad. Also, bass won’t chase bait up too much when the water is still chilly; you have to take it to them.

Last year at Beaver Lake in Arkansas I caught fish by casting past isolated flooded cedar trees and then bringing the jerkbait up to them and letting it sink slowly. Every lake is different, and you have to get a feel for the retrieve that bass want. Maybe it’s a one- to three-second pause between twitches, or maybe it’s five to six seconds on really cold mornings. You’ll have to experiment, but jerkbaits definitely are a great lure choice for early spring.

—- National Guard Pro Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala.