How to Catch Spring Bass Now with Randy Howell
John E. Phillips 04.28.14
“We’ve had some crazy weather this spring,” Randy Howell told me me last week. “The country has had an extremely cold spring and flooding in many areas. For these two reasons, the bass spawn has been delayed across much of the United States. This week you can fish for spawning bass, prespawn bass, and post-spawn bass all at the same time. Generally bass don’t like fast-moving baits during the spawn. They usually prefer a lure with little or no action that’s easy to catch and presents a big meal. Then all they have to do is open their mouths to eat.
“This week, I’ll be sight-fishing for bedding bass, because I have so much confidence in this technique. For spawning bass, I prefer the Yamamoto five-inch Senko, which is a fat worm. If I’m fishing in a big bass lake, I’ll choose the six-inch Senko.”
Not only at this time of the year will the bass be spawning, but they’ll also be in shallow water around stumps, grass, and boat houses protecting the fry (baby bass). Howell believes that the Senko is the most dominant lure he can fish this week, because he can rig it in so many different ways. In open water that doesn’t have much cover, Howell prefers to rig the Senko wacky-style and cast the bait out, letting it slow-wiggle to the bottom. He prefers a No. 2/0 round bend straight shank Daiichi hook. He casts the lure on spinning tackle. Unless he’s fishing gin-clear water, he’ll use 20-pound-test braided line.
According to Howell, “One color you can fish successfully for bass almost anywhere in the nation [this time of year] is watermelon/green pumpkin laminate. Half of this Senko is watermelon-colored, and the other half is green pumpkin-colored. The other two colors I like are watermelon red or green pumpkin red. I’ll cast the Senko in open water, skip the bait under boat houses and overhanging limbs, or cast it beside grass beds. Most of my strikes come when the bait is falling.”
If Howell is fishing an area with a lot of brush cover or holes in the grass, he rigs the Senko Texas-style with no weight to make the worm weedless. Then he can pull it through cover, slide it across grass beds, let it fall into holes or swim it like it’s a swimming worm. If you’re not targeting bank-bound bass, you can’t beat a light Carolina rig. Howell uses a 7-1/2-foot baitcasting rod with 16-pound test Gamma Edge flourocarbon line as his main line. He puts a 1/2-ounce tungsten weight up the line, a bead below the weight, and a barrel swivel beneath the bead on 14- or 16-pound-test leader. Howell fishes a No. 4/0 Daiichi offset worm hook with either a Yamamoto green-pumpkin or watermelon-red lizard.
“I make long casts on flat points in two to four feet of water all the way back to the boat, which is in 10- to 15-foot deep water,” Howell reported. “I fish the Carolina rig around the last points leading out to the main channel from the spawning bays, coves and flats.”
Another lure that Howell will fish all day this week is the new Lunker Lure Buzz-N-Shad that has a buzzbait propeller with a lead head. You also can screw a plastic swimbait on to the head of the buzzbait. Then you have a buzzbait with a swimbait body that gives the bass a different-looking lure. “When the bass are in shallow water, I fish this lure all day long,” Howell said.
For more information about Randy Howell, visit www.randyhowell.com.
To learn more about bass fishing, get John E. Phillips’ Kindle eBooks, How to Bass Fish Like a Pro, How to Win a Bass Tournament, and Catch the Most and Biggest Bass in Any Lake: 18 Pro Fishermen’s Best Tactics, or go to http://www.amazon.com/kindle-ebooks, type in the names of the books, and download them to your Kindle and/or download a Kindle app for your iPad, smartphone, or computer.
John, the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors.
Phillips has been a contributor to many national magazines, has been affiliated with 27 radio stations across Alabama serving as their outdoor editor and wrote for a weekly syndicated column, "Alabama Outdoors," for 38-Alabama newspapers for more than 13 years. Phillips was Outdoor Editor for the "Birmingham Post-Herald" for 24 years. Phillips was also the executive editor for "Great Days Outdoors" magazine for 3 years.
The author of almost 30 books on the outdoors, Phillips is a founding member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and an active member of the Southeastern Outdoors Press Association (SEOPA). Phillips also is the owner of Night Hawk Publications, a marketing and publishing firm, and president of Creative Concepts, an outdoor consulting group.
Phillips conducts seminars across the nation at colleges in freelance writing, photography and outdoor education besides teaching courses in how to sell what you write to writers' groups. Phillips received his photography training as a still-lab photo specialist for six years in the Air Force. He was the chief photographer for Mannequins, Inc., a Birmingham modeling agency, for 11 years.
While serving as 2nd Vice President of the Alabama Wildlife Federation, Phillips was in charge of all press releases for the organization as well as serving as Chairman of Alabama's Big Buck Contest, which he founded more than 30 years ago. He also was president of the Alabama Sportsman's Association for three years.
Phillips is the recipient of a Certificate of Merit from the Governor of Alabama and the Department of Conservation for his work in the outdoor field. Phillips is vitally interested in the outdoors and travels the nation collecting personalities, stories and how-to information for his articles and features.
EDUCATION: B.S. degree from the University of West Alabama with a physical education major and a history minor.
EXPERIENCE: 10 years parttime and fulltime physical director for YMCAs and 34 years as a freelance writer, photographer, editor, book author, lecturer and daily-content provider for websites. Currently, Phillips is a field editor for Game and Fish Publications; serves on the editorial board of Grandview Media; is a regular contributor to 12 internet magazines and a daily content provider for 8 websites.
WRITING AWARDS: Runnerup - Best Outdoor Magazine Feature - 1981 - SEOPA; Certificate of Merit - Awarded by Alabama's Governor for writings on conservation; Most Outstanding Sports Writer in Southeast - 1983 & 1984; Best Outdoor Feature in Alabama, 1987 - Alabama Sportswriters' Association 3rd Place; Best Book of the Year - 1989 - SEOPA; 2007 - inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Communicator; 2008 - received award naming him 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the Year from the Crossbow Manufacturers' Association; 2009 - GAMMA Honorable Mention for Consumer/Paid Best Essay for July/August 2008 in "Southern Sporting Journal."
