The quick-warming shallows are attracting bass, which is why Lee McClellan says this is the best time to be bank fishing for big bass.

At times, bank anglers have an advantage over those fishing from a boat. After all, Mark Ward caught the current state record largemouth bass–14 pounds, 9 1/2 ounces—while fishing from the bank of 6-acre Highsplint Lake in Harlan County, Ky.

We’re in the midst of the most productive time of the year to bank fish for bass. The warming water brings fish shallow for their annual spawning migrations—and within reach of shore-bound anglers.

Bank fishing forces you to boil your lure selection down to the basics. You only have what you can carry, so your lure choice is limited. You’re not spending most of your time during fishing lulls constantly switching lures from several bulging tackle bags.

Charlie Brewer, the true father of finesse fishing, believed you should pattern your fish close by. He felt a bass angler should have a lure in the water—concentrating on its presentation and fooling black bass into striking—instead of running and gunning. He was a World War II veteran who didn’t believe in wasting gasoline or time.

Some of his best days came when trying to use a balky (uncooperative) outboard motor, when circumstances made him pick apart the likely fish holding structures within trolling motor distance of the ramp. Bank fishing for black bass is the same.

Brewer firmly believed in using the lightest lure weight possible, as he felt lighter lures better matched the natural movements of crayfish and baitfish. It is difficult to properly fish lighter lures from a boat unless it’s anchored. By the time a light lure gets down to the strike zone, you are out of position in a moving boat. Lighter lures also don’t get hung on the bottom as much, an important consideration for a bank angler.

Lighter, smaller jigs thrown on spinning gear with reels spooled in 8- to 10-pound line make good choices for bank fishing for bass. A 1/8- to 1/4-ounce football jig in green pumpkin, or a combination of chartreuse, orange and green, are good jig colors. Black jigs with hues of blue or purple produce bass year-round.

Points are high-percentage places to fish a jig. Here you can intercept largemouth bass migrating in the spring, as well as spotted and smallmouth bass in lakes that have them. Points near public boat ramps may offer access by foot.

Points located near the major channels of old rivers or creeks are productive places to bank fish with jigs. Some of these areas are within walking distance of an access or recreation area on major reservoirs.

Fish the nose of the point first. Cast to the deep water, then crawl the jig to the shallows. Pop the jig with a sharp jerk if you strike a rock or stump. This can provoke a strike from a bass that is following your jig. Next, fish the sides of the point at different depths until you find bass.

Crawling a jig along the edge of a submerged channel, or across flat bottom areas near the channel, also works well in spring. Flats warm up quickly in spring. Crayfish emerge after the water temperatures break 50 degrees, which in turn draws hungry bass.

The Ned rig is deadly when fished from the bank in spring. The soft plastic lure looks like someone cut off the last three inches of the business end of a cigar, but it works like a charm.

If you want to know the best place to catch fish at any given time of year, check out every issue of MidWest Outdoors, available by subscribing on our website.