In Midwestern locations where mild winters are common, and ice melt is mostly nonexistent, March Madness is when serious fishermen like Andrew Ragas get ready for the very best bass fishing has to offer.

Trophy class bass awaken from their winter slumber to feed frantically in preparation for the spawn. On the right waters, pre-spawn fish can provide the fishing of a lifetime. There is a real feeling of anticipation that is unmatched at any other time of the year.

Setting the scene

Recent winter seasons across the Midwest have been mild. The Ice Belt isn’t what it once was, with early melts and open-water fishing starting earlier than usual. Anglers across northern Illinois, Iowa and the southern half of Wisconsin have been able to start their open-water fishing seasons earlier than ever before.

Last year’s March Madness was unlike any other. An early March ice-out took place, followed by electric largemouth fishing and my Loyola Ramblers making another deep tournament run. If/when ice formation fails in early winter, early ice-outs and immediately good fishing should be expected.

When water temperatures reach the mid 40s, bass will be catchable.

Small, shallow waters

Early-spring fishing opportunities like we’ve been afforded should give you the drive. It’s the start of pre-spawn and migrating largemouths are very predictable: They utilize the same pre-spawn lake and pond regions annually and will be on their migration routes toward spawning sites.

The first members of the population to invade the shallows are males. I classify them as “scouts” exploring the shallows, seeking suitable habitats and preparing for the presence of females that could be up to a month later. Males will group together in high vulnerability, feeding recklessly for several days where they’ll be highly accessible.

Unlike males, females stage and hold in deeper water until spawning time, unless compelled to slide up shallower to feed. They will still be at accessible depths, however.

Lake locations that conduct heat produce early-season bass fishing success. The areas that warm quickest are determined by underwater structure and the lake’s geography. Typically, shallow muddy bays with exposure to the southern skies, and have inflows, warm the fastest.

By boat, drainage lakes are my preferred destinations. The fertile backwater systems, marshes, side channels and thoroughfares of large lake chains lead hungry largemouths to an awakening oasis of underwater life. While most of the lake could still be ice-covered or recently opened with 40-degree water, its bays and backwaters could be up to 10 degrees warmer and an aquarium full of life.

Meanwhile, smaller lakes (300 acres or less) are excellent, too. Shallow, natural eutrophic lakes are exceptionally fertile, shallow and heavily vegetated. Seldom deeper than 10 to 15 feet, they are bowl-shaped and often lack well-defined structure. They tend to have silted muddy bottoms and may feature boggy and heavily submerged wooded shorelines and tannic stained water. Often, there is no shortage of emergent and submergent vegetation. Their darker waters warm exceptionally fast.

March Madness hot spots can be revisited annually. One day, you might catch 30 or 40 and think you’ve fished it out. The next afternoon, it could be a dozen more. They get replenished daily by additional fish, and the locations can produce this way for a few more weeks.

The situation only changes if there is a drastic increase or decrease in water temperature and water levels. Detrimental cold fronts, leading fish into retreating away from the shallows and abandoning thoughts of pre-spawn feeding, is “March Sadness.”

March hooksets are slam dunks

Feeding is the major motivation for largemouths, where they are more opportunistic than usual. Metabolism and activity level increases as water temperature rises. Their feeding is among the most aggressive of the entire year.

When it comes to catching March Madness largemouths, aggressive, vibration-emitting horizontal presentations are slam dunks. Lure selection is simple.

Ripping and cranking 3/8- and 1/2-ounce Z-Man Freedom Chatterbaits and Jack Hammers through the shallows, rigged with 5-inch paddletails and 4-inch Bizz Baits Killer Craws, triggers exhilarating strikes.

Burning lipless crankbaits through shallow bays and parallel across lake and pond shorelines entices aggressive, reactionary strikes. This is the best cold-water, early-season tactic. The original Rat-L-Trap and Strike King Red Eye Shad are top choices. When the bite is hot, it could be the only bait you’ll throw all afternoon. The Sexy Shad was all I threw the year prior.

These two strategies are accomplished with my St. Croix Mojo Bass Glass Rip-N-Chatter (MGC72HM) paired with 7:3.1 high-speed Quantum PT reel. Line choice varies by cover type, but I settle for either 15-pound fluorocarbon or 20-pound Cortland Master Braid.

While rip-and-burn strategies wake up largemouths, more streamlined, horizontal presentations could be favored instead. Swim jigs, such as Freedom Tackle Corp’s FT Series swim jig, are designed to be cast and retrieved high in the water column. Lighter in weight, with head a design to cut through the water, they can be swum through vegetation, wood and other shallow junk. The swim jig’s combination of density, compact size, and high hooking percentage caters to being a swimming presentation and scores huge numbers of bass.

Trailers are the business end of a swim jig, and they play a more important role than the jig itself. They enhance the versatility of swim jigs and can be used to bulk a presentation to resemble larger prey, improve its streamlined swimming, or to slow the fall rate. Trailers are what ultimately trigger strikes.

Often, the biggest largemouths will be triggered by a larger, bulkier trailer. If favoring steady retrieves, I use big 5-inch paddletails that generate a wide wobble and tail kick. If fish are responding to slow and erratic lift-and-drop retrieves, I’ll pair the jig with a 4-inch craw or creature such as a Bizz Baits Bizz Bug and Cutter Craw, or Missile Baits D-Bomb.

My 3/8- and 1/2-ounce swim jig with trailer concoctions are fished with the Mojo Bass Dock Sniper (MJC70HF) and Legend Tournament Bass Dock Sniper (LBC70HF). Each reel is spooled with 20-pound Cortland Master Braid.

Subtler, more compact presentations like swimming a 3-inch Storm WildEye Shiner scores giants for me every spring. Downsized swimbaits represent a new, overlooked way of catching big largemouths. It’s also a potent presentation that has not yet been exploited by the masses. They are ideal early-spring alternatives when more seasonal power fishing techniques fail, and lipless crankbaits are prone to condition fish.

Big buckets

Look for the warmest water available, and be prepared to fish ponds and other early-season locations immediately after ice retreats from them. There is nothing quite like the action and anticipation associated with the early pre-spawn period. It is a short window, and entirely climate-dependent—unfortunately. Stable conditions prolong it.

Gain more outdoor knowledge from the pages of MidWest Outdoors, available by subscribing on our website.