January 2022

Pre-spawn Fishing with Jigs and Carolina Rigs

Mark Davis shares his favorite techniques to catch pre-spawn bass when they start moving up, but the water is still cold.

 

 

The first technique Mark Davis uses to catch pre-spawn bass is a Carolina rig. He prefers to use a three foot leader and a Strike King Game Hawg on his rig.

This setup is great when the water temperatures are in the 50-degree range until the spawn.

For success, fish this bait on points, humps, and many other places. Consider where the fish go to spawn. The fish want to go back into a protected area, to the top of a ridge or a big main lake flat. These fish are going to set up in specific staging areas just before they make that move to spawn.

Another technique that is a slow-moving lure for pre-spawn fishing is a football jig. Mark Davis uses a half ounce Tour Grade Football Jig paired up with a Strike King Rage Bug trailer. Remove the side appendages off the Rage Bug to fit half ounce jig. The green pumpkin craw jig with a blue craw trailer makes the perfect color combination.

Mark Davis fishes the football jig in same areas as the Carolina rig.