Another place to look for warmer water is up the creeks or rivers. Warmer rains will bring off-colored water and provide an excellent feeding opportunity for bass. The rivers are also generally shallower and warm up quicker than the main lake.
The bass will look for warmer water because of the tendency for their prey to become more active in that water. Crawfish and minnows will look for forage, and frogs and other spring amphibians will begin to move around.
There is probably no bad place to fish during the spring, but I always tend to look for broken rock or pea gravel banks with stumps, bushes or logs.
If the water is slightly off-colored, a spinnerbait or a crankbait works well. Any time you pass by a log, tree, bush or other structure in the water, it is always a good idea to throw a jig or other soft plastic bait around it two or three times.
This is not a time for light line. Now is the time to use that 15-, 17-, 20- and 25-pound test line, especially if the water has any color to it. If the water is fairly clear, downsize to the 12- or 14-pound test fluorocarbon line.
If the fish have moved to thick cover such as brush piles, fallen trees or other heavy cover, then by necessity you are going to have to upgrade your line size in order to bring the fish out of that cover. (Seventeen-pound test is a good place to start.)
There are some fishermen who have begun to use various sizes of braided line. The new technologies have made these lines thinner and more durable, and they can be an excellent choice in many situations.
The longer hours of daylight and the warming water temperatures are one sign of spring. Another sign is the fluctuation in both water temperature and air temperature that often occurs when a warm, sunny day gives way to a front that drops the air temperature 20 degrees and the water temperature 5 to 8 degrees and puts a cold wind across the lake.
Don't let the weather conditions discourage you. After all, this is Kentucky, and in March and April the weather can change from day to day, but as spring progresses the fishing will get better.
So go as often as you can, catch a bunch, keep what you need and put the rest back for tomorrow. And be sure to wear those life jackets when you are on the water.
