LARGEMOUTH BASS
Happy Postspawn! In most lakes and ponds, bass have completed their spawning period and moved into their postspawn stage. This means that the bass that were bedding are protecting their frye (babies) and the ones that aren't are now just roaming around like it's summer. The key to fishing this postspawn period is covering a lot of water. These fish are in different places, and their are different techniques to catching them. Using a weighted texas rig of any kind can catch the first category of postspawners. Bass in cover. A lot of bass tend to move into cover during the postspawn, and getting them to eat in this time is as simple as a weighted texas rig. The second category is bass in deep areas. A lot of the females who don't need to protect frye tend to flee to deeper areas. The most effective way of catching these fish are either a nice swim jig or a carolina rig. Either way, make sure to work your bait deep-to-shallow. Lastly, some bass start biting in the top of the water column in the postspawn, and the most effective way to catch these guys is a Rapala jerkbait. A rip-stop is a perfect way to get these guys to bite.
SUNFISH
One really fun thing about spring/summer is the sunfish bite. Stick a worm on a hook, and you've landed a fish in 2 minutes. Make sure to stick to small bobbers to show every bite. Another fun part is wherever they are, you can try a fly. It's really fun if you find a little school of them, seeing a sunny pounce on your fly. So stick to the two main basics for sunnies in the spring and summer.
STRIPED BASS
The schoolies have arrived! Don't worry, the bigger ones aren't far behind. If you're thinking of hopping on the striper bite, here are a few quick tips.
1. Stick to the basics. Schoolies aren't very picky, and they travel schools, so if one isn't interested, it is highly likely another one will be.
2. If you go big, get ready to go home. Big presentations aren't that appealing to schoolies. Wait till the big ones arrive to bring out your 12" plug.
3. Have fun. Schoolies are fun to catch, and if you catch one, chances are you're gonna catch more, so kick back relax, and catch some stripers.
CHAIN PICKEREL
Most of the same rules apply as they do for bass, but there are a couple of tricks you can still use to try and catch pickerel. Shiny blades on spinners and spinnerbaits can work any time of year, and also baits that move a lot. Since pickerel are ambush predators, when they see a lot of movement, they pounce.