Up here, the seasons can change in a flash and weather patterns evolve quickly. As lake surface temperatures slightly warm, bass instinctively sense these changes and go on the move.

  We’re well past ice-out, and by now anglers have greater open water fishing opportunities presenting themselves. Ponds, flowages, drainage lakes, backwaters, swamps, rivers, and channels would be such places to start looking at.

  Spring offers early season largemouth opportunities and a bevy of shallow water action. Largemouths awaken quickly from their winter dormancies to feed heavily in preparation for their impending spawn. At fisheries they’ve been dialed in, their whereabouts and behavioral tendencies can be predictable. April and May will be the best two months to try

  Opportunistic predators with voracious appetites, largemouth bass will eat whatever living creatures swim and slither atop matted weeds or across the lake’s surface. With our lakes gaining in weed cover and plant life, this spells success for anglers pursuing largemouths with reptile and amphibian baits.

  Slop. Junkweed. Floating weed mats. Pad fields. Several northern largemouth waters contain these plant life overgrowths. As the summer months proceed on, plant species sprout and flourish, fed by daily sunshine and nutrients seeping into the system. Through photosynthesis, they continue to grow as summer progresses.

  Rise and shine! Multiple alarms sound off, prompting me to get out of bed. It’s 3am, and pitch-black outside. I sleep-walk into the kitchen, and fire up the coffee pot. To wake up and get my day started, I’ll need more than just a few copious cups of high-caffeinated coffee.