Now that we have entered April month, the spring season is finally emerging. Ice out is occurring slower than normal currently, but once it goes out it’s game on for smallmouths.   These last few springs, we’ve made it very apparent how ice-out fishing can be fantastic for smallmouths. One no longer should be waiting until several weeks after for water temperatures to warm to a personally ideal range, or for fish to finally move into the shallows. Largemouths are already shallow, and feed much earlier than you might imagine, and smallmouths on the other hand are en route on their deep structural migrations to staging locations where they can heavily concentrate. Whether fishing lakes or rivers, the vulnerability level of bass in April month is dangerously high. Ice melt varies annually, and around here it typically goes out between the second to fourth weeks of April. Some years, even later in the first days of May, potentially creating a delayed spring and spawning year. Whether ice out goes quickly or slowly, be confident that largemouths will already be active and aggressive in the warming shallows. Smallmouths will be catchable, though migrating