Spring Success

Here in Manitoba & Northwest Ontario I think we have skipped Spring. A few weeks ago our local lakes were frozen and snow still covered the ground...now the temperatures have increased dramatically. It went from below zero to highs of 30 in a matter of a few short weeks. Needless to say fishing has been increasingly better, many species are up stacked up shallow right now and fairly easy to locate. There is one bait I never go fishing without, and that's the Rapala XRap Jerkbait. Over the past three weekends I've caught Largemouth, Smallmouth, Pike and Walleye on the XRap in my favorite colors: Albino Shiner and Mossback Shiner. Soft plastics (worms, minnows, twister tails) on light jigs work great this time of year as well. We noticed last weekend that the Crappie have moved into the shallows so we switched to a small soft plastic minnow on a tiny jig and had some fun, they were very aggressive and did not hesitiate to take the bait. I had some rods still rigged up from Bass fishing on Lake Okeechobee this past winter and instead of changing everything I left everything I had tied up. I thought the gear I used would be too heavy for a light spring presentation here but I am more than impressed with versatility of the Rapala RType Rods. One in particular I've been using quite a bit is the RType Spinning 7'1" 1pc Med-Hvy Fast Action Rod paired with a Shift spinning reel. This rod has power to control the fish and the tip is soft enough to still feel a light bite, I caught a Crappie on it this past weekend! Spring is my favorite time of year to get outside and spend quality time in the outdoors with friends and family. Tournament season is approaching in full force and it is nice to be able to spend time relaxing before they start. From July to October I participate in a mix of Bass & Walleye tournaments in Manitoba and NW Ontario and I can't wait, fishing in tournaments under pressure is one of the best learning experiences you can have, the more you fish the more you learn and I can't wait to get back out on the water and put all the practice to the test!