Memorial Day weekend means different things to different anglers. For bass fishermen on the Great Lakes, it marks one of the most dynamic, frustrating, and rewarding stretches of the season. You can launch two boats on two different lakes the same morning and find completely different situations. One body of water is still pre-spawn. The other is deep in it. Fish are feeding hard, staging, moving shallow, or locked on beds. Sometimes all of the above, on the same lake, the same day.
You need to be ready for both.
Here is what I am seeing on the water this time of year, and the baits I trust to cover it.
Pre-Spawn: Fish Are Eating
Pre-spawn bass are feeding fish. They are putting on weight before the spawn, moving toward structure, and reacting to bait. This is the window a lot of tournament anglers live for, and for good reason. You can catch big fish fast if you are throwing the right presentation.
NX3 KT Swim Jig — This is my go-to pre-spawn swim jig. The small-profile silicone skirt matches what the baitfish actually look like this time of year, not an oversized approximation of it. When the fish are keyed on shad or perch fry in the shallows, a bait that looks right at that size gets bit. Fish it on a steady retrieve through and around emerging weed edges.
Best Damn A-Rig Jig (Alabama Rig) — Pre-spawn bass are eating. The A-rig gives them something they cannot ignore: a whole school of bait in one presentation. These fish are not picky, they are hungry. If you want to put a kicker in the livewell, this is the setup to do it.
Micro X Bladed Jig — The Micro X Blade is a direct connect bladed jig in a smaller profile. Pre-spawn fish looking for a reaction strike will run this thing down. The flash, the vibration, and the compact size check every box for this pattern. Burn it, slow roll it, let it fall on a slack line. Any of those can be the trigger depending on the day.
Spawning Fish: Slow Down and Pick Them Apart
On some lakes right now, the fish are on beds. That is a different game. You are not triggering a feeding response, you are triggering a defensive one. Patience and precision matter more than speed.
Micro Rocker 38 Flip — The Rocker 38 was built for this. It stands up on the bottom, sits right in front of a bedded fish, and stays there. Pair it with the Monkey Chunk trailer and you have something that looks like a threat to a guarding bass. Work it slow. Let it sit. The bite will come.
PowerLock — The PowerLock is as versatile as any bait in the bag. Pre-spawn, rig it with a soft plastic swimbait and fish it like a big meal heading through the strike zone. Spawning fish, switch to a craw-style trailer and fish it on the bed. One bait, two completely different applications, both of them effective.
A Note on Reading the Water
The mistake a lot of anglers make this time of year is committing to one pattern before they have done the work to find out what the fish are actually doing. The water temperature will tell you a lot. Mid-50s to low 60s, you are pre-spawn. Low-to-mid 60s and above, the fish may be staging or already on beds.
Pay attention. Adjust. The fish are not going to adjust for you.
Every bait mentioned above is hand-tied and hand-finished here in Michigan. I make every one of them myself. When an ounce counts, I want to know exactly what went into it.