Time To Go on Cedar Valley Saver Inc.

The water in the Cedar River has come down and cleaned up making the fishing great - some times!

Just like any spring there are times when the action is seemingly non-stop and then the next day you struggle to get a bite. Already this spring there has been one walleye over 10 pounds and two others over 7 pounds caught out of the Cedar River in both Cedar Falls and Waterloo. Scads of smaller walleyes and lots of smallmouth bass are also getting caught all up and down the river.

The walleyes are biting several lures with the top producers being Two Eyed Wang Bangers, 4 inch ring worms and 3 1/2 inch paddle tail worms. Brandon Goodrich of Waterloo is pictured with his 10.5 pound walleye caught a couple of weeks ago out of the Cedar River in Waterloo on a Two Eyed Wang Banger. Brandon told me that casting a Two Eye out and “popping” it off the bottom all the way back in has been a great bait for him for several years on both the Cedar and Mississippi Rivers. This trophy was caught on the Mississippi from his boat. Great fish Brandon. Thank you for the picture and information!

The walleye fishing has been great for several weeks now but will slow down which means it is time to go bass fishing. So many lures where do we start? Loud, fast and full of hooks, that's my kind of lure!

Lipless crankbaits. Even though these baits are a fast moving, aggressive lure, they are one of the first moving baits you should pick up in the spring and the last ones to put down in the fall. In fact the cooler water of the spring and fall are the best conditions for the numbers and size of bass caught on lipless crankbaits.

Cast them out and crank them in - that's about it, right? NOT! These rattling, vibrating baits don't take any special techniques to use them properly, but there are some things that you can do to up your number of strikes. Making multiple casts to the same spot will often trigger extra bites. Whether you are fishing a point, log jam or even just a single log, make several cast to the same spot. The first cast or two will get the bass's attention and by the third or forth cast its curiosity will get the best of it then the fight is on.

Mixing up your cast retrieve is another trick that can be very effective. Reel a few casts in fast then reel a few slow and every once in a while stop the bait just for a second. This will often trigger a reluctant bass into biting.

Another retrieve that has worked for me is what I call the rip and stop. Use the rod to jerk the lure very fast about two feet then reel up the slack line and rip it again.

Whatever retrieve you are using the best fish catching tip that I can give you is at the end of every cast - just before you lift the lure out of the water to make another cast - stop the lure for just a second. Many times fish will follow the bait and strike at it as you are pulling it out of the water. This is a good habit to get into with every lure you throw but seems to be even more effective with faster moving baits like lipless crankbaits.

There are a lot of different brands, shapes, sizes and colors of lipless crankbaits ranging in price from $1.99 to $15.00 and in size from 1/8 ounce to 1 ounce. You should experiment to find out which sizes and shapes work best for you. The brand that I prefer is Cordell. Their lipless crankbait is called the “Super Spot” and thankfully it's one of the lesser-priced brands. As far as size, the ½ ounce model is the most common and works great in most all situations. Color choice can be narrowed down to the top four - gold, chrome, chartreuse and white.

I think a lot of people avoid lipless crankbaits because they take one look at them and think they will be snagged up every cast, but these baits are surprisingly snag resistant. These lures are designed to go through the water with their nose down and tail up so that the body of the lure comes in contact with any objects first and protects the hooks from many potential snags. If you are fishing in shallow water and are snagging often, then simple speed up your retrieve and stop the bait less. No matter where you are fishing as long as the water hasn't turned to ice it's a good time to try a lipless crankbait. Until next time keep your lure wet!