For many, readying bass gear at spring's beginning is as traditional as some holidays. Talk about smallmouth often begins in coffee shops around the first of March with rumors of someone who knew someone who already caught the first bass of the year. During this time, water temperatures in the Snake River usually hover somewhere in the high 30-degree mark. Within a few weeks, as spring progresses into sunny days, and water temperature increases into the middle 40s, rumors become reality. Early bass fishing turns on and off like some light-switches.
Effective baits range from long-tail rubber style to hard plastic plugs and marabou jigs.
Each lure has its intended use and proper retrieval speed. Other factors enter-in such as line diameter, rod sensitivity and reel ratio speed. This enables the angler to do their own variations of retrieval speed. For instance, a hard plastic bait imitating a downstream migrating steelhead or salmon smolt needs to have a rapid retrieve. This is how the smolts swim, fast, while darting about.