April is the month of broken patterns on southern bass lakes. Pre-spawn, spawn and post-spawn fish can overlap inside a single bay, and most anglers cover water too randomly to capitalise on any of them. On his latest YouTube breakdown, veteran tutor Flukemaster argued that five baits will fish every scenario a southern US bass angler is likely to encounter through the month — and those are the only five he has tied on.
"April can be one of the best months to catch the biggest bass of your life," he said. "But to be honest with you, most anglers are fishing way too randomly this time of the year. If you're not matching the bait to what the bass are doing at that point in time, you're missing out."
The first bait is a spinnerbait. Flukemaster pairs a bigger-bladed version for slower presentations with a smaller blade when he needs to move quickly. He targets wind-blown banks and wind-blown points, parallel-casting along the bank and letting incoming weather do the work. "I parallel that bank and I throw as close to the shoreline as I can," he said. "And the bass just destroy it."
The second is a ChatterBait. Flukemaster fishes it around grass — either lakes with plenty of submerged cover or clumpy grass flats where bass stage before bedding. He rotates two colours: a bluegill-coloured Z-Man Jackhammer paired with a Chatter Shad trailer, and a shad-coloured version in white or chartreuse. He also rates Z-Man's newer, cheaper Evo model. "I'll rotate through until the bass tell me what they want," he said.
When the bass will not move far from cover — typically during a post-front period or in dirtier water — Flukemaster switches to a Texas-rigged creature bait. His pick is the Strike King Rage Bug on a 3/8-ounce pegged weight, flipped into shallow cover, holes in grass, stumps and laydowns. He credits a simple pre-spawn tweak that he has been fishing for years: flipping into cover, letting the bait sink, then shaking it after a five-second pause.
"Somewhere between four and six seconds is when they're either going to turn away or they're going to hit it," he said. "That's when I shake it and it causes them to just to basically reaction strike without moving very far. Do that and you're going to catch more fish this time of the year on a Texas rig."
Next is a lipless crankbait. Flukemaster carries a Strike King Red Eye Shad — which he rates for yo-yoing off the bottom because it flutters rather than spiralling — and a Spro Ruku Shad for fast, ripping retrieves. Colour is a seasonal trigger. "Red is key early," he said. "The earlier you can throw red, the better. But once they start to spawn and start to spawn hard, I change it to a bluegill colour. That is key with a lipless crankbait."
Finally, the wacky-rigged Senko. Flukemaster admits he dislikes fishing it — "I would rather slam my hand in a car door than fish this thing," he joked — but concedes it is unmatched when bass are on beds or guarding fry. His trick is aggressive: cast into the shallows, jerk it out fast, and let the fish tell him where they are before slowing down. Two Senko colours handle almost every situation. "Green pumpkin and black and blue," he said. "No need to go anywhere else, just fish one or the other and figure out what the bass want."
His closing summary turned the kit into a decision tree. Spinnerbait on windy days; ChatterBait for covering grass; creature bait when bass will not leave cover; lipless crankbait for pre-spawn; Senko for bed and fry-guarding fish. "April isn't about a magic bait," he said. "It's about matching what the fish are doing and what the conditions are in front of you."
