By Rod Hunter

If you are waiting for the best month for tangling with northeast Florida largemouths, wait no longer. It doesn't get any better than April.

Savvy anglers consider April to be their reward for suffering through the often-tempestuous months of December through March. With the major killer cold fronts past, waters warming, the weather stabilizing and the majority of the bass in and around shallow cover, this is as close to bassin' nirvana as you get!

This month sees the spawn winding down, as some fish finish up while others are already done. For those who enjoy sight-fishing for bedding bass, there are some fish available. If you would rather have some fast-paced blade-bait action in shallow vegetation, that's on tap also. Keep your topwater lures handy, and don't forget the flipping rods, because there are times and places where they also are the best choice.

Here are three top spots in northeast Florida to get in on that shallow-water action this month.

Offshore structure is very limited, but in April anglers don't need it. This month, you need to think shallow.

Ron Parker looks for the big bass in shallow cover on Lake George at this time of year. Photo by Rod Hunter

"There is a sandbar that rings most of the lake and sits off the actual shoreline," says veteran angler Ron Parker, who spent many years guiding on the lake. "That is where most of the eelgrass is, and that's where anglers want to concentrate on this month. Eelgrass is the key to bass in April on this lake."

The outer edge of the grass is the deepest water associated with the vegetation. The grass ends where the main lake begins. Moving up onto the bar brings you to shallower and thicker grass. Heading farther shoreward, anglers find the backside of the bar where the water deepens slightly, the grass ends, and scattered patches of dollar bonnets appear. The entire grassbed may only be a few hundred yards wide, but that is where a significant percentage of the lake's bass are in April.

If you are looking for bedding bass, some of which are still spawning this month, move to the inside edge of the grass where it joins the dollar bonnets. That grass/dollar bonnet line is so well defined that savvy anglers just put their trolling motor down and ease slowly along it in the search for bedding fish. Once a bed is found, standard sight-fishing techniques with tube lures and Texas-rigged plastic worms in June bug and pumpkinseed, or combinations of black-and-blue on darker days, produce best. This is an excellent tactic for the afternoon fishing.

For those who like to get up early, there is an even better bet.

"Some of the fastest action on this lake happens when the bass finish spawning and start feeding on shad," Parker notes. "They start to do that as soon as the spawn winds down in early to mid-April, which normally coincides with the young-of-the-year shad showing up. It's not uncommon to move into an active area and catch 20 to 30 bass in the first couple hours of the morning."

The key area where shad and bass meet is the outer edge of the grassbeds on the deepwater side of the sandbar - especially on points of grass and in areas where wind and current sweep shad to the grass. Some of the traditionally productive areas include Rocky Point, the southeast corner of Drayton Island, Willow Point, Lisk Point, Nine Mile Point, the east side of Hogg Island, and anywhere along the east or west shoreline where eelgrass extends out toward the main-lake waters.

Parker's decision on where to fish hinges on baitfish.

"Look for those grassbeds that have shad," he advises. "And then look to see if any bass are busting them. If I just see good cover but quiet water, I'll get back on the motor and keep looking. Bass will be busting shad somewhere on that lake on any given morning and I will take the time needed to find those spots."

A little "looking" will go a long way in improving your "catching," because once you find bass and shad together, you are into a bunch of fish instead of just a few stragglers.

Spinnerbaits are top choices here, and most lake regulars prefer a 1/4- or 3/8-ounce tandem spinner with a small nickel Colorado blade in front and a gold rear blade, combined with a white skirt. If the water is stained, parker prefers a No. 4 Colorado on the rear, and shifts to a willowleaf in the same size in clearer waters. If the light levels are dim, however, a 1/2-ounce white single-bladed buzzbait often draws larger fish, albeit fewer strikes.

Shad-sized noisy prop or popping topwater plugs can often be deadly in scattered grass, while soft-plastic jerkbaits in the 4- to 5-inch range can often be the ticket when bass are feeding in thicker grass.

The morning "shad feed" can last until 11 a.m. on some days, and during April it normally lasts until at least 10 a.m. Once that is over, Parker turns to another pattern.

"There is a lot of dead wood - stumps and laydown logs - on the inside edge of the eelgrass bar in 2 to 3 feet of water," he explains. "And that will hold fish that are not actually on a bed. The mid-day is the best time to fish the wood, and the fish are not real active. I think they go there after the morning feed, stick their nose up to the wood, and just wait out the midday hours. But if you work each piece of wood slowly with a spinnerbait or a Texas-rigged plastic worm, you can have a ball!

"I have gone to the wood at noon and caught 25 bass by 3 p.m. A lot of anglers think that the bass they were catching in the morning either moved to deeper water or went on the spawning beds at midday. Some undoubtedly do. But a lot of them go to that wood and they can be caught right in the middle of the brightest day," Parker concluded.