Bass aren't the only piscine critters drawn to a lake's nether reaches. Panfish answer the call as well, followed by muskies and pike. Although it will be a couple of months before these fish can find ideal habitat parameters in any lake, native intelligence tells them to seek the best available options. As a result, fish tend to congregate in fairly small areas.

A fallen tree that might produce only a fish or two once waters heat up may be the temporary home for 20 or more bucketmouths as waters first begin to warm. These fish will yield to the primal urge of competition when the forage base -- or something that resembles the forage base -- comes within the strike zone.

This is one reason that bass will attack a slow-rolled spinnerbait or Rat-L-Trap on a sunny afternoon when water temperatures are between 43 and 48 degrees. Why aren't they aggressive in the morning or when temps warm beyond 50 degrees? Keep metabolism and the predator/prey relationships in mind. Fish don't need to feed as often in cold water. A bass that's been watching last season's young-of-the-year bluegills swim by a foot away all morning will receive enough impetus to eat when the afternoon sun raises water temperatures just a couple of degrees, enhancing fish metabolism.

In very cold water, slowed metabolism also dulls survival responses. After ice-out, fish movement is largely controlled by the drive to locate the warmest water available. When water temperatures warm up closer to a cold-blooded species' "functional" range, the survival index is ramped up a couple of notches. A slower presentation afforded by a jig-'n'-pig or suspending stickbait like a Lucky Craft Pointer fished close to cover is what it takes to provoke a response.

Not all water warms up at the same rate, especially in larger, deeper clear lakes. As a result, when the Rat-L-Trap and spinnerbait pattern shuts down in northern and western shallow bays, you may still be able to trigger a bite with a Rat-L-Trap for a day or two over similar habitat parameters on the south side, where water temperatures are just moving into the 43- to 48-degree range.

You can find continued success near the points of the same northern bays where you had such lip-rippin' fun on spinnerbaits by slowing it down and accurately casting around cover with a stickbait or slow-falling plastic with a relatively short bait profile once the temperature here warms out of the 43-48 degree aggressive bite window.

When you've found a concentration of fish in this aggressive attitude, lure color becomes secondary to bait profile. Still, lure color can certainly make a difference. On clear lakes, a blue/chrome or black/chrome lipless vibrating crankbait usually works better than a fire-tiger pattern, which will prove successful on stained waters. Years of experience fishing this pattern have shown me that red, orange and crawdad-colored 'Traps and spinnerbaits work better than any other hues, regardless of water clarity.