For the first time in ten years, Brandon Palaniuk has found himself fishing around his home in Idaho during the spring months. During a typical year, he is thousands of miles away from his house while he travels and competes as a professional angler.
The unexpected downtime this spring has given him plenty of time to fish and put to use all of the things that he has learned in a decade as one of the world's best bass anglers. He's spent plenty of time on the water and he's found it to be both fun and full of fish catches.
"I've been looking at all of the positives with this break between tournaments and I've been having such a good time fishing places like my home lake, Lake Coeur d'Alene," he said. "It's a little different because I'm not practicing for a tournament or pre-practicing, I'm fishing freely and trying just to catch 'em."
Palaniuk has been relying on some typical pre-spawn baits to catch fish and they've all been working. Jerkbaits, shallow crankbaits, squarebills, and glide baits have all been putting fish in the boat for him.
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Shallow Cranking
The water levels on the lakes Palaniuk has been fishing are lower than usual and he says that is part of the reason shallow crankbaits have been his top producer.
"It's a unique year because the water is still really low and we haven't gotten a bunch of runoff yet. That's made the water low and clearer than it normally is in the spring," Palaniuk began. "The fish want to go shallow, but there is nothing for them to get on and they are just sitting and waiting on those transitions, the first breaks."
Because of this, he's been fishing the Rapala DT-4 and DT-6 often and it is working.
"Fishing them is a great way to cover water and both largemouth and smallmouth have been sitting in that four to six-foot range. The balsa in those two crankbaits has a great action for the spring because it is not super aggressive," said Palaniuk.
Besides the DT series, he has also been using the Rapala BX Brat, specifically the six-foot diver.
"It is still a balsa bait with the balsa action, but a plastic shell protects it. That bait is a unique crankbait and still gets to the perfect diving depth," said Palaniuk. "It has soft of a squarebill look with a wider front end, but it tapers towards the back with what I call 'sports car lines' instead of being rounded like a baitfish. It has been deadly around rock transitions and if you find any laydown or wood still in the water, it is almost a guarantee that you will catch one with it."
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Jerkbaits
Another typical bait for Palaniuk this time of year is the jerkbait and he says it has been working great.
"Since it is a lot clearer than normal, this year has been even better for a jerkbait," Palaniuk said. "Any time the water level is moving up or down, some of those fish tend to pull off the bank and suspend. That is where the jerkbait is so good."
He's been fishing the Rapala Shadow Rap Deep and focusing in that same depth range, just off of the first significant drop into deeper water.
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Glide Baits
Palaniuk is a huge fan of big baits and has his own signature series glide bait that was released last year. The Storm Arashi Glide is something that he worked on for years and the timing of the new bait's release is just about perfect.
"We are coming right into the prime glide bait season up here and the with the water being so clear this year, it is going to be a great year for big baits," he said. "Typically, when the water hits the upper 40's and low 50's, the fish start getting more active and willing to eat a big bait. Our Northern Strain bass get much more aggressive sooner in the year since they are used to living in a colder climate."
Palaniuk said he targets the same places that he will throw a crankbait or jerkbait, but the difference is what he is after with the glide bait.
"I fish the same areas, but use it when I am after the really big ones," he said.
This year has been unlike any other in the past ten years for Brandon Palaniuk. Instead of spending the spring months traveling the southeast and competing in tournaments, he is fishing the waters that started his love for fishing. He's been catching plenty of fish each time out with a handful of proven springtime techniques that will work no matter where you live.
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