“For Bass on Home Lakes, Fish Mister Twister Plastics with Michael Andres”

Part 5: Fishing Super Lizards in the Spring

Editor’s Note: Michael Andres of Green Bay, Wisconsin, an avid bass fisherman, fishes the waters near his home, like most bass fishermen these days, because of higher gas prices. Fishing close to home often will produce more big bass than major reservoirs because smaller waters receive less fishing pressure. Too, you can fish them more intensely and learn where to find bass in them during all seasons. This week, Andres will tell us the techniques he’s developed that produce bass in both small and big waters.

Question: Mike, you mentioned that you only fish the Super Lizard in the spring. How do you fish the Super Lizard in the spring?

Andres: At that time of year, the bass are finicky and usually want a very-subtle presentation. So, when I’m fishing for bass during the bedding season, I rig the Super Lizard Texas style with either the lightest lead I can find or no lead. Most of the time in the waters in my region, you can’t see the fish on the bed. So, I cast the Super Lizard out to bedding areas and let the bait swim down toward the bottom with just the weight of the hook pulling the bait down. In the spring, when the bass are in extremely-shallow water and bedding, the Super Lizard is a deadly tool. I like black-and-watermelon seed with red flake. When I’m fishing for bedding bass, darker colors seem to outproduce the lighter colors in the waters I fish. Another productive color is black-with-blue flake and a blue tail.

Question: What size line do you fish when you fish the Super Lizard?

Andres: Because the bass are spooky at this time of year, I’ll generally prefer to fish 8- to 10-pound-test line. If I’m fishing heavy cover or thick grass, I may move up to 14-pound-test line. I prefer to be able to see the bass to which I’m casting, but sometimes I can’t see the bass. So, I cast the lizard out to the places where I expect the bass to be bedding and let the lizard do its job.