I've had a couple of anglers ask me this question. The answer is...
By Jim Bolton
Is April a good month for bass fishing? I've had a couple of anglers ask me this question.
Well, you bet it is. The water warms up. It is also spawning season and Mr. Largemouth Bass is very active.
I caught two of my biggest bass I caught in April. A 5 1/2 and a 5 1/4 pounders. Both were caught on the west side of Union Lake just above Second Island where Little Mill Stream empties into Union Lake.
Both were caught on a quarter ounce, frog colored "Hula Popper." I caught another 5 pounder up in the "Gate Hole" and another big one, a 6 pound 2 ounce, trolling an orange and black "Flat Fish" along the grass on the east side of Union Lake just below the Canoe Club.
I fished for bass all year and caught another 6 pounder in every November on a quarter ounce, red and white "Jitterbug" behind First Island.
But April was still the most active month,
Along with the bass activity, you will also run into some nice size "pickeral."
For pickeral and nice size crappies (calico bass) we use to troll and cast night crawlers. (From our worm pile in the back yard.)
Two other hot spots for pickeral were Cumberland Pond and Menantico Stream and Pond where you might hook into anything from stripers, bass, pickeral, crappie and always some perch are biting.
One thing I forgot to mention when fishing in Union Lake. We would have our own contest where you could only use one lure. You had to state what lure you were going to use and stick with it all day.
Mine usually was my quarter ounce frog colored "Hula Popper" or orange and black "Flat Fish."
Others used "Phillips Injured Minnow", Arbagast "Jitterbug", Heddon "River Run Spook" and "Burke Rubber Worm."
Keep your fingers crossed for some good April weather.
Jim Bolton is the outdoors columnist for the South Jersey Times. He can be reached at 856-313-9347 or 22 Arbutus Ave., Millville, NJ 08332.