Weather patterns are also a consideration. Sunny days are often best, though jerkbaits will produce on cloudy days following a day or two of sunny, warming weather. The sun's presence also allows you to better see submerged objects like logs, rocks and emerging weeds. These are objects that are likely to provide cover for bass foraging on a flat.

Since they cover the water quicker than a jig-type offering, suspending jerkbaits make good search lures. Granted, you don't work them with the same machine-gun approach you might three months from now, but in the grand scheme of things, they are efficient tools given the time of year.

You need to match the running depth of your jerkbait to the depth of the area you are fishing. Short-lipped baits will dive to a depth of around 3 feet, while longer-billed deep divers get down to at least 5 feet, depending on the specific model. I've found the most productive flats to be ones in the 3- to 5-foot range, so typically I opt for a shallow-running lure. You want the lure to run at a depth a bit higher than where you expect the fish to be holding, so they can look up, see the lure's action, and react to it.

Given the "spread out" nature of an extensive feeding flat, it's common to contact "a fish here, a fish there," as you work it. If there is a slight breeze blowing across the flat, I like to begin on the upwind end, allowing the breeze to silently push the boat over the structure. Use the trolling motor to make the necessary corrections to keep the course on line. If no wind is present, use the trolling motor to move along the flat. In strong winds that push the boat too fast, working into the wind allows you to work the water without blowing over it too quickly.

Lengthy casts are the norm for this type of fishing. After the lure's splashdown, engage the reel and wind the bait a few feet to get it down to its running depth. Then give it a short jerk, followed by a pause. Often the pause is the most important component of the deal, as this is when most strikes occur. Bass will hit a jerkbait 30 seconds after you kill it, and while pausing it this long is on the extreme end of things, it's important not to twitch it too soon. Give the bass an opportunity to eye up the lure and react to it. Continue the twitch-pause retrieve back to the boat, paying close attention to the cadence, so you can repeat it once the bass have told you what they like.

Small features on a flat will hold bass. Good polarized sunglasses allow you to see rocks, newly forming weed patches, submerged logs, all high-percentage places fish use as cover. Specifically target these areas as you move along.

EARLY-SEASON JERKBAITS ON RIVERS
As with lakes, river bass (usually smallmouths) begin feeding long before most folks realize it. Jerkbaits figure in strongly in early spring patterns.

In general, when the water jumps up into the low 40s, river smallmouth bass will move to the edges of the deep, slow wintering holes that held them over the past few months. These "edge" bass will take a variety of presentations, jerkbaits included.