I know I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating: March is the best month in South Carolina if you’re trying to catch a big bass. It’s the big-fish month. If you’ve had your boat in storage for the winter, and even if January and February have been cold, March is definitely the time to get out and get on the water.
Our weather can be very unpredictable, from really cold to almost summer-like, but I don’t think bass carry a calendar around in their pockets. I think the length of the daylight hours, the moon phase or maybe just the change in seasons — it gets those bigger fish to be more aggressive and start to fatten up for the spawn. You won’t get the same kind of chance to catch a big fish in the summer or the dog-days or the winter. Your odds of catching a trophy fish are not nearly as good as they are in March.
Now, how you go about it does depend on the weather. The water temperature in our lakes can be anywhere from the low to mid-50s up to the upper 60s. And whether or not we’ve had a lot of rain in February and early March can make a difference in how you fish, because it can change what the dominant cover is in the lake and it can change the water clarity so much.
If the water temperature is still in the 50s, two great baits to fish in March are a Buckeye mop jig and a No. 7 Shad Rap.
A jig is just a great big-fish bait; that’s all there is to it. In March, if I’m really targeting big fish, I’m going to fish a larger bait, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a bigger jig. There’s not a lot of difference between a 3/8ths- and ½-ounce jig — maybe just a little bit more lead and a bigger hook. You give your bait a bigger profile by using a larger trailer. Gary Yamamoto makes a Flappin Hawg and a Flappin Hawg 2; one bait is 3½ inches long and the other is 4½ inches long. That’s what can really change the profile of your jig.
A Shad Rap has a tight wobble, and that’s very effective in water that’s still a little bit cold. If the water temperature gets into the 60s, it seems like bass like baits with a wider wobble, because they make more noise under the water, but a Shad Rap is still a great crankbait to start with.
A third bait I like to fish in March is a big lizard, usually on a Carolina rig. The reason is, in March, you’re going to be setting up on points that have a little more contour. You can be sitting in 20 feet of water and be 400 yards off the bank, or you can be sitting in 20 feet of water and be two casts off the bank — the latter is the situation you want to be in. I like to fish a big lizard on a Carolina rig with a big weight because you can drag it down that contour and keep the bait on the bottom easier than you can using a Texas rig, and it’s a lot easier for some people to fish a Carolina rig.
I’ve caught some of my biggest bass on a 4-inch French Fry, but I play the odds and use bigger baits when I’m trying to catch a big fish. These big females, they don’t want to go to McDonalds three times and get a Quarter Pounder every time. They’d rather get one 18-ounce ribeye. That’s why I use larger baits this time of year.
When I head out in March, I usually start on the main lake and work my way back in a creek until I find ’em. You can go up or down the lake or fish at mid-lake; I think that’s a matter of personal preference. I don’t think you need to get locked in to only fishing clear water or only fishing stained water.
What I’m looking for is the dominant cover. On some lakes, that’s vegetation; on some it’s boat docks or standing timber, and if we’ve had a lot of rain, it can be willow bushes — but that can vary from year to year. Some springs, you find willow bushes with four or five feet of water on them, and the next spring, they may be high and dry on the bank.
The other thing is, in March, there’s always an early morning bite, a daylight bite. I think all fish and wildlife move around and feed at daylight, but in March, the water temperature can rise as much as five degrees during the day, so don’t think you can’t catch a really big fish at noon or 2 p.m. If the water warms up, those fish can move up into shallow water, to that warmer water, and you might have as good a shot at catching one then as at first light.
This is a lot to think about, but one thing is simple. You need to get on the lake this month. If you don’t go, you’re not going to catch her.
Davy Hite, a 44-year-old native of Saluda who lives in Ninety Six, was BASS Angler of the Year in 1997 and 2002, and he has won the 1999 Bassmasters Classic and the 1998 FLW Tour Championship. He is sponsored by Advance Land & Timber, Triton boats, Evinrude outboards, All-Star rods, Pfleuger reels, Berkley Trilene, Yamamoto Baits, Owner hooks, Humminbird depthfinders and Solar Bat sunglasses.
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