Springtime for salamanders is a double-edge sword to say the least.
Spring weather brings forth the bass spawn which means two things for salamanders:
Plenty of fish eggs to prey on
Aggressive bass ready to defend their bed
It's a high risk, high reward situation for the slimy creatures which makes imitating their actions a great way for springtime anglers to catch bass.
A Little Bit About Salamanders
Salamanders are classified as amphibians since having both terrestrial and aquatic characteristics.
One interesting fact about salamanders is that many types are lungless and instead absorb oxygen through their skin, a process called cutaneous respiration.
As an adolescent and even up through adulthood a salamander will feed on various things including insects, worms, and during the right times of the year, fish eggs.
There are a bunch of different types of salamanders that can be found throughout various parts of the U.S.
Most salamanders are spread across the eastern parts of the country but some species can also be found along the west coast.
Common sightings of salamanders tend to be Eastern Newts and Spotted Salamanders.
Salamanders are not to be confused with skinks.
Skinks, such as the Blue Tailed Skink, is a lizard and classified as a reptile as opposed to an amphibian.
An easy way to differentiate a salamander from a lizard is whether the animal appears to have moist skin (salamander, left) or dry, scaly skin (lizard, right).
Salamander Imitations for Catching Bass
When it comes to catching bass in the spring, a salamander imitation is a good lure to start with.
Despite salamanders being the more water friendly creature when compared to lizards, the fishing industry has adopted and ran with the term "lizard" when referring to most salamander and lizard imitations.
Lizards typically have pointy tails whereas salamanders, and especially newts, will have flatter tails that work to their advantage when in the water.
Regardless of the name, most soft plastic fishing lures on the market showcase the flattened, ribbon tail look associated with salamanders to enhance the overall lure profile (action, vibration).
Thankfully, different rigging options have expanded the market for salamander imitations as well.
Ever since the Neko and Ned rigs came on scene, there have been smaller salamander imitations made available for an angler that wants something a little smaller than the standard 4-8" lizard (below).
Undoubtedly the most popular way to fish a soft plastic lizard is to Texas rig it, especially when targeting specific areas (spawning beds, submerged cover, etc.).
Another popular method when covering a lot of water is a Carolina rigged soft plastic salamander imitation.
The sinker used for a Carolina rig allows for longer casting opportunities while also keeping the lure presented in a weightless fashion.
Carolina rigged lures are great for finding fish during the pre spawn when largemouth and smallmouth bass are staging somewhere in between deeper water and shallower spawning areas.
It's not as commonly used, but a shaky head salamander imitation can be super effective when targeting spawning bass protecting their eggs.
Similar to the Ned rig, a shaky head salamander will appear head down and tail up almost as if a salamander was eating eggs laying on the bottom of the spawning bed.
In Conclusion
To be honest, there isn't a whole lot of things that bass show mercy to in the spring - especially in the pre spawn and spawning phases.
Just about any lure in the center of a bass bed will get the fish fired up and on the defensive side.
Nevertheless, there's something about a salamander imitation that will cause those fish to loose their minds in the spring.
Find a color that mimics your local species, if you have them, and have some fun.
Natural lure colors (browns, greens) are always great but thanks to the unique patterns that salamanders exhibit it's OK to get away from the norm and fish colors that you don't typically use (red, purple, etc.) while still maintaining a natural presentation.
Time to go catch em'!
If you ever have specific questions to topics covered in our articles feel free to reach out!
Connecting with us is easy!
Go to the Home Page
Subscribe so you never miss an article
Respond to the subscriber email with your question
or you can head over to our Contact Us page and send us your question from there.
Comments