First tourny of the year

[Tavery5]

Look for banks on the Northwest side of the lake that have a little shallower water. I say this because those banks will be a little warmer water, look for large rocks or stumps, because they also help hold heat. The water temp in these areas may only be a few degrees higher but that is enough to make a difference. Bait fish will come to these areas, so the big guys will be there also. I would try to cast from a distance with a flat sided shallow diving crank, I would use the flat sided bait because the wiggle may be more appropriate for this time of year and also because most flatsided baits have no rattle. The fish may be a little easy to spook if the water is clear. If I could not pick a few up this way, I would back off to the first drop off of the same area and fish it parallel to the bank with t-rigged plastics, or jigs, my thinking is if they are not in the shallow water they may be sittin in these drops ambushing baitfish as they move in and out of the shallower water.

Good luck

I am no expert but this pattern has worked for me in similar conditions.