Largemouths on the Post Storm Chow in New Jersey

The residual remnants of the hurricane that passed through late Thursday evening into today’s mid-morning hours with its heavy rains will surely jump start the rather stagnant largemouth bass bite that, the past week or so, had been confined to the pre-sun up, dusk
and nighttime periods because of the bright sun, stifling heat and high water temperatures.

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Indeed, these next few of days should see a resurgence in bass appetites as the refreshed, oxygen-infused lakes and ponds show new signs of life. It’s game on time, with the bass moving into the shallows and also cruising weed bed and channel edges and around lay
downs and brush piles. Sure, they’ll still station in thick cover when the sun is overhead,but the increased movement of forage translates to more areas of encounter. Sunfish, shiners, crayfish, dragonfly nymphs and other forage will be responding to the rain and
wind infusions, and the bass will take advantage.

It will take a day for the waters to clear somewhat, especially in creeks and rivers, but some balls-to-the-walls bassin’ is on deck.

We relish post storm surface action, especially when it’s dead calm or even better, when there’s the slightest of breeze-borne ripples ticking the liquid skin. Buzz baits, poppers, prop and stick baits...all will elicit toilet bowl flushing inhalations. Ditto twitched and slow crawled adult dragonfly impostors such as the Lunkerhunt Dragonfly.

In the slop and over pads, the Booyah Pad Crasher and Pad Crasher Jr., the SPRO Frog and the Mister Twister Hawg Frawg (floater) are heart attacks waiting to happen.

Subsurface it’s hard to beat the Berkely MaxScent worm or PowerWorm, the Ned Rig with a Z-Man Finesse TRD, and a chatterbait w/trailer for bass smashes, thrashes and hits.