Gear

Miles Burghoff’s favorite April baits

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Written by
Shaye Baker
The month of April, with its longer days and warmer temperatures, brings on more bass activity throughout the water column. Bassmaster Opens EQ pro Miles Burghoff shares his top picks for the month leading into the spawning cycle. 
In keeping with the varied strike zone of spring, Burgoff likes to use a good mix of soft plastics, hard baits and skirted baits in the spring. 
One of his favorites is a frog because this style of fishing “just starts getting good.” Burghoff’s frog of choice is a Z-Man Leap FrogZ Popping Frog. He goes with a popping frog because of the increase in bluegill activity. 
Burghoff can also work this bait almost in place, so it’s a great tool to target any bass that may still be spawning. “I can keep it right above their heads, and it can drive those big fish wild.” 
Next up, a vibrating jig. “It doesn’t matter where we’re at around the country, a Z-Man ChatterBait is going to be a part of my arsenal.” 
Burghoff said that in April he likes a ChatterBait during the shad spawn that typically follows the bass spawn. “A ChatterBait works really good around grass lines and other areas where the baitfish are spawning.” 
Burghoff reached for a spinnerbait next, another bait he likes to use when the bass are keying on shad spawns. 
“As opposed to the ChatterBait, which I fish primarily around vegetation, the spinnerbait is better for hard cover. In bushes, docks, wood, laydowns, a spinnerbait comes through that type of cover a lot better than a ChatterBait.” 
Staying in the shad spawn vein, Burgoff moved next to a squarebill crankbait.
“If the shad are spawning on causeways, riprap banks or any type of rock cover, that’s when I’m going to be using a squarebill.” Burghoff favors the squarebill as a search bait in such scenarios, also including the vibrating jig and spinnerbait as options to try when the others don’t get bites during the shad spawn. 
Burghoff’s next bait is another topwater. “April seems to be the month for most of the country when topwaters begin working really well.” 
The second topwater to makes his cut is the new Z-Man HellraiZer. “This bait makes a lot of vibration and surface commotion,” he said. “You can also cover water with it.” Burghoff uses the HellraiZer as a change-up lure for a buzzbait.” 
Next up is the flipping rig. “April is definitely a time of the year that I like to flip, especially when I’m fishing areas that the fish might be spawning in.” 
“A lighter flipping rig is what I want to lean on this time of year.” Burghoff isn’t as concerned with punching a heavy weight over into the thickest cover he can find. Instead, he wants to pick apart the holes, pockets and sparse cover where bass might be spawning. 
To finish things off, Burghoff reaches for his all-time favorite search bait when the fish are shallow — a swim jig. He chooses the Z-Man CrossEyeZ Snakehead swim jig with a Z-Man Goat ToadZ for a trailer. 
“You can fish a swim jig almost anywhere on a lake,” Burhoff said. “You can fish it around hard cover, in vegetation, skip it under docks. It’s just a really versatile reaction bait. And it imitates a bluegill, which is a very popular prey species in April.”

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