One of my very favorite ways to fish in the pre-spawn in lakes that have clear water is with a jerkbait. Either over grass or on rocky shorelines, a suspending jerkbait, when fished properly can yield some great catches. First, it’s a slow technique. Usually, you make a long cast and your cadence is the key. Normally, I will go with twitch, twitch, pause – twitch, twitch, pause, with the pause being longer the colder the water is. With the water temperature in the low 50s or high 40s sometimes the best cadence is very, very slow. My favorite bait right now is a Strike King KVD J-300 Deep. This bait will get to about ten feet when fished on ten pound fluoro, which is right in the area where a lot of bass suspend this time of year. Bass like to suspend on vertical rocky banks, channel springs, around trees, docks or over grass. Sometimes the pause may be for up to 20 or 30 seconds, which is very slow, but you just have to let the bass tell you what they want. For a rod, I like a Cabela’s XML Bass Jerkbait/Topwater Rod. I’ve come to love this rod for throwing either a jerkbait or a topwater. It is light and will not wear out your forearm, elbow and wrist. If you get to a lake this time of year with clear, cold water, think about throwing a jerkbait.