Top 3 Pre-Spawn Bass Baits: Bassmaster Elite Pro Trey McKinney

Maximize Your Early Spring Bass Fishing Success with These Pro Baits and Tips

Kurt Mazurek | Feb 14, 2025

Bassmaster Elite Pro Trey McKinney shares his top 3 picks of the best pre-spawn bass baits to help you get your season started with a trophy bass. / Kurt Mazurek

I asked reigning Bassmaster Elite Rookie of the Year, FXR pro, Trey McKinney to share the Top 3 baits he always has tied on during the pre-spawn. Following are McKinney's best bets for helping you land a true giant during this pre-spawn time of year.

Why Pre-Spawn Bass Fishing Is Prime Time for Giants

The early pre-spawn phase is prime time for big bass and bass anglers alike. In our southern states, mid-February is when things really start clicking. The bass are staging up in fairly predictable spots and they’re starting to get hungry—on the right days, downright HANGRY! Plus, the big females, the biggest fish in the system, are developing eggs and getting to their peak weight for the whole year.

For those up north, you’ve still got a month or two to wait, but I’d suggest to use that time to get your bait selection dialed so you can come out swinging.

Bassmaster Pro Trey McKinney holding up a giant pre-spawn largemouth bass that bit his jerkbait.

Bassmaster Rookie of the Year, Trey McKinney says right now is a great time to catch some great big pre-spawn largemouth bass. / Kurt Mazurek

Find the Best Areas for Pre-Spawn Bass Fishing

Step one before putting any of these baits to use, is to determine likely early staging areas—somewhere between winter holding areas and the shallow flats where they’ll eventually spawn. Find spots along the bass’ migration routes with some form of cover, where fish will tend to pause and group up. Think ditches with stumps or sunken roadbeds with rocks or intersections, etc.

Top 3 Best Baits for Pre-Spawn Bass

1. JERKBAIT

6th Sense Provoke Series 97DD Silent Jerkbait / 6th Sense

McKinney says this is definitely a bait he’s going to use in conjunction with his Garmin forward-facing sonar which he’s watching on a giant, 22” NBT Marine Battleship Unit. Once he’s identified a likely area, he’ll use the electronics to confirm fish presence and get a read on how they’re positioning on the cover and how they’re reacting to his jerkbait.

He says that especially when fishing popular, more heavily pressured water, he really likes the silent version of this bait. “It has a really good action. But something that’s a little different, something not rattling, a little bit more finesse, is what going to get them to bite.”

2. BALL-HEAD JIG MINNOW

6th Sense Juggle Minnow 4.0 / 6th Sense

The approach here is the same as with the jerkbait. But McKinney has found that some days they just react better to the more subtle movements of this natural looking, little, shaking minnow.

He rigs it on the lightest possible ball-head jig that still allows him to get it to the depth where the fish are without sacrificing efficiency.

He also mentioned that he’s a big fan of the 4K Shad color because it approximates such a wide range of baitfish in a lot of fisheries.

3. CRANKBAIT

6th Sense Pressure Series PD4 Crankbait / 6th Sense

And on those beautiful, unseasonably warm days he loves the efficiency of throwing this crankbait, targeting those fish that can’t wait to get shallow. And with this bait, he’s probably not going to be watching the Livescope.

“They get up there on those rocks when it’s really warm during pre-spawn. That hard cover soaks in that heat and the bass will sit really tight to it. I’ll go up and crank shallow points, pea gravel and chunk rock. This bait has a great action that they’ll naturally react to.”

WATCH THIS VIDEO OF MCKINNEY HIMSELF, EXPLAINING HIS BAIT CHOICES!

Pre-Spawn Bass Fishing: Don't Miss It!

The pre-spawn period is one of the best times to catch trophy bass, as fish begin staging in predictable areas and feeding aggressively. Take the advice of this rising star on the Bassmaster Elite Series, Trey McKinney. Make sure your arsenal includes a jerkbait for aggressive, reaction strikes, a ball-head jig minnow for days that require more finesse, and a crankbait for covering shallow water efficiently. By understanding when and where to use these lures as winter transitions into spring, you can maximize your chances of landing a real monster bass this season.