Hey, Keith here.

Depending on where you live, the spawn is either happening right now or still a few weeks out.

Down south where I live, it’s easy. Bass are in the shallows, locked on their beds, slurping down my hollow body frogs.

But farther north it’s a different story. The fish aren’t on beds yet, and if you’re just fishing the bank, it can feel like empty water.

So, where do you cast?

Every bass is either moving toward the shallows or leaving them this time of year, and they all use the same routes.

Today I break down three key areas to target when bass are in that in-between phase, especially from the bank.

When most anglers think about spring fishing, they picture bass in the shallows.

But the fish don’t just appear there overnight.

During a transition period, they move from winter areas to spawning flats. After the spawn, they take that same path back out.

That path is where you need to focus.

The biggest mistake bank anglers make this time of year is fishing where bass are going to be instead of where they are right now.

Water temperature is the driving force behind all of this. Once it starts climbing into the upper 40s and low 50s, bass begin to move. 

Some will push up early and stage. Others hang back until conditions stabilize. Cold fronts, wind, and water clarity can slow that movement down or push fish back off the bank.

That’s why you can fish the same stretch of shoreline one day and feel like it’s loaded, then come back next week and they're gone. 

Those fish didn’t disappear. They repositioned.

And most of the time, they reposition along the same routes they used to get there, what I call the “post-spawn highway.”

This series of stopping points connects deeper water to spawning areas.

If you can identify even one or two of these stopping points from the bank, you can stay on fish throughout the entire transition, whether they’re moving in or moving out.

For bank anglers, this is one of the best opportunities of the entire spring.

Most people are locked into the idea that they need to see beds or fish shallow water this time of year.

If you shift your focus just a little deeper and target these travel routes, you can find fish before the crowds do and often catch them in a much more aggressive mood.

Here are three of the best areas to target from the bank when bass are in that transition phase.

Once bass leave deeper water, they rarely go straight to the bank. Instead, they stop along the way.

Secondary points are some of their favorite stopping spots. These are the small spaces inside coves and pockets, not the big obvious ones on the main lake.

They act as staging areas where bass can feed and wait for the right conditions before moving shallow. After the spawn, these same spots become recovery areas as fish slide back out.

From the bank, look for subtle changes in the shoreline. A small point, a bend, or even a stretch that sticks out just a little farther than the rest can hold fish.

These are great places to cover water.

This is one of the most overlooked areas in spring, especially for bank anglers.

Everyone wants to fish right on the shoreline this time of year, but a lot of bass are holding just off of it.

Before the spawn, they will stage on that first drop, waiting for stable conditions. After the spawn, they slide right back to it to recover.

This could be a ditch, a small ledge, or just where the bottom goes from shallow to a few feet deeper.

You can find it by paying attention to your bait. If it suddenly starts falling longer or ticking the bottom differently, you’ve likely found that ledge.

This is where slower baits shine.

A Texas rig, shaky head, or jig can pick off fish that aren't ready to commit to the bank but are still close.

One of my favorite jigs to use when fishing ledges is the Strike King Bitsy Bug because it's a lighter jig and allows for more finesse fishing.

This is the kind of water most anglers walk right past. It doesn’t look like much, but it’s one of the most important parts of the “highway.”

A transition bank is anywhere the bottom composition changes.

It might go from sand to rock, rock to clay, or clean bottom to scattered grass.

To a bass, that change is a reference point. They use these areas to travel and feed as they move in and out of spawning zones.

From the bank, look for anything different: one isolated rock, a small grass patch, or even a slight color change in the water.

These spots are perfect for finding fish.

Start with a moving bait like a Red Eye Shad or Chatterbait to cover water. Then slow down with a worm or jig once you get a bite.

Out of all of these, I like Berkley’s Power Worm in any dark, bold color like blue, black, or purple.