To fish like a bass pro, you need to think like a bass all-star...Fortunately Field & Stream is here to help. Last season, we launched the bass boat and spent the day chasing lunkers with Mike Iaconelli, Kevin VanDam, Gary Klein, Dean Rojas, and Randy Howell. These pros, all contenders in this month's Bassmaster Classic, opened their tackleboxes and let us in on their best early-spring tactics for big bass. Here's how they fish when big-time money is on the line. First up is Mike Iaconelli.

Mike Iaconelli: The Jerkbait Pause and Twitch
In my first hour with Mike Iaconelli, I’ve watched him boat five fish, the largest being around 5 pounds—a good tournament bag for sure. What surprises me most about fishing with him is that the man has two gears: stop and go. No doubt, tournament fishing for Iaconelli is often a full-tilt, full-contact affair. But underneath the gonzo façade, he is an exceptionally cerebral angler, and as such he’s one of the most talented finesse fishermen on the pro tour. In the early season, he frequently turns to the subtle art of working suspended jerkbaits to mimic dying baitfish, eliciting strikes from large, wary bass.

“Early season is an awesome time for jerkbaits, especially in clear, cool waters,” Iaconelli tells me. “Jerkbaits appeal to those fish in transition, as they move into spawning coves and pockets. But you have to use the right bait. In winter, it’s countdown, sinking jerkbaits. For prespawn fish, suspending jerkbaits are best. And postspawn, you switch to floaters.”

Outfit of Choice
Iaconelli recommends a 6- to 61⁄2-foot rod with a shortened butt section to accentuate wrist movement. He likes a baitcaster with a lower gear ratio (5:1 or 4.9:1), which forces a slower retrieve, spooled with Berkley Trilene 6- to 12-pound fluorocarbon. He says that clear water, less cover, and deeper casts call for a lighter line.

Target Zone
Finding staging fish is fundamental to fishing jerkbaits effectively. Iaconelli begins by locating the deepest, most vertical points on the lake—places with 45-degree banks and dropoffs, dam faces, and so forth—then connects the dots to nearby shallow spawning flats. “The fish are going to travel from Point A to Point B along contour breaks on the lake bottom, like old creek channels. You also want to stop and fish secondary points like humps on the lake bottom and along long docks and other structures that intersect the lake near spawning grounds. Also look for emergent grasses.”

Winning Tactic
After you make the cast, “it’s all about cadence,” Iaconelli says. Retrieve the line with abrupt jerks and pauses. “The real key is the length of the pauses. The colder the water, the longer I make my pauses; the warmer the water, the shorter the pauses. Try different cadences. Jerk, jerk, pause for 10 seconds. Then jerk, jerk, pause for 20 seconds. Then jerk, pause five seconds, jerk. The fish will tell you what they want. Once you dial it in, stick with what you’re doing because on most days, the cadence that works will stay the same.”

Go-To Lure
Ike’s top lure in the early season is a Spicy Shad Laser Lure jerkbait ($20; laserlure.com). When you’re fishing for prespawn bass with a jerkbait, it’s imperative that the bait suspends in the water column, and the lure pattern must match the natural forage. In northern lakes, where the main forage is often perch or bluegills, choose greens and oranges. In southern lakes filled with shad, colors like pearl and golden-emerald fare best.