Bass Fishing Report - April 17th, 2025
April 17th, 2025 Bass Fishing Update 🎣
Bass fishing fanatics! Dive in and explore all three Bass Fishing Report heat maps below. Make sure you don’t miss it — scroll down to check out the latest Bass Season and Bass High Wind maps to stay ahead of the game. Know-Adapt-Catch® more Bass.
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Bass fishing report for this week:
For most of the nation, the Easter Bunny is delivering a basket full of bass…But, the gift may come as early as Good Friday and as late as Easter Sunday depending on where you will be fishing.
While the weather will not be quite as volatile as previous weeks, weak fronts accompanied by rain and temperature variations will be enough to cause the bass to feed differently before and after.
So, get your Predator hat on and prepare to adapt to whatever Mother Nature throws your way by consulting your Bass Forecast Adapted Patterns® to know where, when, and how to adapt your game plan with this week’s full BassForecast Report.
Stop guessing and fish smarter—With Bass Forecast Pro you can see 10 days ahead and always be ready for the best bite!
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To see exactly when bass will be tuned on in your area, open your Bass Forecast mobile app and get PRO.
Spring’s here, the best time of year for bass fishing—you need the right gear. The Grundens Tough Sun Hoodie comes from the gritty world of commercial fishing, built to shrug off wind, waves, and rays. Grundens has been crafting rugged gear for commercial fishermen for years, and now they’re bringing that durability to your bass boat. With UPF 50, snag-resistant fabric, and a breathable fit, it’s made to last—on the water or at the dock.
The hood adjusts effortlessly—up for shade, down for a breeze. Thumb holes keep sleeves in place, protecting your hands while you reel. Anti-odor, heat-regulating, and stain-release tech keeps it fresh and comfy all day. Grundens backs it with a Lifetime Warranty—if it fails (unlikely), they’ll replace it, no fuss. The Tough Sun Hoodie's got you covered.
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Success over the next 10 days will come down to adapting your baits, lake locations, and presentations to match your local weather patterns. Don’t rely on what worked yesterday—it likely won’t work tomorrow. With BassForecast PRO, you’ll get the Top 5 baits, lake locations, and presentations tailored to each day’s conditions for every day in the next 10 days. Stop guessing and fish smarter.
There are a variety of seasonal patterns setting up across the US this coming weekend. If the bass are anywhere near spawning in your area, look for bedding activity with the full moon this weekend. And, remember, there will still be fish in Pre-Spawn and maybe even Post-Spawn patterns when you see bass on beds.
WHAT DOES THE 10-DAY FORECAST MEAN TO YOU AS A BASS ANGLER?
Spring roller-coaster weather means it’s time to use your BassForecast PRO mobile app to track the fronts and plan to be on the water BEFORE they hit. Why? Because catch rates are 3x to 10x higher pre-front than post-front.
With BassForecast PRO, you can even set mobile notifications for GOOD and EPIC days, giving you up to 10 days' notice—enough time to juggle your schedule and fish the feeding frenzy instead of missing out. And if you miss that magic window? No worries. Check your 10-day BassForecast Ratings to see when the bite will turn on again post-front.
🚀 Stay Ahead of the Spawn -> Go PRO Today
Anglers always ask about the correct rod, reel, line, and lure that is best for jerkbait fishing for bass. Instead of looking at these pieces of tackle individually, Shimano Elite Series Pro Alex Wetherell breaks down the tackle system he prefers for bass fishing with jerkbaits.
When it comes to the rod, it's important to have a rod with the right length to get optimal casting distance. It should also be short enough not to hit the water every time you twitch that bait. A 6'10" rod does precisely that and is long enough to give anglers increased casting distance in the wind and short enough that you won't constantly be slapping the water when working that jerkbait. A medium-action rod provides the action, power, and taper to twitch the jerkbait at different cadences to impart movement so the bait behaves more naturally and attracts fish. When hooked up, a rod's fast action allows the fish to fight without being able to throw the hooks.
Wetherell prefers A 50-size baitcaster like the Shimano Aldebaran because of its very small and compact size that won't fatigue an angler when they're out on the water all day. The lure Wetherell prefers is the Shimano World Minnow 115. This dynamic lure provides FLASH BOOST technology, so even when the bait is paused, the little foil mirror inside the lure is still moving to give the bait a secondary fish-attracting action.
For more helpful tips on how to fish a jerkbait click here
See the full lineup of Shimano Bass Lures here
Test your bass fishing knowledge
According to a panel of bass biologists and master anglers, how many total possible structural locations are possible in a North American freshwater lake?
note: Structure includes creek channels, points etc and does NOT include cover and/or man made objects except for “Docks & Marina’s”
Choose your answer
a. 4 locations
b. 15 locations
c. 7 locations
d. 12 locations
Bass Forecast High Wind Forecast:
Plan your next fishing trip with confidence! These High Wind maps are must-see tools for staying ahead of changing conditions and boosting your chances of landing more bass.
Thankfully, the coming 4 days will bring much less wind than last week, but there will be pockets of wind to be aware of if you are out boating….as you can see on our wind map above.
🚀See 10 Days of Wind & Feeding Forecasts -> Get PRO Now!
What is the next 10 days winning pattern?
Great bass anglers are constantly monitoring the weather and trying to figure out how it’s going to affect bass behavior so they can figure out a fish catching pattern. And even they make mistakes in judgement when the weather is rapidly changing because some weather variables affect the bite immediately and some days or weeks later.
Patterns change daily based on the weather…
So, get in the know with Bass Forecast Pro
BassForecast simplifies and speeds up the process. It's bass AI engine, engineered and refined over years of study, predicted the winning pattern of the 5 top flight bass tournaments in 2024 with 86% accuracy 10 days BEFORE each tournament began.
Bass Forecast Tip:
No matter the day you plan to go bass fishing be sure to check the Bass Forecast app to see all 5 baits adjusted for cover type (weed, wood, rock) with additional details of how to fish effectively for landing bigger bass — changing conditions could affect the ratings or bait recommendations!
Bass Forecast Tip:
Over 1.5 million+ Bass Forecast anglers have used these tips to boost catch rates during the cooler season.
1. DO NOT rely on “what worked yesterday”. It's not a solid strategy. The trickiest part of figuring out the bite in bass fishing is that patterns can change daily based on the weather, thus changing the feeding behavior of bass. Use the Bass Forecast app feature Adapted Patterns® to help adapt your strategy in real time. Bass Forecast Adapted Patterns® has predicted the winning pattern in 86% of top flight bass fishing tournaments 7 to 10 days before the tournament began.
2. Select best odds days up to 10 days in advance by getting Bass Forecast PRO inside the app. While there's no ‘guarantee’ of success on any single outing, double blind research has shown that season long average catch rates during GOOD/EPIC rated days are 68% to 305% higher than the average. Fisheries biologist research has also proven that bigger bass are caught during GOOD/EPIC days due to proactive vs reactive feeding behavior.
3. NO MATTER WHEN YOU GO, the BFR combined with the Seasonal Pattern (see map below) guides the 3 key elements of a successful bass catching pattern: 1. Baits to use. 2. Best bet fish feeding locations. 3. Best bet presentation speed.
Tight lines and happy fishing!
