Best Ways to Find Spring Red Ears

Surprisingly to some, It's not Livescope and hasn't been for a long time ...

It’s been a heck of a year for red ear fishing. One of the best I’ve ever had. I’ve caught them in Illinois, Arkansas and of course Kentucky and Tennessee. And, I’ve caught several red ear over 12 inches and a few weighing more than 2 pounds. What’s interesting to me is the really big ones, I often see. Or I should say I see the signs physically. Not with my electronics. I physically see them, or their beds. Or the movement. Usually with the help of a good pair of polarized sunglasses. But I see them.

I actually stumbled onto this, as is the case with most successful anglers, because I simply spent enough time on the water. And I’ll be honest, the first time with anything in fishing always feels like a fluke. And then it happens again and again, year after year. Eventually it becomes what you know is the right way to fish for certain species. So in the spring, when the red ear come to spawn, I look shallow. Shallower than most. In places most don’t get their boat.