Fishing for bass in the spring

The best chance you will have at catching a trophy bass is undoubtedly during the spring.  
Large females, who mostly spend their time in deep water, move up into shallower water to spawn.  Shallow water is where these females are at their most vulnerable.  
Before they move onto the beds these girls spend quite a bit of time cruising the perimeters of the spawning flats. They are hungry, easy to pattern, and easy to catch.  
Once they move onto the flats and into the beds the catching scenario changes quite a bit. These ladies have only one thing on their mind, and that is to procreate.
They become harder to catch and most times will flat-out ignore moving baits BUT.... bass on beds are protective creatures. They will protect their nest at all costs. The female will help protect the nest whilst she is preparing to lay her eggs.  
Once the eggs have been laid and fertilized the female will move on, leaving a single male behind to protect the treasure. This male will attack anything that poses a threat to his precious nest until the fry have hatched and are big enough to take on the open waters by themselves.
There are many bass anglers who specialise in catching spawning females off the nest. These trophy fish are usually located in ultra-shallow water, visible to any angler wearing a decent pair of polarized sunglasses, and when aggravated enough, will grab onto the lure long enough to give an angler time to set the hook. Personally, I do not like to catch females off beds, preferring to give them time to spawn unhindered.
It is much more of a challenge trying to locate the staging females in the deeper water just off the spawning flats.  Bass will always use an easy access area into the shallows.  Think of shallow water close to deep water, from mouths of major creeks all the way to the back ends of creeks.  Classic staging areas would include points, bays, and banks with deep cuts or breaklines, and creeks running close to shallow water.
Cover a lot of water, but stay on or near a breakline. When you connect with a good fish, slow down and work the area thoroughly. There will be small and large schools of deep-water bass staging somewhere from the mouth of a creek all the way to the back end.  Locate these staging fish and you will understand the meaning of fun.  
However, don’t count on these fish being in the same spot the next day.  Staging bass are always on the move, steadily making their way up towards the shallows. They might be there, but most likely they will have moved to another location.
The best baits to use to locate staging bass would be lipless crankbaits, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, and medium-diving crankbaits.  
Once you have hooked up with a couple of fish concentrated in an area, change your presentation to weightless stickbaits and flukes rigged on 5/0 widegap hooks, light Texas-rigged creature baits and finesse jigs with crawfish trailers.
When you hook-up with Mama-Sita, rejoice in the fact that you may have caught your personal best, but be mindful to the fact that this girl is on her way to complete a very important task!  
Hold her with two hands – by the lip and the tail! Take your photos and measurements quickly and with the least amount of stress to the fish.  How long can you hold your breath?  
This is the same amount time a fish can comfortably be out of the water. When you feel the need for some air...so does she!  Release her gently back into the water close to where you caught her.