Pad stems offer great bass fishing potential in the prespawn and spawn periods in the form of vertical cover in cold but warming waters. When anglers mention lily pads, they typically envision broad flats and ponds blanketed with greenery. But don’t overlook the dormant period when winter reduces the plants to their spindly stems.

“They’re not as attractive because they’ve been beaten down by winter, and they don’t look very good, but I’ve caught a ton of fish in those pad stems when they’re trying to move in and spawn,” said Bassmaster Elite pro Keith Combs. “Growing up, I used to fish team tournaments in on a couple different Texas lakes that had little clusters of pad stems, but also big bulkheads, boat docks and stuff. In those scenarios, I think pad stems are really overlooked because you had other types of cover.

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