Some of us just can't get excited about "The Opener" because it really could be called the Pike Opener....Walleyes and Northerns to be exact. But as of last weekend quality Large and Smallmouth Bassin is a short trip away. Wisconsin traditionally opens the Bass season with many of the other gamefish. I fished a couple of bodies of Cheesehead water last weekend and though it did not stack up to previous openers due to colder water temps some nice fish were caught. We managed a number of fish on Rattletrap style crankbaits in shallow depths, Jig/plastic combo's produced around woody cover and we also caught a few on finesse worms rigged "wacky" style. I suspect this weeks warming trend will pull a few more fish up shallow where they are both easy and fun to target. So if you would rather fish for something with "Bass" in the title hop across the river and partake in some early season activity,,,,just make sure you release them as most are still getting ready to spawn and set up successfull outings for us down the road a few years.