Those smallies are fun on a jig "stick". I still can't get myself to use that jigging rap. I tried it first time I got one and had a swallow & a dead fish. I have three or four in the box.
Probably one of these days I'll get desperate on a slow day and drop one down again. They are deadly on those bass.
We still have ice but its pretty mealy right now. Only the south shores are accessible without planks, north are melting fast.
Stay after those slabs while you can.