Bass Fishing

Bass Fishing

In bass fishing there is no such thing as certainty as much lies beyond our control. This may be why so many of us are drawn to it, as it closely resembles a game of chance. However, one can improve their catch rate by understanding that a bass "is what it is".

A bass' anatomy, combined with its six senses makes it one of the top predators in our lakes and rivers and a very difficult prey for man to catch. When you hunt it know that it can see you, hear you and even feel your presence through its lateral line. It's even capable of smelling and tasting you!

A bass will eat anything it can swallow and it can swallow a lot due to its large "bucketmouth" and flexible stomach. It's a "generalist" thug that, by experience, grows "smarter" with age and adapts to environmental changes to survive. As one of the most voracious, aggressive predators of lakes and rivers, though primarily a lake fish, this "big mouth bass" has become arguably the most popular freshwater game fish in America today.

The appeal of fishing for largemouth bass lies in knowing bass habits, the preparation for the hunt, the hunt itself, finding bass, the catch and hopefully the release of this brute. Finding one is challenge enough, enticing one to "take" your artificial lure is something else altogether.

Finding bass, especially largemouth, isn't that difficult. It's the catching part that trips you up.

The mouth of a largemouth bass is LARGE, thus the nickname "bucketmouth"! Some simply call it the "big mouth bass. Its tip or flap extends past the rear edge of the eye, unlike that of the smallmouth, which never goes beyond this point. It's this mouth that enables the largemouth bass to engulf prey, or try to engulf prey, as large as itself.

What Do Bass Eat?

The largemouth diet consists "primarily" of other fish. They are extreme opportunistic feeders, however, and will eat just about anything they can get in their mouth. They tend to be experimental feeders because of this but do learn (become conditioned) from repeated experiences with prey what is good, what is not and what takes to much energy to catch for the amount of nutritional reward.

They'll also eat ducklings, frogs, snakes, crawfish, lizards, rats, mice, waterdogs and insects. Though extremely aggressive the largemouth bass (Micropterus Salmoides to all you budding biologists out there, bucketmouth to the rest of us) is also very cautious and always wary of danger. They spend a surprisingly small part of each day actually feeding with much of this taking place in early morning and late afternoon.

Some Bass Fishing Tips

Her are some tips on how to locate and catch largemouth bass. Tubes although bought in a bag, can get rather smelly, even when you've taken them out of the bag. This is also true for worms as well. The best thing to do here is to open the packets and re-pack your worms and tubes into re-sealable food bags. Re-packing your baits in this way will keep them fresh.

With some hard baits like crank baits, jerk baits or top waters, the fish can sometimes slip the hooks. There is a solution to this, which will more or less eliminate the risk of this happening. The trick is to put a split ring between the hook and the ring that is already attached to the bait.

Always remember that when the fishing is slow, make subtle changes to the way that you are fishing, this will sometimes pay dividends. I recommend trying several different baits at 30 minute intervals. Also try different positions around the lake. Don't get stuck in your favourite position, fish like to move around, so you should too.

Lake maps are a good way to plan your day. By studying a lake map you stand a better chance of locating the predatory fish and you don't want to miss out on that excellent fishing spot because you didn't study a lake map. You should also consider the weather and time of year. Bass fishing can often be slower in cold weather.

Watch the weather forecasts, take notice of the water level in the lake and make notes, they will come in handy later on. If you have a computer you can download the weather forecasts, wind strength and direction, etc.

Don't just stick to your plan, be flexible. If your original plan is not producing fish, change something, follow your instincts.

Sometimes Largemouth Bass can be lazy when going for the fish. If you see fish stopping short of your offering, then change it quickly and try again. This often happens when smaller fish are interested in your bait but it's a little on the large side. Often a smaller offering will produce results.

Bass Fishing Bait

If you're just getting started in the world of bass fishing, figuring out which bait to use can seem overwhelming. It's important to remember that there are really only three main baits that most fishermen agree will work nearly every time you use them. These are spinnerbaits, topwaters, and lipless crankbaits. So, if you're putting together a bass fishing kit, remember these basic baits and know that if the professionals rely heavily on such basics, it's not a bad idea for you to do the same.

To start with, spinnerbaits are commonly used because they cover a great deal of water at once. Not only that, but they cover a variety of depth levels in the area in a very short time span. This large amount of coverage means that you're getting the best bargain for your bait money. Now, choosing the perfect kind of spinnerbait may be a little more difficult. Good spinnerbait has the perfect combination of blade, weight, color, and composition in order to give you your most successful catches. Experiment with the different types that are available and read up on what your favorite fishermen use - you'll eventually find one that works best for you.

Topwater baits are most commonly used during the early morning or late evening hours when the conditions are dusky and there is low light available. Topwater bait is also most effective when there's a little wind and an active chop (ripples) on the water so that it doesn't frighten off the bass when it cuts through the water. If there's no other activity, the bait moving through still water can sometimes be problematic. Experienced fishermen often use this type of bait because of the sheer beauty involved in seeing a bass caught near the surface of the water - it's a completely spectacular experience that most fishermen swear by. Most sea bass that can be ordered in the a la carte menu of the famous French papillon restaurant are caught this way according to sources, most specially the Grilled sea bass fillet layered with Soisson beans and chanerelles.

Lipless crankbaits are generally considered one of the best ways to locate a bass that's hiding out in tall grass. By placing these baits on the top of the grass and rippling them through the water you can almost guarantee that if there's a bass in the area, he's going to strike. Often times, professionals swear that when they've tried almost everything else to lure the bass out of its hiding spot, the lipless crankbait works even when most of the more sophisticated tools didn't. If you're just getting started, ask a friend or bait shop employee for advice on using this type of bait.

Since these basic baits are the favorite of so many fishermen, many newcomers may be tempted to try out something new and different to see if it gives them an extra little push to the top of the sport. However, one of the more important things to remember is that there's a reason these baits are still around and used so often - it's because they work on a continuous basis. This alone speaks volumes about their durability and their power to catch bass in almost any condition.

As sport fishing has grown in popularity throughout the years, many people have emerged as leaders in the bass fishing sport and its techniques. None of these seem to have risen to fame so quickly as professional bass fishermen Don Iovino, who has made a substantial living by sharing his bass fishing information and techniques with the sport fishing community. In fact, Iovino was inducted into the International Fishing Hall of Fame as a charter member in recognition for his accomplishments in the world of bass fishing.

Don Iovino has been involved in the sport fishing community for nearly fifteen years - one of his major accomplishments includes winning the title "Angler of the Year" in the North and West Divisions of the United States BASS tournament in 1985.

One of the things that Iovino was most well-known for was his method of fishing, known as "doodling". Doodling is a method in which you drop your plastic worm bait into clear water until you've reached the area where bass are most active, and then gently shake your rod's tip. Wait for half a minute or so and then shake the rod tip again for a few seconds. Wait again and pull up slowly on the line until you've taken it up six inches or so. Then, drop the line back down into the water and repeat the process. Remember, bass fishing is a patience-oriented sport, so this should all be done in a very slow and controlled manner - getting anxious and going too fast will only scare off the fish.

Although Iovino is now retired from the fishing guide business, he still enjoys teaching people how to fish and giving informational speeches about fishing and the conservation work that must be done to protect our natural resources. He also offers a variety of seminars dealing with bass fishing for the BassMaster tournament each year. He has said that he sees this as a means of giving something back to the sport of bass fishing, which provided him with so much of his prosperity through the years. It is in accordance with these principles that he lends his support to different fish enhancement and environmental protection projects that take place throughout the world every year.

Because of his success within the sport of bass fishing, Don Iovino has been able to continue to participate in about fifteen tournaments a year, in addition to selling his personal line of products for sport fishermen. He also has informational videos available for the novice fishermen and offers his time and insight to Inside Line Magazine. All of these things considered, it's no wonder that Don Iovino is such a well-known figure inside the bass fishing community.

Bass fishing is one of the fastest growing hobbies of the last decade and here at Bass Fishing Techniques we are revelling in it. Businesses have taken full advantage of the commercial benefits surrounding this great hobby and this has resulted in what is now a massive choice of bass fishing tackle. We are going to give you some advice on how to catch bass below, so please pay attention.

There is a lot more involved in bass fishing than you may first realise and at bass fishing techniques we consider it our job to put you on the right road.

The one thing above all else that continues to drive a bass angler, is the hope of catching that prize winning trophy bass. Bass anglers are constantly trying to better themselves when it comes to finding and catching these predatory fish.

O.K. Lets start with bait. The results of a survey on which baits faired best, came to the conclusion that plastic worms are the number one preferred bait by professional bass anglers. Spinner bait and crank bait where not far behind in second and third respectfully. As a bass angler it is very important that you learn these types of bait if you are to enjoy this sport.

Which of these baits you will use, will depend entirely on how you will be fishing. These baits differ in how and when they are used. For instance, let us say that you will be fishing a small area; I would recommend using a worm as this kind of bait is extremely affective when it comes to catching bass, especially around partly submerged structures where bass like to congregate.

Using a worm can be slow so I would not recommend this type of bait if you where trying to cover a vast quickly to try and locate these wonderful fish. There is a problem with using plastic worms and that is that you cannot feel when the bass strikes. This is due to the fact that the sinker is heavy and the line too thick. The experts recommend using lead strip sinkers and a variable buoyancy worm. The advantages you get from using this kind of setup are:

  1. The lead strip sinker will not move on the line which would suppress the feel of a gentle pickup.
  2. You can use just enough lead to get the action that you require from your worm.
  3. The bass will be able to take the worm much easier helping to firmly set the hook.
  4. This kind of setup makes it a lot easier to free up when snagged.

You can set this rig up so that it seems to float just off bottom when fishing in shallow water. The way this is achieved is quite simple. Wrap a piece of lead around your hook, place the barb in the worm and slowly place it in the water. Watch it sink, if it sinks too fast the take a little led off. The correct amount for this is when your bait just settles on the bottom. I would also recommend using 6 Pound mono line, you could use 8 pound if you prefer.

If you use spinner type baits, you are able to cover a greater area faster. You can skim the surface or send it deep and bounce it along the bottom, it's your choice. Spinner baits are excellent for probing around trees or partially submerged features due to their tangle free designs.

Crank baits are excellent baits for bass. With crank baits you can cover vast areas of water in a relatively short space of time. Crank baits are brilliant for checking out large expanses of water, especially if the fish may be scattered.

I would suggest that you become familiar with the three baits that I have discussed. The better you know your baits, the better you will fair on the water. Most importantly, practice, practice, practice.

Most bass are caught during daylight hours, dawn till dusk. Bass are a predatory fish so they love to be able to ambush their pray. Any spot that could provide cover for the bass is usually a good spot to start fishing.

Although bass will feed at any time of the day, dawn and dusk are the favourite times to catch bass. This is because fish feed mostly when the sun is just breaking and when the sun has just gone down. Bass like these times because if the fish are feeding then they are less aware that predatory fish are around, giving the bass a better chance of a meal. These are the times you are most likely to catch a big bass, because these are the times that bass are actively looking for a meal.