Need crash course “Bass fishing 101” or “Bass fishing for dummies”

[eltal]

OK folks.
I am new to fishing at large (and bass fishing in particular)
I am reading a lot of different opinions about best time to fish for Bass.
Some say - “Warm water whole day long”
Some – “As soon as water warms, bass go dipper for colder water”
Some – early morning or late evening
Some say – night

Top water, Texas rig, jig, rapila etc.

Head is spinning, help. :unsure:

 

[Speeral]

Heyo,

The advice u have is right for the most part however bass will be in many different spots not all are the same and im talking about large mouth. Look for structure, like downed trees, shore undercuts, docks anything that can be an ambush spot for bass. Those are great spots for spinners and texas rigged worms and craws.

Try and learn many techniques. Also u can drop shot minnows to start and learn how the fish bite and where u get those bites then u can transition to artificials. Read about the techniques and scout the lakes/rivers ur interested in.

It takes time and practice and some luck. Hope that helps.

 

[odoyle]

^^ He's right really .... theres a few different techniques you can get into that can get you bass and you pretty much listed them i personally have gotten luck on spinners dollerama lures Senko's liek they were the bass's last supper and have also gone top water and have gotten luck on that as well

My luck was when i was fishing a inlet pond off the river coming into Pefferlaw on the bottom of simcoe ....

u could catch the bass any time really but they did tend to go to deeper water when the sun was out and if structure wasnt around

TIP
best time was 530 am for a few hr's and 7pm for the same ...

Using 5 inch Senko's on a slip bobber hooked directly to the middle of the worm (i picked up a wacky o-ring tool to save on the number of senko's i go thru ) i would cast out , let it drop 3 or 4 ft, pull up on the rod till the worm hit the slipp bobber and reeled the excess in, So when the worm dropps down it "quivers" and this is something bass cant resist i've found .... i was pulling them out cast after cast after cast .... but then again i tried this tech during other times and have gotten nothing .... so it does have its moments best thing ive found is always have something else in your tackle box to use a J 13 was introduced to me recently as well as a J7 havekt caught the big guys on the J13 but the J7 was a champ for 10-12 inch largies

Top water was best when the sun was almost down i found but then again .... if they are hungry and jumping around you grabbing stuff off the top .... get a spinning torpedo out there or if your good ... get ur frog out and have sum fun with that hoppin him around the weed tops ...

if ur castin out around docks and such, be relentless, they tend to be lazy ive been told as in it takes 3, 4, 5, casts to get that bugger to come out and hit your lure .....

anywho .... this has been what ive found in the past year has worked for me ( since ive only started fishing in may really) and what ive been told by some avid anglers

Hope some of this helps man !

 

[CanadianAngler87]

OK folks.
I am new to fishing at large (and bass fishing in particular)
I am reading a lot of different opinions about best time to fish for Bass.
Some say - “Warm water whole day long”
Some – “As soon as water warms, bass go dipper for colder water”
Some – early morning or late evening
Some say – night

Top water, Texas rig, jig, rapila etc.

Head is spinning, help. :unsure:

 

[CanadianAngler87]

OK folks.
I am new to fishing at large (and bass fishing in particular)
I am reading a lot of different opinions about best time to fish for Bass.
Some say - “Warm water whole day long”
Some – “As soon as water warms, bass go dipper for colder water”
Some – early morning or late evening
Some say – night

Top water, Texas rig, jig, rapila etc.

Head is spinning, help. :unsure:

Where are you fishing? Fishing a lake for Bass is much different then fishing a river. I would start with location. Then match the hatch (Find out what the fish feed on) and start with that.

 

[dockmuskie]

From my experience, I catch most of my bass in shallow water with topwater lures in early morning or evening/night. This is just personally when I find bass most active and you can catch bass at all times of the day.

Here is a paper I just googled that provides very basic tips and ideas of where largemouth bass are and how to fish them. It seemed like it had some good insight when I breezed through it!
http://www.umpquavalleybassmasters.com/bassbook.htm

 

[sunny14]

There are a lot of Good Sites on the www for Bass Fishing, Canadian & American. There's a TON of information out there.

Rods, Reels, Line, Bait, Techniques, Habitat and everything else.

Just Google "Bass Fishing" and you'll have more than you can handle.

I always "Bookmark" the Sites for Future Reference.

This might Help: ... In Your Search. .... Just Click On It.:-D

Sometimes that type of Link doesn't work. So Try This One if not:

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Bass+Fishing

Rick

 

[Klamp]

I've received tons of fishing/hunting DVD's as gifts over the years. The best bass DVD I've watched were the KVD ones. I don't care much for these super-sponsored yahoos but the content speaks for itself. Get the 3-disc one, it talks about conditions, technique and tackle.

http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Kevin-VanDam-Fishing-Collection-Video-3-DVDs/product/80198/

I'm happy to lend anyone the discs.

 

[MichaelVerdirame]

Without reading what everyone else said, this is how I catch 2 lb bass:

Fish for pike or musky.



When I'm actually going for bass:

-they can be found in choked weed shallows 2-3 feet of water in the middle of the hot day. Use a live minnow and have it run around the edges of the weeds. You can toy around with lures, but the minnow will get them if they're there. Circle hook!

-Dropshot submerged weeds or rock piles with a live minnow or a simple 3" white grub.

If you want to go the artificial route, I use the rapala F7 in silver/black for shallow water situations, just to work around the weeds. Doesn't work as well as a real minnow though. Morning and evening, bass will cruise the edges of the lake looking for food.


I don't find bass particularly challenging to catch. If you want to catch bass consistently, well, and the big ones like the pros do on artificials only... then that's a true skill. Not something I can help with.

Everybody has their own methods... these are my methods and they work. Keep it simple! Fishing is crazy.... wayyy too many options and wayyy too many lures to buy.

 

[fish.hunt.love.repeat]

I -love,love,love- bass fishing. It is hands down my favourite type of fishing (subject to possibly change: salmon fishing this year). I almost always river fish... top water lures are my favourite... seem to be most successful and I love seeing a bass jump up and devour the lure (jitterbug, hulapopper, tiny crazy crawler)! Worms are always a good choice as they hide the hook well. Lots of people use plastic baits, I don't. Too many fish either swallow them or people discard of them in the waters... fish then have them in their bellies, think they're full, and die of starvation. Not pretty. If you use spinners be sure to use them with the water flow, not against it. Bass like to face upsteam and wait to attack as something swims downstream.

As for the best time to fish for bass... I find that in low light conditions & cooler water they are most active (early morning & early/late evening). With that said, I have caught some nice bass at 2pm. I really do think they're an aggressive greedy fish... I love aggressive & greedy, ha!

As for fishing for bass on a lake... it's nice because in lots of cases you could take a boat out and 'fish-on, fish-off, fish-on, fish-off' all day. Most prefer night fishing for bass on a lake... cooler temps and calmer waters lead to great bass action.

All in my own experience.
Good luck!

 

[Dugger]

whoa nelly, I don't even know where to begin with this! Like asking how to build a house.... my esteemed forum-mates have dispensed some great tips and advice!
.... i would like to add that once you have some techniques etc under your belt, use quality line (check it often for nicks etc), use barbless hooks (pinch those babies down!), get a reel with a quality drag and carry a hook sharpener!!!!!

NOW GO GIT 'EM!!!! (and bring us pics back please and thank you)

 

[Alfiegee]

whoa nelly, I don't even know where to begin with this! Like asking how to build a house.... my esteemed forum-mates have dispensed some great tips and advice!
.... i would like to add that once you have some techniques etc under your belt, use quality line (check it often for nicks etc), use barbless hooks (pinch those babies down!), get a reel with a quality drag and carry a hook sharpener!!!!!

NOW GO GIT 'EM!!!! (and bring us pics back please and thank you)

I can't agree with my friend Dugger more. Good line and a good reel and drag. Pinch those barbs unless you are looking for dinner it won't cost you any landed fish. Hook sharpener yes, they do have rough mouths.
I fish mostly Smallies in the Grand and find minnows or crayfish work all the time. I fish them 2 ft below a float and just drift it through the pools. Top-waters are exciting to fish as fish.hunt.love.repeat said. I like them mostly early morning or just before dark, even after dark. There's nothing quite like hearing a fish splash a split second before you feel the tug on your rod. All these techniques also leave you open to other types of fish if they are around like Pike, Channel Cats, Musky and Walleye. Not sure about Walleye on top-water tho.

Alfie.

 

[CanadianAngler87]

Not sure about Walleye on top-water tho.

Though it is rare for Eyes to hit top-water it does happen.

 

[manitoubass2]

Though it is rare for Eyes to hit top-water it does happen.

It happens more often then most think!

 

[Sertel]

If you're in KW region, try hitting Guelph lake for practice with all kinds of lures. It'll get you some good experience on the water and there is some great fish to be had, Largies and Smallies! Senkos, spinners, lipless cranks and spoons have been very successful for me there. Don't be afraid to very your colour schemes as well. If a black and red senko doesn't work, try a brighter combo and vise versa! That goes for any lure, too! Im not advocating that you go out and buy every lure in every colour, but look into different colours and ask around at shops to see whats hot! If you have never been to a location, try fan casting. Not only will it hep you find the active fish but it can give you an idea of depth and help you cover a LOT more water in a shorter time period. Top water lure's like heddon torpedo is one of my favourites early morning and evenings, fish it over shallower weedy areas or sunken logs and structure and just wait for an adrenaline rush when you get a good hit! Good luck Eka, and like Dugger said, Lets see some photos!

 

[sethook]

Wow!This is a great threat. A lot of info.I am sure anyone can pickup some tips for bass fishing on this threat And thank you all to those avid anglers whom willing to share their knowledge.Thanks,

 

[AaronKrick]

I like using crankbaits that are in bright colours and throwing beside weeds, trees, banks and shelter. I catch most ofmy bass on crankbaits probably because they work very well and I am a crankbait adict. I have never bought a crankbait that has never caught a bass :smile:

 

[Dugger]

ok ok, twist my arm....

a hot little jig I use for Smallmouth that is killer is Bass Pro 1.5 inch tube in Pumpkinseed colour.... that lil sucker is deadly for large and small Smallies

 

[eltal]

Wow folks, thanks for help.
That’s really cool.
So much info.

Here is another good resource
http://www.bassresource.com/how-to-fish/

happy fishin you’all