12 Bass Fishing Tips

Do you want to learn how to catch more bass? Do you know that bass is one of the popular fishes in the waters? In this article, we discuss bass fishing tips that you can implement on your fishing trips to catch more bass like the pros.

How To Catch Bass

1. Stillwater Fishing

Stillwater fishing is one fishing method that anglers use to catch bass. It is ideal for beginners as well as experienced anglers. When still fishing, drop your bait into the water and just wait for the fish to strike. When you get a strike, control the line and quickly reel in the fish.

2.  Casting

Casting can also be used to catch bass. You can cast from a boat or from the shore. When casting for fish, try casting at different areas and cast at a long distance to find the areas the fish is holding out.

3. Drift Fishing

You can fish for bass by drift fishing. When drift fishing, slowly move your boat over different habitats and let your bait move slowly in the water. Drift fishing covers a lot of areas and can be very effective as you can also catch a variety of fish.

4. Fly Fishing

Fly fishing is another fishing method that can be used to catch bass.  Catching bass using fly fishing will put your fly fishing skills to the utmost test but it will challenge you to work on your skills and it can prove to be rewarding.

Bass Fishing Tackle

A 7- foot medium action fishing rod with a medium soft tip will work for fishing for bass.

Bass Fishing Tips

1. Find Where Bass Resides

Bass likes to reside in cover. This is the area with old and broken down structures like boat docks, wooden structures, big rocks, fallen trees, lily pads, thick vegetation, tree stumps, access points, creek channels, drop-offs, holes, drain pipes, etc. Bass uses them to protect themselves as well as to ambush their prey.

2. Use Google Earth

Take advantage of the technology that is available today. Use Google Earth to find bodies of water with a healthy concentration of fish. Chances are bass will be in the water. Look for creeks, ledges, and old structures on the satellite image as possible covers for bass. After identifying these structures on Google Earth, you can find them on your GPS. This research can help you be more productive when you go bass fishing.

3.  Match Their Prey

When you go bass fishing watch and see what is in the lake that is prey for bass. Bass eat almost anything as their diet is broad. Are there frogs in the lake? Do you see shads and bluegills? Talk with other anglers and find out what the bass are preying on in that body of water. With that information, you can match that and serve it as your bait. This little bit of investigative work can prove very rewarding.

4.  Watch The Weather

The behavior of bass can be affected by weather conditions. Observing how bass reacts under different weather conditions can help you be successful with bass fishing.  When it is a sunny day, bass will seek the comfort of cover or under structures or shaded areas. Armed with this knowledge, you can use a slower bait like a Texas rig soft plastic or you might want to flip and pitch your bait to the cover and hold on tight for the bass to come to get it.

5. Monitor The Water Temperature

The water temperature can vary depending on the time of the year and location. The feeding patterns and activity level of bass are directly affected by the water temperature. The general consensus is to use slower baits in cooler water temperatures and faster and more aggressive lures in warm water. However, knowing the trend in temperature change is more vital than knowing what is the actual temperature.

6. Feeding Time

Bass feed early in the mornings and late evenings when visibility is low and shallower forage is accessible. At this time of the day, bass will be more active and predictable. You can take advantage of their position in shallow areas.

7. Embrace The Wind

Even though it may pose a greater challenge to bass fish during windy days, especially when the wind is blowing over 15 miles per hour, fishing in windy conditions can be very rewarding.  Bass will be more receptive on windy days and the bite will pick up. Use faster-moving baits when the wind is blowing as the bass will go for your spinnerbaits and crankbaits.

8.   Colorful Lures

Bass likes color. Colorful lures have always been a hit with bass. There are different theories for this attraction to color. Red is the best color for bass. One theory is that bass thinks the lure is injured and the red color is blood. This seems to be a trick to get them to bite.

9.  Wounded Prey

Keep your shredded plastic worms. Bass like to pounce on wounded prey and the beat-up and shredded plastic worms look like wounded prey to bass. They will go for it.

10. Make Noise

Make noise on the water by stopping your cast halfway and letting the lure hit the water and skipping a few times. This will make a lot of noise and will get the attention of the bass. This will usually result in a bite.

11. Well-Rounded Angler

Try to be a well-rounded angler. Challenge yourself by fishing at new locations and learning and practicing new techniques. Whatever the fishing norms, equipment, techniques, etc. that you use regularly, don’t use them. Try other completely new tools, techniques, and lakes to improve as an angler.

12.  Knot Tying

Learn to tie the knot and practice it until it becomes second nature. Learning to tie a knot will save you fishing time and help you take home more fish. If you are interested in knot tying tools, we reviewed the best knot tying tools that you can read.

Types of Bass

There are a number of different types of bass. It will be to your advantage to learn to identify them as each one requires a slightly different approach. Bass can be distinguished by a few features such as jaw length, size of stripes, number, number of spines, and the geographical region they are located in. There are many more types of bass but these are the ones you will most likely encounter.

1. Largemouth Bass

The upper jaw of a largemouth bass extends out past the eye and they feature spiny dorsal fins sandwiched by a deep notch.

2. Smallmouth Bass

The smallmouth bass’s upper jaw doesn’t extend past the eye.  They feature spiny dorsal fins and three dark lines on their cheek. They also have nine to ten spines on the dorsal fin.

3. Florida Bass

The Florida bass is regarded as a subspecies of the largemouth bass. The upper jaw extends past the eye like the largemouth bass and it has nine spines on the dorsal fin.

4. Redeye Bass

The Redeye bass features small dark spots below the lateral line and a second dorsal that seems to be red. The upper jaw doesn’t extend past the eye.

5.  Guadalupe Bass

The Guadalupe bass features 10 to 12 dark lateral stripes and its upper jaw does not extend past the eye.

6. Alabama Bass

The Alabama bass features lateral blotches and spiny, soft dorsal fins that are connected by a shallow notch.

7.  Shoal Bass

The Shoal bass features dark blotches that fade as it ages. Its upper jaw does not extend beyond the eye. The Shoal bass looks like the Redeye bass without the reddish color.

Best Bass Lures

1. Spinnerbait

Spinnerbaits are similar to crankbaits and can work in almost any condition. They are very effective and cover a large amount of water.

2. Crankbait

Crankbait is a good bass lure. You can quickly cover a lot of areas using crankbaits. They can be found in a wide range of sizes and colors.

3. Soft Plastic Worms

Soft plastic worms are added to hooks and they mimic prey animals. They work to get the bass to hold on to a hook.

4. Swimbait

Swimbaits mimic the swimming motion of small fish thanks to their jointed and hollow bodies. You can find swimbaits in hard and soft versions.

5. Dropshot

The dropshot is similar to the Carolina rig and is popular with professional bass anglers.

6. Carolina Rig

The Carolina rig is one of the most popular rigs used by anglers when bass fishing.  Place a sinker on the mainline attached to the pole. Then put a glass or plastic bead that and the swivel.

7. Wacky Rig

The wacky rig is good for fishing on open water with soft plastics.

8. Topwater Frog

If you are trying to lure bass from under cover, a topwater frog can be used to accomplish your goal.

9. Texas Rig

The Texas rig is also another popular rig used by many anglers.  it allows you to hide the hook end while ensuring that the bass can take a good bite.

10. Jigs

Jigs work well with a number of reel and rod movements. They are versatile and are a favorite for many anglers.

Best Live Bait For Bass

There are many different live baits that you can use for bass fishing. Live bait comes with the problem of storage. Some of the live bait are:

1. Minnows

Schools of minnows are one of the best baits that anglers use to catch bass. Nothing attracts bass more than a school of minnows. Minnows are also used when fishing for a variety of fish.

2. Crawfish

Crawfish is also a good bait for attracting and catching bass. Like, many fish, like crawfish and are lured by anglers using crawfish.

3. Salamanders

Salamanders is a great bait that attracts bass and anglers use it when bass fishing.

4. Worms

Worms are loved by fish and bass is no exception. it is often used by anglers when targeting bass and most species of fish.

5. Leeches

Leeches is a great bait to catch bass and it works well when anglers use it when fishing.

6. Frogs

Frogs work well as bait and anglers often use parts of the frog as bait when bass fishing.

7. Creek Chubs

Creek chubs are also good bait that anglers use for fishing for bass and other fish.

The Bottom Line

Bass is one of the most common freshwater fishes in the world. It is also a popular fish for anglers. In this article, we discussed bass fishing tips to help you catch more bass.

It is our hope that after reading this article, you will learn how to catch more bass and become a better bass angler. How to fish a pond is explained in this article which you can read from this link. You can also read black drum fishing tips, weakfish fishing tips, bluefish fishing tips, and pike fishing tips.