How To Catch Largemouth Bass

Do you want to learn how to catch largemouth bass? The largemouth bass is one of the most exciting gamefish in the world. They are found in the central and eastern United States as well as northern Mexico. They are a favorite of anglers as they strike aggressively, fight hard, and usually leap out of the water in a display of acrobatics. In this article, we will discuss how to catch largemouth bass, fishing techniques to use, baits, lures, and equipment needed to go largemouth bass fishing.

How To Catch Largemouth Bass

1. Baitcasting

Baitcasting is one popular fishing method that can be used to catch largemouth bass. Baitcasting requires a more experienced angler to keep things under control as the spool moves with the casting of the line. Baitcasting reels are more advanced than spin-casting ones. A baitcasting reel allows you to drop the line in a more crowded area or in a hot spot. Find structures that may have largemouth bass and cast your line to get bites from the fish.

2. Fly Fishing

You can use your fly fishing skills to catch bass. Use flies that look like the prey the fish is eating in that area and cast your line near structures like docks, trees, piers, pilings, etc.

3. Bottom Fishing

Bottom fishing is another method to catch largemouth bass. Look for structures they might be hiding around and drop your bait into those areas to get them to bite.

4. Trolling

Trolling is another fishing method to fish for largemouth. With trolling, you move the boat over structures that the fish may be residing in and move your bait over it as the boat moves slowly. With trolling you will cover a lot of ground and catch not only bass but many other types of fish.

Largemouth Bass Tackle

There are many options for the largemouth bass tackle. The equipment you settle on will depend on the technique you use to fish for bass. A medium-action casting setup will work for most bass fishing methods. However, you can opt for a heavy baitcasting rod with a 50lb braid with a 30lb leader to fish heavy trout imitation swimbaits or a light spinning rod with 4lb test to fish small drop-shot plastics.

How To Catch Largemouth Bass From Shore

When fishing for bass from the shore, look for structures that they may be hiding in to ambush their prey. Docks, rocks, weeds, and bridge pilings are some of the structures to target when fishing from the shore. Drop your line around those structures to get bites and catch bass.

How To Catch Largemouth Bass in Summer

During the summer, bass will move to deeper water in search of cooler water. Look for weeds that bass will use as cover to use as shade from the sunlight and also ambush their prey. Look for spots where the weeds make a wall or create an edge. Bass will be found there seeking cover. Use crankbaits or jigs to fish for them.

How To Catch Largemouth Bass in a Lake

When fishing bass in lakes, look for structures like underwater humps, rock or wood pilings, and channels. You will most likely find bass around these structures. Use soft plastics like Carolina-rigged worms can be used to get bites.

How To Catch Largemouth Bass At Night

When fishing for largemouth bass at night, look for transitions where there is deep water close to the shore. Largemouth bass will move through these transitions to find baitfish. Additionally, drop-offs, points, channel bends, and ditches are areas that you should target when fishing for largemouth bass during the night.

Use loud lures like topwater lures, spinnerbaits, lipless crankbaits, and buzz baits. At night, you need to get the attention of the bass and these loud lures will make a noise to attract them. Adding scent to your lures and using baits that make sounds like crawfish will do the trick.

Full moon is a good time to fish at night whether it is for largemouth bass or other species of fish. Why? Because with a full moon, the fish can see much better in the water than baitfish. Even humans can see better at night when there is a full moon. Casting and jigging are fishing methods often used to catch largemouth bass at night.

How To Catch Largemouth Bass In A Pond

When fishing for largemouth bass in a pond, look for points, corners, logs, fallen trees, rocks, water drains, culverts, etc. Points along the shoreline will usually hold largemouth bass. Largemouth bass will always find a structure that they can use as cover to ambush their prey.

Points work well as cover for largemouth bass and when you find points in a pond, target that area for largemouth bass. Additionally, largemouth bass also use corners as perfect areas to sit and ambush their prey.

Shad, minnows, crappie, and small bullhead catfish are some of the bait for largemouth bass. Lures also work when fishing for largemouth bass in a pond.

The Texas rig worm, topwater frog, and chatter baits are some of the lures that work well when fishing for largemouth bass in a pond. Baitcasting, fly fishing, bottom fishing, and jigging are fishing methods used when fishing for largemouth bass in a pond.

Best Bait For Largemouth Bass

1. Shad

Shad works well as live bait for largemouth bass.

2. Yellow Perch

Largemouth bass primarily eats small fish like shad, yellow perch, sunfish, and shiners.

3. Sunfish

Sunfish is another good bait for largemouth bass as they like small fish.

4. Shiners

Shiners, sunfish, yellow perch, and shad are some of the fish largemouth bass targets and they work well as baits. When learning how to catch largemouth bass, these are some of the best baits to catch it.

5. Catfish

Catfish works well as bait for largemouth bass when it is big enough.

6. Trout

Trout also works well as bait for largemouth bass.

7. Walleye

Largemouth bass will also go after walleye if you use it as bait.

8. Minnows

Minnows work well as bait since it is a schooling fish that attracts largemouth bass. When learning how to catch largemouth bass, minnows are good to use as bait.

9. Crayfish

Crayfish is one of the best baits for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and redeye bass. When learning how to catch largemouth bass, remember that crayfish works well for the family of bass.

10. Bluegill

Live bluegills under a bobber is a great way to catch largemouth bass that is suspended in the water column.

11. Nightcrawlers

Nightcrawlers work well as bait for most fish and they also work well for largemouth bass.

Best Largemouth Bass Lures

1. Jigs

Jigs work well as lures for largemouth bass.

2. Crankbaits

When you are learning how to catch largemouth bass, remember that jigs, crankbaits, plastic worms, spinnerbaits, and swimbaits are effective lures for catching largemouth bass.

3. Jerkbaits

Jerkbaits also work well as lures for largemouth bass.

4. Rubber Worms

Rubber worms are effective lures for largemouth bass.

5. Spinnerbaits

Spinnerbaits are effective lures for catching largemouth bass.

6. Swimbaits

Swimbaits are effective lures when fishing for largemouth bass.

7. Topwater Lures

Topwater lures are one of the best lures for largemouth bass fishing.

8. Weedless Jigs

Weedless jigs work well for largemouth bass fishing.

9. Spoons

Spoons are effective when fishing for largemouth bass.

10. Jig Trailers

Jig trailers work well to lure largemouth bass.

Largemouth Bass Fishing Tips

1. Adult largemouth bass prey on shad, yellow perch, shiners, sunfish, trout, walleye, and catfish.

2. You can find largemouth bass closer to the shore during spring, summer mornings, and winter afternoons.

3. Largemouth bass can be found around structures such as docks, fallen trees, and vegetation.

4. Largemouth bass is slower and lethargic in cold water and can be caught using a slower retrieve.

5. Largemouth bass spawns in spring to early summer.

6. Largemouth bass usually spawn in shallow water with direct sunlight that is within 10 feet of the shore usually with depths of 1 to 6 feet.

7. Largemouth bass are more active during spring and early summer when the water is warmer and they can be caught in shallow water.

8. The best time to fish for largemouth bass is early morning and evening.

9. Largemouth bass has good eyesight that they use to identify prey.

10. Largemouth bass see very well in low-light conditions than most of their prey.

11. You can use live bait and artificial lures to catch largemouth bass.

12. Mature bass move alone while the younger ones are found in schools.

13. Largemouth bass like slow-moving waters with soft bottoms.

14. Largemouth bass like clear water.

15. Fly fishing, baitcasting, trolling, and bottom fishing are fishing methods used to catch largemouth bass.

16. Largemouth rarely goes after dead bait.

17. When you fish in a new area, river, lake, or shore, try to find out what the bass in that area are eating and match the hatch. Ask other anglers in the area or visit the local fishing tackle shop and talk with the people who work there.

18. If you are not getting any success with one bait, try another one. Vary the baits and lures until you get a fish.

19. One efficient fishing technique to use when fishing largemouth bass is the drop-shot.

20. On sunny days, largemouth bass will look for cover to provide to see their prey. Look for covers like docks, logs, and weeds.

21. On very hot days, search for largemouth bass in the deepest holes in the lakes. Find deep structures like rocks, bridge pilings, channels, or drop-offs.

22. Many anglers prefer baitcasting equipment over spinning ones because baitcasting gear is more versatile and allows for more dynamic fishing abilities.

23. On sunny days, look for frogs that swim from pad to pad as they attract the attention of largemouth bass.

24. Use lures if you will release the fish back into the water. Hook removal is easier with lures than with live bait.

25. Largemouth bass starts moving into shallow water during spring.

The Bottom Line

The largemouth bass is a popular gamefish for many anglers as they aggressively strike, fight hard, and can be found in many locations. In this article, we discuss fishing techniques, bass behaviors, fishing tips, and equipment to catch more largemouth bass.

If you also fish other types of fish like haddock, lingcod, white bass, black sea bass, spotted bass, and chain pickerel, you can read how to catch haddock, how to catch lingcod, how to catch white bass, how to catch black sea bass, how to catch spotted bass, how to catch yellow bass, and how to catch chain pickerel to catch more fish.