Bass fishing is not only a great way to get out and enjoy the great outdoors but a good way to up your game and skill. When you are first getting started, every small accomplishment feels amazing, and you can’t wait to get back out there and keep fishing. As you learn, there is a natural progression that happens with bass fishing. Most people don’t typically step out on a boat and land a giant on the first try!
There are, however, plenty of things that you can do in order to catch more fish. Reading this guide is a great first step! Whether you are deciding on things such as lures or baits, bass can be finicky eaters and catching them is no easy feat.
What Lures Should You Be Using?
Most veteran anglers will instantly know what lure to use and where to start fishing in the lakes that they frequent, but what about a beginner or somebody new to the area? If you are just starting out, or if you don’t know where to get started on a new body of water, start out by looking for any type of structure that bass may be hiding in or around. Bass love to hang around cover, and these are great places to start!
There are plenty of lure options, and all will catch fish. It is smart to have a wide variety of lures at your disposal, in order to figure out what the bass are biting on. Make sure you bring along:
- crankbaits
- spinnerbaits
- plastic worms
- jigs
Testing Your Lures For Best Results
The best thing you can do when starting to fish, whether you are new to bass fishing or just new to the water that you are fishing, is to test different options. Every place is a little different and even though the fish are all somewhat similar, they can prefer different things depending on the location.
If both a crankbait and a spinnerbait are not producing any good results, try some plastic worms. Plastic worms do not really draw as much attention or prompt the bass to bite as good as the other options, so it may take longer to get a catch while using them. Worms are a great way to fish a heavily pressured area where the bass are reluctant to bite, as long as you have plenty of patience!
Using Live Bait
Live bait is another option, and there are plenty of different live baits that work well with largemouth bass. The one problem with live bait is making sure you properly store and handle your bait. If you use baitfish, you will want to have a well or a bucket to keep them throughout the day. Bass can be caught using small creatures for bait, such as
- minnows
- crawfish
- worms
- frogs
- salamanders
- leeches
One of the biggest problems that many anglers run across with live bait is that bass have a tendency to swallow a hook much more often. If you do fish with live bait and want to try to avoid this, pay close attention to the bait so that you can set the hook at the very first sign of a bite, long before the bass scoops it up.
When it comes to all the different baits and lures to catch a bass, try not to overthink it. It can be a little overwhelming to try to pick the right one but testing out a few options will quickly let you know what the bass in your area are wanting to eat.
Last-Minute Tips
Lastly, a few more tips to help in case the bass are being difficult or not responding well to anything that you are trying:
- Try keeping all of your old, shredded up plastic worms that you fish with. These can help you out in hard to fish or pressured areas, as bass love to attack what they think is wounded prey.
- Use red hooks with your setups. The red coloring makes the fish think that the lure is injured and bleeding, so it is a great and simple way to trick them into biting.
- Don’t forget to make plenty of noise as well, as injured prey is usually thrashing around and making plenty of sounds.
While this is in no way a complete and comprehensive list of everything bass fishing, (stay tuned for new articles) we hope this guide was filled with enough tips and tricks to get you excited to go back out and get on the water. Bass fishing can be extremely addicting, and by using some of these simple tricks you can make it even more so!
