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Getting Started

From the outside looking in, bass fishing can be perceived as a confusing and overwhelming sport. With so many lures, baits, and equipment lining the tackle store shelves, it's no wonder why many anglers have a hard time deciding what to actually stock their tackle boxes with. Let me guide you through the best baits to have on board in order to do battle with Mr. Bucketmouth - learning what to use and when to apply them will simplify the bassin' game tremendously, allowing you to truly enjoy America's greatest and most treasured pastime.

Rod, Reel, and Line

Choosing a rod and reel combination is an important step for those looking to join the bassin' fraternity. Much like the game of golf, fishing for largemouth is best undertaken by utilizing a variety of different rods (or clubs) to maximize techniques and baits. Once you become a proficient angler, you will no doubt slowly add to your expanding rod and reel collection. Until that time, I will cover a few of the basic set-ups in order to get you started on the right foot.

A basic rod and reel combination for largemouth bass would be a six-and-a-half foot medium action graphite spinning rod, coupled with a spinning reel loaded with eight- to ten-pound test monofilament fishing line. A rod of this nature is a great starting point for most anglers, as it is capable of handling a wide-variety of lures and techniques, and is much easier to handle than a baitcasting set-up for beginners. Now, for optimum control and for using a wider-range of baits and line, a baitcasting rod and reel is certainly the way to go. I'd suggest starting with a six-and-a-half foot medium action graphite rod, combined with a smooth-handling baitcast reel. (Load this one up with 14-pound test monofilament.) This increased line strength and rod capacity will allow you to fish thicker cover, throw heavier lures, and battle fish more effectively. Although many people are afraid to pick up a baitcaster for fear of the dreaded "birds nest," they are actually quite easy to use and adapt to if you put in a bit of time and practice on the water.

One last rod that I would recommend to those that like to fish heavy cover is a flipping stick. A flipping stick is designed for use with jigs and plastics for fish that are buried in thick weeds, under docks, or around other structure areas. A baitcasting rod of this type should measure between seven and seven-and-a-half feet long, should have a heavy action and be paired up with a reel strung with 20- to 25-pound test line.

The best advice I can pass along when it comes to rods and reels is to choose wisely and try to pick out a quality product. When you're battling a lunker bucketmouth on the end of your line, the last thing you want to endure is the heartbreak of equipment failure.

Stable weather, overcast days or prime feeding times are your best bet for throwing a spinnerbait.

Stocking the Tackle Box

For those anglers new to the sport of bass fishing, or for those looking to hone their skills, one of the greatest dilemmas you face is deciding what to put in the tackle box. Although there are thousands of lures out on the market, choosing a few of the well-known styles and proven baits will help you on your way to catching more and bigger fish.

Spinnerbaits

Spinnerbaits are a well-known and often-used bait for largemouth bass, mainly because they are easy to work and produce consistent action. This horizontal bait is generally fished fast, and is a great search tool for locating active and aggressive fish. The simple design allows for easy use; in fact, a basic "chuck-and-wind-it-in" approach is often the most productive.

The weedless make-up of the spinnerbait is advantageous for working the vegetation - the precise location you'll most likely find the largest concentrations of bass. Don't be afraid to work your way through and over pad beds, alongside docks and timber, and over large expansive flats. (If fish are around, they will certainly make their presence known.)

Stable weather, overcast days or prime feeding times are your best bet for throwing this lure, as well as anytime you come across shallow water while out on the lake. Another proven technique is to suddenly stop the bait during retrieve, allowing it to flutter down to the bottom. This works well for following fish, as well as for bass that are holding tight to cover.

Choose a few varieties of spinnerbaits with Colorado and willow-leaf blades, in both gold and silver hues. Black, white, or chartreuse are proven winners when it comes to skirt colors.

Crankbaits

Crankbaits are used to mimic or imitate the precise food that bass usually feed on - other fish. Although there are many different kinds of crankbaits on the market, the beginner angler should concentrate on purchasing a handful of lures that can scour the different layers of the water.

Crankbaits are a great style of bait as they can be worked fast, slow or anywhere in between.

Depending on the style and size of lip, a crankbait can run anywhere from inches below the surface to 20-plus feet deep.

Choose a shallow, medium, and deep runner in order to cover most of the water you will come across, making sure to pick up baits that are short and stubby in appearance. (Largemouth bass prefer these to long and thin baits.)

Lipless crankbaits are another bait that deserves a place in a bass angler's box. These lures can be "counted down" (they sink approximately one-foot per second) to the exact depth that you are targeting. The best technique for these chunks of plastic is to burn them in as fast as you can reel. Hang on tight, as largemouth love to hit these lures like a freight train!

Crankbaits are a great style of bait as they can be worked fast, slow or anywhere in between. Depending on the rhythm or cadence you impart with the rod, you can attract aggressive or neutral fish by utilizing simple changes in your technique.

Deciding on what color to use can be a tricky proposition. My advice is to stick with natural colors when faced with clear water conditions (baby bass, silver, white, shad, perch) and change to brighter colors as the water visibility decreases (chartreuse, orange, red.)

Plastics

Tackle shelves are literally heaving with every style, shape, and color of plastic creature that one can imagine. (Great variety for the experienced angler, but overkill for the novice!)

Whether they take the shape of worms, crawfish, lizards or frogs, they generally perform the same function -- and that is to catch bucketfuls of bass. Plastic baits are great for both active and neutral largemouth, and can be fished in both open water and thick cover. (Texas-rigging plastic baits is a technique that consists of burying a hook to make it weedless. This application works great when fish are hiding in lily pads, thick weed clumps, docks or fallen timber.)

For those starting out, I'd suggest a sample of plastic baits.

Fishing these baits is quite simple and straightforward. Cast your plastic worm, lizard or craw out and let it fall to the bottom on a slack line. Retrieve the bait in with a series of hops, pulls and tugs, while maintaining contact with the bottom structure. Fish will suck these lures up in a blink of an eye, so be prepared for any "ticks," a weightless feeling or slight line movement. Once this is transmitted down the line, it's time to set the hook fast and hard, all the while keeping steady pressure on the fish.

Plastics are superb tools for fishing deep structure areas and weedlines. Using the appropriate size worm weight (1/4- to 1/2-ounce) will enable you to dredge up some bass while hopping a worm or craw along the lake bottom.

For those starting out, I'd suggest a sample of plastic baits, including six- and eight-inch worms, four-and-a-half to six-inch craws and a few varieties of six- or eight-inch lizards.

This selection should cover most bases, and the ability to add to your collection is almost limitless as your knowledge progresses. Stick with the same color scheme as you did with your crankbaits, although adding blue, crawfish, and June bug hues will also add to the effectiveness of these baits. Make sure you purchase a high quality, razor-sharp hook to go with these baits. A good selection in the 2/0 to 4/0 size should work well for most situations you will encounter.

Topwaters

Topwater fishing for bucketmouths is an exciting and visually thrilling technique to take to the lake. No other technique in the bassin' world can illicit such heart-stopping moments and long stretches of sheer anticipation.

There are many different styles of topwater baits available to the angler, although the one thing they all have in common is the ability to create a commotion on the surface of the water. (This commotion is what drives the bass to strike out in anger or in hunger.)

Most topwater baits have either a prop to produce sound and churn the water (buzzbait, chuggers), a concave mouth to throw water and create a popping sound (poppers) or have no sound or body mechanism whatsoever, relying instead on the angler's actions to impart movement and noise (cigar-style baits.)

Buzzbaits need to be retrieved quickly on the surface of the water, as they will sink if you hesitate while reeling.

Owning at least one bait in each of the three categories of topwaters will allow you to appeal to the bass' needs and wants, while also covering all the bases for topwater technique. And technique with topwaters is generally the easy part. Simply cast the lure out, allowing the ripples to subside, then retrieving your bait back with a series of pulls, jerks or steady reeling. (Buzzbaits will need to be retrieved quickly on the surface of the water, as they will sink if you hesitate while reeling.)

Topwater baits appeal to active fish. This can mean actively feeding on prey or actively moving throughout the water column. Very rarely will you hook a negative mood fish on top. (Conditions such as cold fronts, unstable weather, or severe heat coupled with direct sun overhead, are times when a topwater should be put back in the box in exchange for a plastic bait or jig and pig - odds are the fish will shun their nose at surface presentations during these times.)

Topwater plugs excel during low-light conditions. Early morning or evening periods will see an increase in bass activity, meaning the chances for success rise considerably. (The same can be said for overcast and rainy weather.)

I try not to spend too much time debating color schemes when it comes to topwaters, as I believe the fish is less interested in the hue of your bait, and more so in the action. If the water you are fishing is extremely clear and calm, choose a natural colored presentation, as the fish will have a greater opportunity to inspect your bait under these conditions. For other situations, I usually select a brightly colored bait in order for myself to see it better when out in the water.

Jig and Pig

A jig and pig is composed of a jig head and skirt (jig) and a plastic or pork trailer in the form of a craw or frog (pig). By combining a weed guard, this bait is perfectly designed for delving into the heaviest cover you can come across.

This "finesse-type" bait is perfect for cold front conditions when the fish are tight to cover and relying on a lure to "swim" into their lair to make them eat. It also excels during hot midday periods when bass will hole up in the shade for cover.

Flipping or pitching a jig and pig into weed pockets, along fallen timber, under boat docks and undercut banks, and parallel to thick weedlines are tried and true targets. Allow this vertical bait to sink on a slack line until it reaches bottom, carefully lifting and hopping the bait in place to arouse attention. Much like the plastic offerings, bass will mouth or suck in a jig, leaving only a tap on the line or a weightless feeling to betray their presence. Hit them hard with a hookset and keep them coming in the direction of the boat, well away from any cover or structure you are near.

My favorite colors for jig and pigs are black and blue, brown and orange and black and green, although experimenting with different shades and trailer styles will often be your best bet.

Bass fishing does not have to be a complicated game if you know the basics of lure selection and techniques. Knowing when and what to throw is half the battle in becoming a certified bass professor when out on your favorite lake.