Finding Bass vs Lure Selection

[soflabasser]

Finding a good bass fishing spot does not guarantee you will catch bass every time you fish in this location, especially big bass. You still have to know what technique to use, and how to use it. For example, there is a highly pressured public park that I like to fish that most people say is not a good place to fish, yet it is a great place for me to catch big bass. I noticed the people that complain about this park are using the same predictable techniques most people use, so I am not surprised they are not getting the results they are looking for. The bass in these highly pressured bodies of water learn quick, so it pays to figure out what these bass want, and when they want it. Because of this I feel 50% of bass fishing success is finding a good location, and 50% is knowing what technique to use, at least in the highly pressured bodies of water I fish in.

[Zcoker]

I look at it this way: there's always a specific reason why bass do what they do, or stay where they stay, or hit when they hit....it's not some kind of random event. Bass also turn on in flurries, which means it can be dead quiet in a certain areas and then, later on, boom! Bass are also responsive to wind changes, cloud cover, temperature changes....many of these changes or factors can have a specific effect on how bass behave. Of course, being in the right place at the right time with the right cast under the right condition(s) is what it's all about. This is were time and motion comes into play. If an area is not doing so well, I move around, coming back to the spot later on, hoping to hit into that flurry of feeding or under any other favorable condition. Just the other night, for example, I hit a favorable area and it was dead calm with nothing going on. I literally nailed the place. Came back about an hour later with a light wind in the mix and caught an 8 pounder. Later on I hit another area, same thing, dead quite. Came back a little later on and Wham-O! Caught a bunch of 5-6 pounders. This has happened to me many, many times and has solidified itself into my fishing routine. In that regard, I like to fish more dynamically as opposed to statically. Lure selection for me is secondary, believe it or not. I like top-water so I mainly fish top-water lures. In that regard, I have perfected my technique with top-water lures which gives me the best advantage. Fish in a way that works best for you, would be my best response. 

[Junk Fisherman]

100% location since you can't catch fish if they are not there.

 

BUT in many cases you have a lot of fishermen that know where the bass are.  Around me, the pressure is so intense that everything is mostly a community hole.  In Lake Michigan, we all fish basically the same stuff.  Then it becomes a matter of lure choice, presentation, and fish catching abilities.  Many times, I have come in right behind someone and caught fish they didn't.  Yesterday, I was a coangler in a tournament and we fished an area about the size of a football field all day.  My boater won the tournament and there were many other boats around us that struggled.  My boater had his limit before I caught a single fish.  Simply put, I wasn't using what he was and the buzzbait, frog, pitched baits, Chatterbait, and Ned rig wasn't working.  After I stubbornly took one of his baits, I caught a couple.  Then the sun came out and the bite died.  

[Munkin]

On 7/22/2022 at 5:53 PM, scaleface said:

Maybe . Bass are everywhere in Missouri . I even catch them out of ditches . 

Having spent 17 weeks there I agree.

 

Allen 

[uglyasheck]

Location of bass is the  key but its not  everything  Lure, color ,presentation, direction of cast , speed of retrieve and rate of fall all can can mean the difference in a couple of bass and multitude of bass caught.

[Tennessee Boy]

I’ve never been able to catch fish that are not there.

 

I’ve never been able to know if fish are there until I figure out how to catch them.

 

Wait… I have MEGA Live now.  Never mind.  ?

[Koz]

Chicken or the egg?

[scaleface]

Yesterday I fished a rip rap dam . There  seems to always be  bass here . Fished the entire thing with a vintage Bomber  Model A silent crankbait , it has proven itself many times on rip rap . Not a bite . Went back to the area of the dam that usually is the most productive , tied a ned rig to my fairy wand and quickly caught about a dozen . 

[king fisher]

Yesterday, I couldn't find the bass, or the right lure, so I went home and ordered more tackle.

[BayouSlide]

3 hours ago, king fisher said:

Yesterday, I couldn't find the bass, or the right lure, so I went home and ordered more tackle.

 

I thought I was the only one who's discovered it's much easier to find fishing tackle than fish ?

[Bird]

 

We're in the dog days here and the bite has slowed considerably.

 

 

[jbsoonerfan]

It doesn't matter how pretty the flowers are if you can't find a woman to give them to.

[Tennessee Boy]

1 hour ago, jbsoonerfan said:

It doesn't matter how pretty the flowers are if you can't find a woman to give them to.