My little tricks to catch more bass. What are yours?

[Swamp Girl]

You all know I like to have a busy boat. One thing that helps me achieve this is to have a lure in the water as much as possible. Whether I was launching a canoe in the wilderness of northwestern Ontario or launching a canoe at four in the morning on a Maine bog, I always cast before I launch. Ten yards out, I cast again. 

 

And I always rig my rods and reels the night before as I don't want to waste time in my canoe changing lures. I watch too many YouTubers rigging AFTER they arrive at water. 

 

When I'm paddling, I troll one rod and sometimes two. I catch hundreds of bass every year trolling. A canoe isn't like a motor, which keeps the speed steady. My trolled lures are forever speeding up and slowing down and going this way and that. In short, they look unpredictable, alive, and tasty.

 

And when I'm retrieving a lure, I'm not watching the lure unless it's a wacky worm. Otherwise, I can feel what's happening. Instead, I'm looking for feeding bass while I retrieve. 

 

I multi-task to keep my boat busy and I keep fishing at all times to that same end.

 

 

What is/are your trick(s) to catch more bass?  

[T-Billy]

10 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

One thing that helps me achieve this is to have a lure in the water as much as possible.

#1 Ya have to be around fish. #2 THIS. ☝️Gotta keep your bait wet. 

[softwateronly]

I think the only interesting thing I do is what I learned here.  Unpleasant weather for humans means little to nothing to the fish.  At certain times, rain, snow, cold, and wind can all be keys to more and better fish.  

 

scott

[GRiver]

I do pre-rig my rods, put line conditioner on them, Kinda give them the once over. I don’t do anything special, except look for snakes in the boat.

9 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

When I'm paddling, I troll one rod and sometimes two

This reminded me of a fellow angler I met. He kept a wacky rigged soft plastic on a bobber behind his boat. Said the bobber moving with surface conditions kept the senko moving below, said he caught many fish like this.

9 hours ago, T-Billy said:

Gotta keep your bait wet. 

This what my grandfather said all the time, “can’t catch no fish without bait in the water.

 

9 hours ago, softwateronly said:

Unpleasant weather for humans means little to nothing to the fish.

I have to keep reminding myself this, I’ll go out, or stay out, in summer time rains, no lightening. 

[IYAOYAS]

When I can't get bit I tie on a roostertail. It has never let me down

[Pat Brown]

Jake is a kid and I don't always make him endure the struggles I endure.  I'm all in on tricking big bass with my skills but I don't expect everyone else to always be as devoted as I am.

 

He does really well with live crawdads, shiners, shad and baby sunfish and of course good old fashioned night crawlers when the bite is extremely tough and I don't want him to get discouraged!

[padlin]

1 hour ago, IYAOYAS said:

When I can't get bit I tie on a roostertail. It has never let me down

I fall back to regular Agila’s in gold, if there’s fish I’ll catch something.

 

No idea why, but I’ve never had luck with rooster tails, maybe a confidence thing.

[Bird]

I always get a weather forecast the night before an outing and pre-rig accordingly.

 

[Lottabass]

@Swamp Girl  Good post!  I think my best trick is to be willing to change, locations or lures, until I think I'm "on 'em".  Now I have a question.  I pre-rig rods too, but how often are you right and how often do you have to re-rig again?  I think it's about 50% with me.

[IYAOYAS]

14 minutes ago, padlin said:

I fall back to regular Agila’s in gold, if there’s fish I’ll catch something.

 

No idea why, but I’ve never had luck with rooster tails, maybe a confidence thing.

I'm the exact opposite. Aglias never worked very well for me but a roostertail will always get me at least a fish to get the skunk out.

2 minutes ago, Lottabass said:

@Swamp Girl  Good post!  I think my best trick is to be willing to change, locations or lures, until I think I'm "on 'em".  Now I have a question.  I pre-rig rods too, but how often are you right and how often do you have to re-rig again?  I think it's about 50% with me.

I fish a herring lake and I always have a fluke and a jerkbait tied on. Everything else however is like playing the lottery and seldom do I hit jackpot on the first try.

[A-Jay]

The little trick that I use to help me catch fish, Is to eat right, stay lean and get regular exercise. Helps keep my hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders, hips, knees, ankles and overlooked feet, in the best condition they can be. Fishing is way less fun when everything hurts.

Can't catch them if I can't be out there.

YMMV

A-Jay

 

[Swamp Girl]

53 minutes ago, Bird said:

I always get a weather forecast the night before an outing and pre-rig accordingly.

 

Me too. If it's going to rain, I'll rig loud lures. Same with fog.

 

54 minutes ago, Lottabass said:

Good post!

 

Thanks!

 

54 minutes ago, Lottabass said:

I pre-rig rods too, but how often are you right and how often do you have to re-rig again?  I think it's about 50% with me.

 

Since I launch with six lures, I'm nearly always right, as one of the six nearly always works. If I lose the lure that's working, then I retie, of course, with the same lure.

 

50 minutes ago, IYAOYAS said:

Aglias never worked very well for me but a roostertail will always get me at least a fish to get the skunk out.

 

Changes in latitude, changes in bass attitudes.

 

1 hour ago, Pat Brown said:

He does really well with live crawdads, shiners, shad and baby sunfish and of course good old fashioned night crawlers when the bite is extremely tough and I don't want him to get discouraged!

 

I fished a lot of live bait in northwestern Ontario, mostly leeches because they're tough, but nightcrawlers occasionally. Live bait does catch bass and it's fun too to feel that little tick-tick. I'd begin and end my days with lures and fish a lot of live bait when the Sun was high.

 

6 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

The little trick that I use to help me catch fish, Is to eat right, stay lean and get regular exercise. Helps keep my hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders, hips, knees, ankles and overlooked feet, in the best condition they can be. Fishing is way less fun when everything hurts.

 

Great reminder! Thanks, Andy.

[Lottabass]

8 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

The little trick that I use to help me catch fish, Is to eat right, stay lean and get regular exercise. Helps keep my hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders, hips, knees, ankles and overlooked feet, in the best condition they can be. Fishing is way less fun when everything hurts.

Can't catch them if I can't be out there.

YMMV

A-Jay

 

YES!  And don't wait until you are old and worn out to do this!  You can't bring back the dead!

[Swamp Girl]

2 hours ago, GRiver said:

He kept a wacky rigged soft plastic on a bobber behind his boat. Said the bobber moving with surface conditions kept the senko moving below, said he caught many fish like this.

 

I've done something similar in Ontario. I'd slip my canoe into an Eddy below a waterfall and tie a jig below a bobber, which I'd then cast into the current. The current would yank the bobber this way and that until a smallie or walleye yanked the jig. Super fun fishing!

 

12 hours ago, softwateronly said:

Unpleasant weather for humans means little to nothing to the fish. 

 

So true!

[Swamp Girl]

Another tip. Fish at night:

 

 

And fish the fog:

 

 

I catch more when they can't see me. FWIW, these two bass were caught on the same trip, a perfect trip: dark and foggy!

[BrianMDTX]

I am a pre-rigger for sure. Line conditioner on mono and tie on new baits/hooks for the next day’s fishing. 

[Tackleholic]

I keep approx. 20 pre-rigged rods in my boat so I don't waste time on the water.  When changing lures and leaders I almost always do that at home;  I tie better knots when at my workbench with special lighting and still conditions.

[Bankbeater]

2 hours ago, Bird said:

I always get a weather forecast the night before an outing and pre-rig accordingly.

 

I check the for wind and how much cloud cover there will be around the time I expect to start fishing. 

[scaleface]

I dont get lazy and avoid retieing or switching lures because I'm to lazy. I get an idea, I act on it.

[Catt]

Constant: something that is unchanging, invariable, or continuous.

 

Versatile: able to do many different things or to adjust to new conditions.

 

I learned to quit button-holeing lures & techniques into seasons or conditions. 

 

@Swamp Girl mentioned night fishing, which I do a lot of. But I fish the same lures, with the same techniques, in same colors, in the same cover, & on the same structure as I do during the day. I don't have summer lure, fall lures, winter lures, or spring lures, I have bass lures.

 

Every lure in my tackle box is a reaction lure, bass sees lure, bass reacts. It's my job to present that lure properly. 

[WRB]

Strike detection skills is something that has paid off for me and takes years to learn.

Today we see the FFS Scopers fishing outside water using their sonar to find bass and detect strikes. I been doing this for decades by finding suspended bass by watching birds, looking for signs of baitfish activity and feeding bass. Total concentration is the key to strike detection, you are missing strikes by not paying attention to changes in your lure, line movements.

Tom

[Swamp Girl]

58 minutes ago, Catt said:

I learned to quit button-holeing lures & techniques into seasons or conditions. 

 

I like this approach, Catt. I get dizzy thinking about what lure I'm supposed to cast and when. I think I do better when I simply cast my confidence lures and focus on working them well. In short, I do better when I fish like you, Catt.

 

4 minutes ago, WRB said:

watching birds, looking for signs of baitfish activity and feeding bass

 

Me too, Tom. I'm like a radar array, always turning and searching for bass blips. So, between casting my confidence lures and not missing strikes, I need to fish like a TomCatt.

 

 

5 minutes ago, WRB said:

Total concentration is the key to strike detection, you are missing strikes by not paying attention to changes in your lure, line movements.

 

I set the hook so many times and don't even know why I set the hook. There was something ever so slightly different in my retrieve. 

[crypt]

Being able to change tactics quickly...stay in shape.. make sure my gear is in shape also......

[little giant]

I'm  sneaky, that's it! Sneaky Pete!

 

[Swamp Girl]

1 hour ago, little giant said:

I'm  sneaky, that's it! Sneaky Pete!

 

 

Me too! That's my number one trick. I might bump my canoe once in four or five hours, but otherwise, I'm fishing on cat paws.