Most important things to consider when choosing a bait.

[FivePoundBluegill]

I have not been able to make many posts recently because I cannot get onto this site from my home computer because I do not have latest version of internet explorer. Anyway il get that upgrade next week so I will be posting often again soon.

Anyway what do you guys think are the most important factors for choseing a bait for largemouth bass.

I think one of most important thing to consider is what types of bait fish there are in that particular lake and what size they are. You usually would want a bait that looks closest to the baitfish that are in that lake. There are exceptions to this though since a largemouth bass will almost always hit a worm type bait when worms are not part of the bass's regular diet. Another thing I do not realy understand is that I catch bass with baits such as black and silver rapala original floaters and white flukes in lakes that do not have bait fish in black or white colors in them. However I have also noticed I RARELY catch big bass of over 4+ LBS on these baits in the lakes that do not have bait fish that color in them. So i guess bigger bass are usually smart enough not to hit something that does not look like a regular food source in that lake.

Also I other important factors include things such as how clear and warm the water is. In cold water in the winter I have always heard that you should always downsize your bait and fish slower. However I have noticed many people on this forum disagree with the downsizing your bait in the winter time part. They fish larger baits in the cold of winter and have decent luck with them. I also know in murky water you might want a bait that makes lots of vibration and or noise.

I know that in spawning season it is completely different and the key to catching bass is to annoy them on their beds. In summer time I do not understand what time a topwater bait such as a popper will outfish another bait though. I usually tie on a topwater bait in the evening before it gets dark and have good luck with them but I do not know when a topwater will actually outfish other baits. I just tie my topwater baits on for fun.

Anyone know some good information I might not know about choosing a bait?

[roadwarrior]

I hope some of our sponsors respond to this thread, they might have some very interesting comments.

My take is simple: Action and Profile

[jwo1124]

I'm with RW, but I would have said profile and action  

But really I just heard them talking about this on a fishing show. If you think about it, vision underwater isn't like vision above the water. Underwater, you have the water, sediments, algae, and plankton that compete with a basses vision. If you watch an underwate video you will see what I mean. It looks liek you are looking through sunglasses with green lenses.

I'm sure in clearer water coloration differences and small details may play a roll, but as long as something looks like food, and acts like food: to a fish it is going to be food.

I think the only importance in choosing a lure's color, is choosing a color that will be visible to a bass depending on the water clarity. The fish must see it before it eats it.

This is why contrasts works so well. If you are fishing crystal clear water, any natural color will show up in a fish's view, since when the fish looks at it against the background of clear water, the profile of the lure will show up well. But if you took a natural patterned lure that is not gawdy, bright or flashy, and through it into highly fertile bass water with lots of algae and some suspending sediment, a bass would not be able to pick it up against the murky backdrop as well as a bright chartruese lure. Seeing how natural fish patterns are suspossed to help them camo into their surroundings.

I also theorize that bass it stained and dirtier waters may be less choosy of food since they see less of it than bass in clear waters. Just as if you were near sighted and had to go through life with diminished vision, when you were hungry, anything that came by you and looked the slightest bit like food, chances are you are going to ****** at it without thinking to much about it, whereas a bass in clearer water may be more weary of an unnatural colored lure since they are able to get a better look at their food, and can tell the difference in slight details.

[Tin]

A lot of lakes in RI are just big round windy lakes, so the weight of the bait comes into play big time. This would also be a big part of choosing a bait if you are fishing rivers with a lot of current or deeper lakes.

[TournyFish001]

season

depth

water temp

structure

[CJ]

What will start my train of thought toward lure selection is the type of water and/or where I'm fishing:

Lake? Pond? River?

Is current envolved?What kind of structure and cover do I have to work with?

Then "season"is important:This is where you "try" to figure out what is the fish up to?Is it the spawn?Dog days of summer?Fall feed?

To me,these 2 factors are just a simple start.It gets more technical when you start trying to figure out the fish's positioning relative to cover or structure or what feeding mood are the fish in for that day.

I feel alot of anglers put to much thought into lure color.What's most important to me is that my lure is being presented close to the fish in a manner that they will eat it!Finding the type of lure is a start.Then fine tuning the lure and presentation for the best results.

[Tokyo Tony]

The first thing I think of is the type of cover or structure I'll be fishing.  I don't want to fish an X-Rap around timber or pads, and I don't want to fish a jig 'n pig on a vast rocky flat (usually).  Then I'd say time of year and weather conditions come into play, which should indicate how active the fish are, so how I should work the lure.  Then water clarity, forage base, and size of the target fish should dictate size, profile, action, and color of the lure.  There are other factors such as wind, sunlight, and confidence in certain lures, too.