how to start catching bass?

[PWE]

Hi - I am totally new to fishing and especially bass fishing.  I have caught some trout recently and before that all my experience was deep sea.  My local tackle shop set me up with a few crankbaits and suspending jerks baits I believe.  I went out to a lake where the bass and known to be in large numbers consistently and I tried my best to use various retrieval techniques, fish near structures/cover and shoreline.  I never once came close to any type of a catch and it must be noted neither did any of the others fishing that day.  Before I go out again I would like to know if I am on the right track.  I cast the crankbait out in various colors either along the shore or near cover or just out straight from a point and bring ti back in various different ways. These are 2-6 feet running crankbaits.  What else should I be doing to get a response.  Any thoughts or advice is appreciated.

[Wesley]

Where are you located?

Whats the water temp?

[Popeye]

Welcome to the BR Forums - the BEST bass fishing forums on the Net, IMO. Do you know the water temperature and some other water/lake/environmental conditions (i.e. murky/clear, structure type, bottom contour, weather fronts)? Those things would help in making suggestions/recommendations as to what type of lure and/or presentation to try. Some days are just plain tough fishing and the bite is painfully slow but there are techniques that can be used to coax those stubborn/inactive critters to strike. If you've heard this before, please know that I'm NOT trying to be a smarta** or anything like that but "that's why they call it fishing and not catching") When the bass bite is near non-existant, you can always throw out some mackeral or stink bait, sit back and relax and the "cats" will usually generate some excitement:o)

[Sam]

PWE,

Welcome!

You are now a member of our family and you will learn a lot so don't be concerned if you get skunked every now and then.  We all get skunked sooner or later.

The guys are asking you these questions so that they can determine the bass' mood.  If the water is cold then the bass will not be as aggressive as they would be if the water was warm.

There are so many variables that you have to put the puzzel together and then hope the fish will strike your bait.

May I suggest you read, read and read some more about bass fishing within the articles on this site?  You will learn a lot from the articles.

And the guys will be posting all sort of good and bad news so read their posts.

There are many good books and videos/DVDs on bass fishing so please check out Bass Pro Shops (BPS) or In-Fisherman.

And the best magazine on bass fishing is Bassin so pleasse suscribe.  I learn new techniques and other valuable information from each issue of Bassin Magazine.

To throw my two cents into your query as to why you are not catching any bass I offer the following.  I will be using bass fishing jargon so if it does not make any sense try to "search" the words or phrases you do not understand.  The "search" area is in the upper right hand corner of the "posts" section.

And Google subjects that you want to learn more and read those articles, too, especially on the web sites of the pros, such as Mike Iaconelli, Woo Daves, Hank Parker, Jimmy Houston, Bill Dance and others.  Add the sites to your "favorites" list.

1.  Scale down on bait size.  Throw Roostertails, small grubs, small spinnerbaits, small buzzbaits. Throw finesse worms rigged with or without a small bullet weight.  And try to find the "weedless" hooks by Eagle Claw or Gamakatsu so you will not get hung up in the cover and structure in your body of water when you plop your bait into a bush or a tree, etc.

A 1/0 and 2/0 size hook are good for ponds; 2/0 and 3/0 are good for rivers; and a 2/0, 3/0, 4/0 and 5/0 are great for lakes.

And use a lower test line, such as 6 or 8 pounds.  Once you start to find the fish you can then go to a higher test or a braid and start using larger baits as the water temperature heats up and the fish become more aggressive.

2.  Try your luck with a Senko either rigged Texas, wacky or shaky head style.  Go out early in the AM or late in the evening and throw a buzzbait or a Pop-R or a frog when the water warms up or if there is grass, lilly pads or slop on top of your body of water.

A small (1/4 ounce) black buzzbait can be dynamite.

A pink trick worm (no weight) is fun to fish, too.

3.  Purchase a small thermometer and check out the water temperature.  Bass will start to move when 1) the water temperature gets into the high 50s and then into the 60s.  If the water temperature is in the 40s or low 50s then the bass will not be as aggressive to strike your bait.

4.  Watch the Dogwood trees.  When they blossem the bass on are their beds.  This means that they are coming out of their winter hibernation (being deep) and heading for the shore. When you catch a bass check out their color.  If they are silver then they are still "deep" and have not moved up to spawn.

And remember to practice catch and release.

5.  If nothing works then go out and buy some Nightcrawlers at Wal-Mart or your local bait shop and throw them to find out if the bass are around. You will also catch any other types of fish in the area such as bream, bluegill, Crappie, catfish, etc.

Using a small bobber and a  number4 or 6 gold hook, cast the Nightcrawler out and see if anything hits it.  You should catch a lot of bream to see their color and weight and over health.  You may even hook up with a catfish or a bass or a Crappie.

6.  Ask your local tackle shop what is working and what is not working.  Take a peek at what types of lures and colors have been purchased by other fisherman to gain an idea of what the guys in your area are throwing.

7.  Match the Hatch. This means to find out what types of baitfish or crawfish are in the body of water and minic them in color and how they swim or move around on the bottom.

8.  And read everything you can on this site, in books and magazines, watch ESPN and Versus on Saturday morning, speak with other bass fishermen, join a bass club to learn from the guys and purchase some DVDs or videos and watch them.

I could go into so many variables that your mind will be mush.  So try to keep it simple and remberber to read, read and ask, ask on this site and within 24 months you will be catching bass all year long.

And if not, you an always "fib a little about your fishing exploits (like the one that got away) like the rest of us! ;D

Welcome.  You have just started back to school.

[Sam]

P.S. Sorry for the typos.  It is still early on the east coast and I just woke up.

[SenkoBasser]

Location,water temps, time of day, weather......all play a big part. Where you fishing deep or shallow? Personally, if they weren't hitting the cranks and suspends I would have thrown some soft plastics. Depending on where you are, the waters are probabaly higher than usual so try a Carolina Rig with a soft plastic like a Berkley Jerk Shad or a BPS drop shot worm or any of the Power Bait worms in deeper waters. I don't know where you are fishing but find the drop offs , example...... the lake I go to used to be a river. So the natural river bed is still there creating a drop off from 17 ft. to 30 ft. That ridge is where I'll drop shot or C-Rig during early season fishing when the waters are high. Spawning? I don't fish for them. When bass spawn I fish for trout. ;D

[Grey Wolf]

WELCOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Start out by reading the "BEGINNERS SECTION" on the home page.

Then ask your questions about the items you want clarified.

[PWE]

Wow thanks for all the great replies and sorry for a lack of the "usual info" on conditions  I fish in 2 different lakes usually - both are reservoirs inside of national parks in Northern California.    Both are extremely well known for producing good quality catches.  I will check the water temp today when I got out again (right now actually) and let you all know, but recently it has been mid- upper 50s I believe, the shallows didn't feel cold to me yesterday.  The Carp are jumping around in the water and there is tons of above water  vegetation around the shore.  There are a few rocky points that jut out into deeper water and drop offs.  The biggest problem with one lake is weekend water skiers.  Tomorrow I am heading to the better of the 2 (in my opinion) as it has distinct fishing zones and tons more cover.  The water is usually stained or a little murky.  

I am particularly interested in imitation type baits, I like to make a challenge of it to entice the Bass to go for my reaction bait.  I think this might be harder (I'm not sure) but my local bait and tackle assure me these baits work consistently and that it is a matter of technique.  

I have tried different retrieve speeds, and yo-yo (starting and stopping) and different colors.  I have changed out the hooks for better quality hooks than the stock.  I use an 8lb test hybrid line on a medium action 7" graphite Ugly stick spinning rod.  

Well, I'm heading to the lake for another go at it - I'm on a mission here - thanks again for all the advice - it's all much appreciated.  Thanks Sam for the detailed information, I will do that and I have been reading a lot.    

[Popeye]

To borrow a famous line from "The Wizard of Oz" and make it our own: "Senkos, and Jigs, and Fat Ika's, oh my!" All those fished weightless and either T or Wacky rigged should produce for you. Drop shot rigs Wacky rigged with 5" Senkos is another good option. I personally like the Watermelon w/red or w/black flakes the best. You might also try some 4" coffee colored tubes on a 1/4 oz. jig head. Best of luck to ya. It's not really a matter of luck as much as it is knowing where the fish are and presenting them with the proper lure and technique, IMO:o)

[bigbill]

Try using a scent like YUM.

I wash my hands before each trip and use scents all the time.

I like the blue rapala 2" with YUM shad scent.  Try it topwater, reel it slow try different presentations even with any lure.

I will try every lure i have then go back over it again and take my time and try different presentations.  Then i get into a practice mode and practice my presentations and a fish will usually interupt me.

If its slow i practice.......

[formulagamble]

Welcome!

[PWE]

I appreciate the warm welcome - its great.  I went to my local store today and asked some questions there from different guys to see what the opinion was.  They set me up with a drop shot rig and showed me regular and "whacky" style.  They gave me  a purple pack of roboworms and some varied colored ones - mostly dark colors they say work for our waters.  They suggested casting it out and jiggling it once it hits bottom and do this over and over in a fan shape across an area.  They also showed me how to rig it so the drop shot is above the hook and drag the bottom.  

In addition, I got 2 spinnerbaits, white and white/chartreuse 3/8oz and 1/2oz Colorado style (is that right - Colorado style?").  

I still have some questions though -  

How many times can you use the worms - they have scents and mention salt something or other - seems like salt will dissolve in the water very rapidly...1 times use or more per worm?

What is the best way to analyze the water environment - does the same bait work off points into depth as it does in 5 feet of water through weeds etc?  I know much of this is going to be down to the body of water and experience - but any guidance in the right direction is much appreciated.  

Thanks again all  

[crazy4bass1]

if u fish from shore ( like me)  

just tie on a purple 5 inch senko and cast along the shore

try sum mini brush hogs ( purple is my fav color

i think that plastics are easier for beginners to fish then crankbaits

[nick mack]

try a wacky worm, hook it right through the middle and toss it weightless towards docks and other structures in shady areas like your doing now...

your guaranteed nice size bass!

[Bassnbrett101]

And for your plastics question, a plastic can be reused many times until its action is hindered or its basically falling off your hook.

For worms I'll even bite the heads off if the head of the worm gets ripped up from my hook.  but they generally last for a couple fish until you lose the lure or it gets ripped off your hook.  For me its barely ever a one fish deal.  For other plastics however they may be easier to lose.  For tubes a big thing is the head gets all ripped apart and you cant use it after it gets ripped up too much, and the same goes for creature baits and lizards.  But if you get creative you can make them last longer.  For the topwater frogs i melt the heads back together alot, one because their expensive and two because with the ribbits its a harder plastic and it works well.

I hope this answers your question  

[roadwarrior]

Welcome aboard!

This might help:

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1158577137

8-)

[PWE]

Thanks guys for all the advice it really helped.  I boated my first bass yesterday - a guy was at dock and wanted a fishing partner so we hit the water and caught a few over the morning.  My little guy was only around the 2lb mark, but it sure was fun.  Caught him on a brown/green colored crank in shallow water.  I also got a good opportunity to really understand the drop shot and experiment with the worm movement in shallow water where I could see the effect of moving the tip on the worm.  I realized I was doing it wrong for some time.  I get much much better action from the worm now given the practice.  I have some more questions from the experience regarding technique, but I will start them in a more appropriate thread.  

Thanks all for helping in my first bass catch.  

Cheers!

[Bassnbrett101]

Congradulations! I'm happy to hear that!  ;D

[Castamasta]

congrats on first bass!