Bass story and some questions

[IowaIrish]

I've fished since I was little with my dad but just recently started fishing on a regular basis (new job allows more free time)

Just went to the local tackle shop and bought the basics that I saw listed here. Spinners, jigs, Rapala lures, spoonless lures, and one of those broken lures (they are broken into half or thirds made by rapala)

Anyway I bought all those fancy lures and went to a small farm pond a buddy told me about here in Iowa and while I didn't catch anything big I pulled about 6 large mouth out. Could have caught the same one a couple times... who knows.

Nothing much bigger than maybe 4lbs but dang it was fun.

Used a purple "power bait" worm think they are 7 inches with a Texas rig (I also learned here) and while I tried all the fancy stuff that thing worked the best.

At one point I reeled in 4 Large mouth out of 5 casts!

On to the question:

Any suggestions on bait for fresh water fish? Mainly farm ponds but I do go to the river once in awhile and then a lake like deal that is fed by the Wapsi river.

Perhaps a better question would be any suggestions on how to use the bait I purchase... reeling styles, sinker suggestion (still don't fully understand the sinker deal on the Texas rig) I can hook like the Texas rig diagram shows but don't understand the bullet sinker or whatever it's called.

Also is there anything you can do to catch bigger fish? did I not find the right spot, should I have stuck with the spinner or a lure that aggitates the fish. I only casted the spinner and lures roughly 10-12 times a piece before reverting back to what everyone else was catching bass with. (a buddy and my fiance went and he caught 7 or so and she caught one... well it flipped off but she was excited so we counted it)

I'm pretty novice

Sorry for the long winded post but this is easily the best fishing session I've ever had

[Sam]

Great questions.

Please read the fishing articles in the upper left hand corner of this site for added information.

Search in the box with the magnifying glass for specific baits and techniques.

You will have to try different baits and techniques and keep a log as to which ones you like and do not like and which ones are productive for you.

All baits will work, depending on a number of factors, which change each day, so to try to give you the "secret" to any bait is almost impossible.

Your challenge is to learn how to fish each bait, when and where to fish it, and then go to another location and try your skills

I sincerely wish I could answer all of your queries, but it is very difficult as everyone has their favorite baits for different situations.

Just read the posts on this site; visit the professional bass fisherman's web  sites; check out the Bassmaster web page for articles; sign up for Russ ***'s e-mail subscription and read, read and read some more.

Get some DVDs and books, in addition to subscribing to Bassin' magazine and you will be up to par within a year.  

[IowaIrish]

Great questions.

Please read the fishing articles in the upper left hand corner of this site for added information.

Search in the box with the magnifying glass for specific baits and techniques.

You will have to try different baits and techniques and keep a log as to which ones you like and do not like and which ones are productive for you.

All baits will work, depending on a number of factors, which change each day, so to try to give you the "secret" to any bait is almost impossible.

Your challenge is to learn how to fish each bait, when and where to fish it, and then go to another location and try your skills

I sincerely wish I could answer all of your queries, but it is very difficult as everyone has their favorite baits for different situations.

Just read the posts on this site; visit the professional bass fisherman's web sites; check out the Bassmaster web page for articles; sign up for Russ ***'s e-mail subscription and read, read and read some more.

Get some DVDs and books, in addition to subscribing to Bassin' magazine and you will be up to par within a year.

Thanks man... I've been reading like crazy (on this site) and just bought a kit for pan fish since I'm going out to fish crappie and blue gill in a couple weeks.

[D4u2s0t]

my go-to bass bait is a wacky rigged senko, i prefer watermellon color.  it seems to work regardless of conditions.  hot, cold, calm, windy, late, early, it works for me.  and i don't know where you live, but if i pulled out a 4 pound bass i wouldn't be calling it small  

[skillet]

 Sam pretty much hit the nail on the head with his reply. Sounds like you're sure headed in the right direction (4lb fish, fish on with 4 out of 5 casts) . Most baits can be fished any number of different ways. Rapalas can be twitched and jerked with pauses in between. Jigs can be crawled, hopped or swam back when retrieved. Most techniques are pretty much personal preference. Take the time the time to get familiar with one before moving on to another. Good Luck ...

skillet