How to Fish for Bass - The Basics

Like many others across the country and across the world, I really enjoy fishing for bass on a regular basis.  My father taught me how to fish for bass when I was just a boy and I was hooked instantly (please excuse the pun).  What I am about to tell you is what he told me when I was younger and what I've learned since.  This article will truly be the best guide there is on how to fish for bass and most importantly how to catch bass!  

The first thing I want to discuss is what I am going to cover in this article.  First of all, I will not be covering fly fishing for bass.  I also will not be covering fishing tips for other fish besides bass such as crappie fishing tips, walleye fishing tips, and trout fishing tips.  While how to catch trout and how to go crappie fishing is similar to how to fish for bass, there are some district differences one being that when you fish for trout you are usually river fishing and when you fish for bass you are usually lake fishing.  There are other differences as well, but that is for another article.

One thing you need when learning how to fish for bass is what tackle you are using.  While you don't need to run out and buy hundreds of dollars worth of wholesale fishing tackle, you should have some basic equipment in order to be ready.  First, you should have a decent rod and spinning reel.  As far as rods go, I prefer Shimano fishingrods, however there are other great rods out there as well besides Shimano rods.  In addition to your fishing rod you will want fishing rod holders to keep it in place if you plan on bait fishing or using multiple rods.  For reel choices, I recommend Shimano reels, Daiwa reels, or Penn reels.  Remember to buy a spinning reel and not fly fishing reels.  The third most important piece of equipment you have to have are is fishing lures for bass.  Rapala lures, Heddon lures, and Strike King lures are all great brands with Rapala being my favorite.  Remember to buy bass lures and not trout lures.  Other good things to have in your tackle bag include, fishing hooks, a fishing net, fishing waders, and a camera and video camera to take bass fishing videos and fishing pictures of all the big ones you catch!  A great online store where you can buy discount fishing tackle is Fishing Tackle Unlimited.  They have great prices and excellent customer service!

The second point in my how to fish for bass tutorial is you need to know where the bass live to be able to successfully catch them.  In general, during the summer the bass stay deep in the lake and in the winter they stay more towards the surface.  In the summer you can also look for shady spots in the water like under some branches hanging over the lake, as these places are cooler and more attractive to bass looking to stay out of the heat.  It is easier to find bass in a fishing boat than by walking the shore, but it can certainly be done without the use of fishing boats as well by using waders.

The third and final thing I want to discuss is getting better at bass fishing.  You can read online articles about how to fish for bass all day, but until you go out and try it and get some practice in, you won't be very good at all.  Even worse than reading internet articles about how to fish for bass is playing fishing games online instead of actually fishing yourself!  Get out there, have some fun, and make sure to take a picture of your trophy bass!