Bass Fishing Tips And Techniques

Here are a few bass fishing tips and techniques that work for me.

I fish many local tournament trails and have had some fair success. There are several baits and techniques I use and it will really depend on the time of year I use a particular bait or technique. And that will even vary from lake to lake. That fish in my pic went 11.18 pounds but have caught many in the 8, 9 and 10 pound range too.

One technique you should use is the use of lead head jigs. This is one of the more versatile baits and most anglers fail to use and realize their full potential. If I were given the choice of having only one bait in my tackle box it would be a jig. There are several situations I can use this lure with just as many techniques. You can fish it slow. You can get it in and out of the thickest cover. Skip it under docks or swim it back to your boat. It is a lure that can be used effectively in all seasons. If you are not using a jig then you are possibly missing out of catching some the larger bass in your lake. You can't go wrong with a black and blue jig. My favorite color is a black/brown/amber jig with black neon trailer.

Tip. When fishing a jig you will likely be casting to certain cover. After working it out a bit don't just suddenly reel it in but slowly swim it back to your boat with an up and down movement of your rod. Practice using this technique to give the most action to the lure. I caught one of my best bass weighing 10.66 pounds doing just that this past year. The same applies when working plastics.

Use of soft plastics is pretty obvious. When using a jig or soft plastic I most always use a fish attractant. Mainly a garlic scent. I personally don't believe this actually attracts a fish to the lure but do believe that once they do take the bait they hold on longer giving you a better chance at setting the hook. Why garlic? Check many of the soft plastic manufactures and you will find many use a garlic base in their packaging. They have done the research and found this scent works. That's good enough for me.

Speaking of hooks. Do you miss many fish on the hook set after getting a bite? It could be the style of hook you are using. Many may not agree with me but I tried using those EWG style hook for a few weeks. Missed more hookups while using them than I have in a long time. Throw them in the trash and get an off-set worm hook or better yet a straight shank hook. Only hook I use on plastics is a straight shank Owner hook. Just put a drop of super glue or fishing glue on the shank just as you pull the plastic over the eye of the hook. You will get better and deeper hook sets if you will use that little technique with your plastics.

Crank type baits. If I had only one it would be a chrome/blue 1/4oz Bill Lewis spintrap. The spintrap is a regular rattletrap but with a small 1.25" willow leaf spinner in place of the rear hook. I am convinced I get more strikes on this one lure over a standard rattletrap. First thing to do is change out the one hook on it to a better quality hook. And make it a red one. I normally use a Gamakatsu treble of same size.

Tip: When fishing that lure or other crank type baits try this technique if water depth allows. When reeling in suddenly pause for a second and let the bait free fall then give it a sharp jerk. Do that several times during the retrieve. This somewhat imitates a dying shad and make an easy meal for a bass. Do the same if you get a hit but no hookup. That little technique has put many a fish in my boat that I otherwise may have missed. Works well with spinner baits too.

Another very good technique to add to your arsenal is the use of shaky head type jig on medium to medium light spinning gear. This is an excellent technique on really high pressure lakes. It's pretty simple to use and somewhat weedless also. As the name implies toss the lure out and just start twitching your rod tip. This imparts a lot of action to the lure that bass just can't resist. This is a great technique to learn and really pretty simple to use and can make a huge difference on those tough to get a bite days.

These are the tips and techniques that catch bass that have worked well for me. Try to apply some of these things next time you hit the water. Learning a new technique can really help you become a more versatile angler and increase you odds of bringing in those big hawgs.

Good luck and good fishing.