What Bass Fishing Gear Should I Take Fishing?

When you are choosing your bass fishing gear, you'll need to make many decisions to assure yourself a good chance of catching a large number of good sized bass. Rods, reels, bait, lures, and more should be considered when packing your bass fishing gear, and you'll want to make sure you have the equipment in the right combinations to produce results you want.

The first rule to effective bass fishing gear is to never overwork your bait. Pairing your bait with a reel that offers the wrong retrieve speed can cause this. For example, when you try your hand at fishing with a crankbait, you'll find that you can present it many ways, but when retrieved too quickly, you get no results. Crankbaits come in various sizes, ranging from quite narrow for quicker retrieval to a fat bodied variety that lends itself to a very slow recovery. The latter type of bait should be paired with a reel that allows the crankbait to come in at a slower speed. If the technique you are using with your bass fishing gear is not working on a given day, try something else. Increase or decrease your speed, but don't overwork the bait.

In terms of reels, there are three common items that are considered necessities in your stock of bass fishing gear. Keep baitcasting, spinning, and spincast or closed faced reels in your arsenal at all times. While you may develop a preference for one or the other of these, you may find conditions or areas in which a different type of reel will bring you better results. For example, if you are fishing under and around the docks with light bait and need to cast into the wind, you probably shouldn't use a baitcaster, especially if it's windy because you may experience a backlash. While a spinning reel may work, you run the risk of catching line twists in the wind. Instead, try a spincast reel, where the line will unwind freely from the reel with no tangles, despite the weather working against you.

Once you've chosen the appropriate reel for the day's journey, you'll need to determine what type of bait and rigging works best with your bass fishing gear. Depending on your choice of bait to pair with your reel, you may opt for different fishing techniques in the water. For example, if you take a plastic lure and configure a Texas rig, you will probably find the best results with either a baitcaster or spinning reel. On the other hand, top water fishing lends itself to baitcasting reels alone. Using soft jerk baits, you will probably wan to opt for a spinning reel. Of course, there are plenty of other types of baits and fishing techniques, but this gives you an idea of what to expect.