Lots of Big Bass minimal action!

Question
I live in Reno Nevada, not exactly the Bass fishing capital but there are some.  A friend allowed me to fish on his 10 acre lake.  I caught four the first day and two the next.  We put them all back of course but I'm a fly and saltwater fisherman.  Those that I hooked were slow to bite and for the most part did a lot of following before striking.  The fish that I hooked took a plastic (white) grub looking kind of thing with a long squigley tail.  I fished also with Rapala's, Flatfish, and rubber worms with a slow and steady retrieve.  For the dozens of huge bass I'm eyeballing they're just laughing at my pitiful presentation and techniques.  These are largemouth and I know they are predators and aggressive.  Should I be using surface lures with consistant small jerks or am I simply way off base.

Answer
Jeff; I will begin by assuming that the lake you are fishing is very clear water.  If that is true the fish are likely seeing something that seems "fishy" to them.  I do not know what time of day you are fishing or is it bright or reduced light.  In a clear lake bass will often be curious enough to follow a lure even if they are suspicious of it but seldom hit it.  A slow and steady retrieve is seldom the best retrieve for bass with the exception of a spinner type bait.  There are not many denizens of the water that swim slow and steady.  Stand on a pier sometime and watch minnows or small fish swim.  They dart this way and that, they stop and start and often go up and down.  They do this to make themselves less of a target for bigger fish that want to eat them.  I will admit that there are some occasions when a slow steady retrieve will catch bass but these times are few and far between.

Next are you allowing your shadow on the water and your movement to be seen by the fish.  This will cause the kind of activity you describe.  One key to catching bass is to try your best to not let them know you are anywhere around.  I can remember fishing a small two acre farm pond.  At first I would dimply walk across the pasture and up to the bank and start casting.  I occasionally caught a fish but more than likely I wouldn't even get a strike.  I learned to virtually crawl up to the pond on my hands and knees and keep any cover along the bank between me and the pond.  When I did this I began catching many more fish.  When moving around the pond I would crawl back several yards from the bank to my new place then crawl up to the pond again.  It made all the difference.

If the water is clear the size of line you are using is important too.  They say some lines are invisible in the water but I haven't found one completely so and certainly they are not invisible while above the water.  Use the lightest line practical for the conditions.  If the pond is relatively clear of objects like stumps, logs, rocks etc you can catch big fish on light line.  A six pound line will catch many more fish than a ten pound line.  If you must use the heavier line because of brush etc. then you will have to use it but try to keep a bright sun to your back if possible.

Sometimes a bass will hit one kind of lure and not touch another and then the next day will hit the second one and refuse the one they hit the day before.  This is just the way with bass.  I suggest trying one type of lure, say a plastic worm.  Try fishing it without weight and let it settle slowly then when the line goes slack meaning it is on bottom just shake your rod tip a bit but try not to pull the worm.  If after about 15=20 casts in good water try putting a lead weight ahead of the worm and bounce it slowly along the bottom.  Then try a totally different color or size or both using the same tactics.  If you do not get hits on the worm, try something like a spinnerbait or crankbait for a while.  Try different retrieves with the crankbait such as, say half a dozen fast cranks of the reel to get it down then stop for one second then give your rod tip a six-9 inch jerk then stop.  Sometimes continuous reeling slowly but keeping the rod tip jerking will entice strikes.

In low light situations such as early and late in the day or overcast days are excellent for topwater fishing.  There are essentially four different types of top water lures.  One is a walker such as the Zara Spook or Zara Puppy, or some other brand of "walk the dog" lure.  These are intended to be retrieved in a very special way.  Cast them out and let them sit for five seconds then slowly take up slack but do not move the lure.  Now holding your rod tip low to the water give a quick jerk of the rod tip not over a foot or so of the rod tip movement.  Instantly return your rod to the original position without reeling.  this will throw a little slack in the line allowing the lure to jump to one side.  Easily take up the slack again without moving the lure and give it another jerk just as before and instantly returning the rod tip to its starting place once more throwing a little slack in the line.  If you have done this right the lure will move to the opposite side without moving forward very far.  Repeating this process is called "walking the dog" and with practice you can make the lure walk up to and around a stump by making one jerk just a little harder than the next one.  Some people get so good they can almost write their name with the lure.  I haven't reached that point yet.  This is a big bass killer even in deep water.  It is good whether the water is clear or stained.

Another topwater is the blooper so called because when reeled in it makes a bloop bloop sound.  The Jitterbug is probably the best known of these.  These can be reeled steadily or in spurts and big bass can't stand them so they eat them.  I love throwing the biggest one I can find at night on a dark night.  I caught my two biggest bass one night on one of these.

Then there are the poppers or chuggers.  Some have propeller like spinners on one or both ends and others have only a hollowed out head.  Both are worked using a jerk and stop motion to make them chug or pop or make the propellers spin.  These are great lures around stumps, over weed or grass beds etc.

Finally there is the "Buzz" bait which is actually a spinner.  It is cast out and retrieved very fast with the rod tip held high.  The lure buzzes across the surface and when bass hit it they really lay into it.

If the water you are fishing is not clear but stained or somewhat muddy most of the above will still apply except you don't have to be quite as careful about the fish seeing you.  If you have had a heavy rain (if that happens in Nevada) look for "run ins", that is places where water is running into the lake.  fish across these where the muddy and clearer water meet and haven't mixed yet.  Bass will often gather in these places to dine on items washed into the lake.  A worm or crawfish lure often is good here.

When it comes to fishing for bass it is the fact that nobody knows exactly what a bass is thinking and will hit.  This is what makes it so interesting fishing for these great fish.  I remember I used to live near the Gulf of Mexico and when the king mackerel or the Spanish mackerel or the sea trout were running all you had to do was cast a certain bait out and you would catch them.  Not so with Mr. Bass Largemouth or smallmouth or other.  You have to figure out what he wants and how he wants it or he will not bite.  Oh yes there are times when most anyone can throw most anything out and catch bass but those times are few and far between.

I hope this has been of some help.  If you are allowed to fish this lake often learn ass much about it as possible.  Try to learn where the deep water is, where any mounds or sunken islands, sunken logs, weed beds or brush piles are located.  This will be a big help.  

I live on a 37,500 acre lake and I do not know more than a small part of it.  I have fished for nearly 20 years on one arm of about 1300 acres and still don't know it all but I have earned enough to be able to catch quite a few pretty decent bass.

If there are some specifics that I haven't covered use a follow up and be very specific giving as much information as possible and I will do my best to answer your questions.  Thanks for calling on me to answer your question.

I am
Jack L. Gaither     (JackfromSeminole)
Lake Seminole, Georgia