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If there's a fish that can be fished with an enormous variety of lures and techniques this is surely Mr. Bass. Every novice basser seems to fall in confusion when it comes to making a selection of tackle and artificial lures for bass. I don't know how many bucks I've spent in my youth, buying rods, reels and lures that were inadequate to bass fishing. This tackle is surely in a corner of my garage...I don't remember exactly where. By now, I'm not so sure I have clear ideas about what I really need to successfully bass fish, because I still buy every new lure on the market. I believe perhaps that with age, my experience and skills have grown accordingly with my success in tournaments...
Plastic worms, spinnerbaits, jigs and other top bass catchers were used by a fisherman with results you only could imagine. Then, beginning slowly and by now at the speed of a rocket, bassin' evolution in Italy has reached the highest peaks, and lures and tackle are available almost everywhere, both in the tackle shops and by catalog orders. But now, let's go with our selection! RODS AND REELS Speaking about tackle is not so easy. Nowadays, certain lures may need up to five - seven rods to be fished correctly. Take soft plastics: you could finesse tube jigs and grubs with small jigheads and a light spinning outfit, you could cast plastic worms to emergents with a medium baicasting rod, you could Carolina rig a plastic lizard with a heavy-action rod, you could flip a worm with a flipping stick and so on. I believe that, to start fishing plastics and jigs, you basically need two rods: a good sensitive 6' to 6'6" medium action spinning rod (assuming you have some clear waters to fish) which reel will be loaded with 8 pound monos, and a heavy action 7'6" flipping rod loaded with a good 17 to 30 pounds test line. If you don't fish clear waters, buy a good baitcasting rod with 12-14 pound monofilament reeled in. With these two outfits you could master successfully two or three of the most productive soft-plastics techniques. It's a good start! To fish fast-moving lures like spinnerbaits and crankbaits you better start with a single rod. Personally my choice is a good medium-heavy action 6' 3/8-1 oz. graphite rod, but, depending on your nerves, your choice could be a fiberglass rod. If you are a "nervous" fisherman, one of those men who set the hook very quick, you need a rod with a limber tip that allows you to miss few bass. I prefer graphite rods for spinnerbaits because of their sensitivity. I like to feel the subtle strike of the fish. If you choose to fish fast-moving lures with graphite rods, you must discipline yourself not to set the hook too quickly or you'll lose a lot of bass. By the way, I usually fish spinnerbaits with a 15-17 pound monofilament.
Topwaters are the most exciting lures to fish for largemouths. Depending on what kind of surface lures you fish, you might need to have two rods. One 6' medium action spinning rod (10 pound test line) for jerkbaits, chuggers, crawlers etc., and a 6' medium-heavy action baitcasting rod (17 pounds test line) to fish buzzbaits, spoons and frogs. Note that the second rod has the same length and action of those I've mentioned to fish spinnerbaits. Buzzbait is not so different from spinnerbait so, you have now a multi-purpose rod and you'll save big bucks. Now, with 4 or 5 rods, we can start to fish successfully for bass with adequate, no-fail tackle. (Note that this is an article that will help beginning bass anglers.) ARTIFICIAL LURES When it comes to speaking about artificial lures, I'm always afraid to do this. That's because I know that everyone experienced bass angler has his preferences, and in some cases won't agree with my affirmations. On one thing you must agree with: no matter what our preferences on artificials, there are some models and colors that allow us to face the majority of fishing conditions. Looking at my fishing, I probably use 5-10% of the lures I have in my tackleboxes during a tournament, especially if the bass don't bite. If I'm fortunate enough to catch the fish on my very first lure, I use only this lure for the entire tournament day - if the bass keep biting the artificial. Unfortunately, lure selection is not as simple as it appears in the majority of bass magazines. If you are novice to bass fishing, remember that the more lures you have in the boat, the more difficult it will be to select the appropriate bait for those particular moments. Think simple and stick to the basics. That's the best way for a beginner to catch fish. Here is a basic lure selection. SOFT PLASTICS: Regarding soft-plastics, the novice basser could be easily fall into confusion when it comes to selecting the appropriate lures. There is a simple criteria to selecting worms, jigs, grubs and other plastics, as well as crankbaits, topwaters and so on. Stick to natural colors and sizes. When you buy a good assortment (a 20 pcs bag, just to start) of 4", 6" and 8" plastics in black, purple, pumpkin seed and motor oil color patterns you never fail. These colors allow you to successfully face almost every kind of water and weather condition. To rig your new plastic lures, buy some bags of 3/0 and 4/0 offset hooks, along with bullet weights ranging from 1/8 oz. to 3/4 oz. JIG & PIG: Simply select 3/8 to 1 oz. models in black and brown colors. The pig I highly recommend you to buy is the #11 model pork frog. Match the pig color with those of the jig. A good alternative to the pig, specially in the summer months, when the pork rind dries easily, is the plastic crawfish in 4" size in black/chartreuse, black/blue and brown color. SPINNERBAITS AND CRANKBAITS: Selecting the right spinnerbait models is not a difficult task. The best suggestion I can give to a novice bassman is to buy some artificials in the 3/8, 3/4 oz. weight's range (white skirts for clear water, chartreuse for murky waters), and a number of willow leaf and Colorado blades, sizing from 4 to 7. This way you'll be able to customize the lure accordingly to the fishing conditions you'll encounter or to your preferences. Another good skirt color I suggest you have in the tacklebox, especially if you do some night fishing, is black.
Crankbaits are a little more difficult to select than spinnerbaits because this lure, depending on the model, runs at different depths. To simplify this job we consider the crankbait working in 3 depth ranges: shallow runner (1 to 4 ft), mid-runner (5 to 12 ft), deep-runner (more than 12 ft). Because crankbaits mimics a baitfish, natural colors are the best choice. Basically you need to have lures in shad, crayfish and chartreuse patterns. With a handful of crank plugs you will cover lot of fishing situations. TOPWATERS: Selecting topwaters is a matter of personal taste and preference. Topwaters could be divided into a lot of categories: prop-baits, crawlers, jerkbaits, spoons, buzzbaits, frogs and more. Every group of artificials has it's specific job. Frogs, spoons and buzzbaits are created for fish emergents like lily pads, Hidrilla and others. Jerkbaits are a good tool to fish rip-raps and stumps. Crawlers represent the best choice to night fishing and propbaits are excellent in muddy waters. Be aware of the fact that natural colors trigger more strikes than bright colors like chartreuse or orange, particularly in clear water. A black belly on topwater plugs increases the underwater contrast of the lure, allowing more visibility for the bass, resulting in an high number of strikes. Make your choice considering the topwater fishing aspects I have mentioned above. At this point, you have a good selection of tackle and lures. Storing these lures in soft or hard tackleboxes is only a matter of preference. Now you have the tools to catch bass. Remember, however, that in the near future you'll buy all the newest lures you find in catalogs and tackle shops, no matter if you really need them. Bass fishing is a tremendous malady that force you to buy all the lures you don't have in your tacklebox or at home. ---- Massimo's email address: massimoz@yahoo.com All Rights Reserved By Author ---- Smallmouth Bass Fishing ArticlesDon't see what you are looking for? | |||
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