America's Pass Time
Bass fishing in the United States, has become more popular than ever. It has, like baseball, become
the nations pass time. Many Americans fish for sport, recreation, and even competitively. Being able to
trick a bass into biting an artificial lure is like a fine art. Once you feel the bite, and you set the hook,
your heart almost skips a beat. Their is no better feeling than landing a nice big bass in the summer
time. Often fishing skills are passed down by a father or grandfather. Maps and directions to secret
honey holes passed down through the generations. If only I could have been so lucky. As a beginning
angler you may have tons of questions. You could spend thousands of hours online researching and
reading many different opinions. Or, you could just learn the facts and experiment on your own.
What is a bass?
fish. The largemouth bass is a freshwater gamefish that is part of the Sunfish family. The largemouth
bass specifically, is a species of black bass. The largemouth bass is usually olive green in color with
shades of brown but this can depend on its habitat (World Fishing Network). They can also be black or
white in color. The largemouth bass gets its name due to its, you guessed it, large mouth! The easiest
way to identify a largemouth from any other type of bass is if the lower jar extends beyond the upper
jar. The largemouth bass is also the largest of the black bass species. The longest largemouth on record
is 29.5 inches with an unofficial weight of 25 pounds. This means that it wasn’t actually recorded by
the International Game Fish Association. The official record is 22 pounds 4 ounces, which was set in
1932 (Brian Milne).
The largemouth bass can be found in most of the lower 48 states. They are usually found in lakes,
ponds, rivers, canals, and slow moving streams. When bass reproduce it is usually in early spring. The
male will create a nest (also called a bed) in 1-4 feet of water. He will clear out a 2-3 foot circular area
using his fins and tail. The female depending her size, will lay anywhere from 2,000 to 40,000 eggs.
After the female lays the eggs, the male stays behind to guard the nest. The eggs take about a week to
hatch into what is called fry. Fry, also called larvae, are basically a group of baby fish. The fry will
continue to stay in the nest for another week. During this time they begin to eat small creatures such as
copepods and water fleas. Once they leave the nest, they stay in a group which is called a brood swarm.
The father continues to keep a close eye on his young. After 3 to 4 weeks, the fish spilt up to be on
their own.
The Largemouth Diet
After the fry stage, the new born bass begin to eat small aquatic insects. Once the bass reach a length
of 2-3 inches they will begin to feed on crayfish and other small fish. The diet of adult bass will
primarily consist of other fish such as: shad, bluegill, golden shiners, as well as other bass (Mark’s
Marine). What makes the bass such a great sport fish is that they are opportunistic feeders. This means
that if a meal is presented they will take the opportunity to eat. Bass have been known to eat frogs,
lizards, snakes, rats, mice, baby ducks, and even birds. Bass consume a prey item as a whole, rather
than in pieces. This can limit the size or amount of food that a bass can consume at one time. Often the
bass can be very gluttonous. They have been found floating dead on the waters surface from choking
on very large prey items.
Getting to Know the Bass
Now that most of the boring scientific stuff is out of the way we can focus on some of the
information that can help you, the aspiring bass fisherman. Bass are most active during the early
morning and late evenings. However, this does not mean that bass can’t be caught during the day. Like
I previously mentioned bass are very opportunistic feeders and can be caught anytime. Bass can be
found in schools or roaming on their own. They like to find areas that provide cover so they can
ambush their pray. This is very useful information for the up and coming bass angler. Knowing where
to cast a lure is a critical piece of information. Bass like to hide in areas such as under fishing docks,
under low lying trees, in heavy weed beds, next to ledges or drop offs, near man made structure such as
water pipes, along the banks of a rivers and ponds, and deep in lily pads (Texas Parks and Wildlife).
Casting a lure in these areas can greatly increase your odds of catching a fish. Another occurrence in
nature that may be interesting to the bass fisherman is the full moon. Bass are known to become
increasingly active during a full moon and a few days following. You can pick up a almanac or look up
the moons phases online. Try planning your next trip during a full moon!
Choosing the right Rod and Reel
Now that we understand a lot more about the largemouth’s habitat, feeding habits, and where they
can be located, we can now move on to the methods of catching a largemouth bass. The reason bass
fishing is so popular is because the bass is a finely tuned freshwater predator. What makes catching
them so much fun is the fight! They are known to jump out of the water acrobatically trying to throw
the hook. The pull and fight very hard, this makes landing a bass so rewarding. Bass are usually caught
on a line and reel. This can be accomplished by spinning rod, bait casting rod, or even a fly rod. Which
ever technique you choose is entirely up to you. They all their advantages and disadvantages.
Perhaps the most popular method is using spinning tackle. A spinning reel is basically just like that
push button fishing reel we all learned to use as a kid. Except this doesn’t have the plastic cover over
the line and it is missing the easy to use push button. To cast a spinning reel you hold the line against
the rod about 6 inches above the reel. You then flip open the bail, and start the cast. When the rod gets
to the end of the cast, you let go of the line and lure will generally go where the rod tip is pointing. The
reason spinning reels are so popular is because they don’t come with the challenges that the bait casting
style reels present. Such as having to keep your thumb on the spool during the cast. Also, bait casting
reels are notorious for causing backlashes or over runs. This is when the line comes off the spool faster
than the lure is traveling. This ultimately results in a big tangled mess! The bait casting reel is however
much more popular with advanced and professional anglers. The reason that the bait casting setup is so
popular among the advanced users is because they can be more accurate. You can also stop the spool
with your thumb at anytime. Another advantage to the bait casting reel is they can be cast with only 1
hand, where as the spinning reel requires 2. Which ever setup you decide to use is up to you, either will
produce fish!
This line..that Line..
Once you have decided upon the type of fishing rod and reel you want to use, the next important
piece to the puzzle is the line. Their are 3 popular line choices available to fisherman. These are:
monofilament, fluorocarbon, and braid. They all have their proper time and place in the fishing world.
Monofilament is made from a single fiber of plastic and is the most common fishing line available. The
reason for its popularity is that it is cheap and easy to produce and has a good tensile strength.
Monofilament is known for its stretch, making it a good for crank baits, spinner baits, and topwater
lures. Fluorocarbon is formed from combining a carbon base with other materials resulting in a fishing
line that is nearly invisible underwater. Also, due to the fact that this line has almost no stretch, it can
make setting the hook on a long cast more effective. Braided fishing lines consist of multiple woven
strands of man made materials such as Dacron and Spectra. Braid is very popular due to its lack of
stretch. Perhaps the most popular feature with braided fishing lines is that they have a very high
breaking strength with the smallest possible diameter (Keith Sutton). You can’t go wrong using any of
the 3 types of lines, just remember that each have a specific time and place in which they should be
used.
Lures
Thousands of lures are available when it comes to bass fishing. Some lures are meant to dive down
to depths of 20 feet. Some lures are meant to float on the waters surface. Some lures are ever designed
to catch the fisherman! Sometimes the time of day or season will dictate what lure to use. If the bass are
chasing after shad, you may want to use a lure that will imitate a shad. If bass in your lake are feeding
on crayfish then you may want to use a jig and craw. Their is no lure that will work 100% of the time.
A lure that worked this morning, may not work this afternoon. It is best to experiment with different
lures and colors to see what works best for you.
Perhaps the most popular lure type, and a great place to start is with soft plastic baits. Soft plastic
baits are simply, plastic based fishing lures. Originally developed in the late 1950's, these lures are made
up of a soft, flexible plastic which gives them a life like action. They come in a thousands of shapes,
colors, and sizes. Soft plastic baits are designed to imitate aquatic food sources. Some examples of these
are: fish, worms, grubs, lizards, crawfish, tadpoles, frogs, rats, and even snakes. The reason soft plastic
baits are so popular among fisherman is their life like quality, effectiveness, and the over all value. Soft
plastics are cheap to produce and usually cost a few bucks for a bag of 6 or more. In most cases a hook
is tied to a line and then bait is applied to the hook. When the bait is lost or damaged, the fisherman
simply puts another one on the hook. The versatility is another reason for their popularity. Many of the
same lures can work at any time of day and even different species of fish.
It is important to remember that fishing is a fun, relaxing activity. Many times we get frustrated when
we are out on the water and nothing is biting. I am guilty of doing this myself. It could be worse, you
could be stuck in a classroom writing a 6 page paper. But in all seriousness, it’s called fishing, not
catching. So get yourself out on the water, enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. Keep your lines tight, and
rods pointed to the sky!
Works Cited
"All About Largemouth Bass." All About Largemouth Bass. Mark's Marine, n.d. Web. 13 June 2013. <http://www.marksmarineinc.com/fishing/fish_largemouth.aspx>.
"Largemouth Bass (Micropterus Salmoides)." RSS. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, n.d. Web. 13 June 2013.
"Largemouth Bass." Www.worldfishingnetwork.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 June 2013. <http://www.worldfishingnetwork.com/bass-fishing/largemouth.aspx>.
Milne, Brian. "World Record Bass Accepted by IGFA -- Largemouth Bass in Japan Ties Record." About.com Fly Fishing. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 June 2013.
Sutton, Keith. "Choosing the Right Fishing Line." Basspro.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 June 2013. <http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CFPage?mode=article>.
