Best Tackle For Largemouth Bass

According to Commonwealth's Department of Fish and Game's best tackle for Largemouth Bass Tactics is:

* A 5'6" baitcast rod and reel w/10-12 pound test line - Lures: a 1/2 ounce white/chartreuse spinnerbait - topwater baits (Zara Spook, Jitterbug, Pop-R, buzzbaits) worked near structure late April to late September - Texas-rigged plastic worm - soft-bodied stick bait (Sluggo, Bass-Assasin) - crayfish or shad colored crankbaits cast along drop-offs Fishing Tip: Spinnerbaits in white or chartreuse are easy to fish since all you have to do is cast it out and reel it in. However, altering the retrieve (fast or slow, constant or jerky) and paying constant attention to the lure will always bring more fish to the boat or shore. When teamed up with a plastic or pork trailer, spinnerbaits are one of the more effective offerings available.

* A 6' 6" or 7' medium-heavy baitcast rod & reel w/15-20 pound test line - Lures: 3/4 ounce black & blue flippin'jig with a blue pork frog trailer - Texas-rigged plastic worm or lizard in black or purple - weedles crawdad colored jig and plastic trailer Fishing Tip: Flip or cast the lure into the thickest cover you can find. Lightly raise and lower the rod tip, letting the lure bounce off the structure and settle to the bottom intermittently as you reel in. Cast to deeper structures when the temperatures are cold, shallower cover during the warmer months. Keep a finger in contact with the line to feel the strike. The strike can be subtle but you will quickly learn the difference between a bite and a bump from a tree limb or rock.

* A 6' medium action spinning rod and reel w/8-10 pound test line - Lures: Rapala Husky Jerk - topwater baits listed in Tip number one - finess plastic worms (4-6") - 1/8 to 1/2 ounce lead jigs with auger-tail plastic grubs Fishing Tip: Use a jerk-and-pause retrieve past rocks, lilly pads and trees. Fish have a tendency to hit this lure on the pause so be ready and pay attention to the line at all times. Many of the lures used with this type of spinning gear are not weedless so be careful just how close you get to the structure. Although this type of gear does not have the "power" of the baitcast rigs listed above, it still has enough gusto to set big hooks rigged weedless (Texas-rigged or Carolina-rigged plastic worms, etc).

* A 5'6" spinning rod and reel w/4-8 pound test line - Lures: Rebel Wee Craw - 1/16 to 1/4 ounce bucktail jigs or plastic grubs - light stick-baits (Rapalas, Rebels) - small crankbaits - ultra-light topwater lures Fishing Tip: Cast to rock humps or near downed trees (be careful because the velcro-like hooks will readily snag anything in their path). Use a consistent, medium-speed retrieve to get the lure down as deep as it will go. The strikes can be surprisingly vicious as the rate of retrieve teamed up with the yank from the fish results in a very abrupt stop. Don't expect to use this gear to horse lunkers from snag-laden structure. Instead, anticipate sporting fights from even modest 2-pound largemouths. Ripping a small fish out of the water with 20-pound test doesn't exactly get the adrenalin pumping. Let that same fish start ripping line off the spool of a 6-lb or even 4-lb test rig, however, and you'll remember the catch quite vividly.

Include any of these and yuo will have optimal Largemouth Bass Tactics .

How Can Largemouth Bass Tactics Make You Pro Fisherman

Water influence on Largemouth Bass Tactics


Because a bass's entire metabolism is tuned to its circulatory system temperature. In cold water the metabolism slows down, the brain slows down, and the bass slows down. In cold water a bass's instincts are less sharp it has less appetite and it mostly stays suspended in a hiding place, waiting for warmer water. That's why Largemouth Bass Tactics have to be adjusted accordingly.

If you go out fishing early in the year you should look for the warmest water you can find usually on the sunny side off the lake.. During the summer it’s totally different story, coolest water is where fish is hiding. A sudden drop in water temperature cause bass to go into temporary shock and they quit eating. The opposite is not true, however. A sudden rise in water temperature may, or may not, effect the fishing, depending on other factors.



Rain as a fishing factor


Rain affects water surface conditions, making it almost opaque when viewed from below. This affect can be either positive or negative on fishing. Light rains seem to help fishing, while heavy rains turn-off the bite. Here is the likely scenario. The darkened skies that come with wet conditions tend to cause the bass to feed, light rain breaks up the surface making our lures more effective, and rain adds oxygen to the water. But as the rain gets heavier, it gets more difficult for the Largemouth Bass to see, so they suspend and stop feeding.
If there is freshwater flowing into the lake from a feeder creek or ditch, the place where this water enters the lake is an excellent place to fish. Nutrients are flowing in, shad are drawn to the nutrients and bass are drawn to the shad.
The bass know the shad will be there so they instinctively migrate to a source of fresh water flowing into a lake. It is wide spread understanding that Largemouth Bass Tactics have to be adapted to a light rain, and than again as the rain gets stronger. Heavy downpours, thunderstorms (and the resulting high winds) make for extremely poor fishing and miserable fishing conditions.


Change your Largemouth Bass Tactics when storm is close


During the approach of a cold front the winds diminish and the sky becomes overcast. Then, it starts to rain. The bass sense the change in wind and sky conditions, they know instinctively that this is the beginning to bad weather, and they begin to feed. That is why some of the best fishing occurs when a cold front is approaching. During this time the bass fill their gullets. Then, the wind picks up after the storm passes, the skies clear and the Largemouth Bass become lethargic. Then, after the food is digested, they begin to feed once again. This is a rule you have to remember. Bass do not feed on the day after a bad weather has passed because they are not hungry. Hunger returns after about 48 hours, and the fishing improves rapidly.


Wind is improving Largemouth Bass Fishing


Windy conditions makes for excellent fishing during late spring, summer and early fall. On the other side it usually makes poor fishing in the winter and early spring.
Wind improves fishing and here is why. First, the wind causes waves and waves oxygenate the water. The additional oxygen activate the fish and causes them to feed. But more importantly, the wind blows algae and plankton to the windy shore where it stacks up. Shad feed off of plankton and bass feed off of shad. Both the shad and the bass like to actively feed shallow along a wind-blown shore.
On the places where waves are breaking over a point or along a shoreline, you should look for deeper water nearby. Expect the bass to be holding in deep water but close to the shallow, breaking waves. When fishing a shoreline, hold the boat off shore, throw lures into the breaking waves and retrieve them to where it looks the bass are holding in deeper water.


A mayor mistake often committed by novice fishermen is to fish the lee side of the lake when the wind is blowing. Mayor rule in Largemouth Bass Tactics is: On the lee side of the lake the bass will be inactive, while on the windward shores the bass will be active. The wind makes boating and fishing tougher, but the final result makes up for it.