largemouth bass – Fast Cast Rods

Bass fishing is one of the most popular fish to catch because you are constantly moving, and casting, and there are several different techniques to catching fish. Instead of putting bait on your hook and throwing it out so you can sit and wait, you get a lot more interactiveness with fishing for bass. Your cast range is wider, your baits can be switched out faster, and the fish you land tend to be a lot bigger than a normal sized trout, or crappie. One of the biggest questions I get asked is if you can fish for bass all year round. Can you catch bass all year round? Yes, you can fish for bass all year long, but people tend to catch the most bass during the late spring and summer months after a spawn. While bass do eat and can be caught in the winter, they eat differently and less often, so you will have to search and hunt for a bite, or really make one angry. Do Bass Hibernate Bass do not hibernate in the winter, but their metabolism does slow down which means they do not have to eat as often as they do during a spawn or warmer months out of the year. Since some habitats freeze over, bass have to hunt for prey that may not be available during the winter months. This means that smaller fish, and bottom dwelling creatures become the best meal for them during this time. It is best to time the bite perfectly for when they want to eat, which is usually early morning. Can You Catch Bass Ice Fishing Yes, ice fishing for bass is actually quite fun, and they will bite bait through a frozen lake. The only problem is that you are limited in your casting, and since their metabolism is slowed, so is their swimming to conserve energy. You may have to wait a little bit longer to get a bite, or have to switch baits to something that would resemble their prey in the cold. it is best to use a technique that makes the bait look like it is injured, so that the bass will think it is an easy meal. Fast moving baits will most likely not work as well since the bass are moving slower and are less active. What Bait Is Best For Winter Bass Fishing Here is a chart for the different water temperatures and what bait to use... Water TempBest Bait65+Worms, Top Water (at dawn or dusk), Crawfish, Lizards50-65Jerkbait, Swimbait, Jig, Worms, Blade Baits, Crankbaits, Spinnerbaits, BuzzbaitLess than 50Jigging spoon, Blade Baits, Swimbait, Jigs What Time Of Day Are Bass Most Active? Bass are generally more active in the morning near sunrise or shortly after, so bottom bait will be your best bet to land bigger fish. Dusk is also a great time to use top water lures because the bugs will come out and be close to the water, so bass will tend to stay closer to the surface and feed. While bass can be caught during the middle of the day, the bite will feel less active because they are trying to stay cool in the heat, and most often their prey have slowed or left the water for the day. Final Thoughts Bass fishing, in my opinion, is one of the best fishing you can do. You get to move around, and try new baits quickly and just be more interactive with the sport. It give you a chance to try out new techniques instead of just putting bait on a hook and throwing it out to wait for a fish to swim by. In order to catch bass, you need to trick them into thinking it is something they want to chase down and eat, so with the proper technique, you can catch a lot of fish. You can also fish for bass all year, and even when ice fishing, but the bite will slow down during the Spring spawn so you will need to change up your technique a bit. Related Topics What Season Do Bass Spawn Bass generally spawn in the early Spring when the water temperature starts to warm up above 60 degrees. In most states this will happen in the middle of April to early May depending on where you live. The time it takes for them to spawn is roughly 3 to 6 weeks depending on conditions, so catching them during this time can be tough, and will only happen when they are protecting their eggs. To catch bass during a spawn, you need to drag your bait over their bedding to aggravate the bass so that they want to kill the bait, not really eat it. When this happens, you will want to be quick on setting the hook, or they will shake the bait out of their mouths. How do you catch white bass in the winter? To catch a white bass in the winter, you need to add weight to your bait and drag it across the bottom where they typically stay during the winter. White bass have smaller mouths, so you will not need a big hook to catch them, and they love to eat minnows, so try using a smaller bait. During the warmer months, white bass will feed on shad, so anything that resembles a hurt fish will be your best bet when trying in the winter. What Is Good Bait For White Bass? Since white bass do have smaller mouths, anything small will definitely be your best bet to catch them. Since they eat shad and smaller fish, anything that is more clear with grey and black will be the best bait to use. Look for boils of shad on the water and throw your bait out and let it sink a little bit to reach the bass. A white GRUB will also be a good bait when fishing for white bass. What Is The Difference Between Largemouth And Smallmouth Bass The most obvious difference between the these two bass are the mouths, and how far back it extends. If the mouth extends beyond their eyes, than it is going to be a largemouth bass. Another way to tell is if there are dark brown bands vertically on the fish, it is a smallmouth bass, and horizontal stripes mean it is a largemouth bass. Smallmouth bass tend to top out at the 5lb mark, where largemouth bass can get upwards of 22lbs! Smallmouth bass prefer cooler water than largemouth, so you may also find them in streams as well as colder water lakes, and they enjoy more clear water, where largemouth prefer warmer murkier water.