Favorite Smallmouth Baits and Colors

What are the best baits and bait colors for smallmouth bass?

Some might say it all depends on where you live and the types of smallmouth waters you fish.

Though bait and color selection is always somewhat subjective, there are some bait styles and colors that will catch smallmouth where ever you fish as long as the conditions are right.

Take a moment and hear what fishing legend Al Lindner has to say about his favorite baits and colors when chasing smallies across the U.S.

Though Al names his favorite bait brands, obviously similar baits from other manufacturers should work just as well! 

Give them a try!

Bank Fishing Tips via Jimmy Houston

I love bass fishing and will do whatever I have to in order to get as much bassin' time in between ice out and ice in here in the north country...

Even though I make numerous trips in a boat, I substantially increase fishing time by hitting the ponds from the bank almost daily...

Though I have developed my own system for the different ponds I fish, here are some great tips from Jimmy Houston on bank fishing on reservoirs...

Enjoy!

I’m Gonna Miss Her – Brad Paisley’s Take on Bass Fishing?

It’s been a few years now since Brad Paisley released his “fishing song” titled … “I’m Gonna Miss Her” but it sure struck a chord with many fishermen and still does today.

Though some may have believed this was just a song performed by a country singer with little bass fishing experience that is not the case with Mr. Paisley.  Considering where Brad was raised (northern West Virginia on the Ohio River) it seems bassin’ and country singin’ were inbred from the start.

So here for your enjoyment is a video of Brad Paisley performing the song at the Grand Ole Opry  …

Makes you kind of wonder though … would he really miss her?

But then again, Kimberly Williams-Paisley is such a wonderful lady, how could he not… 

Fishing Photos: Capturing the Memories

How many times have you been out fishing for bass on your favorite lake or stream, caught a great largemouth or smallmouth and just wished you had a picture when talking about it later.

Ok, part of the reason may be to ward off your friend’s comments about fishing tales and fishermen being truth-twisters but the real reason is to save the memory …

(Especially these days with the threat of Alzheimer’s lingering in the distance!) 

In today’s modern digital world there is hardly a reason why most of us shouldn’t be in a position to “snap the pic” to preserve our catch in digital form …

One reason is the camera feature present in most cell phones today (though the images maybe marginal) while another pertains to the affordability of decent digital cameras.

Here are a few key pointers to consider when thinking about camera and shooting options:

• Number of megapixels should be > 5 mega-pixels
• Cost (although I would argue today a decent digital can be had for $100)
• How to frame the picture (get close and avoid distractions in the photo frame!)
• Consider lighting and practice shot before taking actual photo
• Use the flash to offset the bright background typically found in the outdoors under sunny conditions
• Shoot images holding camera both horizontally and vertically …

Now you can be capturing the photos to save your own fishing memories …

Is There An Easy Button for Bass Fishing Success?

Ever stop and visit a bass fishing forum and notice how many participants post questions like:

* What’s the best lure to use today?

* Is today a good day to go bass fishing?

* Does anyone know a secret method for catching bass now?

* What’s the best lure color?

When I first started seeing these questions, I didn’t give them much thought. In other instances I even took the time and posted an answer.

Of course being in the education business, my answers were rarely just a quick …”it’s this lure or that color”. Rather than the quickie answer, I would frame the response addressing the weather, season and water body conditions existing at that time to better put things into perspective.

In my mind, it’s really a matter of mindset and how you approach preparing to fish for bass.

Does the “Bass Fishing Easy Button” Really Exist?

A Few Green Fishing Tips

With summer in full bloom, many of the “green living” folks among us venture down to the nearest water body to do a little fishing and in my case bass fishing.

Although I still consider myself a journeyman when it comes to green living and maintaining a green lifestyle, I have been using most of the following green fishing tips for decades.

Here are a few helpful green tips to make all of our fishing trips more enjoyable and help keep the aquatic environment closer to its natural state:

• Be conscious of your trash and pickup after yourself;
  • Cleanup all used packaging material, tangled fishing line, and spent tackle.  Recycle materials (fishing line, tackle, etc.) whenever possible.  Today, fishing line recycling stations are popping up all over the place.  Be sure to take advantage of them!
• When catching your own bait, only take what you need;
  • Native minnows (chubs, shiners, etc.), worms, leeches, crayfish are often harvested by fisherman before each trip.  In some areas, excess fishing pressure may be straining bait as well as fish populations.  Only take the amount of bait actually needed for a given trip.
• When buying bait, do not release non-native bait species into the environment;

Using Topographic Maps When Bass Fishing

Maps are an important tool and great asset for bass anglers and a good topographic map can be the very best map resource.

Being an outdoorsman, most bass fishermen likely know at least a little about topographic maps especially about using them for navigating across their local fishing and hunting haunts …

Beyond indicating  the nature of the topography (elevation changes across the map area), topographic maps also show the presence of water (lakes, streams, etc.), vegetation (trees, brush), and manmade features like structures and roadways.

If you fish reservoirs and are fortunate enough to locate older topographic maps that were created before the reservoir was constructed, you are definitely in for a treat …

Why? … 

KVD Talks Finding and Catching Fall Bass

When bass fishing's G.O.A.T. talks about finding bass, it's always time to listen.

Take a few minutes and hear what Kevin VanDam has to say about locating and catching fall bass in natural lakes and ponds during the fall...

Fishing Dirty Water with KVD

Though the man excels at fishing water that ranges from several inches to tens of feet deep, BPS pro Kevin Van Dam admits he loves fishing shallow with reaction baits.

What's the best water clarity for fishing super shallow water? 

Stained to dirty of course!

What are KVD's reaction baits of choice?

Take a few moments and watch as the master, KVD explains his thoughts and approach to fishing in dirty water conditions...

What Is Hole-sitting?

I was reading an article in a popular bass fishing magazine recently where they discussed a number of different fishing patterns being used by the pros during the last two years.

Although they presented information about several different patterns or trends there was one particular pattern that caught my eye.  After reflecting on the description of this pattern, I really have to question whether or not it can be considered new …

The pattern I’m talking about is something they referred to as hole-sitting.

What is Hole-sitting?

Hole-sitting is an approach to a day or even entire tournament where the bass angler focuses on one small area of the lake and experiences increased bass fishing success.

If you go back and look at many of the BASS and FLW tournaments recently, you should notice that in many of the big wins by pros like Kevin VanDam, Paul Elias, Kevin Wirth, and Kotaro Kiriyama used that very approach on their way to victory.

A number of years ago, KVD won the 2010 Bassmasters Classic on Lay Lake, Alabama where he hole-sat in Beeswax Creek for all three days of the tournament. The result, Kevin mounted another magnificent Classic win (his third). VanDam also used the hole-sitting approach at other times over the last two years to compile four Elite Series victories on the BASS circuit.

Paul Elias also basically hole-sat for his win on Falcon Lake in Texas in 2008 and set an all time heavyweight stringer for a four-day event at 132.5 pounds to boot!  Elias focused his fishing efforts primarily on one point throwing deep crankbaits and a Carolina rig to boat the all time record catch.

Hole-Sitting is new?

In my book, hole-sitting is not really new.

This is definitely evidenced by Rick Clunn’s Bassmaster Classic victory in 1984 on the Arkansas River when he finished a stretch of the channel with stumps on the edge of a subtle drop that was less than 100 yards long.  Clunn also used a similar approach in his earlier Classic win on Guntersville Lake in the mid 70s.

So the next time hit hit the water perhaps it’s time to re-think your strategy and focus on those areas that produce the best bass fishing opportunity … in other words … be a “hole-sitter”.

Smallmouth Bass 101

A look at the biology of the smallmouth bass and tactics used to catch them from the folks at Lindner's Angling Edge.

For anyone who loves to catch "them ole brown fish" here's a video that's worth a look!

Select the Right Hard Bait for Any Season

With the myriad of bass lures on the market today, it’s sometimes a wonder that any weekend  bass angler can make the proper bait selection when hitting the water. 

Even if narrowing the field down to just hard-bodied baits like topwaters, crankbaits, minnow baits, etc., the variations are almost endless!

Though this video focuses on Lucky Craft lures, take a moment and listen to how their touring pro-staff anglers approach bass lure selection under a variety of conditions and environmental situations … 

Definitely worth watching, getting out the pencil and paper then taking a few notes!

Using Jerkbaits for Springtime Post Front Smallmouth Bass

More often than not springtime cold fronts will send northern largemouth bass into an inactive funk.

Smallmouth bass however tend to be far less effected by post frontal conditions especially when an erratically darting jerkbait comes to an abrupt stop right n front of their face!

Take a moment and see how the folks from W2F use bright colored suspending jerkbaits to trigger post frontal smallmouth bass into attacking...

A few things to remember:

• Don't be afraid to try different color patterns (natural and bright) to see what the bass want
• Pick the right rod
• Remember to make multiple casts at different casting angles

Cranking Tips for Prespawn Smallmouths

Medium diving crankbaits can be excellent baits to entice prespawn smallmouth bass into striking as they make their transitions from wintering areas to the spawning flats. 

Once you...

• Pick the right bait
• Identify the right depth, structure and cover
• Hone in on the correct retrieve
• Make multiple casts to each target

smallmouths usually "bring the heat" as they say and attack the fleeing crankbait!

Take a few minutes and listen to northeast bass pro Paul Mueller explain his thoughts and approach when fishing crankbaits for prespawn smallmouths...