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My girlfriend and I have been breaking from catfishing to try bass fishing. We caught bass on cane poles, trotlines, so we decided to try a bass rig. Well, we're pretty much goin blind here. One of my coworkers has given me several good tips, since he fishes, but I'd like some suggestions from other sources as well. Is there a certain way I need to present the worm on the hook? we have it rigged Texas style, with a 4/0 straight offset hook and a small pinch sinker about 6-8 inches above the hook. The worms are hooked weedless style, and we get a few hits here and there, but we rarely get one good enough to set the hook on. Presentation? Color?
Also, I've tried using some lures like crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and specifically a black jitterbug. I'm not exactly sure how I should fish these. Insight?
Thanks in advance to all those who put their 2 cents in.
...Put your 2 cents in, get a penny's worth...either way someone's making a penny. And it's not me...
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No don't take a break from catfishing do both.[cool] I bass fish and catfish. Anyways bass fishing with a black jitterbug is a great lure to use. I use 5/8 oz. Black Jitterbug. Just wind it in just fast enough to make it gurgle or bubble depending on what you call it. Cast it and wait 15 Mississippi seconds. you know 1 Mississippi 2 Mississippi and so on then reel the jitterbug in. Try pausing some in the retrieve vary between pause and reel and just a straight reel it in with no pause. I just got 2 lb 15 inch Large Mouth Bass on one. Tip number 2 I learned this from my girlfriend's father who learned it off of some fishing show don't pump the rod like you do in catfishing. Point the rod tip towards the water and direct it away from the weeds but keep the tip down. It keeps them from jumping out of the water.
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I discovered the small pond bass fun a few weeks ago, right behind my house. I'll give you my 2 cents from what experience I've had.
Top water works well, but the fish will become accustomed to the same lure. I fished a top water rapala and a light spinnerbait running a wake on the water's surface for a couple days with good results. After about a week , these lures went stone cold. Another person fishes this pond as well, with nothing but top water. I think the fish are just too used to seeing something above them.
Throw senkos! I've used Gary Yamamoto's and Wave Worm Tiki Bamboo Sticks in 5", thrown weedless and weightless. In other words, hook them like you would a Texas-rig, but don't put any weight on them. The worms are heavy enough to throw as-is. I throw them with 2/0 to 4/0 hooks and right along the shore, in front of bushes and reeds. 9 times out of 10, if I hit my mark with the lure, I get a whack right away. Watch your line and set the hook with authority. In my case, I think my success with senkos is due to the murkiness of the water. I think the bass strike the lure out of reaction rather than watching it and picking it up slow.
Yamamoto senkos are very soft and generally don't last too long. The Wave Worms seem to be a bit more durable and also cheaper. As for color, as I said I fish a murky pond. I throw light/bright colored senkos with flake in them, mostly red and daquiri (light blue).
I've caught fish with cranks in the pond as well, but nothing works as well or consistently as the senko worms. In fact, when I walk up to the pond, all I take is my worm rod, about 6 or 8 senkos and a pair of needlenosers in case I need to work a hook out.
Fishing that pond has really been a load of fun. Size-wise, it's small enough to hit the middle of the pond from anywhere on shore, but there are plenty of largemouth in there. It's not improbable to catch a dozen bass in an hour on a good day. That sure beats going to one of the local lakes that get pounded and catching 2 or 3 all day.
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That's funny you mention catfish. My son and I have been fishing the same old local pond for a couple of years now, catching bass like crazy and just this past Sunday night the little dude reeled in the biggest catfish I have ever seen! I didn't even know there were any catfish in that pond! But anyway back to bass, we use frogs on top of the water or blue crawfish lures. Good Luck!
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Growing up I'd bet we used artificial lures less than 50% of the time. Probably because of their cost. We weren't all that well off (financially, that is). Nightwalkers picked up at (yup, you guessed it) night were often our bait, Or white grubs we dug out of a dried manure pile on a farm not too far away.
Favorite baits were often caught once we arrived at the lake. We waded the shore turning over stones looking for what we called bloodsuckers. Small leeches. Lively little buggers! Made great bait.
The most sought after bait was a soft-shelled crab. These were actually crawfish that had just molted. Had to be careful catching them as they were easy to squash. Pretty much anything that swam in the lake (with fins, that is [cool] ) would nail these. Our hope was always that it would be a big bass.
Was fishing with weedless-hooked worms (black ones seemed the best) at my brother-in-law's in Florida recently. It seemed that we had to give them a bit more time before setting the hook than what I was use to with live ones. Except for those times when a bass nailed it as soon as it hit the water. No waiting then. [laugh]
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Plastic worms are great and will work most of the time. Color makes a big difference, so try different colors till you find the one they want. I like to buy baits with scents or salt cooked insided the bait, I beleive the bass will hold on to it longer giving you more time to detect the bite and set the hook. If your missing bites, try a smaller hook. You may also want to downsize your bait. I'll usually just tear a couple of inches off the top of the bait and rig it on the hook.
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I guess we're gonna have to just go down to the river...because in the past couple of weeks, we've fished several times, and she's gotten one or 2 slight hits MAYBE, and i have not gotten a single hit. I don't know. There may just not be a lot of bass in the pond anymore. I just hope we'll fare well in the river on the shore.
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If you want to try plastics, you need to try these Maniac Salt Sticks. It is pretty much the only plastics i use and ALWAYS catch bass on them. My best color is changeable craw/orange, but the pearl pumpkin is awesome too as well as the baby bass.
maniaccustomlures.com[cool]
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use a 2/0 offset worm hook and i caught 5 pounder at a local pond useing a rooster tail goo luck
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