helpneeded for bass fishing in lakes and ponds

[williambaxter4]

i need advice on catching bass with lures and not nightcrawlers. nightcrawlers are the only thing i been catching fish on. if there are any bass fishers out there that can give me advice please comment below. i have crankbaits, topwater poppers, swimbaits, and plastic worms and craws
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[fsh4fun05]

Where do you live? Location makes all the difference
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[tubeN2]

Welcome williambaxter4 and thank you for your question here. Based upon the bait that you have described as working, you should easily be able to transition to the plastic worm, Craw imitations, Brush Hawgs and many other types of plastics.

Each of the other lures you have mentioned will have a time and a place as well as a working color depending on numerous conditions.

Water clarity or lack off, water temperature, moon phase (waxing or waning), tide charts (even in fresh water) as well as time of year (pre spawn, spawn and post spawn) will all play roles as to the color, depth and type of presentation that you will need to succeed.

There is no "Single" approach to catching successfully in any given area.

One of the best methods, however is to keep a log book. Take note of the weather, time of day, water temp, water clarity (clear, stained, murky etc..)

Try different colors and retrieval speeds on top water, sub surface and deep approaches.

For worms, craws and other plastics, you can hook them up Carolina rigged, Texas Rigged, Whacky rigged, weightless, weedless, dropshot or double dropshot so that you can play the different thermoclines. Some colors will work better than others and some colors will go un noticed after awhile.

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[gdn443]

When nothing else works,throw a SENCO. weightless. Black or watermelon in color. All your lures have a time and a place to work. Master that then move on to another presentation. Top water baits work best in the dawn and dusk times.
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[SenkoSam]

If you own those lures you must have an idea when and where to use them. The breakdown of when and where to use them is dependent on many factors, none of which you've shared such as:
average depth, water clarity, weed types and density, water temperature, hard or soft bottom, size of pond or lake, bottom types such as drop offs from flat areas, points of land, wetland flats, etc.

Lures are tools, some with limitations, some more versatile.
Limitation examples include:
retrieve speed range - some must be retrieved within a certain range (IE crankbaits); other can be worked very slow or fast.

lure action by design - all lures exhibit an action unique to a lure's design and composition. Some crankbaits have a wide wobble, some very narrow. Lip size and width determine which. Fish may hit one or the other. Soft plastics have different unique actions based on plastic softness and design. How you rig them can enhance their effectiveness (as was mentioned in a previous reply).

Color is important up to a point but less of a factor than the above. A few will do for most lures and at times one color is all you need in a particular lure. All color does is created a visual target, make action parts stand out as they move and add to the stimulus you are casting to provoke a strike. Fish don't know natural from supernatural when it comes to colors, so if you think fish strike a lure because it believes it to be a particular prey species based on color, forget it. When it comes to color, try a few and find which do better than others. Most lure types in certain colors work all of the time. Don't go crazy.

Presentation is a major factor for most lure types. Erratic retrieves for many lures seem to work best falong with very slow to medium slow speeds of retrieve. Add weight to a plastic worm to increase drop speed; decrease it to slow the drop on bottom. Senkos are different than other stick worms in drop rate - they usually fall faster due to composition. You work different surface lures differently. Poppers are worked different than Zara Spooks; top water, soft plastic frogs and creature baits different yet.

YouTube has videos of different lures used to catch bass, but it would also be nice to start out with crossover lures that catch many different species - ones that are exceptionally easy to use and very successful numbers wise - for example, the ball head jig and soft plastic bait combo such as a Mr Twister Grub or Sassy Shad. They catch pretty much all freshwater species and utilize everything mentioned above.

Lures are tools to search the water for fish that can be provoked by them. Sonar is of little use finding fish you'll actually catch in shallow waters; fish are to the side, front or back of the boat, which brings up another question:
are you fishing from shore or from a boat ? Location, location, location. No point in casting to fish-less areas or at the wrong depth in the water column using the wrong lures or presentation. Doubtful you'll be catching bass on surface when they are near bottom in 15'.

The above only scratches the surface but it is a start, starting with the basics. The rest is up to you, keeping in mind that your learning curve soars after fishing with others that catch fish on lures you want to build up confidence in. Fishing tournaments greatly improved my skill set and forced me to believe by watching another catch a fish using a lure I wanted to learn about.

Fishing success is in the details and the only way to know them is from personal experience and discovery. Other than that, no advice can take their place.
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[SenkoSam]

Oh, and I forgot to mention...

Fishing is about combinations and and pretty much like opening a combination lock. Sometimes the combination is a bit more complex depending on the water fished, but much of the time not that hard to figure out.

Elements of the combination (lures used, presentations tried, line test and type, rod action, etc.) may be as few as just casting and reeling in a lure - any lure. But other times those elements may rely on each other to find fish and provoke them into striking.

Knowing a body of water, knowing your tackle (or at least what you're using that hour) and matching your presentation to both are basic elements of that combination that work in unison. That's not to say exceptions don't arise to the rule - they invariably will - but consistent success depends on being able to find a pattern if possible and discovering a pattern begins with the combination you find that works.

Even using live bait requires a combination that considers location, hook size and type, bait size and type and depth under a float. You can't get away from it.
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[williambaxter4]

i live in central mass
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[Paulpro]

try the beginners board i left a link for you http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gfo...45#p736945
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[gdn443]

I'm in ct. so your in NE area. Water temps are still cold. Try a stick bait like a rapalla in a stop and start action. Pause it under water for at least 3 seconds. Again throw a weightless senco type worm in black or watermelon. let if fall to the bottom.( I do like Wave Baits for these worms.) Bounce it a couple of times then throw again. I do like a wiggle wart this time of year and do the same presentation as the stick bait. This time of year it's about fishing your lures SLOWWW
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[cknowles673]

[quote tubeN2]

One of the best methods, however is to keep a log book. Take note of the weather, time of day, water temp, water clarity (clear, stained, murky etc..)


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Love this idea! I really need to make myself try it.
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[atothedub]

This is great advice. I know that there are some apps out there as well that you can pay to track this information for you. But I do a lot of this myself in notebooks. I try and find patterns and try new things. It really helps you to get better as an angler.

Best of luck!
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