Pay attention to details when fishing for bass. Whether it's live bait or artificial lures, small things make a difference in how many fish you catch. Consider size, color and presentation of your offering along with the wind, water, weather and seasonal conditions. Tiny adjustments, like the way you hook a worm, can be the difference in bass fishing between success and striking out.
Live Bait
Go for the big worms. If you use small worms, the sunfish will peck them apart. TakeMeFishing.org recommends large earth worms or night crawlers for bass. Hook them either on one end or once in the middle. Don't ball them up on the hook. Bass like their forage to be alive, so your goal is to hook your bait in a manner that keeps it moving and looking natural.
Topwaters
Use two rods when fishing topwater lures. Put a follow-up lure on the second rod. When a fish boils behind your topwater and misses it, pick up the second rod and cast the follow-up lure where the fish boiled. A lure that sinks slowly, such as a weightless plastic worm, grub or plastic minnow, can be an effective follow-up lure. The Ultimate Bass Fishing Resource Guide recommends light line for maximum action when using wooden topwater lures. For buzzbaits and other lures that draw voracious strikes, use at least a 14- to 20-lb. test line. Monofilament line is the choice for topwater fishing. Fluorocarbon line sinks and will reduce a topwater's action.
Spinnerbaits
Former BassMasters Classic champion Denny Brauer made his reputation using a jig, but he also is an excellent spinnerbait fisherman. Brauer uses line of 15- to 25-lb. test with spinnerbaits, and he carries extra skirts and blades so he can make adjustments on the water. Learn to modify your spinnerbaits. If you see baitfish in the water, you can adjust the size of your blade or the color of your skirt to match the forage. Brauer suggests starting with white or a white/chartreuse combination for your skirt color. Colorado and Indiana blades are his choice for muddy water because they create strong vibration. Willowleaf blades are the pick for clear water. Tandem blades cover both options on one lure.
Lure Presentation
Subtle things like a color smudge on a lure, the sound the lure creates, the color of its hooks or the diameter of the line can make the difference in good and bad days on the water. You and your buddy are fishing the same spot with the same lure. He's catching fish and you're not. Bassintips.com recommends changing your presentation. If you know you are on productive water with the right lure and the bites are not coming, do something different with your lure. Retrieve it faster, slower or quieter, with more jerks or with fewer jerks. The website says there are five things to keep in mind about your lure's presentation: the lure and its size, its color, its running depth, its retrieve speed and the action. Change one of those, and change your luck.
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