Bass Fishing
In this article I will reveal some bass fishing pro secrets. I'll tell you about one bass fishing technique that will make bass literally attack your lure! I'll reveal why the taste and texture of your bait makes a difference, and I'll tell you what color lures to use depending on the prevailing weather conditions.
First let's look at how to choose the best color lure. Knowing how to choose the right bass fishing lure will increase your catch dramatically! There are three main variables to consider when choosing your lure: light, water, and what the bass happen to be eating for supper on that particular day.
The amount of light and quality of light will depend on the time of day and the prevailing weather conditions. On cloudy and grey days, lean toward a brighter color lure like chartreuse. On clear sunny days, a white color lure is often a good choice. Surprisingly, as light becomes more scarce, darker color lures seem to work best. Some bass fishing pros recommend using black or grape colored lures as nightfall approaches.
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You must also factor in water visibility when choosing the color of your bass fishing lure. And in case you didn't know, bass have excellent eyesight! According to Bill Dance, "A bass' eye receives five times more light than the human eye and can see forty feet in clear water. In murky water, they can see up to seventeen feet. In muddy water, they can see five to seven feet."
If the water is dark or murky, bright and shiny or flourescent colors will be your best choice to attract attention. When the water is downright muddy like chocolate milk, then flashy, bulky, and noisy baits are your best bet. If the water is clear, you will want to choose natural colored lures that imitate the food found in the bass environment.
Try to determine what the bass are eating and factor that into your choice of bait. Bass eat sunfish, minnows, shiners, bluegill, crayfish, frogs, and insects. But you could add a lot more things to the list. Large bass have been known to eat baby ducklings, rats, and blackbirds. Your shiny and silver or yellow lures will imitate minnows and sunfish. Your greens and browns resemble crayfish and frogs. If you can determine what the bass are biting on, you will always be more successful.
Equally important to the choice of color is the smell, taste, and feel of your bait. According to Bill Dance, "Bass can smell eight times better than a dog."
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A lot of fisherman fail to take into account the smells that rub off their hands onto their bait. Your hands must be free of the smell of any petroleum products like gasoline, suntan oil, or sunscreen. Insect repellent, nicotine, and the natural oils produced by your skin alert bass that there's a predator in the vicinity. These man made scents will literally scare away a wary bass. Conversely, coating your bait with a powerful scent like cod liver oil or other fish attractant can make a big difference in the size of your catch.
If you're a smoker, just remember that when you're bass fishing, you have got to clean your hands before handling your bait or lure. Bass fishing expert Russ Bassdozer recommends, "Just keep a bar of Ivory soap on the boat. It is 99.44% pure, no added perfumes, and it floats if you drop it." The smell of soap, of course, is not exactly a plus either, so you should use some kind of fish attractant to mask or neutralize the negative smells that adhere to your hands.
As for the taste and feel of your bait or lure, it's important to understand how a bass eats its prey. When chasing a fish, an agressive bass will inhale its prey with its large cavernous jaws. But once inside its mouth, the bass will taste and feel whatever it is it chomped on, and only then will it decide to swallow. If a bass detects a hunk of metal, it will likely spit it out. That's why you will often have more success with a lure or bait that is gummy or otherwise imitates the feel of something natural like a fish or frog.
Still another good reason for using a fish attractant is that once the bass has your lure in it's mouth, "the scent and taste of the attractant will cause the fish to hold the lure in its mouth longer," says Russ Bassdozer, "rather than taste an unadulterated DEET, PVC plastic and L-Serine cocktail and spit it out." This will allow you a couple extra seconds to detect the bass on the end of your line and to set the hook.
OK, I saved the best for last.
Here's a bass fishing technique that will provoke a bass to attack your lure ferociously! As you know, bass see in color, and some colors are more effective than others depending on various factors. But when a bass sees a bit of red on your lure, it really drives a bass crazy. That's because a little red on your lure looks to the bass like the blood of injured prey! It's not surprising that pro bass fishermen will often attach something red to their bait that resembles blood. Adding a sploch of red can double the effectiveness of your lure.