Freshwater Lures

Largemouth Bass Fishing would have to be the premiere freshwater sport in the United States and a sport which drives a multi billion dollar freshwater bait, tackle and fishing gear industry in America alone.

Being helped along with the likes of Alton Jones and Kevin VanDam and many other bass fishing pros the sport has gone from strength to strength with bass champions earning some serious money and lucrative sponsorship from being the best of the best at this great sport.


So what are some vital tips to help any serious bass fisherman become successful at local tournaments and have the chance to go pro.




Great tips for anyone looking to compete in bass fishing tournaments.


Know your bass during winter.

Bass of course are cold blooded creatures, so when the water temperature drops their metabolism slows and they tend not to eat so much. Therefore during the winter when the water is much colder, its best to use smaller baits with more subtle colors.

Bass also usually stay around shallower water during the colder months, during the winter deep water holds less oxygen so bass will keep in shallower water not more than 10 feet deep where there is still a good amount of oxygen to keep them comfortable.

Bass are very sensitive to temperature and weather changes and are very attuned to the environment, they tend to sense when there is an oncoming cold front and will often go on a feeding frenzy to stock up on energy before a cold front arrives.


Where to find trophy bass

As with any freshwater predator fish, fishing around structure and cover is a good start though its really good to fish close to or amongst good healthy areas of vegetation. Aquatic plant life provide ample sources of oxygen, shade, and food for bass to survive as well as providing perfect cover to ambush prey as well as hide from predators.

The perfect place to fish at the edges of deep water vegetation, its where where bass are at their most confident. Another great tip is to fish along the edges of banks where trees overhang on a sunny day, the shade provided by the trees make a perfect hangout for local bass.


Find your trophy bass anytime of the day

In the early hours of the morning and late in the day you will find bass in shallow waters where they look for their morning meal to start the day and search for their dinner before bedding down for the night. During the middle of the day when the sun is at its brightest bass will seek deeper water where things are much darker as the bright midday sun has trouble penetrating deeper water.

During the middle of the day its these deeper areas where you want to concentrate your efforts and where freshwater lures such as well weighted worms and deep diving crankbaits come into their own. During this hotter part of the day you want to work the deep water edges and the transit zones between deep and shallow water.



Know what freshwater fishing lures to use.

Bass will strike on a wide variety of baits and lures although in cooler temperatures when bass are less active jigs with a good trailer are a good option. Just like with any freshwater lures use lighter jigs with a lighter color in clearer waters and heavier jigs and darker colors in heavily colored or stained waters, a 3/8 to 5/8 weight range should have you covered.

When fishing during the bass's preferred feeding times, its a great idea to try and match the color of your freshwater lures to the color of the baitfish and the bottom dwelling animals in the area. If a certain color very familiar to a local bass and the bass associates that color to its usual food, there's a much greater chance that it will strike at that color.

Only use a rod that you feel comfortable whith fishing, confidence is everything in bass fishing and anything that takes away from your confidence is 'poison'. Many people prefer lighter rods while some people prefer heavier rods, though the general rule of thumb is try to stick with the lightest rod you feel comfortable using. Although if your fishing around thick cover or weeds you might want to opt for a slightly heavier rods to give you more leverage and control to maneuver fish away from obstacles.


Keep a fishing log

At the and of every fishing day you want to take away as much from the days experience as you can. Documenting your actions, habits and the days events is a great way analyze your performance and will help you identify the things you are doing right, things you may be doing wrong, what areas of your fishing you need to improve on and what you can do to become better at this fantastic and highly rewarding sport.


Maintain enjoyment

For anyone to excel at anything it is essential that they enjoy it, though there is always the risk that no matter how much you enjoy something if you do it too often things become a chore and you lose the joy and enthusiasm.

If this happens it doesn't hurt to step back, take a deep breath and take some time off. Don't worry there will still be plenty of fish to catch when you get back on the water!

Have fun, tight lines and be sure to click on the links at the top of this page to check out the latest sale items at Bass Pro Shops!

Top Ten Soft Plastic Worms for Largemouth Bass Fishing

Soft Plastic Worms are without doubt one of the best producers of Largemouth Bass as well as many other freshwater fish so its absolutely essential to have a good range of these freshwater fishing lures to get the most out out any fishing trip.




So what are the best soft plastic worms for largemouth bass fishing?

Will this largely depends on the particular situation as there are not only many ways to rig soft plastic lures of the worm variety but also there are a number of retrieval techniques you can use when fishing soft plastic worms.

Probably the most popular way to rig your worm is Texas Rig style, as rigging your worm this way will provide you with the most retieve options which makes this style of rigging the most versatile. If your fishing a soft plastic worm texas style and you need to add some weight to the rig its a good idea to use a wieghted offset worm hook for best results.


Of course there are certain worm baits that perform better than others when Largemouth Bass Fishing in specific conditions and locations so its always best to experiment to find what works best for you.

That said here is a list of the most versatile and productive soft plastic worm freshwater lures when largemouth bass fishing.

1. Yamamoto Senko
2. Zoom Finesse Worm
3. Gene Larew Sinking Slugger
4. Zoom Trick Worm
5. Yamamoto Single or Double Tail Hula Grub
6. Zoom Super Fluke
7. Zoom Brush Hog
8. Strike King Coffee Tube
9. Bass Assassin Shad Assassin
10. Berkley Power Bait Original Power Worm

Selecting worms for largemouth bass fishing.

If you havn't fished soft plastic worms, you are missing out because the fact is worms catch fish!

If your not sure what to be on the look out for when purchasing worms here is a few pointers.

Generally worms seem to work best with natural colors, shades of brown, grey, black and olive seem to work better than bright colors as bass along with many other species can often be scared off with chartreuse and pink coloured worms.

Without doubt the best soft plastic worm is the Yamamoto Senko, the combination of width profile, great colors and texture, weight, excellent natural squirming motion on retrieve as well as the impregnated salt scent make this worm a standout favourite with experienced bass fisherman and is widely accepted as the best general purpose soft plastic lure you can have.

Largemouth Bass, the single most popular fish targeted in America.

Without doubt Largemouth Bass Fishing provides for a thrilling experience, Largemouth Bass have the fight of a Lion and can strike freshwater lures with the explosion of a canon blast; so its little wonder that Largemouth Bass Fishing is so popular.

Although you don't have to be a brain surgeon or rocket scientist to catch one these amazing fish, many would agree the real art to largemouth bass fishing is locating a genuine Largemouth bass hotspot.


Some things to be on the look out when identifying possible largemouth bass fishing hotspots

Shaded areas with overhanging trees, Largemouth Bass love to hang out among the roots and logs which often litter these areas, land a surface freshwater lure into these areas and work them over the shade.

Feeder streams which lead into a larger pond are like room service for largemouth bass, small feeder streams often carry some of the favourite food of largemouth bass. Like earth worms, grubs and bugs. Fish near where a feeder stream runs into a main 'larger' pond with a plastic worm, spinner or even a fly.

Fish around lily pads, grass beds and at the edge of drop offs or at a shallow area where the is a deep drop off nearby. Largemouth Bass are natural ambush predators so its always best to fish in and around their ideal ambush spots.




Best Times for Largemouth Bass fishing

As a general rule the best times to fish for Largemouth Bass is early morning and late afternoon as Largemouth Bass tend to shy away from bright light, during the better part of the day Largemouth Bass will either retreat to heavy cover or find deeper water where bright light can't penetrate.

So if your Largemouth Bass fishing in the middle of a bright sunny day, best set yourself up with a deep diving crankbait which has a nice loud rattle.


Largemouth Bass Fishing at Night.

Fishing for largemouth bass at night can land you some excellent fish especially in a popular fishing area where the largemouth bass have become all to familair with the usual freshwater lures. During the night Largemouth Bass will often be more comfortable in venturing further out for a potential meal.

Under the cover of darkness these fish will be more likely to strike instinctively at an unidentified silouhette or even vibration rather than waiting to get a detailed look at any potential prey.

This can can mean that you have a much greater chance of catching a 'wised up' trophy Hawg during the night than you would during daylight hours.

A good tip for night fishing for largemouth bass is to fish near and around piers where there is an artificial light source. The light will penertrate a long distance through the water column and light your lure up like a christmas tree.

Also when night fishing be sure to use a dark coloured lure with a rattle.