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.

The one quality swimbait that won't break the bank.

Swimbaits are becoming all the more popular among Bass fisherman as freshwater anglers today are more ready to try new freshwater lures and other great new products in order to give them that edge or just to help them catch those trophy sized fish.

Though one of the major concerns with some of the latest and greatest swimbaits that have come onto the market has been their price. With some of the most expensive Swimbaits setting you back up to fifty dollars, it is possible to get a hold of some really good swimbaits products that work just as good as the high premium priced swimbaits for a fraction of the cost.

The Megabait Charlie Swimbait is just one of those swimbaits that works like a charm, yet won't cost you the earth, perfect for largemouth bass fishing.  


The Megabait Charlie Swimbait is a true hybrid freshwater lure, the Megabit Charlie has a lip just like you would find on a crankbait and  its design is centred around a soft plastic shell over a hard hollow core.  Whithin its core is a hollow sound chamber which has a number of tungsten balls which create a suprisingly low pitched knocking sound specifically designed to attract real trophy sized bass.


The exterior finish of this swimbait is very lifelike and has a very shiny holographic appearance which reflects light through the water from a great distance which makes its great for alerting hungry largemouth bass to its presence in the water.

Being a soft plastic bait the Megabait Charlie swimbait provides a more lifelike feel and therefore entices big bass to give a more committed strike. This will help stop Bass from 'short striking' or spitting out the bait before you get the chance of setting the hook.

The swimming action of this swimbait is very realistic, although as with any swimbait a bit of experimentation will help you decide what retrieve speed works best for you and produces the best results.

One of the best things about this swimbait is its versatility, you can use the lip to make the lure dive about three feet below the surface, with a pause you can let the bait suspend and on the slow retrieve you can let this swimbait work its magic with its low pitched knock and extremely lifelike swimming action, bass find the temptation irresistable.


Whether you use a slow or fast retrieve or jerk and stop this swimbait caters well for all techniques, so if one technique doesn't seem to work you can easily change your game plan without changing your lure.

With this swimbait I was a little worried about durability, with so many slits in the tail its understandable that this swimbait might not last as long as more expensive baits, though the Megabait Charlie has held up pretty well having fished with it for over a few months now, the color of these baits are impregnated into the plastic and although the bait has lost some of the glitter since I have purchased it, the swimming action of this swimbait along with its excellent ability to attract and catch large fish, especially in clear water has yet to fail me.


All in all the Megabait Charlie Swimbait is a great lure if your looking to add a few in-expensive swimbaits to your freshwater lure collection to help you with your Largemouth Bass Fishing.

P.S. If your looking for a true premium swimbait be sure to read this post.

Swimbaits The Latest Bass Fishing Craze

Buzzbait Tips and Tricks of the Elite Pros

Many weekend anglers don't get the full use of their buzzbaits and often will give an egg beater a quick few rips and opt for another freshwater lure.

This can be a big mistake!

Three times Toyota Tundra Master Kevin Van Dam says "When the fish are using shallow water cover, the buzzbait will flush them out."

Buzzbaits are a great tool for finding Bass in the shallows and are a great bait for checking out new areas to see if there are fish about.

Though its important to make a lot of casts over a large area before giving this bait away completely and going to other freshwater lures or moving on to areas areas, as some times it will take Bass a little while to respond to the ripping of a buzz.

Buzz Baits are a such a great bait to fish because they offer three of the four elements which lure Bass in and make them strike. Sound, sight and vibration, the only one missing is scent.

Buzz Bait Pro Secrets

Experiment: experiment by varying the ripping speeds and also don't be afraid of tweaking the blades, by cupping the blades more you can slow down your buzz bait or if you want to speed up your buzz bait then straighten the blades up slightly. Once you get a strike take note of the speed of the Buzz bait and try to keep it at that speed.


Nightime Buzzing: The great thing about Buzzbait fishing at night is that Bass feel more secure without the light of day so they are more comfortable in traveling a greater distance to hit a buzzbait than they would during the daytime. Tip: put a slight bend in your wired to prevent Bass short striking your bait.


Buzz all Seasons: Buzzbaits are not only just a hot heather lures, you can fish buzz baits in the very early spring and even during the winter. The trick is to fish late in the afternoon and use a super slow retrieve.

Clear water Buzzing: Buzzbaits are primarily used for shallow stained water, although with a little dressing up of your bait you can just as effectively buzz in clear water by using a smaller single bladed bait and select a bait with a lighter and brighter color.

Also use a faster speed and trim off half of the skirt, by using a faster speed and trimming off half the skirt of your buzzbait you distort the true image of the bait which gives Bass the impression of a tasty critter trying to get away. Also choose a Buzzbait with a more translucent lure for clearer water.

Change Directions: By bending your Buzzbaits wire your can make your bait track different directions. Bait fish don't always swim in a straight line so to better imitate a natural baitfish action you can bend the wire of your buzzbait to make it track left or right or straighten the wire to make your Buzzbait track true.

Do away with the skirt: In windy conditions the skirt can catch the wind and make it difficult to cast, in this case you can do away with the skirt and replace it with a soft plastic body as a trailer. A great thing to try is adding a 6 or 8 inch Lizard as a trailer on a buzzbait.

The one freshwater lure which catches more fish than any other is the soft plastics worm.

There have been studies which have shown that pound for pound, the humble worm catches more fish than any other bait bar none.

But what's really weird is that soft plastic worm baits are without doubt one of the cheapest freshwater lures to purchase which makes them extremely good value.

So what are some of the better soft plastic worms out there and what should you look for if your looking to make additions to your tackle gear or if your just starting out and looking for a good soft plastic worms to help round off your your initial collection.

Having fished Senko worms for some time and not afraid of change, I asked the question on a few freshwater fishing forums I lurk in; if there was anything better? Well apparently when your onto a good thing it pays to stick with it; as it turns out there seems to be unanimous support for these little suckers the Senko Worms.

Senko Worms come in a wide variety of colors but the most popular colors used are watermelon and pumpkin. Just like any bait choose the darker colors for fishing on overcast days or fishing in murky water and go for the more colorful worms for clearer water or when the is plenty of light around.

The Senko soft plastic worms have been salt impregnated which provides an alluring scent for any nearby bass, also they are very weighty for a soft plastic so they are fine to fish with without any added weight in fact they seem to work much better this way especially if your fishing in less than 10 feet of water. If you really need to fish these worms weighted (deeper water) then using a jighead and rigged Texas Style is the easiest way to go although weighting the worm does take away some of its natural squirming action which Bass find so irresistible.


Another great way to rig this worm is 'Whacky Style' as rigging the Senko bait this way give you the full affect of the unique squirming action of this bait. If your looking to weight a Whacky Style rigged Senko worm then it's best to use a few nail weights at either end of the worm.


Although most people expect strikes to come from this bait being on the bottom, your bound to get many hits while the bait is on the fall which is why patience is the key to success with fishing with any worm.

The trick is to let the bait fall to the bottom and leave it for a while and only use a very slow retrieve. After letting the worm settle on the bottom for a little while give it a little jerk and let it fall back to the bottom, after a little experimenting you will quickly find out what works best.

The great thing about using a plastic worms as bait is that you will catch fish on these suckers all year round, which make plastic worms an essential freshwater bait for your collection.

The Senko Worm doesn't just work for bass, you can get Pike and Muskie blow up on them when you would least expect it.

This is just an all 'round' good bait.

Click the product links below for more details on Senko Worms and other great soft plastics and freshwater lures.

A resident who lives at Lake Conroe which is about 50 miles north of Houston saw a small red basketball bouncing around kind of strange like on the surface of the lake.

It turned out that a flathead catfish had just tried to ambush the ball and had the ball stuck in its mouth. The catfish was trying its hardest to dive to get out of harms way but couldn't because of the ball.

In the end the concerned resident of Lake Conroe had his wife pierce the ball with a knife so the husband could remove it and allow the hungry catfish to swim free.







If you have some weird or wonderful fishing pics that you would like featured on this blog feel free to send me your happy snaps.

Email me at freshwaterlures@gmail.com

Soft Plastic Fishing