Bass Fishing 101

Tight Lines

The fog drifts lazily above the murky swamp water as I slowly ease my boat toward an ancient, moss covered cypress tree. A bullfrog croaks its early morning greeting and somewhere off in the distance an unknown creature screeches as the hair on the back of my neck stands on end.

The old tree was the site of a recent battle between a monstrous black bass and me. A battle in which the big bass taught me a valuable lesson in humility. I have a lot more respect for her and her kind. She never gave up the fight at any time during our encounter. Her fierce determination eventually paid off and she swam away in victory. So now, I visit that spot now and then, not really wanting to catch her, but perhaps just to say hello.

Bass fishing has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Some of my earliest memories are of my family and me out at a local pond. We learned about fishing, nature, and a lot about each other at that old water hole. I think fondly of my childhood and I am grateful that I was able to experience those things. With that in mind, it comes as a surprise when I'm asked for my opinion on a certain technique or even something as simple, or complex, as tying a knot. I've always assumed everybody knew how to fish.

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Before we go out and tackle that feisty old bass that lives under the cypress tree, here are a few basics that we should keep in mind. Bass fishing can be a very relaxing sport as well as a great way to learn about our environment.

What is a bass? A bass is a member of the perch family; just on the larger side. There are striped bass, sand bass, hybrids and smallmouth, but the fish we are going after is my favorite. The largemouth bass, or black bass. This is the most pursued freshwater fish in the southern United States.

The black bass can be broken down into several different strains. Here in Louisiana, we are most likely to encounter the spotted bass, Florida bass and Kentucky bass. The latter two have been introduced into our waters to enhance fish population and size. The black bass has a very large mouth. A grapefruit would easily fit into the mouth of a five-pound fish. Generally, coloration is dark green on its back, which fades to white on its belly, with a dark lateral band on its sides. They can grow up to thirty inches in length and weigh over twenty pounds, but don't expect to see very many of these. The Louisiana record is just over sixteen pounds

Largemouth bass are found in rivers, lakes and streams throughout the United States. Hot summer days usually force them to move to deeper water to keep cool. If there is no deep water, like many Louisiana lakes, they will take shelter in any cover they can find. A good place to look would be under grass mats, under or alongside logs, or even near an old cypress tree.

Most anglers today use artificial lures to catch bass. However, live bait is used in some areas, particularly when the angler is after a trophy-sized fish, but for our

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purposes, we'll stick to artificial lures. Of these, there are three main groups: Top-water, crank baits, and plastics.

Top-water baits are very popular because of the action that accompanies their use. Most of them mimic wounded baitfish swimming on the surface. Some impersonate frogs or mice hopping across weed mats. Bass are opportunistic feeders and can hardly resist passing up such an easy meal. They explode out of the water or sometimes come right through the weed mats in an attempt to catch their prey. If it doesn't scare you half to death, it will at a minimum double your pulse rate.

The next group is crank baits. These come in a variety of sizes and shapes. They often resemble baitfish and can be very effective because of their ability to cover a lot of territory and get down to where the fish are feeding. They come in many different colors. Most have built in sound emitting devices, which help the fish locate the bait in stained water.

Plastics