Learn How easy Bass fishing is

Bass Fishing Techniques

There are lots of different methods for Bass Fishing. The location you have chosen to fish in will help you decide on which technique you are going to use. Remember:

“Bass are in an area to feed, they are attracted to areas which provide easy food and an area they feel secure in. You catch them by planning to be at the right place at the right time, ideally with the right technique.”

You need to match your tackle and technique to the conditions. There is little point, unless you really know what you are doing in fishing a huge storm swell with 1 oz of lead and a light spinning rod. You line will be snapped by the action of the sea, your hook will be engulfed with weed and you will go home frustrated.

I would recommend following these simple Bass fishing tips:

• Use the lightest tackle the conditions and location will allow.
• Use simple rigs.
• Fish in the areas that may hold Bass. Look for gullies, tidal currents, backwash, and changes in the sea bed.
• Fish the water. Don’t just cast to the same spot, work the water, cast at a distance and work back, really hunt them out.
• You can plug, float fish, bottom fish and fly fish for Bass.
• Fish the same mark in different conditions. Note the conditions and your success or lack of. Use a Bass Diary to refer to and create a picture of when the fish are there.
• Bass are a predator and they generally are where the food is. Look at the beach for food sources, fresh water, outlets and anything that causes prey to group.
• At night try and fish in the dark. If you need light use a red filter on the end of the torch.
• Make sure any rigs, lures and plugs are tied with good, strong knots. Ensure that you main line is not damaged in anyway. It’s a sad sight to lose a good Bass because of line breakages.
• Above all else think outside the box hunt the fish and try ideas, they might just work!!

Bassing with Worm

Rag worm works well from most marks you can think of. Shingle beaches, Sand bars, Rocks and Piers. They are easy to get hold of (dig or buy) and last well for a few days in the fridge covered with damp newspaper in the fridge. They stay well on the hook and are easy to buy in most tackle shops. You have decided on the right location in the conditions you have (tide, weather, season, time of day etc.).

Lugworm is wonderful bait. The thick juice body creates a great scent trail that can be followed by the Bass. Lugworm is easy to collect yourself or again buy from most good tackle shops.

Lugworms tend to work best from soft ground beaches (sand, shale and mud) which is where you would expect to dig lugworm.

As a rule keep your Bass fishing rigs simple… A long flowing trace or one of my favourites a pulley rig would be ideal while fishing worm.

Try and put your tackle near a feature on the sea bed. You have done your home work and you should have an idea of the gullies and rocks at your mark. Look for an area of strong tidal flow, or an eddy behind some rocks, cast towards that large outcrop of rocks you know about where the white water is breaking above them.

Use every sign you can to better place your bait on the day. Are there birds (Terns / Gannets / Gulls) feeding in an area you can cast too. Have you got Polaroid glasses and can you actually see into the water and better place your bait.

When using worm bait hook size around 1/0 to 3/0 should be about right. You need to cast your bait at all different distances, or if using two rods cast one long and one short, about 10 feet should be a good start depending on the conditions.

Bassing with Crab

Crab is very popular for Bass. They love them. Get hold of some frozen peeler crab from your tackle shop, bait up a hook with the crab, wrap it in bait elastic or small elastic bands to hold it onto the hook, about a 3/0 hook should work well.

Crab is a soft bait so an impact shield (a plastic cone just before the bait) should help if you are really casting at distance. Fish your mark hard, look for areas that prey would naturally accumulate.

Live Baiting for Bass

This is a really exciting way to fish for Bass. Sand eel, small Mackerel and Prawn work very well. I have added methods for catching prawn to the appendix of this manual.

This technique can be employed from Kayaks, Boats, Rocks, Piers and the Shore with explosive action if you have done your research.

You can free line, i.e. a hook tied onto the end of your line passing into your bait, with a small weight to give longer casting ability and to slow the progress made by the bait or using a bubble float, preventing the bait seeking refuge under a large rock! I prefer using a bubble float unless there is a strong current or I am afloat, then I mix between free lining and bubble floats.

Use as long a trace as possible (the line from the float/weight to your hook) and I generally use a treble hook and tail hook prawn and lip hook Mackerel. You can use a Sand eel with a single hook.

Sand eel can be bought from most good angling shops, or they can advise where to get them from. You will need a bait kettle to keep your bait alive. This is generally a bucket or canvas formed bag with a lid and aeration system.