Bass Fishing for Beginners | Tips for Fishing 101

Whether you want to go bass fishing for enjoyment, or for food on the table, you'll need to know the basics. Learning how to bass fish will help you to develop skills and posses basic awareness that is incredibly valuable.

Bass Fishing for Beginners

The first thing you need to know about fishing (and hunting) is you must learn and study about the animals you wish to go after. The most important part of fishing is understanding the seasons and how it affects the fish.

During the fall and winter months, most bass are inactive and are therefore hard to catch. It is during the spring and summer that their life cycle changes and because of their activity level changes, it makes it easier to catch them.

During the spring, the pre-spawn stage fish will start spending more time on the banks or edges of waterways. This will help you find them easier. Rather than trying to utilize trial and error on a whole area like in a lake, river or pond, you can focus your energy on the edges of these waterways.

When the fish go into spawn mode and are laying eggs on the edges, it's time to take a step further. They are hungry and aggressive from the work of spawning and therefore, will be more apt to go after bait.

Now that we know when to go, we need to understand what sort of bait and lures we can use to catch fish. We can divide the areas we are going to fish into two different habitats. The first one has light undergrowth, and vegetation. This is similar to the bottom part of the area, which is covered with rocks and has only limited grass.

Crankbaits are one of the best choices to use in this type of area. Crankbaits can be further divided into those that go deep or shallow and those that have lots of little wobble in them. Keep in mind that fish in cold weather are not aggressive and are mostly apathetic towards bait.

So, a bait with minimal movements but comes very near to them and looks like food will be attractive to them. However, in the spring and summer where fish are defending spawn sites and are more aggressive, the large movements will often get them coming after it.

For other areas of vegetation and growth in a body of water, spinner baits are a good choice. They also can be divided into those that spin fast and those that are slower. Choose the faster baits when the water is clear and when it is murky, choose the baits that are slower. This will get the attention of the fish in the best way. Keep in mind you need to think like the fish. If they can see far through the water, the fast-moving bait is easier to pick up and they are more likely to come after it.

You can pick yet another type of lure referred to as a topwater one. These are best used in water that is shallow or has vegetation on top. Think of it this way: if you have a pond with moss or lily pads and bugs land on that. They can easily become lunch for a bass. So, you fish with these topwater lures as if they are a type of food source and the bass are more likely to come after them.

From there you need to make sure you have the right size of line for the fish you are trying to catch. If your fish are normally 5 pounders, you need a line much stronger than 5-pound strength to bring them in. Your rod is probably the most expensive thing to get (besides a boat) when you want to start bass fishing.

Find the one that fits your hand comfortably and you feel it has the bend and flexibility you like. It needs to meet your budget as well. The best thing for you to do is to go to the store and start picking them up and feeling for them. You will have reels that feel comfortable and those that do not. Those same reels are sometimes easy to use, and other times are ones that take quite a bit of experience to use them.

Looking for the best bass fishing setup ever? Watch this video to find out!

Lastly, find someone who knows the ins and outs of bass fishing and ask him to tag along. I know no bass fisherman would not love to get someone else does it. With these basics, you can start on your own, or get started with a buddy. One thing is for sure. You need to take this advice and from others and just get out and try it out. The best way to learn is through experience!

Do you have more suggestions and tips to share about bass fishing? Please add them in the comments below!

Now you're mentally geared for bass fishing, here are 5 unconventional fishing techniques to help you out!

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Editor's Note: This was first published on May 6, 2017, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.