Entire article can only be seen in The Iowa Sportsman Magazine:
The largemouth bass, the most familiar fish in the country lives all around us. No matter if you fish a farm pond, a local river, county park, one of the 100’s man-made lakes around Iowa, or the Mighty Mississippi River, the largemouth bass is waiting for you. Typically we all got hooked on bullheads, or bluegills as a young outdoor person, but I bet most of us can remember that first big bass that we caught. If you are like me, you can remember the exact details. That day, way back in the 80’s hooked me for life on chasing these beautiful fish all around Iowa. I was about ten years old and fishing a farm pond with my dad. The bass, at the time, was the biggest fish I had ever caught in my young life. It measured just over 18 inches and the old ZEBCO scale marked it just over 2.50 pounds. It was a monster in my eyes, and the largemouth bass and I have had a serious relationship from that day on.
Fast forward about 30 years, four boats later, hundreds of days on the water, a few dozen rod/reel combos, hundreds of lost baits and countless numbers of bass caught...like all of us, I have learned a few things. Here are my top 5 tips and tricks that have kept me busy catching these green fish all over Iowa.
#5- Go Small: To consistently catch bass all over the state anglers must be willing to go small with their baits. Some of my favorites include a 4-inch ring worm on a shaky head and a 5 inch stick bait. When the bite gets tough and the usual bass baits aren’t catching them it is time to bring out the small stuff. One common time this occurs is when the barometric pressure is high or you have one of those blue skies, no wind kind of days. Those are two common times when bass just don’t want to chase around fast baits and you must slow down and give them an appetizer. Spring and winter cold fronts can be other times when going small will end up getting a few baits when other baits will not. The shaky head can be fished like a jig, try different speeds, but slow is typically what these lethargic bass will like. The stick bait can be rigged a number of ways depending on what cover you are around. Texas-rigged for heavy cover, t-boning the stick weighless for those windless days and if needed adding a split shot a foot above the stick to move it around more quickly. Again, when the bass turn negative, it is time to go small.
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Braided line and an Optimum Baits Furbit Frog
make frog fishing a deadly combination. |
#4- Topwater Baits: If you are a bass angler I know you have a dozen or so of these, perhaps many more. Too many anglers think that these can only be used in the first and last hour of the day. This is something that you need to forget from this point on. It is true that using them in low light conditions will help get more strikes. Other times that topwaters shine are ANYTIME! Buzzbaits are great whenever it is cloudy out, and if you are fishing in the rain, you should be fishing a buzzbait. In my opinion there are only two different kinds of buzzbaits; a white one or a black one. Keep this bait simple on your next purchase and as long as it is one of those two colors you picked out a good one! Buzzbaits and prop baits work well in areas with current all day long. When fish are congregated in current areas, they are hungry and they are feeding, they will smash a topwater bait. If fishing clear waters with structure like wood and docks is your cup of tea, then a Pop-R should be tied on your rod during the warm season months. Pop-R baits work well to slowly present a bait to fish feeding around structures. Try to match the hatch on the colors of baits, as the fish will often have plenty of time to examine your bait before blasting it. It is vital to try many different cadences of a Pop-R when fishing it. Some days the bass will want it to sit still for up to twenty or thirty seconds. It is a patience tester, but it can be very rewarding. Lastly, and my favorite way to fish is to throw a hollow body frog. These can be fished every minute of the day and are best on top and around the weeds. Many people do not like to fish around weeds, this is a huge mistake. Weeds have everything a bass needs; shade, high oxygen levels, and food. Frog fishing is a book in itself, but a few quick tips; make sure your frog has big hooks and you are using braided line. I have used just about every brand of frog, one rises to the top, the Optimum Baits Furbit Frog. It has a dual 6/O hook and is everything you need in a frog.
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