Better
Bass Fishing #1
Welcome
to my first column dealing with tips and techniques on being a better
Bass
fisherman (or woman). While we have many fine Largemouth lakes and
ponds
here in Maine the Smallmouth Bass is really the king! Pound for pound
there
is nothing in freshwater that compares! Great fighters....they can jump
4 feet in the air.... tail walk the length of the boat and generally
make
a real accounting of themselves. Unlike Largemouth, Smallies don’t give
it up after a short struggle. A Smallmouth will fight you for every
inch
you gain! I don’t want to belittle Largemouth. I love them and spend
plenty
of time chasing them. There are many similarities between them as well
as differences. I’ll be touching on both as this column goes on over
time.
This
column will deal with techniques and tactics that work great for my
clients.
We catch between 20 and 40 Smallies about every day out. What I want
you
all to get from these musings of mine is that being a consistent and
successful
angler need not be as intimidating as it might seem. You need not go
out
and spend $30,000.00 on a fancy bassboat. You don’t need to go to your
local world famous outfitter and buy a $500.00 rod and reel, AND the
thousands
of dollars you can spend on the rest of it.
Rule
#1: THE FISH DON’T CARE!
Folks,
the fish don’t care what kind of boat you have. Some of my fondest
memories
are of fishing out of a beat old Coleman canoe!
They
don’t care if the vehicle you’re pulling that rig with is a brand new
forty
thousand-dollar SUV or a 1962 Volkswagon Microbus.
They
don’t care whether you got your rod and reel from LL (you know who), or
the local Wal(you know who).
They
don’t care if your attire consists of Gore tex boots and fancy fishing
shorts and shirt, or if you wear a pair of cutoff jeans and some old
stinky
sneakers! Fish aren’t real fashion conscious.
You
can be a pretty good fisherman from shore but even a rowboat or canoe
will
increase your success greatly.
If
you can get your hands on an electric motor you get quiet clean
propulsion
without actually rowing or paddling. You can purchase a small trolling
motor for around $100.00 and a decent battery for around $75.00. A good
battery and smaller motor will last for a whole day of fishing.
How
you get on the water and how fast you “get there” matter much less than
knowing the fishes behavior, patterns and movements. Go to the local
big
name department store and you can get a perfectly good spinning rod and
reel combo for $50 to $75 bucks. Add a few simple lures and you’re
ready
to catch more
bass
than you ever thought you could!
Starting
in next month’s column I will begin to tell you which lures will work
consistently
for you. We’ll talk about colors (I have some real eye opening opinions
about that!) Also, how to rig them and what techniques will work for
you!
Please
keep one thing in mind: Fishing is a much simpler activity then you
have
been led to believe and I will be here monthly to show you that
catching
fish ain’t rocket science!
Be
sure to read my column in May. I’ll be telling you all about the best
Smallmouth
Bass lure in xistence…stay tuned!
Tight
lines! - Capt’ Pete
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