Bass Can Teach You How To Fish

By Rory K. Aikens

Arizona Game and Fish

        If you really want to improve your fishing techniques, let the bass teach you.

      Every year at this time, bass are available for angler tutorials – this is the leading edge of the spring spawning season.

      Sight-fishing the bass spawning beds in clear Western reservoirs is an excellent bass fishing learning experience. You get to watch the bass react to your lure. Or doesn’t react as the case may be. You also get to see what types of lure or bait action will elicit a strike.

      Seeing is the key.

      No matter what lure you use, it should be in a bright or light color that can be readily seen underwater – keep the earth tones in the tackle box. Bright chartreuse. Fire engine red. Picket-fence white. Sometimes even black will work well. Don’t use a color that blends in with the background.

            A good springtime strategy is cruising the shallow areas, especially along banks in the backs of coves, looking for bass beds. Bass have terrific camouflage. In clear water conditions, however, a sharp pair of eyes behind polarized sunglasses can pick out a bass or the bed. The bed can look like a circle devoid of silt from the male bass moving around in a tight circle while guarding the nest. Sometimes, the beds aren’t that evident.

      Some anglers find that locating the bass and beds is difficult at first. Once a few nests have been located, the eye (and mind) becomes attuned to seeing the beds and the bass. It’s kind of like spotting deer in the forest – the more time you are afield spotting deer, the more adept you become at picking out deer from their surroundings.

      I know two anglers who use a converted fish aquarium (with jerry-rigged handles) as a window into the water to get around the glare or even the disturbed surface when it is windy. They typically go after deeper bedding bass (and bigger ones).

      Keep in mind that although the female bass lays the eggs, the male fertilizes the eggs and then stays to guard the nest. Some male bass are better guardians than others. But even if you don’t see the female, it can be worthwhile to work the adjacent cover where she might be sitting. Especially cover in deeper water, such as a channel, near the nest.

      Also remember that if you catch a male off the nest and don’t release it back into the water, that nest will likely fail.

      For fishing the beds, I usually start with a twin-tailed grub on a quarter-ounce or less (and eighth-ounce is my favorite) jig head. The twin tails gives the lure a great flutter-down effect. Plus, when the lure is on the bottom, the twin tails can provide good action with minimal twitching.

      Skirted jigs work at times. No skirts work at other times. Artificial lizards and worms can be effective. Even soft jerk baits, such as Bass Assassins, can work at times. Suspending crankbaits can be a lot of fun. You reel the lure until it hovers over the nest, and just keep twitching it until the bass can’t stand it and attacks.

      You should cast past the nest so that you don’t spook the bass, then slowly reel the grub to the nest. Once over the nest, let the bait fall. The flutter effect can elicit a strike from the bass, but not always. Even when the bass strikes, getting a hookup is not guaranteed because they probably are not trying to eat the bait, just repel a nest intruder.

      If you don’t get the bass the first time, repeat the technique. Typically, you will end up with the jig resting on or near the nest. The bass will often come over and try to remove the bait from the nest. Many times, they nudge it off the nest with their nose or pick it up and move it -- quickly. A hook set at such times can get you a bass, but it might not. You can easily be defeated when having too much slack in your line.

      Sharp hooks are essential. I carry a hook sharpener. I favor using braided line versus mono to get the quickest hook sets.

      It can be a challenge.

      There are times I have worked a nest for an hour or more to finally get the bass on the line. Many times, you have to twitch and dance the jig on the nest to finally elicit that good strike. It is also possible the bass will just spook and then hide in adjacent cover (that is typical of bass that have already had fishing pressure).

      Experiment. See what types of bait actions get reactions from the bass.

      Sometimes it is a slight twitching movement that excites a strike. Other times, an up-and-down hopping action by the bait will do the trick. A steady, slow retrieve across or near the nest might pay dividends. An intermittent retrieve might be the ticket at times.

      What you will often learn is that on any given day or moment, a single technique might not work for all bass. In fact, there will be days when no two bedding bass will go for the same technique in quite the same way. That can really tell you something about bass fishing the rest of the year (and why you can be so inconsistent from one hour to the next).

      The beauty of sight fishing is that you can see what elicits a strike, and feel what happens. These experiences can give you a better feel, and mental picture, for what is happening with your bait at other times of the year.

      March is often the leading edge of the spawn and April is typically the prime spawning month. The spawn will often tail off the first week or two of May. However, during one year (El Nino) the bass spawn at most Arizona waters lasted though June. At high elevations, or slightly northern climes such as Lake Powell, largemouth bass can be in the nest well into June.

            Good luck. Maybe I’ll see you out there.