Bass Fishing Tip of the Week 05/04/09: My Top 5 Methods for Catching Bass

Many fishermen today have their personal favorite methods on catching the largemouth bass and I am no exception. The following techniques are my standard top 5 ways to get my limits in the boat.

1- Casting a Texas Rigged Worm: This method works best for me in waters 7 foot deep or less. The worm weight varies from 1/8 oz to 1/4 oz. Work underwater vegetation such as hydrilla or visible cover such as bulrush or pads. The shallower the water the lighter the weight should be unless it is very windy, then upsize your sinker.

After the cast, work the bait slowly along the bottom with the rod and try to bump any underwater or visible structure. You need to set the hook immediately with any sign of line movement or any felt resistance.

2- Pitching a Texas Rigged Worm: This method works best in 4 foot or less depths along visible vegetation or timber. Weights are similar to casting however when working heavy cover weights to 1/2 ounce maybe needed.

Pitch past your target and work the worm into the cover. Look very any movement of the line during the slow retrieve as this will signal a strike.

3- Flippin a Texas Rigged Worm or Craw Imitation: I like to work straight tailed worms like trickworms or craw imitators such as Sweet Beavers to flip through matted vegetation. Depths as shallow as 1 foot to over 8 feet can be flipped. Heavy timber is one candidate for flippin but my personal favorite is matted vegetation such as hyacinths, floating/broken up Kissimmee grass and hydrilla mats. Finding the mats in lily pad fields or reed lines is ideal.

Flip either directly through the mats using heavy 3/4 to 1 oz weights or pick the holes in the mats with a 1/2 to 3/4 ounce weight. Most hits come on the fall so look for early "line stoppage", line twitch, sideways motion or a distinct thump. Also when pulling the lure back up try to feel for any resistance then set the hook quickly.

4- Carolina rigged worms: This rig is great for anything 9 foot or deeper. Cat the rig as far as possible along submerged timber lines, vegetation lines or drops/humps into river channels.

The rig consists of a 3/4 ounce egg sinker, a plastic bead, a barrel swivel, a leader 2-3' long and an offset worm hook and worm.

Slowly drag the worm along the bottom with a sideward motion and any line movement or thump will be a fish on so set the hook hard as line stretch will lower the hook setting force.

5- Casting Deep Diving Crankbaits: Work these rigs from as shallow as 7 feet to as deep as 15 feet. A #7 shadrap is good for the shallower depths, moving up to a #9 for depths as deep as 10 feet. DT series 12-16 rapalas are excellent for the remaining depths.

My best success has been on long casts parallel to structure such as drops and submerged timber. Crank the bait down quickly for the 1st 4-5 turns then use a steady retrieve. If done properly you will be hitting the bottom. Any resistance requires a hard sideways hook set.

So the next time you go fishing give these methods a shot and I'm sure you'll be doing more catching with less fishing :)

The Largemouth Herald