So you want to become a Bass fisherman or Bass angler do you?? Well, you are in luck because I am going to tell you exactly what you need to do to get started. But first, let me tell you why this is such a great idea.
Bass fishing is one of the most fun outdoor activities you can do. The memories are amazing. It is very hard to have a bad day when you are bass fishing. You are outside and being one with nature. If you involve your kids it is even better.
Now whenever a novice thinks about fishing they automatically think they need to go get live bait. Worms, Minnows, and crickets are what beginner anglers always think they need. Honestly, you will catch more fish if you learn how to fish with artificial lures and cover more water.
Instead of putting on a minnow and a bobber and waiting for the fish to come to you, you can move around and cast and go find this fish. Speaking of finding the fish. You are probably asking yourself where you are going to go to find the fish.
Find the Fish
So if you are a beginner bass angler then you probably do not have a fancy bass boat or a kayak. You may be fishing on land and on foot and that is perfectly fine. Some of my best fishing days have been walking the banks of a pond and fishing. You will need to learn how to approach a pond and the appropriate casts and baits as well. You can learn more about this in my other article How to Bank Fish for Bass.
So to get started we need to find a body of water to fish. When you play a video game you start on the easy levels and it progressively gets harder. In bass fishing, the easy level is a neighborhood pond, golf course pond or a friends pond on their property. These bodies of water are usually jam-packed with bass ready to eat. They are easy to catch and are very aggressive. You do not want to start on a big lake or reservoir for your beginning voyage if you can help it.
So you may already have a place picked out. If you don’t think about some neighborhoods nearby and use google earth on your phone to look around and see if there is a body of water. I like to use satellite view once I find a place and see if it is even accessible by foot. Once you have a place picked out you need to go and scout it before you get all your fishing stuff together or load your kids up in the car for a fun fishing trip. You want to see if you can even fish it first before you plan your trip. Now that you have a place picked out you need to have some fishing gear that does not break the bank.
What to Buy
So you are just getting into the great sport of Bass fishing. I am not one of those people that is going to tell you to get all the latest and greatest stuff. You also do not want to go too cheap and be frustrated out on the water.
So let’s start off with a fishing reel. I think the best option for a novice angler would be to invest in a spinning reel.
This is a great reel for the money and I have personally owned several of them and they are durable and work great.
Now on to a rod. I am going to steer you in the direction of a two-piece rod because it may be more convenient to put in the car. I love a 7-foot rod and feel like it will be the most versatile for all the different baits you will potentially throw.
Spinning rod and reel setups are pretty easy to use. You will not have to deal with pesky backlashes that you would experience with a bait caster. Speaking of backlashes lets talk about the fishing line.
Fishing Line
Since you are new to your bass fishing journey versatility is going to be key. I am trying to help better your overall chances of catching multiple bass. So we are going to spool your reel up with a braided fishing line. Now here is the part where you are going to have to pay close attention, learn and practice.
First you are going to want to purchase two types of line. Braided line and Fluorocarbon line.
The braided fishing line is going to be extremely low maintenance. You will be able to spool it up just like this video shows how to.
After that, we are going to want to add a clear leader. The clear line is good because the fish cannot see it. You will better your chances of catching more fish. However, if you want you can tie your lures directly to the braid but you will get fewer bites. Your leader should be the clear line and should be about 3 feet long. The way you will connect the two lines to gather can be demonstrated by yours truly in the video below.
Now that you have your leader line connected you need to tie on your first lure. We will get to lure choice next. The knot that you are going to tie is going to be a Palomar knot and is very simple and again demonstrated by yours truly down below.
Lure Choice
Ok, I am not sure where you are going to fish or when you are going to fish. What I do know is that you are going to be fishing for bass and that is why you are reading this. So I am going to give you the three most versatile baits that should work no matter where you go in the country. These should work at any time of the year also. Again, I will assume you are going to start in a pond, but even if you fish a big body of water these will still work.
This is a very simple lure to use. You cast it out (it floats) and you reel it in. It is a rather small size but still enough to where you can make a long cast. Remember you are a beginner and your goal is to catch a lot of bass. Later on, if you want to catch bigger bass you can size up to a bigger crankbait. This Sexy Shad color is a universal color that is going to work anywhere and mimics the baitfish very well. It is probably the most popular color in bass fishing.
So cast this out and reel it in. If there is a lot of grass in your pond and you are constantly getting weeds on your bait than hold your rod tip up in the air and you will get less of that. When you get a bite most of the work is done for you. You do not have to set the hook hard. The treble hooks on this bait pretty much hook the fish up.
Pro Tip: Make sure to take out with you a good pair of pliers to unhook your fish and some good scissors.
The scissors above are vital to be able to cut the braided line easily.
A shaky head jig head with a worm.
These two colors will work anywhere you go. If the watercolor is a little bit more clear than I will use the green pumpkin. If it is more brackish or muddy I will use the June bug color.
With this bait, you are going to cast it out and let it sink to the bottom on a slackline. Once it is on the bottom click your bail over and drag it on the bottom. Drag, drag, pause is the cadence you are going to want to use. When you feel a fish bite which a lot of times is a sudden jerk you are going to watch your line and reel up the slack. If you feel the weight on it that is usually the fish carrying it and you are going to want to set the hook.
Pro tip: Setting the hook is an art. Try and make sure you don’t have any slack in the line and pull back hard to get the hook to penetrate the fishes mouth. When reeling the fish in it is important to never let any slack in the line. Always keep a bend in the rod. You do not want to point the rod at the fish and reel. That is how your line will snap. You want to let there be a bend in the rod. Also, make sure not to reel the fish up to the first eye of the rod. Land them with about 3 feet of line out.
The last one you will want to have in your arsenal is a spinnerbait. Especially on windy days, these work great. You will cast this out and immediately reel it in since it does not float. And you will reel at a moderate to fast pace just like you would with the crankbait mentioned above. The warmer it is the faster you reel. If it is colder than slow down a touch.
This is a great bait to cast at targets. You want to try and deflect off of logs and stumps with this bait. If you drag it over a log let it sink for a second to let the blades flutter and trigger a strike. When you get a bite with this bait just pull into the fish and again do not leave any slack in the line.
Pro tip: Ad a trailer hook to better your chances for a hook up.
Practice Catch and Release
Alright, you are a bass angler now. Well not quite yet. You first have to catch a bass. It is important not to bite the hand that feeds you. Practice releasing your bass. If you want to show people the take a picture. Sustain the fishery so you can catch them again and again.
If you do want to keep fish to eat I would recommend catching bluegill (bream) or crappie which will make excellent table fare. I do not care too much for bass anyway.
IN CONCLUSION
Now you have all the bare essentials to go fishing. Of course, you can add a lot more stuff. You could go cheaper or more expensive. You may have some of this already. If you buy all the things I told you about you will be good to go. I can guarantee you will catch bass in all lakes and ponds any time of the year as long as you get your lures in the water :).
Bass Fishing Beginner Essentials Checklist
Fishing reel
Fishing rod (two-piece)
Braided fishing line
Fluorocarbon leader line
2 crankbaits (because you will get snagged and break off eventually)
1 spinnerbait
1 pack Trailer hooks for spinnerbait
1 pack Shaky head jig weights
1 pack of green pumpkin worms
1 pack of June bug worms
Fishing Pliers
Fishing scissors
Fishing license (not mentioned but no brainer)
YOU WILL SPEND…….. $214.19
That is not bad at all to start a new hobby. Let me know in the comments section if you think I forgot anything. I hope this helps someone get started on their bass fishing journey.
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