New to bass fishing

[Wormin]

Cut my teeth on a floating rapala. Black and silver.

[Kywildcat82]

I'm grateful for everyones advice. Do you guys pay much attention to moon phases and barometric pressure?

[hairball]

Since you're fishing from the bank, my first tip is to be in stealth mode as you move along the bank, particularly in clear water. Don't wear loud colors - I'm not going to suggest you head out in full camo, but if a bass looks up and sees a big blotch of bright red moving around, your chances of catching him go way down. You also need to be quiet. Sound travels something like 6 times faster and farther in water than it does in air. Bass, like all fish, have a row of sensors along their sides called the lateral line. These organs detect frequencies below the range of their ears, such as footsteps or a tacklebox being dropped on the ground.

My second tip is a rough generalization. Don't get caught up in the mindset that you need to have every color available for every bait you buy. Most colors are designed to catch fishermen, not fish. You can go broke (and crazy) trying to keep up with all the new colors and combinations. For jigs and worms or anything else that's fished on or close to the bottom, you can't go wrong with black, black/blue, green pumpkin or watermelon red.

Getting into color as it relates to hardbaits (crankbaits, jerkbaits, topwater plugs) can get overwhelming, but sticking with a few natural colors for starters would be appropriate. You might want to try your hand at fishing a frog also. Most frogs require a certain degree of hand/eye coordination to utilize their full potential, but there is one that anyone at any skill level can easily fish with good results. LunkerHunt has a line of frogs in three sizes that have very realistic legs rather than the typical stranded skirt. When you gently pull it towards you, the legs drag behind then pull up close to the body, making for a very realistic action. There is one caveat to this whole "froggin" madness. Until you get some experience under your belt, it's advisable to make sure you've taken your blood pressure meds (if appropriate) and packed a change of underwear. Throw it around laydowns, brushpiles, docks, weedbeds and on top of matted weedbeds, moss or lily pads. Good luck!

[jcb]

I'm grateful for everyones advice. Do you guys pay much attention to moon phases and barometric pressure?

Sure. But are they the main factors I consider? Nope. Here's my prioritized list of criteria when I'm deciding what bait to throw:

1. What seasonal time of year is it? Pre-spawn, spawn, post-spawn, etc.
2. (On lakes) What is their food source doing? (shad spawning, crawfish coming out of dormancy, etc.)
3. Water temperature - higher the temp, the more baits I can use. Cold water, slow presentations.
4. Water clarity - muddy or stained, something with vibration. Clear, smaller and more natural-looking
5. Weather - dropped or risen in last few days? Overcast or sunny? Overcast = a chance for a topwater bite if water temps are high enough; bright skies, bass are likely to be deep in cover.

There are exceptions to all those criteria!

I consider all those things before worrying about moon phase and barometric pressure.

[Wormin]

Cut my teeth on a floating rapala. Black and silver.

No I mean I really cut my teeth on it. Dad took the hooks off of it and threw it in the grib with me.

[Wormin]

Ya I was doomed to life long fishing from the get go, they would line the bottom of the grib with the pages from the sports afield almanac. I new my moon phases before my ABC and I could tie an improved clinch knot before I could tie my on shoes and the guy with the big T on his hat was Santa clause.

[bassinking]

Hank Parker says you could have too much confidence in the wrong bait. so don"t be afraid to experiment with other baits.