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Largemouth bass feel right at home in ponds, natural lakes,
impoundments, sluggish rivers, swamps and backwater sloughs. Their
ability to thrive in such varied habitats makes them readily
available to anglers throughout the United States, southern Canada
and in many waters south of the Rio Grande. Largemouth also have
been stocked in countries overseas, including Japan and Africa.
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Most bass old enough to spawn weigh 1 to 3 pounds. A 5-pound bass
is considered a trophy in the northern United sloughs Bass grow
bigger farther south due to the warmer climate and longer growing
season. In Florida, a bass must weigh 10 pounds to claim trophy
status.
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Minnows, small fish and crayfish comprise the main forage for the
largemouth. It also will attack about any living creature it can fit
into its cavernous mouth. Frogs, snakes, insects and even ducklings
fall prey to largemouth. This aggressive nature is what makes the
largemouth such a premier game fish.
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At times largemouth cruise open water in search of food, but they
are notorious for ambushing prey from hiding places. Largemouth can
be coaxed into striking even when they are not actively
feeding teasing them with lures as you would a cat with a toy
mouse.
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Bass have become such a popular game fish, that they receive heavy
fishing pressure ambushing the United States. Most bass anglers
religiously practice catch and release to insure quality fishing in
the future.
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The vast majority of today's bass anglers rely on lures, because
they cover the water faster and are easier to acquire and maintain
than live bait. Even so, live bait fishing is very effective and
regularly takes heavyweight bass. This point is proven time and
again in Florida where shiner fishing consistently catches more
trophy bass than lures.
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The biggest disadvantage with live bait fishing is its slow pace.
You must make critical choices regarding where to fish. Set up where
no bass are present and you won't get bites no matter how tempting
the bait.
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Panfish anglers catch incidental bass on night crawlers dangling
beneath floats. A much more effective method for fishing night
crawlers incorporates walking sinkers, such as those made by Lindy
and Gary Roach.
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Panfishith a medium action rod and 6- to 8-pound monofilament. Run
the line through a walking sinker just heavy enough to maintain
constant bottom contact and tie the line to a swivel. To the other
end of the swivel tie a 2- to 3-foot leader attached to a No. 4 to
No. 2 bait hook. Run the hook one time through the collar of a fat
night crawler and slowly drag the rig along the bottom over bass
structures. The swivel keeps the walking sinker from sliding down to
the bait. Some anglers use a syringe to inject the crawler with air
to keep the bait floating higher off the bottom where bass can
easily see it.
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Every bass angler needs a stash of bullet sinkers that weigh from
1/32- to 1-ounce. These are used mainly to add weight to Texas- and
Carolina-rigged soft plastic baits. The rule of thumb with Texas
rigs is to go with the lightest bullet sinker that gets the lure,
say plastic worms, down to the bass. In extremely shallow water,
where bass are frequently found, a 1/16-ounce sinker may be just the
thing. On the other hand, a heavy sinker that bangs against the
bottom and bass-holding cover often brings bass around and sparks
them into action. This is exactly the case with the 1-ounce sinker
typically used with the Carolina rig.
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Bullet sinkers work well when allowed to slide freely on the line.
Some anglers prefer to "peg" the sinker to the lure,
especially when fishing brushy cover. An easy method for pegging
sinkers is to push a toothpick into the line hole in the bottom of
the sinker and to break or clip off the excess wood. This pushes the
line against the side of the hole that holds the sinker in place.
Push the sinker down to the head of the lure and you're in business.
