by Bruce Middleton, May 08, 2007

A collection of tips to help you with every day fishing problems…

1. Length cubed divided by 1600 equals approximate weight for a bass. (example: 10 inch bass is 10x10x10 = 1000 divided by 1600 = .6 pounds)

2. Weight equals length times girth squared divided by R. R = 800 for bass and trout and R = 900 for musky and pike. This is more accurate. (example: 12" bass with an 8" girth is 12 x (8x8) divided by 800, 768 divided by 800 = .96 pounds)

3. The best fishing is 3 days before and after a new or full moon.

4. For the best top water lure action use a loop knot except on stick type lures.

5. A four-inch tube with a seven-inch worm stuffed in it is called a “cap and gown”. It is an inexpensive alternative to creature bait.

6. The best all-round spinner bait is a 3/8 ounce, black skirt with a nickel Colorado blade size 4.

7. The best all around buzz bait has a nickel blade and a black skirt.

8. The most sold plastic worm colors are black, purple, motor oil and blue/black.

9. Bleeding bait tubes are better than regular tubes for getting strikes.

10. A jig and pig catches bigger bass if you use a silicone skirted type.

11. When using a jig and pig, use a #1 jumbo frog and trim the jig skirt to even with the back edge of the hook.

12. Only during the spawn, fish with the sun in your face so you don’t cast a shadow in front of yourself, over the spawning bass.

13. Drift with the wind as much as possible to save you trolling battery and reduce motor noise.

14. Match you clothes to the colors of the sky, blues and grays.

15. Cast accurately and make no splash.

16. Start with quiet lures and work to noisy ones.

17. Always have a back-up rod ready with a worm, tube or jig on it.

18. When booking a guide service ask if they provide rods and reels.

19. Sandy and rocky bottom areas warm up first in spring.

20. The first green vegetation of the year attracts minnows and bass.

21. In summer look for shade and deep vegetation to fish.

22. In fall bass are in woody cover in 2 to 7 feet of water.

23. In spring shallow bass are there to spawn or feed. Most are active and in 3 – 9 ‘ of water.

24. A boatload of tackle boxes gives you a false sense of preparedness and security.

25. In clear water use silver crank baits. In stained water use fish colors.

26. With top water lures use one of two retrieves; agonizingly slow or zipping fast.

27. When you can’t find bass along the shoreline, look deeper. Use your electronics.

28. A bass’s eyes are oriented upwards. Your lure must be above the bass for him to see it.

29. Keep the hook(s) sharp on you favorite lures. You use them a lot so take care of them.

30. If you find a metal piling on a dock, deflect a crank bait off it. The sound does something to bass that makes them go crazy, because they try to kill your lure.

31. A new split ring is out. Its pear shaped and can change the action of any lure it’s attached to.

32. Weed guards on jigs don’t cause you to loose fish but you can trim them back if you want too.

33. A back-up rod with a worm or jig on it will, ready to go, will catch most bass you miss on other lures. Be ready for the change in the change in both rod and reel when casting, as they will be different.

34. Most bass anglers make their own lure retrievers rather than buy one.

35. Always let a jig fall on slack line. You have to be in touch with it at all times so, be a line watcher or you will miss many strikes.

36. A good crank bait is recommended as the first lure to start with as a beginner.

37. Sunny weather is the best time to fish under docks and in heavy weeds like lily pads.

38. Down sized baits and lures will catch more bass anytime no matter the weather.

39. Rapala’s floating minnow is the most popular and most sold lure in the world. This one lure outsells most company’s entire productions.

40. Tie directly to lures. Snap swivels collect too much grass and weeds.

41. Broken plastics make excellent wacky rig baits.

42. Never toss old plastic baits into a lake. They aren’t biodegradable and a fish may a swallow one causing it to die.

43. Most fishermen don’t have their drags set tight enough. Check yours frequently.

44. Retrieve a buzz bait just fast enough to keep it on the surface. Don’t reel it in as fast as you can. It’s not a race and you want the bass to catch it.

45. Boat position is more important than the mechanics of flipping and pitching.

46. There is no outward way to tell a male from a female bass.

47. Fat bodied, short-lipped crank baits are extremely snag resistant.

48. A bass will strike for 4 basic reasons; 1- hunger, 2-anger, 3- reflex. 4-defense of territory.

49. Sunfish and Blue Gill colors are always great colors to use when fishing for bass.

50. I still think that there is nothing wrong with using real worms over plastic ones.

51. The surface of the water deflects 99% of the sound that hits it, so talk away, the fish can’t hear you, but don’t stomp around in the boat, this can be heard.

52. With polarized sunglasses you want 95% polarized efficiency. Optical quality glass lenses are the best. 90% is inferior.

53. To eliminate any smells on your hands while fishing use vanilla extract. It will actually remove gas odors.

54. Flat-sided cranks reflect more light than round ones. Fat cranks wobble, skinny cranks wiggle. Narrow bills on crank baits give a tight wiggle to the lure. A wide bill on crank bait gives a wide wobble to the lure.

55. Paint hooks with bright red metal flake finger nail polish, it’s less expensive than replacing them, it last a really long time and cost $2.

56. Top water lures work best in low light levels and with a ripple on the water.

57. Spinner baits have a well-deserved reputation for catching really big bass.

58. Add a trailer hook to a spinner bait 98% of the time and a buzz bait 100% of the time. The 2% you don’t use a trailer hook is when you hang up every cast.

59. The most room taken up in your tackle box(s) today will be by plastic baits.

60. A jig is the most productive lure of all the bass lures on the market today.

61. There are six major ways to present a worm, Texas, Carolina, weightless rigged, drop shotted, wacky rigged and as a jerk bait (or swim bait).

62. The best length, on average, of worms to use by season are; winter = 4 inches, spring = 5 to 6 inches, summer = 7and ½ to 12 inches and fall = 6 inches.

63. Spinning tackle works best for with lightweight lures and plastics because you can cast it farther than you could with a bait-casting reel.

64. The average pitch is 30 feet. The average flip is 15 feet.

65. Add a white-feathered treble hook to a crank bait. It looks like a fishes tails and acts like a bass attractant.

66. Use small baits and lures on inactive bass.

67. Make long casts and retrieve the lure to the target so as to not spook the bass.

68. Place Xmas trees, cinder blocks and old tires under and around your dock to attract more bass.

69. When bass sense danger, they make a dash for deep water.

70. The Moon Phase System works, so says millions of user’s, both amateurs and pros alike. Read more about it at www.moonguide.com.

71. When it starts to rain, start fishing with a spinner bait.

72. Always wait for the weight of the bass before setting the hook when using a top water lure.

73. Bass hide under docks for shade, cover and ambush points.

74. To wear a fish out faster, never point your rod at him but always away from him.

75. Add a red bead in front of a worm as an added attractant.

76. Add a Potski’s balls of Fire egg in front of a worm as an attractant.

77. Always add scent to every lure, hard or soft.

78. When a lake is mirror smooth, most of the bass will be inactive.

79. When a lake has a chop on it most of the bass will be active.

80. Long handled rods are easier on your arms after a long day of casting.

81. Vibration is the trigger for most reaction strikes.

82. Fluorocarbon line is almost invisible under water, no mater the test line.

83. Tube fishing is done very, very slowly.

84. Never let a white tube or jig fall to the bottom, they should be swam like a fish.

85. Bleeding tubes are hand poured from the inside out, to add the color inside.

86. Salt in plastic lures make bass hang on to them longer, they like the taste.

87. Substitute a weedless tube for a crank bait in heavy cover areas, no hang-ups.

88. Always use a trailer with a jig, either pork or plastic.

89. Paint a jig’s hook guard red for extra attractant. Use fingernail polish.

90. Use your net as a lure retriever, under water and high in the trees and brush.

91. Monofilament line floats, this keeps lures high in the water column.

92. A Palamar knot is the easiest, fastest, most secure knot you can use for fishing.

93. Always be a line watcher when fishing plastics and jigs.

94. The most versatile bass lure is the spinner bait.

95. Bass can follow a scent trail for a considerable distance.

96. An up and down action added to a retrieve will get you more strikes.

97. Sidearm casting is easier on your arm than overhead casting. Quieter entry too.

98. 22 LB 2 oz World record bass caught by George Perry in Georgia in 1922.

99. Low docks are better than high docks.

100. Big docks are better than small docks.

101.The 5 beat places to catch bass are docks, riprap, vegetation, points and drop-offs.

102. Skipping one bait under a dock is worth four casts around the same dock.

103.Always be conscious of the seam of a plastic worm when hooking it up.

104. Always fish at a given depth not a given distance from shore.

105.Super glue a plastic to your hook to hold it on, bass don’t care.

106.A large flat can hold up to 80% of a lakes bass population.

107.When you catch a bass, note the depth he was in and fish that depth from then on.

108. Time on the water has no substitute.

109.Look up, the weather can tell how to fish if you just look.

110.Charlie Ingram BASS Champion, Bass Master and TV host invented the EWG hook.

111.Bass see more colors than any other marine animal other than man.

112. 71degrees is the perfect temperature for a bass’s metabolism.

113.Match the spinner bait blade size to the size and color of the minnows the bass are feeding on.

114.Opening up the spinner bait arms makes it look bigger and spins slower.

115.Closing the spinner bait arms makes it look smaller and it spins faster.

116.The faster a spinner bait works the easier it goes through weeds better.
117.A Dance-n-Buzz is half buzz and half spinner bait.

118.Wacky rigged straight worms in really early spring catch bass, lots of bass.

119.Bass will congregate around the first green vegetation in the lake, like lily pads.

120.Food and cover are the two most important things to a bass, shade is next.

121.8 lb for spinning and 14 lb for baitcasting are the 2 most commonly used lines.

122.Black, brown, blue and orange are the four primary colors for jigs and pigs.

123.Never use the same color jig and pig. Always use a two-color set up.

124.Top water lures work best in low light, dawn, dusk and cloudy days, wind too.

125.Ribbon tailed worms don’t do well in heavy wood cover. The tail gets hung up.

126.Drop shot dense weed beds. Sinker in the weeds, worm twitching on the top.

127.Always vary your retrieve until you find out what the bass want.

128.Changes in vibrations and vibration patterns cause reaction strikes.

130.When using a jerk bait, never use a cadence, always mix the retrieve up well.

131.Use a fish finder to find baitfish, then use crank baits through the school for bass.

132.After you catch a bass, make several casts to same area. They’re maybe more bass there.

133.Figure out why a bass struck your bait and fish the rest for that reason.

134.There is no better teacher than a mentor when you first start to fish.

135.A big bass boat is like having one lure or one rod, it doesn’t cover all situations.

136.Large shallow flats are absolutely vital for bass reproduction and survival.

137.Never run the trolling motor up as high as you can. Hitting things sends out huge shock waves that can be heard for miles and scares bass away from you.

138.Many floating plastics sink slowly and that’s a good thing.

139.You get what you pay for, buy the best you can afford, always.

140.In clear water on sunny days use crank baits with lots of flash.

141. In dingy water on cloudy days use crank baits with lots of color.

142.In gin clear water on extra bright days use crank baits that are clear.

143.In dingy water use crank baits with lots of colors on them like red and orange.

144.Spinner baits and jigs can be fished all year round because they are so versatile.

145.Bugling a spinner bait is very effective for taking bass in spring thru fall.

146.A Palamar knot has 100% of the line strength and is the easiest knot to tie.

147.A Trilene knot has 100% line strength too but is harder to tie.

148.Use an anchor instead of the trolling motor, it makes less noise.

149.Always turn off your electronics if not needed to reduce noise in the water.

150.Bass, like cats are very curious about anything new in their territory.

151.Bass see lots of lures and baits, the trigger is movement and vibration.
152.The key to locating bass is depth.

153.Don’t follow the shoreline, follow a depth contour.

154.Bass are creatures of shallow cover.

155.Use your fish/depth finder like a pro, to see the bottom and locate fish.

156.Where there are baitfish there are bass.

157.A logbook and a map will help you find and remember where the best spots to fish are.

158.Always fish with great stealth.

159.A bass swims at 2mph and attacks at 12 mph, which is 4 times faster than you can reel.

160.Seven pound and larger bass are loners.

161.Most bass live within 300 yards of the nest they built. They are territorial.

162.Sight fishing is best done from at long distance.

163.Flurocarbon line is invisible under water and has no stretch to it.

164.Fluorocarbon line doesn’t give you the violin string effect when it is dragged over a tree limb like most lines do.

166.Top water lures catch fish all day long.

167.Tie directly to all top water lures, remove all o-rings and snaps.

168.Fluorocarbon lines don’t soak up water.

169.Buzzbaits, prop baits, chuggers, walkers and stick baits are the 5 top water types.

171.A lure retriever will pay for itself the first time it saves a favorite lure for you.

172.When replacing a treble hook on a lure, a size 4 is most common.

173.A drop-shot rig is a Carolina rig only in reverse and it’s fished vertically.

174.When making long casts use heavy line. It keeps the line from tangling with the treble hooks of the lure.

175.A pair of needle-nose pliers is a must on a fishing boat.

176.The retrieve of any lure or bait is the most important aspect of fishing for bass.

177.Worms and tubes make great soft jerk baits and can be used weighted or weightless.

178.Plastic frogs in the lily pads must be moved one inch at a time to look real. This is done with the rod tip by shaking it then reeling in the slack.

179.Jerk baits are seldom caught in a bass’s mouth since they are so long, so baby them to the boat because they are hooked on the outside of the mouth and you won’t tear the hooks out.

180.When using a frog or a jig, when a bass bites the baits, reel down quickly and set the hook hard.

181.If the line will withstand the stress of a hook set it probably will not break while fighting the fish.

182.Always check the line just above the knot you tie. If it is wavy, cut and retie. Lube the line with saliva or water to eliminate friction when pulling the knot tight and causing the line to twist, get wavy and weaken the line.

183.If the lip of a crank bait is clear it doesn’t count as part of the length of the bait.

184.If the lip of a crank bait is colored it does add to the overall length of the bait.

185.Fishing from the deep to the shallow part of a ledge will pull bass up on top of the ledge that can be caught later.

186.Fishing down from the shallow to the deep part of a ledge keeps the bass deep.

187.Use GPS system to make maps of your favorite lakes.

188.Not counting the spawning time, always try and keep the sun directly behind you when fishing. This gives you the best results from your polarizes sunglasses and the bass can’t see you because your in the sun’s glare.

189.Always try and find a place that has a depth change to fish near. These places hold more fish.

190.When fishing a large flat look for any color change of the bottom to run your lure through. A color change means something different about the bottom that may attract bass to it.

191.Different colors of polarized sunglasses help you see better under different water and sky conditions. Brown, yellow and green all work best under different conditions.

192.A “Spot Remover” jig head is built so the plastic you use with it stands straight up in the water after it lands on the bottom.

193.The water temperature is the second most important thing that tells you how you’re going to fish that day. The sky is the first.

194.In the early morning when you start to use top water lures, figure out which one works best that day. A popper, a walker, a buzz bait or a chugger.

195.Citruse colored (light green) crank baits are as attractive to bass as natural baitfish colors. This is because red disappears quickly as the water gets deeper where the green gets brighter.

196.Cold fronts are a pain in the bass. Up here in Washington State we live year round with more fronts than anywhere else in America, therefore we fish more for inactive bass than anywhere else.

197.If you find a hot spot where you have taken several bass in a small area using search lures, i.e., crank baits, spinner baits and the like, go back through the area with jigs and plastics to search out any inactive bass that are in the area but not willing to chase a fast moving bait.

198.One-pound bass are excellent for eating and mighty tasty but anything over 12 inches should be returned to the water unharmed to be caught another day.

199.Always take a camera with you fishing or dedicate one just for the boat, even if its just one of those disposable ones. Memories are best remembered on color prints.

200.Always have a small first aide kit on the boat. Blood doesn’t lube a reel very well and it makes a terrible fresh water scent. Even a few band-aides in your wallet are better than nothing.

201.Never approach a new lake with preconceived ideas about how to fish it. Start with search lures and work down to plastics.

202.Alwys check your batteries before leaving to go fish.

203.Check to make sure the drain plug is in before launching. I didn’t once and I paid big time for it. It is also a lesson I will never forget.

204.Concentrate on fishing while on the lake, not about work or anything else. Fishing is a thinking game so put your head into it.

205.Lube you’re your engine zirks every year.

206.Lube your trailer wheel bearings at least every year.

207.2-inch and smaller crank baits, are great search lures in cold water, just go slow.

208.Small boat trailer tires do wear out. Check them for wear.

209.When down sizing crank baits, say from 3/8s to ¼, you will still want to keep running at the same depth. This means using a wider or longer bill on the crank bait to get it down to the depth you were fishing.

210.When planning a big fishing trip it’s wise to look at a moon phase chart to see which are the best fishing days. It never hurts to give yourself every edge.

(NOTE: some of these tips are personal opinions)


Bruce Middleton
bpmiddleton@peoplepc.com