Bass Fishing Tips

There are hollow-body frogs, hard-plastic frogs, frogs that pop and spit, soft-plastic frogs…so many choices that anglers may have a difficult time selecting the right one for the job. Here’s a brief rundown of when and where to use each type of frog lure to catch big bass.

B.A.S.S. Elite and FLW Tour pro angler Jason Christie learned the magic of jerkbaiting bass long ago and has been perfecting the art since. Here he outlines the keys to selection and presentation to put the jerk to work for you.

Many anglers can’t figure out the human spawning process, much less that of a largemouth bass, but understanding when and where the fish spawn is essential to bass fishing success in the spring.

During the summer, fall and winter, river bass can be pretty easy to locate and catch. But come springtime and it gets a little tougher. Here are four spots to check on your local river this spring.

Bass anglers can lose focus after the fish leave the beds. Anglers knew what to do as the fish went through the prespawn and actual spawn, but 10 days later these same anglers can be confused, zipping from one spot to the next like water bugs. It’s this postspawn period, prior to the fish setting up on established summertime areas, that throws a monkey wrench into bass fishing.

During late winter, white bass begin migrating up-lake to the river sections of impoundments and into feeder creeks. They’re traveling toward shallow, moving water to spawn. It’s Mother Nature’s way of replenishing a species, but this predictable movement also makes for some of the most exciting and anticipated fishing of the year.

Oklahoma’s Jason Christie rode a Rogue to a seventh-place finish in the 2013 Bassmaster Classic on Oklahoma’s Grand Lake O’ The Cherokees. Grand Lake has long been known as a great wintertime jerkbait lake and the perfect place and time to introduce Smithwick’s latest creation, the Perfect 10 Rogue. Here’s how Christie used it and the shallower-running Suspending Rattlin’ Rogue to finish so high among the best anglers in the world.

No other lure type is more effective in cold water than the hard-plastic suspending jerkbait. This dependable minnow-looking stickbait has bass-fishing fans across the country, but you need to know how, where and when to throw them.

An angler gets dressed up in a costume -- like a multi-colored laminated shirt with 27 logos and a matching hat -- then goes around to where the bass live and knocks on the door and yells “trick or treat!” Some days you’re tricked and others treated, but one thing’s for certain, both begging children and hopeful bass anglers are proud of a big sack when the day is done.