Folks, you have to put in your time on the water to improve your catch rate. Typically, however, most of us lead harried lives and our fishing time falls short of what we would like. After 50 years of fishing with a fly rod for trout, I picked up a bait casting reel and renewed my pursuit of black bass after a long hiatus. Did I fish smart? Hell, no! I repeated the same follies and mistakes over and over again. I went with a guide, I read books, I researched on line, but by the time I got on the water, the information had become a jumbled mix of contradictions. Bass fishing basics quickly became bass fishing overload. As a former fly fishing guide and long-tenured high school English teacher, I knew I would have to methodically learn bass fishing techniques and then systematically experiment with this knowledge on the water. It meant research, and it meant setting specific learning goals for every fishing outing. Yes, I took notes for a number of years. What I offer you is summary information from a plethora of books and magazine articles, video tapes and on-line reading. Rather than turn this into a dreaded research project, I avoided citing information that I had not gleamed from at least one or two other sources. Any information that I found to be unique, I have cited the source within the writing.
What follows is summary information analyzing bass fishing from the spring to winter and from the bottom to the top. Copy, cut-out and paste these summary informations on your tackle box, or do like I have done and keep a three-ring binder with plastic page protectors. Be sure to read the category on recommended books and videos.
Enjoy! - Dave Archer
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