7 Expert Bass Fishing Tips - How to Catch More Bass

When thinking about bass fishing or many other activities, you'll notice that 80% of your success will ultimately come from 20% of your efforts. One way to optimize this 80 20 rule, also known as the Pareto Principle, to your bass fishing strategy is by following some of our expert tips, which will help to maximize the results of your angling efforts.

Use a Variety of Lures and Bait

Lowe aluminum bass boats and crappie boats have plenty of storage space for all sorts of different bait and lures. Both largemouth and smallmouth bass tend to eat different types of bait depending on what time of year it is, including live baitfish like shad style minnows, or shiners. Jigs, crankbaits, plastic worms, spinnerbaits, and swimbaits are all good bets in most conditions, and throughout the year for bass big and small. If you’re fishing early in the season, use peach-colored patterns in your bait. During this time of year, bass are looking for crawfish, which peach-colored bait can mimic. Tell your bass angler friends who like to head out in the summer or fall they should use chrome or silver baits, which mimic the shad bass are looking for.

Don’t Bother The Bass

Bass are ornery fish. If you keep tapping at them with your lure, they’ll eventually attack your hook. Bass aren’t going to just swim up to your aluminum boat. They like to position themselves in cover (like seaweed or under old docks) and prefer when the lure is presented to them from various angles. You may have to stop and anchor your small fishing boat and toss the lure into the same area 100 times before finally getting a strike.

Don’t Discard Damaged Worms

When your plastic worms and leeches get torn up, save them. Bass like ambushing wounded prey, so a damaged plastic worm can be the perfect bait to use, especially in shallow water. Loading up the livewell in your aluminum boat with a lot of bass is the ultimate goal.

Cast Against the Wind

You will lose some distance in your casts, but it’s best to fish with the wind in your face. Bass swim with the current. If you cast against the wind, they will see your bait before they see your boat. Also, the slapping sound of the water against your hull will carry away from the area that you’re fishing.

Fool the Bass with Red Lures

In shallow cover – stumps, wood, clusters of grass – what could be one of the best bass fishing tricks is to try using a spinner bait with a pink or red head, or a crank bait with red hooks. The red color will make the fish think the bait is alive and injured, and they will bite at it. While our Stinger 8 series are some of the best-in-class leaders in aluminum bass boats, Lowe Boats aluminum jon boats are great shallow water fishing boats for those on a budget.

Check the Water in Your Livewell

Aluminum boats with livewells give you an added advantage. Lowe Boats have some of the best livewells in the game. Bass are notorious for spitting up whatever they’re feeding on when you place them in a livewell. With this info, you can tell what color lure or kind of lure is most likely to attract additional bass the rest of the day.

The Calm Before the Storm

The best time to fish for bass is before a storm front comes through. The worst time to fish for them is after a storm. The pressure of an oncoming storm makes the bass much more active, so keep an eye out for clouds moving in. If the weather is absolutely perfect, the bass are much less likely to strike at your bait.

Buying a new bass boat? Read about the best features to look for in a bass fishing boat. Check out Lowe's line-up of bass fishing boats to find the perfect model, and contact your local dealer for more information.