John’s Note: Successful bass fishing basically involves problem-solving and decision-making. You must make decisions concerning where to fish, how to fish, what lures to fish with, what time of day to fish and where to catch the biggest fish.

Let’s look at some bass-fishing situations to see how to handle them. We’ll base the scoring system on 5 points for the best answer, 3 points for the second-best answer and 1 point for an answer that can work but probably won’t.

These answers are based on hundreds of interviews I’ve had with professional bass fishermen over the last 40 years.

1) When bass school on top, and you catch them on a Rat-L-Trap but they leave the surface, what bait will you cast next?

a) a jigging spoon;
b) a spinner bait; or
c) a top-water lure.

The spinner bait can help you locate bass if you yo-yo it up and down off the bottom in the area where the school of bass surfaces. Give yourself 3 points for choosing B. A top-water lure may produce bass.

But you won’t find the bass schooling on the top, because they’ve followed the baitfish into the deep water. Award yourself 1 point for selecting C as your answer.

2) Only fish a buzzbait in warm weather when the bass hold in shallow water, which usually occurs during the late spring, the summer’s early-morning hours or at night.

a) True
b) False

Answers:

1) A will help you catch the most bass. When the bass leave the surface, they generally go deep. With a heavy 3/4-ounce jigging spoon, you usually can cast to the area where the fish school and locate the school. You receive 5 points for A.

2) B is the correct answer – false. You can take bass in the early spring and the late fall on a buzzbait, since bass rarely see that lure at these times of the year. The buzzbait also will catch bass in the dead of winter when a warm front moves onto a lake causing bass to move into shallow water and begin to feed. You get 5 points for choosing false.

To learn more about bass fishing, get John E. Phillips’ Kindle eBooks and some print books, “How to Bass Fish Like a Pro,” “How to Win a Bass Tournament,” “Catch the Most and Biggest Bass in Any Lake: 18 Pro Fishermen’s Best Tactics, “Hot Weather Bass Tactics” and “How to Become A Tournament Bass Fisherman”. Click here to get those books.

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About the Author
John Phillips, winner of the 2012 Homer Circle Fishing Award for outstanding fishing writer by the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) and the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA), the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors. Click here for more information and a list of all the books available from John E. Phillips.