I have never gone out targeting bass before. I have gone after every other fish MN has to offer. Just never bass. This year I signed up to be a boat caption for my son’s Jr. Bass league. I was wondering what everyone’s favorite bass tactic is and when they apply it. I have a couple of rods and a little tackle that can work for bass. I am always willing to get more.
Thanks in advance for all the great information and thank you to those who have already shared some.
I’ll break mine down in terms of season.
Spring – jerk bait is my favorite technique, followed by a slow moving chatterbait. The colder the water, the slower I pause the jerk bait. Works for both smallmouth and largies. I prefer natural colors like bluegill and perch.
Summer – wacky rigged plastic stick bait. Its an extremely versatile presentation. You can skip it under or around docks, let it fall on a weedline, and pop it back and forth to induce strikes. A hollow body frog is an exciting way to fish in the slop too but the fish have to be in an aggressive mood for this to work.
Fall – this is a tougher season for me because there doesn’t necessarily seem to be any one particular pattern that works any given year. Last fall I did pretty well using a black spinnerbait. The previous one I did better popping a tube.
I haven’t targeted bass in years, but when I did it was always fishing banks and shallow cover so spinnerbait or shallow crankbaits were my comfort zone. Towards the end I was throwing a lot of small square bills.
Edit. Sorry I only had two, if I was forced to slow down a texas rigged worm I guess.
Early spring it’s tough to beat a jerkbait or chatterbait. Just make sure you are running them through the tops of the weedlines or flats making contact with the weeds. That is key.
Texas rigged creature baits pitched to shallow cover such as docks and laydowns on shore will catch fish year round.
And this one is for Gim:
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And this one is for Gim:
LOL I kinda figured this was coming at some point. 
In your situation dealing with young fishermen who are new to the sport I’d go with the following:
A wacky rigged senko/stickworm. This is a really effective early season bait when fish are in shallow water or under docks. You can simply add a nail weight to one end and turn it into a Neko rig and fish it in deeper water along weedlines at the fish move out to deeper water and structure.
A texas rigged worm. Another bait that can be fished both shallow or deep. It can be fished around shallow cover as well as out on deeper weedlines and structure.
A Jigworm setup with 1/8 or 3/8 oz jighead. This one will excel from late spring all the way till fall.
You will notice all my top choices are plastic setups. To add in a few hard bait options. I will say a Lipless Crankbait and a Spinnerbait should almost always be tied on or available. Young fishermen may have a hard time slowing down enough to fish most plastic applications, But once they do they will probably start catching way more fish. This is why I’d always have both available. For fishermen just getting started you don’t need each setup already rigged on a different rod. I would say you could get by with 2 or 3 rods. A baitcaster in the 6’6″ – 7′ range with a Medium or Medium heavy rating. This one will work for the spinnerbait and probably the texas rig setup. The other rod should probably be a 6-7′ spinning rod with a Medium rating with a fast or extra fast tip. this would cover all the other applications.
Good luck out there and have some fun. keep us posted on how the year is going for you.
If it would help, I’d be more than willing to jump in with you, or you and the kids for a day to maybe show you a few things and help you get started in the right direction. Feel free to contact me anytime thru private messaging.
How old are the kids and how much fishing experience do they have? That could have influence on what tactics are best suited for them.
All good suggestions so far. If they’re young and/or less experienced anglers, I’d tend to go with lures with single hooks, like a spinnerbait, chatterbait, wacky worm, swimbait. Limits the amount of hooks to get hooked on when casting.
How old are the kids and how much fishing experience do they have?
The boys are 11 and 12 years old. My son has a bunch of experience and the other boy has 0.
My top 3 are…
– Wacky worm, both weighted and unweighted, extremely versatile bait all year
– Dropshot, typically w/ a senko, almost always green pumpkin
– Spinnerbait or Crankbait when I feel I need to cover water. DT-6’s and 8’s in bluegill color are my favorite.
– Tube jig.
– A night crawler and plain hook under a bobber.
-J.
A night crawler and plain hook under a bobber.
I am guessing the OP isn’t permitted to use live bait in a bass league.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Jon Jordan wrote:</div>
A night crawler and plain hook under a bobber.I am guessing the OP isn’t permitted to use live bait in a bass league.
I would agree with that.
Of course if live bait or trolling is not allowed in a league us less serious ‘weekend warriors’ might take note, stuff is not excluded because it does not work…hmmmm…
I agree with all of the above, but if somebody put a gun to my head in any season and said “you have one hour to catch a bass” i would 100% tie on a green pumpkin TRD with a 1/16oz ned head.
Weed flats early season with a spinner bait is tough to beat and a pretty easy way to cover water.
Here are my 4. Chatter bait, jerk bait, Texas rig tube, worm, creature, crawfish etc. and a finesse presentation (drop shot, Neko rig, Ned rig etc.
Thanks for all the great information. My son and I will be going on a shopping trip this weekend. I will let him pick out a little of everything listed.
Rodwork, if you are one to purchase tackle online, might I suggest Omnia Fishing. Local online retailer. I am not associated with them, but have become quite a fan. They have a feature where once you create an account, you can chose your “favorite” lakes and see reports that make recommendations for baits and techniques. They have a premium membership for $30 a year that gives you a 10% store credit for most all purchases. They had a deal that I think expires this week where you can purchase that membership and get the $30 back in credit. The membership also provides access to better sales. If that deal has expired, you could call them and explain that your son is getting into the high school league and I bet they’d work with you. Just a suggestion. Might make sense if you’re stocking up.
might I suggest Omnia Fishing. Local online retailer. I am not associated with them, but have become quite a fan.
I use them sometimes and I live about 5 miles away so I stop in there and pick my stuff up when I order items. Its an interesting business model. Its a warehouse where you can order online and have shipped, or you can pick up in person. When you walk in, there is a small retail area too that has items like rods, reels, and fishing apparel. I prefer to pick up and hold and feel certain items like rods and I always worry about those kinds of items being shipped. Plus I like to try on certain clothing like rain gear before buying too. This is exactly why they have that retail area when you walk in. I know the head marketing guy there too from a previous job so usually chat with him for a while when I go in there.
Quite frequently they will have specific sales too. Last month for 10 days they had 20% of all zman products.
Yeah Omnia is pretty good. Lots of sales and much more national bass gear than most local retailers carry. Not just St Croix and Shimano that most carry around here. They are also VERY plugged into the new lures and techniques that are popular around the country and carry those products.
Thanks for the information, Jarl. I have not heard of that store before. I prefer supporting local businesses and they are right in Golden Valley. Nice.
For Largies, I would go with weightless wacky rig in the spring as my best producer. Then covering water with a spinner bait/chatter bait would be my number 2 producer by far. When I get tired of those two I go to the frog just because it’s fun.
Smallies are a whole different game. I would say my favorite is the ned rig with some type of craw on it. Then a small or medium size jerk bait. Another favorite is the weightless tube.
I agree just started Omnia Fishing the free shipping for anything under $50 with membership is great. Nothing more annoying then needing a $5 buck item you need to drive an hour for. I called them about a reel very good customer service and happy with the reel. Also 1. Ned rig 2. Wacky 3. Beetle spins.
I captained a boat last year for HS league. Pretty simple tactics for young anglers:
1. Spinner bait or buzz bait
2. Wacky worm
3. Ned bait
I didn’t like crank baits because I was worried watching all those treble hooks flying around our heads.
Senko rigged many different ways,Ned Rig,any plastic rigged Texas style.
Spinner bait,chatterbait,swim jig.
Crankbait.
For fun: anything topwater.
For effectiveness: hook/splitshot and a leech. Very few bass can resist that, ever.
hook/splitshot and a leech
The OP is in a bass league, live bait is not permitted.
My top 3 recommendations are a chatterbait, Texas rigged craw tube, and a Senko/Dinger wacky on a VMC Neko hook or t-rigged if weeds are an issue.
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