Bass Fishing for Beginners

Bass fishing has grown to become one of the most popular sports in a great many countries including: the U.S., Australia and Canada. For the keen angler there is now a wide range of annual bass fishing tournaments giving plenty of opportunity to boast about your freshly caught specimen amongst hundreds of competitors.

Bass is a well known fish suitable for the table but rather than keep their catch many anglers now return their catch to the water. This method of conservation has, by necessity, grown in popularity across all areas of fishing including bass fishing. Most competitions now insist that all fish caught are returned, rather than kept for food, in the system that has become known as catch-and-release. Great care is taken to ensure that the fish is not harmed during the process of measuring and weighing each fish caught. Wherever catch-and-release is practiced there has been a corresponding increase in fish stocks. Also, by returning the fish to water, you are increasing the chances of the fish growing to become somebody's award-winning, or record-beating, catch.

Bass Fishing Equipment

The secret of the success gained by many pro bass anglers is their clever choice of equipment and the knowledge required to make the most of it. Each type of fishing has its own, unique, set of equipment which can be wholly unsuitable for one type of fishing while being perfect for another. For example equipment such as the reels and rods used by fly-fishing anglers would prove totally unsuitable for bass fishing as the style of fishing and the quarry are very different to each other. It is, therefore, incredibly important that you choose the correct equipment for inclusion in your first bass fishing kit.

The massive range of lures and other equipment, together with the multitude of techniques tend to confuse the beginner. However, choosing the best equipment is not such a difficult task. Many beginners, in their confusion, spend a small fortune purchasing as much equipment as they can afford. Many have a small (but expensive) collection of rods and reels when they only actually need one or two to start with. Furthermore they seem to take great pride in their massive fishing boxes stuffed to the gills with any number of lures of various size, shape and color. It is far better to choose only a small number and spend the time to learn how to use your minimalist kit correctly.

Bass Fishing Kit Contents

First of all you will need to purchase rods, reels and tackle. Try to control yourself and keep your purchases to a minimum. Over time you can add to your kit once you have mastered a few basic skills and you have begun to understand exactly what else you will need to buy to create a perfect bass fishing kit.

Beginners kits should include a 6' medium-action, spinning rod together with a 6'6" heavy-action, flipping rod. Keeping to a limit of two rods will enable you to master their use rather quickly. You should be able to learn different soft-plastic techniques and then, later, you can look to purchasing another rod and progress on to learning a few more advanced techniques.

If you have attended one of the pro bass fishing championships you will have seen a few anglers with a large selection of lures. As a beginner you will have no need to purchase dozens of different lures. It is far better to have a more basic selection of quality artificial lures. The fewer you have the easier it is to choose which bait to use. Try to get a couple from each of the four main categories of lures.

There may be a generous selection of lures available in a variety of different designs, sizes and colors making them appear very different. However choose a few of each of the following; soft plastics, jig and pig, spinner baits or crank baits and top waters.

Bass fishing is really great fun and a sport that can be enjoyed by all and mastered by many by starting out with only a small selection of bass fishing kit you will be increasing your chances of mastering a few important techniques which will make it far easier to learn the more advanced. A lifetime of fun awaits you.