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As my friend Jim would say, you can’t make a rod work for everything from Tuna to Trout.  Anyone who has been fishing for a while has come to realize that even going after just one species requires more than one rod.

A Steelhead fisherman might have one rod for side-drifting, one for pulling plugs, one for bouncing bait and another for jig and float fishing. And if he’s anything like us Bass fishermen, he’ll still want more rods!

The reason is that varying conditions and tactics require varying equipment. It’s just that simple.

When I am fishing a jig-and-pig, I want a stout rod that can take a smash-mouth attack from a big fish, then wrestle him out of heavy cover with enough authority to prevent the him from see-sawing away from me and down into an area of hazardous pad stems, rocks, sunken logs or limbs and make his escape. My brother calls such rods ‘pool cues.’

If I am fishing light soft-plastics or drop-shot rigs and finessing the fish, I want a rod with a tender, sensitive tip that will help me detect subtle taps or movements, yet with enough power to ‘stick’ the hook in when I make my move.

When I am fishing a crankbait, I need a flexible rod that lets the bait work and ‘dance’ in a way that allows me to see and feel the action, making sure that the crankbait is working how I want it to, and that will allow the fish to grab and go, without yanking the lure away before the Bass really has time to crunch it.

When I’m throwing a spinnerbait, the rod must have the flexibility and power to launch the bait as far as I want, and it must have the sensitivity to allow me to feel the bait contacting cover and feel my blades spinning. I have caught more than one Bass because the bait was still coming toward me without resistance, but the blades had stopped turning. Setting the hook – because nothing was happening! – I found that sure enough, a big fish that had taken the spinnerbait and maintained its course and speed was there on the other end!  It is crucial to be able to sense such changes, and a good rod will give you that ability.

Do you want to fish a floating, minnow-immitating stick-bait?  You’ll need a rod that will help you give subtle twitches to the bait, yet will be powerful enough to give you a good hook-set when the time comes.

Sound complicated?  It really isn’t. Choose your line size and application, and you can choose the right rod.

Almost all good rod manufacturers give you helpful information near the butt of the blank.  This includes length, power, line weight ranges,  bait weight ranges and sometimes even specific designations such as ‘Crankbait.’  There will also usually be some information, sometimes on a tag, regarding the composition of the blank and guides.

A fiberglass rod, for instance, might be a good choice for a crankbait rod, though many graphite blanks will perform extremely well too.

Here is some useful technical information about how a rod bends:

http://www.fries-rods.dk/lang/uk/rods_action.htm

And here is more good information about composition and rod flex:

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/rodselection.html

I don’t get too caught up in the technicalities.  I simply look for a rod that will do what I want it to. Most of the time I can tell right away by first deciding whether spinning or baitcasting best suits my application, by looking at the specs on the blank, and finally by hefting, flexing and examining the rod for the characteristics I’m going to need. Sometimes I will do a little research and find out what other fishermen are using for a certain application.

If you live in or around Southwest Washington, another great resource can be found in the Fishing Department at Wholesale Sports in Vancouver.  With combined experience of over 175 years of fishing, the experts there can offer information and suggestions on all species of fish and the right rods to catch them.

You can make a rod serve several purposes, but I strongly suggest that as you become more experienced it is best to demand exactly the right rod for the right situation.  This will give you more success and help you to get more satisfaction out of your fishing.

But then, you’ll still need another rod!  Right?

The days are getting noticeably shorter, lake and river temperatures are ramping down, and Largemouth Bass are responding by going on ‘The Fall Bite.’ In this time of ‘feeding frenzy,’ fish are bulking up in preparation for the cold winter months when their metabolism slows way down and with it, their feeding activity. Plus, a beautiful Indian Summer is a great time to be out on the water.

In the Pacific Northwest, September and even October can be excellent for Bass fishing, mirroring the crazy activity levels of Spring. Fish caught during this time can be much heavier and have much more of a football shape, compared to fish of the same length caught in Spring and Summer. One particularly warm mid-October, I caught 10 Largemouth in a row out of the same small area in a backwater of the Columbia River near Woodland, Washington. I had an appointment to keep so I had to leave without being able to find out how many more would have jumped on my baits, but what a day!

The above is just one benefit of the Fall frenzy: Bass seem to be more concentrated in obvious areas, not dispersed as in Summer fishing. Look for Largemouth attracted to riprap and other rocky areas. Rocks hold heat and radiate it during the cooling weeks of Fall, and Bass begin to look for these warmer areas. I have caught very large fish simply by making casts parallel to riprap shorelines and by running baits through shallow, rocky areas. Crankbaits, spinnerbaits and jig-and-grub (skirted with brush guard) or jig-and-frog combination’s work well in these situations. In clear water, try a swimbait that looks like the baitfish in that area. Rig it with as little weight as possible, but make certain it stays upright and straight, then swim it slowly along the rocks at mid-depths. A recognizable, easy meal will be hard for a Largemouth to resist. Don’t forget to experiment with a topwater bait too. A hardbait or a frog can still work under the right circumstances.

Start with the bigger, flashier lures. If they do not work, or if you get hit but not hung on a fish, go to the swimbaits or the quieter, smaller jig combo, or even a Texas-rigged soft plastic worm or tube bait. If you can be on the water at the beginning of a Fall rain, be there! This often turns on a major bite. My biggest Fall fish have come at such times.

An excellent all-around Fall tactic is to prowl river or lake shorelines from a boat, canoe, float tube, pontoon boat or kayak and simply cast a ½ ounce jig-and-grub to the shore, then drag it into the water and reel slowly, letting the jig bumble along the bottom. Aggressively feeding Fall fish will know what to do! I prefer a multicolor jig such as black, brown and green, with a little touch of red somewhere on the jig or grub. If you are shore-bound, don’t give up! You can still catch big Bass by working the shoreline to the right or left of you, gaining more access by carefully, quietly wading out where possible.

Remember that because of it’s off-center, head-heavy design, the jig is especially susceptible to being thrown if a caught fish gets his head above water and shakes it. The bait will flip out of the fish unless you keep a moderately tight line while the acrobatics are going on. Don’t allow your line to go slack, and don’t try to jerk or ‘horse’ the fish toward you. Just keep the line straight and tight between you and the fish while he’s head-shaking. I like to keep my rod more parallel at such a moment, so there is less of a sharp angle between the tip of my rod and the hook in the fish’s face. It seems to help keep him stuck. Remember that water temperatures and fish activity levels can vary quite a bit from day to day, and from area to area. A faster retrieve might stimulate attacks in one instance, a slower retrieve might be the real producer in another. When you catch a Fall bass, remember what you were doing and at what speed. The fish just gave you a hint!

As the days grow even shorter and colder, as light levels decrease and as the Bass’s metabolism decreases, the Bass will begin to move to deeper haunts and become harder to catch. But not impossible! The ‘strike zone’ – distance from the fish in which he is willing to move to take a bait – will shrink, but fish will still need to feed. Slower fishing is called for, but it will still produce fish. We’ll talk about some specific slow tactics and presentations in October. See you then!

BY: Bob Larimer Your Friendly Addicted Bass Fishermen

This may be surprising to most, but Battle Ground Lake holds some of the biggest bass in the state! For most people this is just a myth, but I have seen them with my own eyes cruising the shores! These big green elusive monsters have been ruling over this lake since way back when. In most cases these fish are dang near impossible to catch. Besides the tight line worm fishermen hooking onto, “the huge fish that snapped their line….”

Kyle With A Nice BG Lake Bass!

These fish are probably never even hooked. These fish have seen every lure in your resume. They have become so line shy that catching them is near impossible.   There is always a way though, you can trick any fish you want to catch. It’s going to take some time and a lot of effort but if you’re up to it, you can catch them.  Right now is the key time.  The water at Battle Ground Lake has reached critical temperature and these big elusive bass have begun to spawn.  The fish in the lake use deeper areas of the lake to spawn. They focus on finding deep shelves or even logs that they can have a safe spawning bed on.  The key to catching these fish is finding the beds, this is the hard part. Be patient and take your time, walking the shore of the lake is very easy. There is a trail all the way around the lake, so access to every angle is very easy. What you’re going to need to do to find these fish is cast and cast and then cast some more.  As you walk the shore about every 50 yards make casts out into the water in all angles. Keep repeating this all the way around the lake. There are a few lures that can work in this situation. My favorite is going to be a Jig with crawdad trailer. Work the jig extremely slow across the bottom, bouncing it off logs or any other structure underneath the water.  Move it slow with just slight twitches and pauses in between the twitches. What you’re doing is trying to locate a bed, by covering every inch of shoreline on the lake. Eventually if you’re lucky you will bring the jig across the bed of a weary largemouth. Even though these fish are so smart to lures and line, right now it doesn’t matter. These fish are in protecting mode! They are going to attack to kill anything that approaches or threatens their spawning bed.  The bass in this lake have reached peak sizes. Some of them have been said to top 10 pounds!!  Now that you’re done reading this article…what are you waiting for, get out there and break the Washington state record largemouth!

Marlin Lefever bassinpimp69

Pre-Spawn, Spawn and Post-Spawn Largemouth Bass are always a hot topic for committed Bass anglers. In the Pacific Northwest, the topic can almost drive you to distraction. That is because our changeable weather and differing waters can mean that the Spawn runs from early April to July or even later, and not just in separate bodies of water…..but even on the same lake!

Different sides of the lake warm at different times, and different ends of reservoirs reach different temperatures as well. Add to that coldwater springs in some lakes, and runoff from warmwater creeks in others – even the pumping of warm water by landowners from flooded fields into ponds or rivers – and you can get quite a wide-ranging spectrum of temperatures.

The magic temperature that forces Bass into reproductive mode is generally agreed to be 60 degrees farenheight, but fish can spawn in slightly colder or slightly warmer water than that. Once the right temperature is reached, the urge of nature becomes irresistable and Bass begin spawning.

In the same way that a Spring Chinook Salmon is driven by its genetic makeup to run up the Columbia from the ocean, seeking out its home spawning tributary and completing its life cycle, Largemouth Bass must find the right spot, build their nest and spawn when the temperature reaches that magic spot on the thermometer. Luckily for us Bass fishermen, this does not end the fish’s life cycle. It just starts new ones for another generation of Bass that manage to survive and beat nature’s harsh odds to adulthood.

This April started out cold and is warming only slowly. As I’ve mentioned before though, watch your thermometer and weather patterns closely. Warm weather and warm rains can cause a sudden jump in temperature. It pays to have a way to check the temperature for yourself. Your boat’s fish finder will tell you the surface temperature. You can also buy a castable glass thermometer that can measure either the surface or deepwater temperatures. They can be found at quality sporting goods stores such as Sportsman’s Warehouse/UFA or flyshops. Experiment with your thermometer and you’ll find quite a gradient from top to bottom at times. This may come in handy as we progress into Summer. More on that in later months.

Water temperatures are ranging from 46 degrees in the Columbia in warmer areas, to 53 and higher in various lakes and reservoirs. This means that most Bass will still be in Pre-Spawn mode. The Pre-Spawn tactics and baits discussed in last month’s column will work just fine, but because we are nearing spawning temperatures – especially for bigger fish – it is good to start including a few baits for the Spawn in your arsenal.

Besides those spinnerbaits and jig-and-grubs for Pre-Spawn, think about soft plastics like lizards, worms and tube baits for subtle presentations in reedbeds, weedbeds and likely spawning areas. Texas rigs, skin-hooked will prove more manageable than Carolina rigs at this time. Dropshotting with small, subtle amounts of lead will work as well.
You may well find spawning beds that appear as well-defined light spots or dark spots (This depends on the composition of the bottom in that area) in comparison with the rest of the area. Take your time and use your polarized sunglasses and you may also catch sight of a fish, or its shape, hovering near a bed. Soft plastics can be dragged over beds or allowed to actually settle into the bed. This may stimulate a savage strike. Bass can also gently pick up the bait and deposit it away from the bed without really ‘eating’ it. For this reason, some recommend brightly colored baits so that you can actually watch what the fish is doing. You will not always have this luxury, so I recommend paying close attention and staying attuned to your line and rod. For obvious biological and sporting reasons, please handle any spawning bed fish carefully at the water level, get the hook out gently and release an upright, rested and revived fish. The fish and all your fellow bass fisherman will be grateful!
Another great bait around the ‘crazy time’ of the Spawn, when big fish can sometimes be the least wary, is the floating stickbait. A Bomber Long A or Rapala in a baitfish pattern such as rainbow trout or perch can be deadly. Look for an opening in a brush pocket, or along green grass growing up out of the water along a point, or over the top of flooded brush and submerged stumps, or along the outside lines of reeds, or over actual beds which you will find about 10 feet out from shore. Hmmmm! Sounds like there are quite a few spots where these baits will work!

You may need to experiment with a larger bait or a smaller bait, or a different color pattern, but the stickbait can be a real producer, and there is no fancy or secret technique involved here. Just find a likely spot like those mentioned above. Toss the stickbait near the grassline or reedline, or beyond the brush or submerged wood. Let it sit. Let all the ripples from its entrance into the water disappear. Let it sit a little more! Often just the appearance of this bait will cause a savage attack. I have actually watched a big bass rise out of the water and pounce downward on my stickbait. Heart attack time!
If no immediate strike occurs, and after waiting as long as you can, gently twitch the bait. As minimal a movement as you can make. Let it sit some more. Repeat this process a few times. This can also be irresistably tantalizing to Bass.
If you still have no bite, move the bait. Don’t reel it down and dive it. Just pull gently and move the bait over the top of the water. Anywhere from 6 inches to a foot or more. Use this time to ‘position’ your bait if you are going after fish hiding in submerged wood. Make use of the time it is directly over your target to twitch it again. This tactic can also stimulate a charging or a sipping bite from the hiding fish.
I was fishing from shore in a backwater of the Columbia, casting to a favorite submerged ‘schoolmarm’ or forked log, with some of the forks exposed above water. My brother laughed as I complained about getting my stickbait and its treble hooks ‘too close’ to the exposed wood. Concerned about losing this expensive bait, I held my rod to the side and painstakingly, slowly pulled the bait between two threatening stickups. I thought I had escaped the trap when to my dismay, I came up hard against what I thought was a submerged stick. Wrong! A huge bass had decided that my bait would travel no further past his hideout! When I finally battled the fish in, my brother just laughed and said maybe a little ‘worrying’ was a good thing!
After exhausting your sitting, twitching and pulling reflexes, one last tactic remains: Get your line tight, reel quickly for about 4 or 5 turns of the reel handle, forcing the bait to dive and swim erratically, then stop the retrieve and let up. Often this ‘escaping’ action of your stickbait is just too much for the Bass. Repeat this process back to the boat or your position on shore, if depth allows.
Who knows what your Spawn adventure will be? Get out there, experiment, look for likely spawning areas, and you might be ‘worrying’ about a monster on the line too!
See you next month, when we’ll get into some specifics about topwaters and tactics.

As the days grow longer and the water begins to warm up past 45 degrees, Largemouth Bass are moving up out of their Winter haunts and beginning to look for spawning areas.  This is great news for all of us who like to catch these beautiful, powerful, challenging fish.

Under the proper conditions, some of your greatest successes of the year can come during the Spring. It’s good to bear in mind that as the bigger, smarter fish make their first moves into shallower water and brighter light, they can be very spooky.  Remember not to throw your shadow over them, get your boat too close or make too much noise from the boat or from land. Just a bang from a paddle or a tackle box, or a few rocks clinked together by a misplaced boot, and Mr. Bigmouth will squirt away. These fish have grown to their large size by being cautious.  Stealth is the word! With the powerful, unpredictable influence of marine weather from the Pacific Ocean and/or possible flows of cold Canadian air masses down into our region, planning Spring fishing trips can be challenging.  The ideal condition would be an early, sustained warming trend, a full moon for lake or river fishermen, and high Spring tides for devoted river fishermen.  Watch for warm rains, which will warm up lakes and even the river much faster than warm air temperatures.  I like to remember that fish are not afraid of rain, and neither should I be.  I have caught several very big Bass during warmer, rainy Spring weather. But what we in the Pacific Northwest often get is prolonged chilly spells, with cold rain, snow or hail falling into our water. This time of year it’s best to find areas of shallower water adjacent to deep water. The skinny water warms quicker, and when it begins to climb through 45 degrees and above, fish will seek out that water. These fish are in pre-spawn mode. When the water temperature is between 55 and 65 degrees, Bass get serious about spawning. Whether in the backwaters of the Columbia or in lakes, pre-spawn fish will be cruising the shallows, sometimes even ‘setting up’ or remaining in a certain area. Contrary to some reports, a cold front will not necessarily drive these fish back out into deeper water. They often will actually push deeper into cover when this happens. Pre-spawn bass can be found cruising in flooded shoreline brush, or hanging in areas of outside structure – near future spawning sites – such as rocks, rockpiles, underwater humps, stumps, logs or points {Actual spawning flats will be approximately 10 feet out from shore and in stable depths of anywhere from a foot or so to 6 feet, with bigger fish nesting deeper}.  There are several baits that work best for pre-spawn fish. A jig-and-pig or jig-and-grub fished slowly in heavier cover can be very effective. Try a slow, steady retrieve, feeling for a ‘mushy’ slow-down, or a light ‘tick’ as the fish bites. Also try a slow, reel, hop, reel approach, using very gentle twitches of the rod tip to impart a little extra motion to the jig. This bait and these retrieves can also be effective in more open areas right near the heavier cover. Try both. But retrieve s-l-o-w-l-y!  I like to use a little attractant, such as crawdad scent, on my jigs. At this time of year a 1/2 ounce jig in dark brown, dark green or black is a good choice. If the water is not clear, a rattling jig might help. One of my favorites for warmer, pre-spawn water is floating stick-baits such as Rapalas in Rainbow Trout pattern. I don’t do much swimming of the bait, instead I prefer to just toss it into an open area in flooded brush, or near a log or stump, let it sit, then twitch it.  Often the fish will hit before any motion is given to the lure.  If a still bait or twitching do not work, try four or five fast turns on the reel handle, then ease up. This causes the bait to make a shallow dive as if escaping, then pause and begin to rise. Often the Bass will hit just at the slowdown. This same tactic, perhaps with a quicker retrieve, also works well on spawning fish. I am also not shy about using larger baits, 5 1/2 inches or longer. Jointed versions will work well too. Another excellent pre-spawn bait is a 1/2 ounce to 3/4 ounce twin-blade spinnerbait. A black, white or white and chartreuse skirt works well. I like a small Colorado blade in front and a large willowleaf blade in back. I usually use a grub trailer with the tail pointed down.  Even with a grub trailer on, it is often wise to put an additional or ‘trailer hook’ on behind the spinnerbait’s hook. Cut off a small piece of surgical tubing, put it over the eye of the trailer hook, then punch the spinnerbait hook point through the tubing and eye of the trailer hook, keeping the trailer hook oriented in the same ‘up’ position as the spinnerbait hook.  Soft-biting or ‘short-striking’ Spring Bass will often hang up on the trailer hook, when they would have missed the main hook.  ‘Slow-roll’ a spinnerbait by keeping it in relatively constant contact with the bottom, bumping and banging its way over the cover. It will act somewhat like a jig, only with additional flash from the blades. Try a big crankbait as well. Chrome, baitfish, firetiger, citrus or crawdad colors are good. A stop-and-go retrieve might be just what it takes to make the fish hit.  Try flat-sided as well as the beefier models. Some folks also crawl  or slow-roll a lipless crankbait on the bottom and convince fish to strike. This can be a Winter tactic as well. Try a suspending stickbait. It can be deadly on early pre-spawn fish.  Reel it down and ‘park’ it in a good mid-depth area. Then give it a short ‘rip’ with a moderate lateral sweep of the rod tip. Repeat this process and be ready for the take.  This also works well for Smallmouth Bass. If you sense that your offerings are just a little too much for the wary pre-spawn fish you’re after, don’t neglect the lowly tube bait.  Its non-threatening, do-nothing presentation might just convince a wary fish to go for a quick meal. An eighth ounce or possibly heavier tube jig head in a motor oil and red flake, or possibly watermelon and black flake tube can be good offerings. Retrieve it slowly near the bottom and stay alert for ‘taps’. On the other hand, if you feel confident that the water is warming well, you can throw topwater buzzbaits out on the edges of cover. Agressive pre-spawn Bass will kayo a buzzbait at times, but it would probably be my last choice unless I was sure the water was well on it’s way toward spawning temperatures.

As in Bass fishing at any time of year, pay attention to depth, structure, cover and local land features when you catch a fish.  Look for similar areas as you move from place to place.  And try to stick to warmer water, if you can find it! Try to get out fishing as often as you can this season.  Conditions change – Improve! – quickly in Spring Bass fishing.  You want to be there when that magical time happens!