The Benefits of Kayak Bass Fishing

If you like to fish for large-mouth bass then you will love kayak bass fishing. One of the best things about kayak fishing is that it can be whatever you want it to be: an afternoon on the lake with a bag of rubber worms, a weekend fishing trip with the family, or an extreme multi-state kayak fishing adventure.

Why use a kayak to pursue and catch your favorite game fish?

1. Kayaks are stealthy & can get you very close to fish and the structure that they inhabit.

2. Kayaks are very portable & can be transported by car, van, or SUV - they can even be rolled on special kayak carts.

3. Kayaks can access remote fishing locations that are too shallow for power boats and too muddy for wade fishermen.

4. Kayaks are relatively inexpensive & and will last many "maintenance free" years.

5. Kayaks do not require a registration or an operator's license (this is true in most states).

6. Kayaking/Kayak Fishing is an excellent form of low impact exercise.

7. Kayaking/Kayak Fishing is a great family & social activity.

8. Kayaks are environmentally friendly - they do not require gas or oil.

9. Kayak Fishing is fun! (just add water).

Typical On the Water Scenarios

Spring

It is spring time just after ice-out and the bass are soaking up the afternoon sun in warm shallow coves and creek arms on the Northwest side of your favorite lake. The bottom substrate of these fish holding areas is mud and muck and unfit for wade fishing and your powerboat is too big and too noisy to sneak up on bass in 2 feet of water. What do you do?

1. You launch your kayak and quietly paddle into the fish holding coves. If you see carp milling about or turtles basking then you are in the right place.

2. You pick up your favorite rod on which you have tied a jig and pork trailer, a small profile spinner bait, or a small shallow diving crank-bait.

3. You cast your lures in and around any lily pads, weed growth, logs, or dark looking depressions.

4. You hook up with a big fat pre-spawn large-mouth.

Summer

It is summer time and the bass or either holding tight to shoreline cover, docks, and boat houses or they are hunkered down deep in the thickest greenest weed beds. What are your options.

1. You can fish the shoreline by skipping rubber worms into and under cover. You'll catch many fish this way, but not always the biggest ones.

2. You can position your kayak close to shore and makes parallel casts with crank-baits, spinners, etc being certain to focus your attention on the edge of the drop off to deeper water. Active fish that are cruising the inside of weed edges or drop offs will give you plenty of action.

3. You can cast heavier spinner baits or jig and worm combos and work the outside edge of the weed beds. Bass and other game fish hide in the weeds so that they can ambush bait fish that swim by. The best outside weed edges are near steep drop offs and secondary submerged points.

4.You can wait until after dark and work the shallows paying special attention to the mouths of feeder creeks, outflows, submerged humps, and points.

5. You can skip the lake altogether and try one of your local rivers. Most rivers are under fished compared to lakes and most trout fisherman have given up on the rivers by summer time so you will more than likely have the river to yourself. If the current is slow enough you can launch your kayak and exit from the same spot eliminating the need for two vehicles. If the current is too quick to paddle against, be sure to plan your trip carefully so you know where to take out at the end of the day. Try casting spinner baits, rubber worms, or jigs into shoreline cover or work mid river rocks and weed patches with tube jigs, spinners, or small crank-baits. Be sure to pay special attention to seams, eddies, drop offs, and creek mouths. If you get tired of sitting in the kayak drag it onto the shore and wade fish a while, you can work your way down stream using the kayak as a transport to your next wading spot.

Fall

It is fall (September/October) and bass are feeding heavily in preparation for the cold water season. Some fish are suspending on drop offs or over deep water and some are cruising the remaining weed beds looking for a meal. What are your options?

1. You want to be fishing early afternoons until dark, the water will be warmest this time of day and the air temperature will be more comfortable too. You may even be able to sneak out of work early enough to get in a few good hours of fishing before nightfall.

2. You can work buzz-baits, weedless spoons, rubber worms, jigs, or spinner-baits over remaining weed beds, paying special attention to weed beds around the mouths of feeder creeks and outflows. Also look for lay-downs, submerged logs, boulders, and brush piles.

3. You can work deep points and drop offs with jigs, drop-shot rigs, deep diving crank-baits, or jigging spoons. Once you find the depth the fish seem to be holding at repeat the pattern on the other points and drop offs.

4. You can troll deep diving plugs just over suspending fish, drift fish with a float and fly set up, or live line a bait-fish in the strike zone.

Winter

It is winter time. If you live in the south put on a sweater and go fishing. Be glad you are not shoveling snow or scraping ice off of your line guides. If you live up north, pack up your kayak and fishing gear and go visit one of your friends down south. If you don't have a friend down south FIND ONE on the Kayak Fishing Stuff Forum paying special attention to the Florida, Georgia, Carolina, and Louisiana forums.

So, be sure to give kayak bass fishing a try. It will change your life, improve your catch ratio, and you will be doing your part to make the world around you a better place.

Craig Sheppard is an experienced kayak angler, outdoors enthusiast, and the General Manager of Kayak Fishing Stuff. To learn more about kayak fishing and fishing kayaks visit: http://www.kayakfishingstuff.com

Kayak Fishing Stuff has been serving the kayak fishing community since 2001. If you fish from a kayak or have been thinking about starting this is the place. At KFS you will find brand name kayaks, quality kayak fishing gear, and a tremendous amount of free kayak fishing information.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Craig_Sheppard

Great bass fishing secrets, including all the best bass fishing tips out there!

Bass Fishing Tips

Some great bass fishing tips here from expert bass fisherman, Trevor Kugler

Bass Fishing Tips - 3 Tips to Make Anyone a Better Bass Fisherman

In this article I will use my two plus decades of fishing experience to outline 3 tips that will make anyone a better bass fisherman. What exactly does it mean to "be a better bass fisherman"? At the end of the day it means to catch more bass, and these 3 bass fishing tips will help you do just that.

Before getting down to the tips themselves I think it's important to point out that there are no "magic formulas" when it comes to bass fishing, or any other style of fishing for that matter. Any company or organization who tells you otherwise is being less than truthful. The best of all fishing tips is to spend as much time on the water fishing as you can. There is simply no substitute for practicing your craft.

With that being said, reading bass fishing tips such as the ones listed below and implementing them into your bass fishing repertoire can make you a much more successful bass angler. Let's get down to business, shall we?

1. Don't Get Too Heavy - Many bass anglers use rods, reels, and line that is very heavy, much heavier than is needed. Using heavy gear and line is fine if you're fishing heavy cover or the bass you catch mean the difference between making the rent or not, but for 'average' bass fishermen it's simply not necessary. Downsizing your gear and line can mean many more bites. Not to mention the fact that using appropriate gear and line is a much more enjoyable way to catch bass than using heavy gear and line.
2. Fish At The Correct Times - When it comes to bass fishing tips, this one is quite effective. Bass are more active at certain times of the day, week, and month than others and knowing the correct times can definitely tip the odds into your favor. Being on the water when the bass are active is a great advantage to the angler, and can be accomplished fairly easily simply by paying attention to the weather & moon. These two forces of Mother Nature have a big impact on fish's activity levels, and the more you understand and use this information to your advantage, the more successful you will be. Fish at the correct times and you will catch more bass, it's as simple as that.
3. Use Realistic Bass Baits - There are thousands of different bass baits on the market today, and whatever bass bait your choose to use, make sure that it's as realistic as possible. Whether you bass bait of choice is live, synthetic, or a lure making sure that the bait is realistic under the water is a big advantage. You want your bass bait to look like what the bass normally eat as much as is possible.

Add one or all of these bass fishing tips to your repertoire sooner, rather than later. Any one of them will make you a much better and more successful bass fisherman.

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 25 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his five year old daughter in the heart of fishing country.

Realistic Bass Bait - http://www.jrwfishing.com/ktm.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Trevor_Kugler

Bass Fishing Lures

Another great article on bass fishing lures.

Bass Fishing Lures - The Most Effective Bait Fish Imitations

This article will discuss some of the most effective bass fishing lures that imitate various bait fish. Bass, both large and small mouth, feed quite heavily on bait fish in many waterways so knowing which lures imitate which small fish can be of the utmost importance top the serious bass angler.

These lures are being listed in no particular order as to their effectiveness. I have personally experienced success with all of these bass fishing lures when fishing for both large and smallmouth bass. The bottom line is that these baits are the most effective for imitating the bait fish listed.

Here's what I suggest. Do a little research concerning the body of water you intend to fish. If the predominant baitfish in the water you are fishing is listed here, give the corresponding lure listed here a shot. The bottom line is that these bass fishing lures are the most effective options available today.

1. Minnow Imitations - Minnows are probably the best known bait fish among anglers. These bait fish are the easiest to find and use as live bait. The Banjo minnow and other soft plastics mimic minnows quite well, but the most popular and effective minnow imitation when it comes to a traditional "bass fishing lure" has to be the Rapala floating minnow. This balsa wood fishing lure mimics a live minnow to a very high degree.
2. Sculpins Imitations - Sculpins are a bottom feeding fish that likes to hide and live under rocks on the bottom of a lake or river. These bait fish are well known by trout fishermen and sculpins imitations are used extensively by fly fishermen. These bait fish are very prevalent in rivers and streams, so they are a favorite small mouth bass meal. Any lure that can be retrieved right along the bottom and even 'dug' into the bottom on the retrieve like a Storm Kickin' Goby is an effective bass fishing lure.
3. Shad Imitations - Shad are probably the best known bass baits of all, especially in the southern United States. There are many different shad imitations on the market with soft plastics being some of the best shad imitations. However when it comes to bass fishing lures many times a traditional crank bait is called for. When you want a "traditional" crank bait that imitates a shad the KickTail Minnow is hard to beat.
4. Sunfish Imitations - When it comes to a true sunfish imitation a hard head swim bait is the best option. The Castaic Baby Sunfish is an incredibly realistic bait fish imitation that looks a lot like a real baby sunfish.

The bottom line is that if any of these bass fishing lures aren't a part of your repertoire and any of the above bait fish are the predominant bait fish in the body of water you are fishing, the above lure should be added to said repertoire sooner rather than later.

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 25 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his five year old daughter in the heart of fishing country.

The Best Bass Bait - http://www.jrwfishing.com/LargemouthBassBait.htm

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Trevor_Kugler