Fishing for bass, then and now, here and there

From the time I was a little boy, fishing was something we did weekly. We would fish for bullheads, bluegill, crappie, walleye, white bass, northern pike, large-mouth bass and more. Each kind of fish required a different way of fishing as well as a different bait and setup.

When Dad and Grandpa fished for bass in the 1950s and '60s, they would take a silver Johnson weedless spoon and add a Johnson pork rind. The pork rinds would be white with green stripes. The rod was likely a five- or five-and-a-half-foot metal rod equipped with a Pflueger bait-casting reel and 25-pound black braided line. I can't remember a single time a fish broke the braided line.

They would fish along rushes, which were the normal cover in most Nebraska lakes. These rushes would grow in water up to six feet deep. Most of the time, you could wade and fish the rushes. I had a hard time working the old bait-casting reels, so Dad got a Goodall rod and reel with monofilament line. He tried it but didn't like it, so I ended up with it. Man, that was a good outfit. These rods and reels were made in Ogallala, Nebraska. Google them and check them out.

I used the same Johnson spoon and pork frog but also went to using plugs of one kind or another. Poppers, Lazy Ikes and jitterbugs filled my tackle box. Somewhere in my journey, I started using crankbaits, plastic worms and buzzbaits. I enjoy fishing with crankbaits, but my favorite, by far, is plastic worms. When we lived in Kentucky, I fished Herrington Lake, which is a super-deep lake. The listed depth of the lake is 249 feet -- sheer rock walls that virtually drop straight down. About the only way to fish it for bass was with plastic worms. I also took a fly-tying and fly-fishing course in Oklahoma, so along with the traditional baits, I made some deer-hair poppers and bugs. Some I fished on floating line and some on sinking line.

I have never studied bass fishing, so this is totally my opinion. Bass are a predatory fish. As such, most, if not all, the bass I've ever caught were where bass could waylay some type of bait -- small minnows, bait fish, snakes or such. One lake I enjoy fishing for bass is Lake Girardeau. I use my fly pole or a plastic worm.

I normally use a six- or seven-inch plastic worm in a blue or purple color. Normally I use a #2/o or #3/o Tru-Turn hook, and I sharpen it a little. I add a 1/8-, 1/4- or 3/8-ounce, bullet-shaped slip weight above the hook. I leave the weight loose on the line, and I don't peg it. There are hundreds of videos on the Internet on how to rig up a worm. Normally, I'm using 14-pound mono line. I like a good, heavy 6- or 6 1/2-foot Ugly Stik and a Zebco reel.

I fish toward the shore, so I cast as close to the shoreline as I can. Since I rig the worm with it being weedless, I will cast right up in the weeds and such. Instead of reeling, I like to lift the rod tip slowly until I feel the worm is free from the weeds or structure, then lower the rod tip, reel up the slack, slowly lift the rod tip and repeat time after time. When a bass picks up the worm, you will feel it bump the worm, or you will notice your line kind of swimming off in an odd direction. I like to lower my rod tip and let it swim until it tightens up the line, and then I set the hook. By lowering the rod tip, you are in a perfect position to set the hook.

If you spot a tree that has fallen into the water, I have no doubt there will be bass alongside it. They may be down pretty deep. Cast alongside the tree or where it should be. Walk the worm along the trunk and over the branches by lifting and kind of jigging the worm along. Go easy so you don't pull the hook tip through the worm and hang up.

Remember where you caught each of the bass you were fortunate enough to catch. Most likely, there will be a fish there the next time you fish this same lake. I can go back in my memory and point to exact spots where I caught bass or pike. If you can't remember, write it down. I remember where I caught fish back in the 1960s on Three Corners, one of my favorite lakes in Nebraska.

Lake Girardeau has a ton of bass in the under-12-inch size. The slot is 12 to 15 inches -- or it was the last time I was there. Check to make sure. Some of the best-tasting bass I've ever eaten was a 11- or 11 3/4-inch bass, filleted and fried in Andy's fish breading.

Most likely, if you have fished for bass, you already know this information. I hope this helps a little bit.

If there appears to be an open spot between the standing timber, I'd try a crankbait or a buzzbait, or even tie on a popper.

Happy fishing.

Until next time