Be Nice to Newbies: Bass Fishing Beginner
Because bass fishing is a wonderful hobby and we all benefit from greater interest in the activity, you should always take the opportunity to introduce beginners to the world of artificial lures, and to the greatest gamefish to ever swim.
But remember the confusion you felt when first trying to learn about lures, rods, techniques, lines and so on? Do your best to help set up your coworker, child or spouse for success by teaching them the basics of lure selection, giving them the best chance at feeling a tight line.
You have to keep things simple and select a lure that is both easy to use and effective.
You want to avoid crankbaits and other lures prone to snagging and tie something on for them that they can use without much hassle. You want to set up your fishing beginner with an all-around spinning outfit (or a spin-casting reel, if you have one available) rather than a specialized rod and reel, which rules out giant swimbaits and most finesse-based techniques. You also want them to be able to cast easily, so cumbersome Carolina rigs or drop-shot set ups are not ideal.
After ruling out those lures that won’t work well, you are left with three awesome choices.
Spinnerbaits
Spinnerbaits are perhaps the very best lures for fishing beginners. For starters, they are effective lures for all anglers. If the conditions are appropriate, simply casting and retrieving a spinnerbait will catch fish – there is no need for tricky presentations or techniques. Additionally, their shape and design prevents them from snagging very easily, which ensures that your pal can fish for more than 15 minutes at a time without a problem.
Most importantly, bass tend to hook themselves on spinnerbaits, alleviating the need to detect a strike and set the hook. Once hooked up, bass are rarely able to throw the large hook of a spinnerbait.
Jigs
Fishing beginners may struggle to detect strikes and set the hook when using a jig, but everything else about these baits makes them great for beginners. While you don’t want to hand a first-time bass angler a 7 foot, 6 inch flipping rod and tell them to have at a lily pad patch, beginners can achieve success fishing classic jigs or jig-trailer combos with a medium-heavy spinning rig.
Like spinnerbaits, jigs rarely snag themselves on obstacles at the bottom of the lake – that’s part of the reason why experienced anglers often opt for jigs when fishing the heaviest cover. This gives your beginning buddy something he or she can fish slowly along the bottom of the pond, and do so enjoyably.
Topwater Poppers
Topwater lures are fun to fish, and having a big bass blow up your topwater lure may be the single coolest thing in all of angling. While beginners are unlikely to be able to walk a Zara Spook or similar lure over the top of the water until they accumulate a bit more experience, you can absolutely teach them how to cast out a Hula Popper or similar lure and pop-pop-pop it back to the boat.
As long as you aim your compatriot away from overhanging vegetation and target submerged vegetation, they should be able to avoid snags and have a great time with the lure. The most difficult problem beginners often experience with topwater lures is being patient when setting the hook, but your friend’s inexperience setting the hook may actually work in their favor in these cases.