Questions About:

General Fishing

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• General Fishing Questions
• Weather - Seasonal
• Rods - Reels - Lines
• Bait - Lure - Hooks
• Lakes - Creeps -Ponds
• Crappie - Catfish - Bluegill
• Smallmouth/Largemouth Bass
• Boats - Motors - Depthfinders

Q. What is the key to successful fishing?

Bill: Boy, I get asked for this bass fishing tip a lot. First, I will tell you if we new it all…how to catch them every trip it would become boring. Too much of a good thing? Well, on second thought, maybe not for some of us? But really the frustration/figuring-them-out factor is what makes fishing fun.
But here are the six basic “right” things to remember for more successful fishing trips: Put the right lure with the right size and right color in the right place at the right depth and then make the right retrieve and you will catch more fish than most anglers on the water. Heck, there is no way that many rights can be wrong!

Q. I am missing fish quite often. Have any useful bass fishing techniques?

Bill: The first thing is to be sure your hooks are really sharp. Also, before you set the hook on any fish, the line, the rod tip and the fish must be semi-perfectly tight. Slack line prevents the action of the rod from being transmitted to the hook.
Any strike on an artificial plug is a direct take…that is, the bass intends to swallow it directly. You can be sure the fish is not about to hold the plug in its mouth, play with it and then swallow it. I know there are exceptions with plastic lures and jigs…bass tend to hold on to them longer.
But they won’t do this with hard lures. Fish quickly realize these baits aren’t real and spit them out. Yet it takes longer than you think.
When a bass opens its mouth to hit any bait or lure, he is also swallowing water. In fact, the bait really floats into his mouth and it will continue to float while the excess water is being expelled through the gills.
Usually, a fish won’t detect an artificial lure until it has ejected the water and clamps down on the bait.
The major mistake made by fishermen using artificial baits is to set the hook too quickly. Now, don’t misunderstand and believe that you have LOTS of time. You don’t. But you do have much more time than you would expect. So, if you think you are missing fish that you should be hooking, hesitate a little, because it does work.

Q. What do you do when a bass wraps you up in cover?

Bill: Apply the same amount of pressure to the fish that it is putting on you. Once a fish goes to cover, I take a battle stance of sorts — I hold tight with my rod in an upward position. If it pulls down 2 feet, I pull back 2 feet. Notice I said pull, not reel. If you continue to reel, you will eventually reel the fish up so tight against the cover that it won’t be able to swim. And remember, in order to have any chance of landing a fish in cover, the fish has to be able to swim itself free.
You should be able to free 75 percent of the bass you hook following this procedure. Of course you want to have a stout rod and line to back you up, too. Remember, pull don’t reel.

Q. Can you give me some tips on growing big fish in my own pond?

Bill: Sure, I can. Fertilizing your pond promote the growth of phytoplankton, the first link in the pond's food chain. Phytoplankton is eaten by zooplankton, the tiny animals or microscopic organisms in the water column that are eaten crustacean and small fish. Naturally, these in turn feed larger fish. So by providing nutrients to phytoplankton you are actually stimulating the entire pond community.
A good fertile pond can increase growth rate 3 to 4 times as opposed to a pond that is not fertile. It is important to remember that a body of water must maintain at least 20 parts per million or lime or alkalinity for proper phytoplankton growth.
Some ponds are naturally well buffered, others may need periodic liming. In early spring before you begin fertilizing it is best to check with your local NRCF office, or contact a professional pond management company for advice.
OK, another key suggestion is supplemental feeding.
Catfish, bluegill and baitfish and many other species all benefit directly from this. These fish utilize feed extremely efficiently.  In the proper environment fish can convert feed at a 2.1 ratio, producing a full pound of weight gain for each 2 pounds of feed.  Fish that are fed grow faster and have increased reproductive potential too.
Fish can be hand fed or by using a quality built automatic feeder, which dispense a selected amount of feed during specified time throughout the day, that are very effective and reduce time and labor.
Feeding with 32% flowing food usually begins in the spring when the surface temperature hits the 60-degree range and feeding should continue until the water temperature reaches the mid 80s. It is best to reduce the amount of feed when water temperature exceed 85 degrees, and do no feed at all when water temps exceed 90 degrees, or during hot, still, cloudy days when phytoplankton is not capable of producing oxygen.
All right, what about winter-feeding when the water temps are below 60-50 degree range, should you continue to feed? Good question. It is true; fish can get by on 1/10th the food intake during the good water periods. However, it is smart to feed year round, but during the winter switch to sinking food and feed small portions only a couple of times a week. By doing this you will have a healthier fish come spring for better reproduction.

Q. What is the importance of hesitating after a top water strike?

Bill: When a fish hits a top water bait it is critical to wait that extra second or two until you feel the fish. This is one of the hardest things to learn about this type of fishing—you have to give the bass enough time to get the plug into his mouth so you can get good hook penetration when you set the hook.
When a fish hits a top water lure, regardless of what kind it is, it is sucking in water, air and your lure all at the same time. And if the fish is in vegetation, the fish has that to cope with too. You have to hesitate—just a little.

Q. What is the “countdown method”?

Bill: The countdown method is an important step in fishing any lure that sinks. Naturally, there will be exceptions and variations, but basically a lure falls in water at the rate of one foot per second. The instant the lure hits the surface of the water, retrieve any slack line, keeping the rod tip out in front of you and start counting, “one thousand and one, one thousand and two, etc. until you reach 10. At that point your lure should be about 10 feet deep. If you let it go all the way to the bottom on the first cast, you can approximate the depth of the water.
To catch fish you must concern yourself with the depth at which the fish are to be found at a given time and the depth at which your lure is swimming. The idea is to work the lure just above the fish, or at the same level. Naturally, this method can vary depending upon the size of the line and weight of the lure, but on the average it is accurate.

Q. What is meant by migration routes?

Bill: A migration route is made up of underwater features that are visible that are visible to the fish and used to guide them from place to place—normally from deeper water or into the shallows and vice-versa.

Q. Can you tell me anything about the pre-spawn period? How long does it last?

Bill: The pre-spawn period can be shorter than a month in some areas. In others it could last two or more months, which has as much to do with night temperatures as anything.
Normally during the pre-spawn period you will have more dark hours than bright hours, meaning the nights are colder. Colder water is more dense than warm water.
So what the warm spring sun does to the water during the shorter day periods, the darkness chills back down.
Once the nights warm into the high 40- to 50-degree range, day temps will normally average 20-25 degrees warmer and that is what triggers bass to start moving shallower.
The timing and length of this period depends upon geographic location and other natural influences that affect bass behavior. Remember, fish movement and feeding patterns may not always be predictable, especially during this period.
But the more you go, the more you will learn about the pre-spawn stage and what triggers bass to respond to location patterns, temperature, certain lures and presentations.
Without question water temperature is the number one key to the pre-spawn period. Look for areas that are protected from strong cold winds and that receive lots of sunshine.

Q. How can I improve my fishing skills?

Bill: Here are several ways:
• Select balanced tackle for specific conditions and learn how to use it;
• Practice your casting on a regular basis in your back yard and with different weights;
• Learn to be patient—things don’t always develop as quickly as you would like;
• Lean to concentrate and forget about what you have got to do or didn’t do—only think about what you are doing now;
• Be observant—look, listen and feel—good anglers develop all these senses which naturally improve their skills;
• Fish with as many knowledgeable fishermen as you can and ask lots of questions;
• Keep a fishing log and record of your trips, note conditions, presentations, baits used, etc.
• Fish as often as you can;
• Learn to fish different types of water—lowland, midland, highland as well as moving water;
• And learn as much as you can about the specific species you are pursuing.

Q. How important is casting accuracy?

Bill: Every competent bass angler I have ever known was an extremely accurate caster. The can place the lure exactly where they want time after time. They also have thorough knowledge of their tackle, whether it is spinning, bait-casting or a fly rod.
You will discover the ability to drop a bait on the exact spot you want to fish to mean more fish on a consistent basis.
Remember it is a learned routine that takes practice and lots of it.

Q. What entices/causes fish to strike?

 
Bill: Hunger is one thing, of course. But there are reaction strikes and anger strikes, too. Contrary to the belief of some fishermen, a bass does not merely open its mouth and swim through baitfish in a random manner. In order to strike, a fish must isolate a specific victim and then pursue it.
At the same time, a fish is more prone to select a prey that appears disabled or that looks different from others. Remember this when considering your retrieve or presentation.

Q. What can you tell me about fishing stumps?

Bill: Of all the objects in the water, none seems to arouse the confidence of a bass fisherman more than an exciting-looking stump. For some reason, we all associate largemouth’s with stumps. On the other hand, some stumps can be more productive than others. As an example, a stump that sits on the edge of a drop-off will usually be better than a stump way back up in the shallows, if the depth is correct. When I say usually better; I mean on a consistent basis rather than a single experience.
Remember that the shady side of an stump, or any object for that matter, is normally better than the brighter side. At one time, bass fishermen always tried to drop a lure right on an object they were fishing. If the object was a stump, they would try to hit the stump on the cast and let the lure fall alongside. By doing this, they passed up a lot of productive water behind and alongside the object, and the sound of a lure falling over the head of a bass could spook the fish into deep water.
I prefer to make my first cast on the side and beyond the stump or object. Sometimes a bass won’t be right on it, but near it. By casting in this manner, I can cover the back, side and front with a single cast. Once the lure passes the stump and is well on its way toward the boat, you might as well crank it in and cast again. Big bass will seldom follow a lure any distance. If they want your offering, they will hit it as it comes by.
You can fish a variety of lures around stumps. Top waters, spinner baits, worms, jig-and-eels, swimming lures and diving lures can all be good choices. You are going to have to experiment to find out which ones are best for you. Keep in mind that you may have to vary the retrieve to catch fish. I have seen times when I can cast a spinner bait past a stump and buzz it by quickly; a bass would nail it before it even reached the stump. The next day in the same area the bass wouldn’t hit a spinner bait unless I buzzed it up to the stump, stopped the lure dead and let it fall. They would have it in their mouth before it dropped a foot.
The second cast around a stump should still be beyond it, but the lures should brush the object as it passes. There is no guarantee that a bass will hit your lure on the first or second cast, even if the fish is there. You may have to cast six or eight times before you get a strike, and change lures in the process. That is bass fishing and there is no shortcut to success.

Q. Can you talk a little about stickups?

Bill: Stickups don’t provide very much cover for a large mouth bass, but they are significant structure in the spring when the bass move into the shallows to spawn. At that time, the fish are willing to sacrifice habit and ignore cover. One reason is that bass require sunlight for spawning, at least to keep the water warm so the eggs will hatch in the normal time frame. Rather than just stay out in the open, the bass will shoulder up to a stickup. Stickups on hard bottoms such as sand or gravel are usually more productive.
A plastic worm or spinner bait is relatively hang-proof and is an excellent choice for this type of fishing. The best way to cover a stickup is by casting to the left side, right side and down the middle. If a bass is nearby, the lure will be seen.
Since stickups are in relatively shallow water, a quiet approach is necessary; any noise from a motor or noise that is transmitted through the hull will chase the fish into deeper water. However, since the fish are either spawning or guarding the nest when they are among the stickups, they are very aggressive and will come back quickly.

Q. What are your thoughts on scents and the use of attractants while bass fishing?

Bill: The more a bait looks, tastes and smells natural, the greater the catch rate. I am sure you have seen a fish follow a lure and then turn away just when you thought he was going to blast it. More times than not, the fish smelled or tasted something unusual. Many lures have an unnatural synthetic scent. They taste and smell like plastic, not a natural forage. Adding an attractant may result in a fish being more enticed to strike and hold it in its mouth longer, allowing for more time to set the hook.
Many fishermen overlook the importance of taste and smell. The scientific evidence today strongly suggests that fish attractants can have a positive impact on your catch rate. If you use it properly, fish attractants can entice an encourage fish behavior in many species of game fish.
I’ll be the first to tell you, they are not a magic potion or a cure-all. They cannot compensate for improper lure selection, presentations or produce fish where there are none. But attractants can and will increase your chances of success.
The smell and taste nerves go to different parts of the brain, which means that smell is more long-range or distant sense, while taste is a contact sense. Example: A fish may be drawn from several yards away by a particular smell of a food item, however, it doesn’t taste it until it’s in his mouth and by then, it’s normally too late.
In closing, let me say once more that there’s proven evidence to show that the sense of smell is incredibly involved in a fish’s life and this is why you’ll improve your catches by adding a fish attractant to your lure, especially when fish are inactive.

Q. Just how keen is a large mouth bass’s sense of smell?

Bill: Scientific research shows that some fish can be drawn to a chemical source from hundreds of yards away. In addition, studies indicate that fish can even recognize aquatic plants and even other fish in their same school by their individual smell. Likewise, it has been documented that a fish’s ability to smell is so incredible that it can smell 1,000 times better than a dog. And a dog’s sense of smell is about 1,000 times better than a human’s. That alone tells me how important the sense of smell is in a fish’s life.
Scientists have found that the olfactory system in some species of fish (including bass) doubles or triples in size as the fish grows old. This finding leaves researchers to speculate that older and larger bass have a better-developed sense of smell.
Perhaps this is one of the key reasons why big fish are harder to catch?

Q. Why, when noting current, do people often make it a special point to say that fish face into the current?

Bill: Well, because you always want to put a bait in the fish’s face.
Seriously, here’s something else you might find interesting about fish vision and color perception as well as a great bass fishing tip. Since fish’s eyes are on the sides of their head, fish also have a wide range of sight. But the right and left eyes each see a separate half of the field so they suffer a little from split vision. Nevertheless, it is an advantage to have each eye able to scan an arc of 180 degrees or more on each side of the body.
To the fish’s rear, there is a blind spot where neither eye can see and this is why you’ll always catch more fish by bringing your offering to the fish rather than by bringing it up behind him. This will startle fish and can spook them away. Dead ahead, a fish can see your bait at some distance and react to it quicker. Also straight ahead, the arcs of the two eyes overlap to provide a narrow band where the fish has binocular vision.
It’s in this band of binocular vision that a fish can be expected to have accurate depth perception. In chasing down a fishing lure or living prey where depth perception is important, fish will attack straight ahead, and this straight-on position gives a fish the maximum ability to estimate target distance. Without depth perception, a fish has a tough time determining the range of its target and hitting his mark. If the lure or prey is barely visible, his chances of catching it are slim—virtu­ally nil, regardless of what direction it’s moving.

Q. What is the most common mistake among top water anglers?

Bill: That’s easy. This bass fishing technique is called patience. Top water fishing can be exciting and when people see that bass explode on surface-crawling bait, their first reaction is to snatch back on the lure to get a hook-set…and what anglers typically catch upon doing this is nothing.
You have to be patient. If not, you will literally take the bait away from the bass.
Want to really experience the I-can’t-waits and take a lot of top water baits away from bass, try top water at night. It can happen a lot. You hear the splash and jerk the bait away long before the hooks get a chance to work.
And actually, such lack of patience can happen day or night. So when fishing top water baits, give the bass time to get hooked.

Q. I always here that fall is a great time for top water fishing. Can you give me some tips?

Bill: Sure. Top water action is fishing excitement at its best. And fall is definitely a good time to get a double dose.
When we discuss tree top water lures, I classify them into five different categories, and believe it or not every one contains models in several sizes and colors. In fact, the entire family of lures, is one of the largest in fishing: buzz baits, stick baits, prop-baits, chuggers and minnow plugs—all top water lures. I talk about all these in my bill dance fishing course. All have their place. And it pays to know when, and under which condition, to fish each style.
All top water baits produce best when the water temps is above 60 degrees and the water clarity ranges from slightly dingy to very clear.
Here’s a bait-by-bait breakdown:
Buzz baits —The only top water bait that has to constantly move to stay at the surface. Its produces best, from mid-spring to mid-fall, and can be fished in, through, around and over many forms of cover, due to the fact its semi-wheedles. It’s the type lure that can produce, when all others fail, simply because it can be fished where other lures can't be fished, plus bass will clobber it—not out of hunger—but because of the irritating commotion it creates.
Prop-Baits—With propellers on each end, such baits create a lot of disturbance like the buzz bait, but with this you can fish tiny spots thoroughly and slowing with a twitching retrieve, even stopping it and starting it up again. You can also cover a big area quickly by reeling rapidly. They create more fuss than most of the top waters . . . so they’ll do a fine job, with a slight chop on the surface or when you're trying to entice a fish to come up from deeper depth.
Also on a prop-bait it's best to remove the o-ring and tie direct to the lure. Using a snap, loop-knot or o-ring the nose could run below the surface, preventing the propellers from throwing water.
Chuggers—When I want a lure to create a lot of racket, I choose ol’ big-mouth…the chugger. It creates a lot of noise, and it’s the type plug that can cover a lot of water or just stay in one spot. It’s excellent choice, if you’re forced to fish dingy or heavily stained water.
Minnow Plugs/Stick Baits—The stick bait/jerk bait is my all-time favorite top water lure. The reason? It’s long and thin which is extremely attractive, and because of its shape, is easy for a fish, like the bass to shallow.
It displays an erratic movement . . . appearing to be injured, which creates a natural predator response…and finally it’s silent…which means…it gives no clue to being an imitation.
It is good for those times when you’re fishing extremely clear, calm water on bright days and you need to make long casts.
However, under low-light conditions, or when there a little chop on the water… it’s not necessary to make long cast. You can be much more accurate with a shorter cast and that’s important because often this type lure is only productive over a small areas. You’ll be able to hit the target better at close range.
The success of bait like this…like any other…is in the presentation…in the way, you work the lure. When working it on the surface, it should be fished with a little bit of slack in your line. This slack is only 10-12 inches, which won't interfere with your hook-set. By snapping the rod-tip back and forth or side to side you'll get much better action when you have this slack line.
Remember to snap the line—not the lure itself—and the lure moves more freely.
That’s all for this week, but I’ll continue with more top water tips next week.
Until then, catch one for me!

Q. Just how important is depth to successful fishing?

Bill: Well, it’s very important, but don’t worry I’m not going to hang you out to dry with such a short answer to your question. In my bill dance fishing course you can see just how important it is demonstrated. However.
Someone once said that 10 percent of the fishermen catch 90 percent of the fish, meaning, 90 percent of the fishermen catch only 10 percent of the fish.  Well, first of all, I’m not so sure that’s totally accurate, but I am sure of this.  There are a great number of fishermen who catch more of fish consistently than others, and there’s a reason for this.  Perhaps the number one reason for this is because they strive to determine the proper depth to fish! 
Every consistent fisherman I know strives to systematically eliminate unproductive water. They concentrate their efforts on flats, ledges, points, ridges, bars, roadbeds, ditches, channels and so forth—where bass are stationed and feeding, known as the zone.
And let me tell you, locating bass, is much more difficult than catching ’em!  It’s a known fact most fisherman can catch ’em, once they find ’em, but many times finding fish can be the difficult part.
You’d be surprised how many fishermen, fish all day and never get their lure where they ought to. Let me share with you something that has really helped me with my fishing.
When I first get on the lake, I turn on my graph, start my outboard and begin idling out, over the open water, looking very closely at my graph, for suspended fish, and at what depth I see the majority of them.  If that depth, for instance is 12– to 18 feet, that’s the depth I fish.
If by chance I fail to see fish in deeper depths, this tells me the fish are shallow and that’s where I should be fishing.
Finding suspended fish gives me the depth I should fish.
The suspended fish I see on my graph could be any kind of fish.  Bass, crappie, rough fish whatever, but it’s a very dependable gauge for me — and a place to start my search.
No, I’m not fishing for the suspended fish, they’re typically tough to catch. But those at THAT depth that ARE using shoreline or structure are the ones most apt to bite.
Let me tell ya, the majority of fish in an area of the lake are using a certain depth level for a reason.  It could be temperature, oxygen, forage, water clarity or other factors. It doesn’t matter why the fish are there.  The important thing is only that they are there. When I find suspended fish that I think are bass (in some cases I know it’s bass, because that’s the only large fish in the lake), I look at the depth they’re using, and try to locate the closet structural feature to these fish, and then fish the same depth on that structural feature.
For example, if I’ve located suspended fish in 15 feet of water, and there’s a long point extending out and down into the lake—that’s where I’ll begin fishing.
Yes, you always have to develop a game plan—and concentrating on the depths that you know fish are favoring on a given day is the first step in a winning strategy.
See ya next time and catch one for me.

Q. What’s the single most important factor in fishing?

Bill: Also covered in my bill dance DVD, the single most important factor in fishing is finding the right depth. If you’re not fishing the right depth, you’re wasting lots of time. The best fishermen can fish the best lure ever made and if he’s fishing the wrong depth, he won’t catch a fish. At the right depth, almost anyone can catch a few fish.

Q. Bill, how to you handle fishing failures those days when you just can’t catch ‘em.

Bill: Failure? I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.
OK, I’m just kidding! Fish-less days can be a part of what makes you a better angler. It’s a learning experience…and not all lessons are fun.
If you fail on a given day, review the bass fishing techniques you’ve used and the places you’ve fished. Go through the mental exercises and profit from your experiences. Tell yourself that the next time will be different. Above all, never lose sight of the fact that one of the reasons you love bass fishing so much is because your quarry is so predictable. There will be times when you can’t get the lure in the water fast enough, and other times, when you can’t buy a strike regardless of what you do. If bass fishing were routine, you’d get tired of it real soon.
At the end of the day...whether you’re successful or not...it’s a good idea to check with other fishermen or possibly a marina operator and find out how others did that day. This comparison can add immeasurably to your knowledge . . .perhaps you’ll learn that no one else caught any fish or that someone caught lots of bass on a particular lure or at a specific depth. File the information away in your computer or keep a log and make a note of it. You’ll find it could provide the answer on another day when conditions seem similar. Confidence also extends to the lure you’re using. To fish a lure efficiently and effectively, you must first believe in your own mind that the lure you’re fishing is the right one. Obviously, if you don’t have faith in your lure, your casts are going to be less than accurate and your retrieves mechanical. Chances are that you’ll change lures quickly and continue to change.
You gain confidence through experience and understanding. It starts with a comprehension of the habits and habitat of your quarry, which, in turn, dictate how and where you should fish and the tackle you should use. In all the articles and TV shows I’ve done over the years, I’ve tried to tailor their content to help you learn more about bass fishing and to instill in you the confidence that is so crucial. In many instances, you’ll discover that your own approach will be the preferred one, but I certainly hope some of my suggestions will encourage you to explore bass hideaways and techniques that you haven’t tried before.

Q. How long should you fish a spot?

Bill: Normally, you should fish a spot until you have worked it thoroughly at all depths with an assortment of good lures in several colors, using variations in your retrieve. That might mean a few casts or it could dictate a couple of hours. Remember that even the correct lure fished at an incorrect depth or with the wrong retrieve might mean that you are not going to catch fish. For more tips check out my site Bill Dance Outdoors.

Q. Just how big is the sport of bass fishing?

Bill: In the year 2000, anglers spent billions on tackle, boats, motors and fishing related equipment — over $41 billion. More than likely that figure has only grown in the last few years.
You might also be interested to learn that reports show that freshwater accounts for about 80 percent of all anglers and saltwater anglers account for about 40 percent. If quick math tells you that the percentage of saltwater and fresh water fishermen adds up to more than 100 percent, it’s because some anglers fish both and were counted more than once.
Although native to American waters, the largemouth bass have been exported to many countries like Italy, Japan and South Africa. Other areas of the world with good populations are South America, Cuba, Central America, Mexico and southern Canada.

Q. Bill, of all the largemouth bass fishing questions you are asked, what’s the single question you are asked the most?

Bill: Well, avid anglers are always asking this question, “When the fishing gets tough, what will catch largemouth bass?” I certainly can’t speak for everyone, but for me, slow presentation lures work best—plastic worms, lizards, tube jigs and jig and pork. When fish are inactive, it is a time when you need to tease them into biting with a slow-moving lure. And sometimes you have to cast it to them several times.

Q. When do you think is the best time to go large mouth bass fishing?

Bill: If I’ve said this once, I’ve said it a thousand times, “The best time to go fishing is any time you can go.” But if you can pick your trip to coincide with the fish’s most active times, it’ll surely pay for you to get the best weather forecast or current conditions.
Tell you what, let’s spend a minute and let me tell you what I’ve experienced with different ranges of pressure, the good and the bad. Where I live, in West Tennessee, our normal pressure is 30 inches of mercury. Naturally, any readings below 30 is low and above 30 is high, relatively speaking. An opti­mum range would be 29:98 to 30:02. Without question, some of my best catches and biggest fish have occurred from mid-spring to early fall after several days of normal pressure when an approach­ing front caused the pressure to fall extremely fast, more than 10 to 15 points in a few hours time. Normally during this time, you will see bad weather moving your way and fish go on a feeding frenzy. Normally these feeding sprees are short-lived and to take advantage of them, you run an un­safe risk of possible high winds and lightning.
Perhaps my next best time would be a couple of days after the front has passed. As the high pres­sure system begins to move farther east and the wind shifts back to the south or west and the pressure begins to rise slowly back to normal. Another good pressure would be one that has been steady for several days.

Q. How important is it to find a “pattern” when fishing?

Bill: The typical fisherman is so busy fishing that he often overlooks the signs of a pattern. He may be on the best pattern the lake has to offer, yet fail to recognize it as such. Top bass anglers will amaze you with their ability to tell you exactly what they did when they hooked a fish. They have an idea of the type of terrain, speed of retrieve, depth position of lure and a host of other factors. Hone your largemouth bass fishing techniques at making such observations and you will catch more fish.

Q. You have to help me. It seems like every time I get that trophy largemouth bass on the line, it tends to come up and spit my rig out like Pa-Paw getting rid of his Red Man off of the front porch. What have I got to do?

Bill: Hey, be thankful your Pa-Paw has enough good judgment not to spit on the porch. Good judgment is also needed when fighting a good fish. General rules of thumb are: 1) do all the common sense things required before you even get bit — sharpen hooks, have quality line, re-tie old knots, set your drag correctly, etc.; and 2) keep pressure on the fish.
  There is some debate as whether to keep the rod tip up or down. (Some people even put their rod tip in the water to keep a fish from jumping.) I keep my rod tip up, I feel like I can do more with it up than down. If the fish goes to the right, I can pull to the left and vice-versa. You lose that kind of control with the rod tip down, especially if it is in the water.
  Also, I enjoy seeing the fight. It is part of the fun of giving the fish a sporting chance.
  There could be several reasons why you are losing fish. It could be that your rod action has too much “give”. You could be making too long of a cast. As good a quality monofilament line is, the farther you cast it the greater the stretch factor, and you can lose hook-setting power. So there are several factors to consider. Put the pieces of this puzzle together and you will land more fish.

Q. Is having that twitch-twitch-stop, dying-shad retrieve really all that important?

Bill: Yes it is. Contrary to the belief of some fishermen, a bass does not merely open its mouth and swim through a school of baitfish in a random manner. In order to strike, a fish must isolate a specific victim and then pursue it. At the same time, a fish is more prone to select a prey that appears disabled or that looks different from the others. This all translates to something anglers need to consider when retrieving their lures. More tips like this one can be found on the bill dance fishing video!

Q. I am doing a paper for school. Yes I am one of those adults who decided to go back to school. Could I please get your opinion on the people who are trying to stop fishing. I as well as my friend’s fish and will continue to do so. I have a report from “PETA” which (I think) really stands for “People Eating Tasty animals.” But I am in need of the other side of the story.

Bill: I think these folks know a lot more about spin-doctoring than they do about spinning reels. They are not the mainstream by any means. Actually their numbers are quite small, but man do they know how to get attention from the media! In that way they are smart.
  They also have their right to their opinion, though it isn’t shared by many.
  But then too, they are so misguided. They know very little about the natural order of things. Still, they have a plan (doesn’t everybody?) … for all living things to live in perfect harmony. Unfortunately, for them, this is not nature’s plan, never has been, never will be.
  Heck, we humans can’t even live in harmony and we are supposed to be of superior intellect.
   And we certainly all know how “loving” fish can be to each other. Hey, it’s a fish-eat-fish world out there, from the time a fry is spawned onward.
  For creatures to live, others must die. It’s the natural order of things, something the PETA folks want to remove themselves from. But this can’t be done. I mean even if they are vegetarians, they have to realize the turnip truck is going to run over a few rabbits and a ’possum to and fro the field and market, eh?
  And how the heck to they sit around and eat their veggies, knowing all the while the potatoes had to be de-eyed and the heads of lettuce had to be lopped off?
  Maybe PETA is now harping on the anglers because there are more of us than hunters, who have been under PETA attack for years (and folks are still hunting, by the way). Unlike hunters, anglers have the advantage of the catch-and-release argument. But PETA could care less about that. They say they want to stop all fishing because it causes fish pain. Fishing is cruel they believe.
  People have always said chop down a big tree if you want to make a lot of noise. Maybe this is why PETA is now pecking at anglers. They want to stir up a greater number, and possibly get more attention for their misguided cause.
  I would say, as we are fond of saying around here, they just don’t know fat meat is greasy, but then that is obvious. 
  But really? Stop fishing? It’s good for everybody to have goals. But I think this time the PETA folks have bitten off way more than they can chew … be it meat or vegetable.
  Studies show one out of every 10 people fish. That’s a lot of people and a lot of enjoyment. And PETA thinks people are just going to quit fishing because that is what’s on its agenda?
  I seriously doubt it.
  Yes, I have read some of the propaganda put out by PETA. And I did what I thought was best after I was finished. I sent the paper down to the recycling center.
  And boy do I hope they recycle that paper into cardboard cartons used to house, worms, crickets or some other kind of fishing bait.

Q. Have you ever wondered why some species of fish prefer certain foods? Why some are picky eaters while others wolf down everything they can get their mouths on?

Bill: Well, re­search has shown there are two parts to this answer.
Instinctive taste preference is one. A crappie doesn’t care much for crawfish; sure, he might try a few if he was starving to death, but he has other preferences such as small bait­fish. Some species instinctively like and dislike certain flavors and odors. Ichthyologists don’t understand why; that’s just how they are. It’s kind of like the way people don’t like certain foods.
The other part of that question’s answer is conditioning. A bass loves crawfish, which have their own distinctive odor and taste. Over time, bass have learned that these little creatures are good to eat. Could it be that it’s the bass’s favorite food? Maybe not, but be­cause of acceptable taste, availability and positive feeding experiences, he continues to de­vour them. People, animals and fish tend to repeat things that turn out well.
Just as certain smells and flavors attract a positive response from the fish, certain odors repel fish, and are very distasteful to fish, such as insect repellent, human scent, tobacco products and sunscreens. Another interesting note: because of fish’s acute sense of smell and taste, many components on a fishing lure can be a repellent. Hooks, metals, plastic, wood and paint all give off odors that fish can smell. It’s smart to mask all odors whenever possible.
The more a bait looks, tastes and smells natural, the greater the catch rate. I’m sure you’ve seen a fish follow a lure and then turn away just when you thought he was going to blast it. More times than not, the fish smelled or tasted something unusual. Many lures have an unnatural synthetic scent. They taste and smell like plastic, not a natural forage. Like I said, by adding an attractant, the fish will be more readily enticed to strike and hold it in its mouth longer, allowing for more time to set the hook.
Many fishermen overlook the importance of taste and smell making this a good largemouth bass fishing tip to keep in mind. The scientific evidence to­day strongly suggests that fish attractants can have a positive impact on your catch rate. If you use it properly, fish attractants can entice and encourage fish behavior in many species of game fish.
I’ll be the first to tell you, they’re not a magic potion or cure-all. They cannot compen­sate for improper lure selection and presentation or produce fish where there are none, but they can and will add to your chances for success in a mighty big way.

Q: I’ve been a long-time, Bill Dance fan.  I can’t think of anyone that could better give me an answer to my question. We have a nice 1-acre farm pond that we stocked ourselves 10 years ago with bass, crappie, bream and catfish.
We found one of our friends this morning, a 29-inch big fat bass, floating in the pond.  He did not appear to have any injury.  And, he had not been caught and released.  I am told that if he had died of old age, he would not have floated to the top, but would have gone to the bottom of the pond.
I just wondered if this is true? How long do bass normally survive in farm ponds in a healthy environment? He was approximately 12 years old.
Could he have suffocated himself by eating something as large as a baby duck, or a bream, as we have seen him do on many occasions?
He was quite an old “relic” and showpiece in our pond.  He will be missed.

Bill: Sorry to hear about your loss, my guess is there wasn’t a dry eye in the pond. You refer to this fish as he, but more than likely, judging by the size, it was a female. And you have to really think the other fish in your pond are glad she is gone. I bet she was a force to be reckoned with.
Biologist Terry Goldsby, who writes a column for Bill Dance’s Fishing magazine and operates the pond/lake management business, had the following to say about your bass:
“Bass that die naturally from old age or other natural causes will float like any other dead fish — whether or not a dead fish floats depends more on time of year and the decomposition rate than anything else,” Goldsby said.
“During summer when the ambient water temperature is elevated, decomposition is accelerated and floating will often occur before turtles and other fish have time to eat the carcass. The general consensus here in our office is that if a bass lives 10 years, it is very old and unusual.
Certainly, a 12-year-old fish has lived far longer than average. And a 29-inch long bass is absolutely HUGE !  We haven’t had time to consult the record books, but none of us believe we’ve ever heard of a fish that length — I do think in all probability the bass died of old age,” he said.
Terry also said that although fish do occasionally “choke” on large food items, it would be very unusual. And besides, it sounds like this monster bass could have swallowed a University of Tennessee football without blinking.
Here’s something else about the management of small ponds. There is a balance that must be achieved. Harvest (keeping some fish) must take place to maintain this healthy balance, especially with the prey fish like bream and crappie.
It would seem very difficult to maintain this balance, even more so with the prolific crappie. Then too, your now deceased and finned friend may have been working overtime to keep things in check. Let’s hope she left behind some other large members of her predator family.
Regardless, I wish to express my deepest sympathies for your loss. And consider this, she obviously lived a wonderful and (very) full (of prey fish) life.

Q. How well can a fish see?

Bill: Those in the know say that fish can see over 40 feet in relatively clear water where a scuba diver can see only 10-12 feet. In stained water, where we can see 3-4 feet, tests show that fish can see 14-16 feet. Now, in a muddy environment where we can only see six inches or so, fish can still see 3-5 feet. Now I’ll be the first to admit there’s a lot about the anatomy of fish I don’t fully understand, but what I have learned is that a fish uses sight almost 100 percent in their selection of food. It’s true for sure, they are greatly influenced by sound, smell, texture and taste, but sight is by far their dominant sense. They’ve got to see it to eat it and this is demonstrated time and again in my bass fishing DVDs!

Q: How important is oxygen quality in fishing habitat?

Bill: Without oxygen, fish don’t survive. It is that simple. To breathe, fish glean dissolved oxygen from the water through their gills. Compared to air, there’s so little dissolved oxygen in the water that it is expressed in parts per million. A change of only one part per million can spell the difference between survival and death; it’s that critical.
Oxygen is more important to fish than temperature and the natural comfort zone of 68-72 degrees. Wind adds oxygen to the water, and on very hot days during the summer, when water temperatures are above the 80-degree mark, you will often find bass in shallow water on the windy side, trying to glean the extra oxygen. For more tips and tricks check out bill dances pro bass fishing guide (bass fishing DVD).

Q. Can you ever learn it all when it comes largemouth bass to fishing?

Bill: Never be 100 percent satisfied with your fishing wisdom because if you reach that point, you’ll stop trying, you’ll stop experimenting and most importantly, you’ll stop learning. Regardless of your fishing knowledge, make it a practice in trying to learn one new thing on every outing.

Q. If, as some biologists have noted, a fish can taste from a distance, then what good is the sense of smell?

Bill: Smell is longer-range and detects a wider variety of substances. Fish typically use taste as a nearby or contact sense. They also use taste more selectively than smell. For example, a bass may be drawn from several yards away by the smell of forage, but he will not rely on taste until he mouths it. Naturally if it doesn’t taste good, more times than not he’s going to reject it.
Different species of fish have different food preferences. What a largemouth might enjoy eating might cause a walleye to look for a bottle of Maalox. The closer the biological rela­tionship between two species, the more common their food preference is. Still, what a sunfish enjoys might not be enjoyable to his big cousin, the bass. In many cases, taste and smell seem to be species-specific. For more tips and tricks check out my bill dance fishing video!

Q. Can you tell me something about fishing for muddy-water bass.

Bill: Sure can. I’ll tell you a little about clear-water bass, too.
Clear-water bass are spookier and can become very hard to catch. They’ll school up and move around more, compared to fish living in muddy or stained water.
In muddy water, fish can’t see as well and depend heavily on smell and sound. They also are exposed to lower water quality (oxygen content is lower), and there is a lack of light penetration. The latter hampers aquatic growth and restricts it to primarily to the shallows. Ever wonder why in muddy lakes, the biggest fish are primarily caught in shallow water…?
Muddy-water fish also feed more throughout the day…and are not necessarily on the early and late pattern. They are very object-oriented and will not chase a lure very far, so slow-moving and rattling baits are best.
Hope this helps. Check out my bill dance videos for more tips!

Q. Can you tell me something about using marker buoys when fishing?

Bill: Someone once said that a picture is worth a thousand words, but when you are trying to imagine what underwater structure looks like, a picture may be worth 10,000 words. The only way to the picture is to drop marker buoys in a pattern designed to trace out the structure. It’s going to take a little time to do it right and it may require a dozen marker buoys or more, but it also could lead to the largest stringer of bass you have ever taken.
I believe it is worth the extra effort to catch fish. When you have planned and plotted your search for bass and are successful, it is the greatest feeling in the world. There is nothing comparable with finding something you cannot see.
A good largemouth bass fishing tip is to carry a good supply of buoys aboard your boat. I prefer to carry mine in two distinct colors so that I can mark either side of a channel or deep and shallow water. You can fashion your own buoys in a variety of ways. A piece of Styrofoam with some line wrapped around it and a weight works just fine. Buoys are also available commercially and can be purchased individually or in kits of a half dozen or more.
Dropping buoys is pretty much a matter of common sense. Your goal is to outline the structure so that you can find the exact location of a drop-off or follow a curve or bend in a creek channel. In buoying a drop-off you must work the boat back and forth, using your depth finder to select each point where water depth begins to drop. Not that we would start in one corner and follow an in-and-out path, tracing the entire point. If you find that one area has a particularly sharp drop-off or some irregular feature, you can use a different-colored buoy to mark it.
Once you have finished dropping the buoys, the underwater picture begins to come into focus. The best approach is to take out your notebook and sketch the outline of the structure, using reference points where possible to orient it.
After you have recorded your find, you are ready to fish it, and you will discover that the buoy system will guide each cast and help you to cover the area thoroughly. When you have fished the spot completely, ease through it again and retrieve your buoys.
When you are marking a creek channel, use two separate colors to denote each side of the creek, and follow the bends in the creek carefully. If you drop buoys at closer intervals, you will trace a better outline. As you become more experienced, you won’t need as many buoys to tell you how the creek meanders.
An underwater ridge can be fished by sitting over deeper water and casting into it or by sitting over the ridge and working your lure from deep to shallow. A third option is to sit off one of the points and cast parallel to it. No matter how you plan to fish it, your buoys should mark both ends of the ridge and both sides.
A hump should be buoyed on all sides, and the number of buoys again depends on the area involved. Don’t skimp when you drop buoys. It is better to have an extra one or two than to be confused on the structure shape. The side of the hump closest to the deeper water will be the best bet, and you might want to mark these buoys with a different color.
Don’t fall into the trap of laziness. It is easy to convince yourself that you don’t have to mark out a new spot before fishing it, but you must also accept the risk of not fishing it properly.

Q. Can you give me some information and tips about bass fishing around cattails?

Bill: This is a great bass fishing technique. Cattails are just like any other bass structure in that you have to understand this standing vegetation and work them carefully, thoroughly and correctly to catch bass on a consistent basis.
The cattail is a wild plant that grows in swamps and marshes throughout the United States and southern Canada. In some places, cattails cover acres of marshland with their waving, green leaves. The larger cattails grow to a height of 5-6 feet and have long, broad leaves. The smaller plants have narrow leaves. Cattail flowers become the long, brown spikes that are sometimes used as decorations. On the Pacific Coast, cattails are known as “tulle-reeds.”
In most of the places that I fish, cattails grow in the 1-3 feet of water and floating logs. They can be found on high spots in lakes and near other forms of shallow structure and provide excellent cover for shallow-water bass.
As good as these forms of aquatic growth are, it is important to understand that most plants use nutrients and sunlight to produce plant material and oxygen during the day. But at night, the process reverses and the plant life creates a tremendous demand on the very oxygen it produced during the day. This alone can have a major effect on how bass relate to the plants during a 24-hour period.
Over the years, I have found four noticeable times when bass move away from cattail areas: when the plants turn brown or tan and begin to decay; at night, especially after a cloudy day; during a heavy bloom, which raises pH or alkaline base; and after several cloudy, calm days.
These are the times when you will usually find bass out in front of the cattails. Normally, they will not move a great distance. And when conditions return to normal, the fish will journey back to the key features.
In this situation flipping and pitching are excellent ways to catch bass that are in a non-feeding mood. You will be able to cover a wider range. Secondly, you will be able to keep your offering in one spot for a longer period of time. And finally, if the bass are inactive, you will be in a better position to tease them into biting.
When you approach an area thick with cattails, here are a few key areas to target: dips, depressions, points, pockets and creek mouths, canal openings and deeper banks.
Approach with this in mind.
• Cattail depressions usually have deeper depressions leading to the mouth of the opening. Both sides can be productive.
• Cattail points usually closer to deeper water are usually best.
• Deeper cattail banks are very productive areas, especially around the small openings and pockets which extend out.
• Undercut cattail banks are great, but usually difficult to locate.
• Any opening in a group of cattails can produce big fish.
• Cattail lined canals can be outstanding, along both holes and at the deeper holes located at canal ends.

Q. How can an angler improve his bass fishing techniques?

Bill: Everybody is still learning. Each trip should be a learning experience, as a matter of fact. But a good foundation for a becoming a better angler should also include:
• selecting balanced tackle for specific conditions and learning how to use it;
• practicing casting on a regular basis in your back yard or on the water with different weights;
• learn to be patient; things don’t often develop as fast as you would like them to;
• learn to concentrate on what you have got to do, not what you didn’t do or did wrong;
• be observant, look, listen and feel;
• fish with knowledgeable fishermen and ask lots of questions;
• keep a fishing log of you trips, noting everything you can think of;
• fish as often as you can (hey, we anglers in training have to make sacrifices, right?);
• learn to fish different types of water;
• and learn as much as you can about the specific species you are targeting—its habitat, behavior and seasonal patterns.

Q. What kind of dock will hold more fish, an aluminum dock or a wooden dock? Both are T shaped.

Bill: T-shaped? That certainly gets my attention. As you can tell from my ever-present T cap, I have always had affection for T, as in Tennessee. But one good thing about a T-shaped dock is that it can provide more shade with different angles of the sun than a straight line. Bass like to hide in the shade and in the warmer months it can provide comfort with slightly-cooler water.
Wood over aluminum?
Biologists tell me that wood is apt to attract fish sooner than metal, primarily because it covers over with microorganisms sooner. Therefore, the fish-attracting food chain begins sooner — the plankton grows, the baitfish come to feed on it and the game fish arrive to feed on the bait.
Of course, fish are attracted to docks anyway and eventually some will use whatever kind you build. The location of the dock also has a lot to do with its fishing-attractability. Is it on a point or near a drop-off or deeper water? If so, all the better.
For longevity of use, an aluminum dock is a better decision. You aren’t as likely to have to go back and make repairs or re-build. Though they can last a relatively long time and attract fish sooner, the wooden dock will begin to deteriorate as soon as it is exposed to the elements.
Whichever you choose, you can always sweeten the pot ... er ... I mean dock. Place brush and other fish-attracting structure around the pilings. You can easily replenish that as needed over the years.
If the dock is to also be used by swimmers, take care to put fish-attractors out of their way.

Q. I have been fishing tournaments now for about seven years.  I have won a few of them but not what I have hoped for. There seems to be something holding my fishing abilities back. I tend to loose concentration when I practice for a tournament. Sometimes I get mad at myself if I have fished for a few hours and cannot find any fish. This seems to happen often.  I start questioning my abilities.  Do you have any advice to give me?

Bill: Brandon, have you ever heard the saying that, “you are your own worst enemy?” Sometimes it can be true for all of us. I have heard many coaches tell their teams, “Everybody is going to make physical errors … it is going to happen. But it is the mental errors you need to work on.” In other words get your head on straight and the rest should follow.
  Your question leads me to believe you tend to ride around in the boat with a finger on the famed Panic Button. First, just try slowing down. You will likely be surprised what that does for your concentration … and your awareness.
  Upon doing this (getting out of panic mode) you may also soon begin noticing details you didn’t see before, details that help you put together a winning pattern more often.

Best Wishes for a Big Bass Year,



P.S. How can you lose money? You've got nothing to lose. Your completely protected by my 365-day guarantee. That’s right you have a full year to return the Bill Dance "Complete Bass Fishing Course " if it doesn’t work for YOU and get your FULL purchase price back.

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