How-To

Live bait

Fishing with live bait is another skill you may wish to master in your pursuit of the bass. Bass respond well to many forms of live bait and sometimes action can be faster than with lures. (But not always!) Huge bass have been taken on live bait. Many experts believe that a big, old bass may have "learned" to avoid lures, but it can't learn to avoid a properly presented live bait, since live bait is what it must eat to survive.

The 35 most influential people

35 Legends of bass fishing.

How-To

Slim down on crankbaits

Throughout the ages, mankind has been infatuated with spherical objects. Christopher Columbus sailed into the unknown to prove the world was round. Ancient cultures have worshipped the sun. Men have dreamed of flying to the moon for thousands of years, and finally reached the orb in 1969.

How-To

Cranky smallmouths (continued)

What makes a smallmouth cranky?

Topwater time

Catching bass by any means is fun. But most anglers will agree that those crashing a topwater plug are as good as it gets. Unfortunately, as many have also discovered, there is a rather narrow window of time when surface baits will be the most effective lure.

How-To

Drop shotting the skinny water

Though Kile is skilled in the light-line methods he learned in his home state of Arizona, he's equally comfortable fishing thin, murky water, with a flippin' stick and heavy string.

How-To

Bassing blind spots

In this article, read Tim Horton's key to finding blind spots - committing to fishing obscure places.

Burch dedicates Divisional to Dad

Losing his father two weeks before the CITGO BASS Federation Northern Divisional, Randy Burch dedicated his win to his Dad.

35 milestones in bass history

Following his All-American Bass tournament held in the fall of 1967 on Alabama's Smith Lake, Ray Scott knew he was on to something. For the second time in four months, he'd convinced more than 100 die-hard bass fishermen to pay 100 bucks apiece to compete in what was billed as an exclusive, invitation-only tournament.

Gear

Focus on polarization

Though both anglers were wearing polarized sunglasses, Monroe's partner, squint as he might, could not see the bass. Monroe handed over his sunglasses.