Lake Anna Bass Fishing Basics
Ok, so you’ve done some fishing here and there, own a fishing pole or two, and have your dads old tackle box full of spinners, salmon eggs, bobbers and maybe a handful of plastic worms. Now you want to see if you can catch a few bass on Lake Anna… maybe even catch a HAWG! More than likely your going to need to stock up on a few core items and a little equipment to get you started.
Rod and Reel
I’ve seen it time and time again… Someone shows up to one of the marinas, pays a healthy chunk of money to rent a jon boat, and asks around to see “what the bass are biting”. Then grabs his 8 foot long catfish rod with 40 lb mono and heads out on the lake. Unfortunately this just isn’t going to work out most of the time. In general you want to stick to a spinning or bait casting, medium/light to medium/heavy rod from 5 ½ feet to 7 feet long. Use the appropriate spinning/bait casting reel spooled with 6 – 12 pound mono. Remember this is just the basics, there are plenty of other combinations but this would be the most versatile for most situations.
Lures
Down and dirty… here are the staples for a beginning bass fisherman.
1st on the list are spinner baits, get a couple in varying colors, maybe pearl, chartreuse, and silver ranging from ¼ oz to ½ oz. As you get “bit” by the bass fishing bug you will learn about different blade types, color combinations, retrieves etc. but this is a good start. Next, you should get a couple of crankbaits… again chartreuse and pearl combinations work well as well as silver and blues. Make sure to get crankbaits that cover different water depths, this should be clearly marked on the packaging. Both spinnerbaits and crankbaits are relatively easy to use since they cast well and require little more than a steady retrieve with intermitant pauses. They also replicate small baitfish which is the largemouth’s main prey. Last but not least is the good ole’ rubber worm. Though a little more difficult to use, once mastered the rubber worm will catch more bass than just about anything. Find some 5-8 inch worms in natural colors like browns, dark greens and reds. Then get some 1/8 oz to 5/8 oz bullet weights and some 2/0 – 3/0 offset shank worm hooks. Use a Texas Rig to start with and move on to other rigging techniques as you gain more experience. This is a slower presentation than the first two techniques. Cast your worm out and let it fall to the bottom. Then lift your rod tip from the 9 o’clock to the 11 o’clock position, let it fall, set for a couple seconds, then repeat, once you feel a strike, let the fish “take” the bait then reel up the slack and set the hook with a sharp upward movement. Don’t be shy, put your back into it!
This “grocery list” will put the beginning bass fisherman on the right track to catch keeper bass. Take a look at some of our other tips to learn more about catching bass on Lake Anna.
-CB-
