Here you will find articles designed specifically for the beginning bass angler. They contain fishing tips, how to fish, and bass fishing basics every angler needs to know to catch more bass!

Looking for advanced "how to fish" tips and tactics? Visit our Fishing Articles section to unlock thousands of how to fishing articles at your fingertips. These go beyond the bass fishing basics. You'll learn the best way to catch bass with in-depth information on all types of bass fishing rigs, lures, tactics, or website fishing conditions!

RICK CLUNN STEP ONE: SEASONAL PATTERNS

Even before you get to the lake you should be able to eliminate quite a bit of water. Take a map of the lake and divide it into sections. The deepest, clearest parts can be section one, midrange depths are section two, and shallow coves and river inlets are section three. Clunn also divides coves into those same sections _ deep, such as a channel, midrange like humps between feeder channels, and shallow _ backs of coves, flats, etc. You can add a section four if there is a river or a creek you can run the boat up.

Where do you start? You can make general assumptions based on the time of year. Generally speaking, bass will be deeper in winter and summer, shallower in spring and fall. Not all the bass in the lake will deep at one time, of course, but seasonal patterns give you a general idea of where to start.
CURRENT PATTERN

Once you have a seasonal pattern established, pick an area to fish. You may want to focus on a single large cove, especially if it has a lot of different depths and structures. Fish that cove as though it were a pond. Identify what kinds of objects are in the area: channels, humps, vegetation, rock piles, rip rap, man-made structures like bridges, etc., and work every kind of object until you feel like you_ve really checked it out thoroughly. Use a couple of different baits. It will soon become clear which kinds of objects are holding fish, and you can stop wasting time on the stuff that isn_t holding fish right now.