Time after time, with ultralight bass fishing, I get asked about what lures work best, what colors are best, how to work this lure or that lure. Every now and then, I even get asked about some expensive scam lures, and breaks my heart. Trust me, I had all of the same questions that you had when I began. I have taken the time to break down 5 known classic baits that catch fish, period. These baits have been around for a long time, and are here to stay.

Up to bat first is our all time favorite, and a true classic, the plastic worm. This bait was concocted up back in 1949 by Nick Creme in his basement. These baits have been putting more fish in livewells longer than most of us have been alive. In most areas you fish, you can get away with a 4incher in either the black/blue (junebug) or green/black flake colors.

On the list next is the Rapala Floating Minnow. Rapala makes a jointed model of this bait, and when reeled slowly on top of the water, it acts like a spook lure. The faster you reel though, makes it dive a little deeper, topping out around 1 foot deep. If the fish are in a feeding mood, this is my go to lure. You can just let this lure sit as well, often called deadsticking. If you know that you are over a fishy area, let the lure die, and sit for 15-30 seconds or so, and give it a couple twitches. This will get their attention. The smaller sizes work best on ultralight rods.

The next one is the classic grub. The good old plastic 2″ grub. It doesn’t look like much, a little round body with a curly tail, on a jig head. To a fish though, it is exactly what they want. A slow moving, chunk of food. You can fish it deep to shallow, fast or slow. Try burning the tail across the top of the water like a buzzbait in the morning or evenings. I use green pumpkin with a chartreuse tail, or even black. Black jig heads on both.

Fourth on the list, is the Booyah Pond Magic 3/16 ounce spinnerbait. We all know that spinnerbaits catch fish. Swim them along the bottom, just fast enough to let the blades flutter, jig it, burn it on top, or wake it just below the surface. These things catch fish, plain and simple. I like the firetiger color for muddy water, and the white with copper blades for stained water. I don’t fish much clear water, but if you do, try White/Silver/Chartreuse mix, with silver blades.

Skirted jigs are known around most bass club circles as big fish catchers. This goes for ultralight bass fishing jigs as well. You get a lot more fish with ultralight techniques, however, jigs still weed out the smaller fish. There is just something about them. Especially fishing in ponds, these are the big fish slayers.

So I have been ultralight bass fishing for a long time now, and one question that comes to mind pretty often is how does rod length really effect our fishing? I could come up with a million answers, so could anybody, but I did think of a list of things that I know you should pay attention to when you are about to buy a new pole.

Some people believe that you must use a short rod in the 4 1/2 foot to 5 foot length. They believe that this length gives you the most whip, and backbone for fighting the fish. This is a common misconception however.

Stout rods have a great backbone on them, and are nice for fishing in areas where you might need to pitch or flip because of the debris. These rods will give you the best accuracy of any of the rods, but the casting distance is limited greatly.

Rods used in ultralight bass fishing that are around 5 and a half feet, to 6 feet long are generally considered neutral or balanced when you talk about distance, accuracy, and backbone. These rods do generally well in all 3 categories, provided you go with a good manufacturer.

If you are in the need for an ultralight flipping stick, then these rod lengths are perfect for you. Especially the 6 footer, this length of rod, with a stiff backbone, is great for getting into the thick stuff, and yoking smaller fish out of there. If the area is known to carry smaller 12″-15″ fish, take this length with you.

Fishing rods in this category are for general use as well, based on the attributes of accuracy, distance, and strength. Knowledgeable anglers will be able to tell the difference between the different lengths, however, most fishermen will not be able to tell.

The longest of the ultralight rods, 6 1/2 foot and longer provide the longest distance for casts. This is good for throwing spinnerbaits or topwaters, you can get them going so far that it is hard to see the little baits!

These long rods kill your accuracy however, which is why they should be used for open water casting and swimming baits. You can really burn spinnerbaits and buzzbaits with these long rods, not to mention unloading your spool from casting so far!

It is becoming widely known that fishing kayaks are being bought up like never before. Especially in times like we are in today, people are finally realizing that the big bass boats that go 60mph are just not necessary to catch fish. A lot of people are finding fishing kayaks as a way to get on the water, and more often than not, are catching more fish than they ever did off the big bass boats.

Fishing kayaks allow you to sneak and creep through the water, without being noticed by fish. You are also able to draft incredibly shallow, so you can even get back through the muck that the big boat guys are afraid of. We used to do it on our bass rig, but we had to wade fish the shore to get anything done.

This worked, for the most part. During spawning season, these fish don’t typically abandon their bed, so walking through the water won’t spook them. Any other time, good luck, or get a fly rod. But with fishing kayaks, you can see the bed from a farther reach, and are able to sneak up onto it. Fishing kayaks are incredibly stealthy, and this is helping their sales more than hurting it.

Another example of why people are buying so many fishing kayaks lately, is because of the ease of storing it. You can’t put your bass boat in the hallway upside down, or any boat for that matter. With 4-5 fishing kayaks, you can easily mount them or hang them upside down. This many kayaks allows you to take your entire family, and maybe even a friend.

Owning more than a few boats, my fiance believes that people just don’t need this many. Fishing kayaks do teach people how to know which lures or fishing setups to bring along for the day, as you can’t bring everything with you, it is a quick lesson.

Outrageous gas prices effect people buying fishing kayaks heavily. I have blown a grand on more than one occasion, just boating around on the weekend with my family. When we finally got rid of it, it hurt me to think about how much time and money went into it.

It is super expensive running big boats in todays economy, in other words. When gas was approaching $5 dollars a gallon, you can’t imagine how much we spent on just a weekend in fuel. Trolling motors were useless after an hour.

In todays economy, times are extremely tough on people. They are finally figuring out that kayaks will bring you in touch with the outdoors, and you don’t have to be rich to get into it. You can pick up a lightly used fishing kayak for cheap, put a few modifications on it, and resell it for the same price or more later when you are ready to get a nicer kayak.

Our series of articles on Freshwater Fishing Gear continues as we try to remove the fright of selecting fishing gear from the novice angler.

We address a wide range of fishing gear including reels, rods, baits, lines, and a ton of other gear. We hope by the conclusion of the series that you will be able to buy the exact fishing tackle for the type of fishing you will be doing.

The first subject reviewed is the fishing reel, starting with the spincast, spinning and baitcast reels. These reels have many differences but basically do the same job, you cannot say that about the final reel in our series. The Fly Fishing Reel was designed as a way to manage your fishing line and is not used for casting or reeling in your catch.

Without a fly casting reel you would be tripping over slack line and working to bring in or let out line with each cast. The fly casting reel has always been very basic in terms of the way it is built, little has changed from their initial construction.

To utilize a fly reel you spool off line by hand, cast forward, and then release as the rod snaps forward. Contemporary models do integrated a drag mechanism to stop the fish from pulling out more line than is needed.

Contemporary fly reels can have high tech disc-type drag systems made of composite materials that feature wider adjustment range, consistency, and resistance to high temperatures caused by line drag. Another nice feature in recent year is an automatic fly reel mechanism for retrieving line back onto the reel with the press of a button.

Fly reels typically have bigger line spools built to cut line memory, maintain consistent drag and aid the quick recovery of slack line in case a hooked fish makes a quick turn back to the angler.

The negative aspect of the fly reel are limited use, since it is principally used for fly fishing and a much higher price tag, especially at the high end.

An affordable fly cast reel is the “Sage 1800 Series Fly Reel,” priced at only $55.00. It is an all-around reliable performer and features a lightweight, yet durable aluminum construction with a non-glare titanium finish. Built with a large arbor, this reel is equipped with a quick-release spool change, premium sealed graphite drag system and a comfortable machined handle.

We will continue with Fly Fishing Reels when our “Freshwater Fishing Gear Beginners Guide” series continues.

Like trophy fish, bass can be elusive, They prefer certain times of day to eat, which means that you may have to cater to picky fish that only want certain times of food one part of the day, and other types of food in another part of the day.

This means that if you already have an established fishing kit, you can usually modify your kit to allow for bass fishing. Both of these fish can be caught using similar methods of fishing. As bass fishing is so popular, all tackle stores in bass areas will carry everything that you require in order to catch fish. As some species of bass are threatened, it is suggested that if you are not certain if the fish you have captured is legal, you immediately release the fish. These are the small mouth and the large mouth bass.

There are two types of fish targeted when bass fishing. This will make sure that you have the supplies required to catch your bass. Bass fishing is one of the most popular forms of fishing. This is due to the fact that bass are known to put up a good fight when hooked, and have great taste. If you are planning a bass fishing venture, you will want to insure that you check the local regulations for bass season, and make certain that you do not over fish bass.

However, many people prefer to target large mouth bass when bass fishing, as these fish are thought to have superior flavor as well as a better fight. In addition to this, bass fishing can be done in many places across the United States and Canada, making these fish easily accessible to those who do not have the funds or motivation to travel long distances for steelhead, salmon and other trophy fish. In the case of striped bass, also known as rock fish, over catching the limit can result in hefty fines. There are some issues when bass fishing that you should keep in mind.

For this reason, many people who go bass fishing will take several types of baits and lures with them when they go. Bass will strike surface and mid water, as well as bottom lures,and can also be hooked while fly fishing. There are many styles you can utilize when bass fishing, which makes this sport enjoyable for all types of anglers. Most regions that allow bass fishing have rules in place on the numbers of bass that can be kept.

Like trophy fish, bass can be elusive, They prefer certain times of day to eat, which means that you may have to cater to picky fish that only want certain times of food one part of the day, and other types of food in another part of the day.

This means that if you already have an established fishing kit, you can usually modify your kit to allow for bass fishing. Both of these fish can be caught using similar methods of fishing. As bass fishing is so popular, all tackle stores in bass areas will carry everything that you require so as to catch fish. As some species of bass are threatened, it is suggested that if you are not certain if the fish you have captured is legal, you immediately release the fish. These are the small mouth and the large mouth bass.

There are two types of fish targeted when bass fishing. This will insure that you have the supplies required to catch your bass. Bass fishing is one of the most popular forms of fishing. This is due to the fact that bass are known to put up a good fight when hooked, and have great taste. If you are planning a bass fishing venture, you will want to ensure that you check the local regulations for bass season, and make certain that you do not over fish bass.

Nevertheless, many people prefer to target large mouth bass when bass fishing, as these fish are thought to have superior flavor as well as a better fight. In addition to this, bass fishing can be done in many places across the United States and Canada, making these fish easily accessible to those who do not have the funds or motivation to travel long distances for steelhead, salmon and other trophy fish. In the case of striped bass, also known as rock fish, over catching the limit can result in hefty fines. There are some issues when bass fishing that you should keep in mind.

For this reason, many people who go bass fishing will take many types of baits and lures with them when they go. Bass will strike surface and mid water, as well as bottom lures,and can also be hooked while fly fishing. There are several styles you can utilize when bass fishing, which makes this sport enjoyable for all types of anglers. Most regions that allow bass fishing have rules in place on the numbers of bass that can be kept.

Some of the benefits offered by bass boats include easier handling, larger storage facilities, a dryer ride and a more spacious deck area for easier casting.

Considering all of their many benefits, bass fishing boats are the ideal choice when you want to spend some time on the water in search for highly coveted bass fish. If you do enjoy water sports then you might consider shopping for fish and ski boats that make it possible to fish as well as enjoy water sports. You also need to take into consideration whether you will be fishing only or whether you will be engaging in water sports as well when you are out on the water. In terms of price, keep in mind that bass boats are available at entry-level prices as well as higher prices for upgraded and luxury models. While you could use practically any boat for bass fishing, you will find that bass boats certainly make it easier and more enjoyable to bass fish.

Bass boats offer serious anglers a number of important advantages. Take the engine of the boat into consideration as well. When shopping for bass boats, it is vital to make sure you consider the compartments and accessories that are available on the boat. The presence of a trolling motor can also be important when you are shopping for bass boats as well. If you like the idea of having a bass boat with more features but you cannot afford the larger price tag, consider shopping for used bass boats.

For instance, you will want to insure that the boat offers plenty of compartments for storing rods as well as tackle. You will also need to look to make sure it has a livewell. Other types of accessories that you may wish to look for when shopping for bass boats include a radar system that makes it easier to locate the fish. You will certainly want to ensure that the engine is powerful enough for all of your needs. Whether fishing for your own enjoyment or entering bass fishing tournaments, bass fishing boats are an ideal choice.

This can be a good option if you are considering entering competitions and need the extra features but are not ready to pay additional money. If you savor going out with others when you bass fish, you will also find that bass boats more easily accommodate larger groups of anglers than many other boats.

How about going to a vacation spot that is known to have some of the best and most popular beaches in Costa Rica? If you have always wanted to vacation in Costa Rica, check out Jaco.

About a two hour drive from San Jose, this bustling town sits on the Central Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. For many years, it has been one the most popular beaches in Costa Rica, in large part because of its nightlife. Its reputation as a fantastic “party beach” is now well known.

Only about half a dozen years ago, Jaco was still pretty laid back and quaint. Not so much anymore. With tourists came more bars, restaurants, and shopping centers. They were followed by developers: more hotels, more resorts, and now towering high rises. But, the beaches remain—and they are still spectacular.

Fortunately, Jaco isn’t just a great location for people who have lots of money. Indeed, it caters to any budget. There are hotels and accommodations ranging from luxurious to, well, basic (think hostels with dorms and cold water—but cheap). Restaurants of every kind have sprung up here as well, not to mention tropical bars and taverns.

Though Jaco Beach (directly in front of Jaco) has been one of the most popular beaches for many, many years, nearby beaches (literally just a couple of miles/kilometers away), are much better. You’ll find far fewer people and some of the most ecologically pure water on the planet which have been awarded Blue Flag certifications for cleanliness. If you visit Jaco, I strongly recommend spectacular Hermosa Beach. It is only a couple of miles from Jaco. Though it is not recommended for swimming (due to its currents) it is pristine with some of the best surfing on the planet. Indeed, this July it will host professional surfers from more than 35 countries who are going to take part in world surfing championships (and party at night in Jaco).

Costa Rica is one of the smallest countries in the world but it is world-famous for its many places to go and things to do. When you vacation at Jaco, youll be close to innumerable activities. Head over to one of the fabulous volcanoes. Go windsurfing at Lake Arenal. Learn to surf. Visit fabulous Corcovado National Park, described by National Geographic as the most biologically intense place on earth. Take your life in your hands and bungee jump into a deep gorge just outside Jaco. Zipline through tropical forests, whitewater raft, go sea kayaking. Or just lay back and enjoy the beach and romantic sunsets.

And, if you exhaust all the other activities (probably pretty difficult), don’t forget that you can also experience great off shore fishing. The warm, tropical waters are alive with marlin, tuna, sailfish, porpoises, dozens of other varieties, and often whales. But, whatever your tastes, Jaco is definitely a wonderful place to take your vacation.

Though it is easy to reach by air, Costa Rica remains to be discovered. Columbus was the first to find it and, indeed, gave it its name “Rich Coast.” It remains a spectacular haven with one-fifth of every species of plant and animal on the planet residing together in a tiny little country. So, don’t limit yourself to the beaches of Jaco. There’s lots more waiting.

Most anglers who buy baits use them with blind faith because they really do not appreciate what actually happens in the fish that induces them to take a bait into their mouths and in doing so get themselves hooked! Imagine the power of being able to harness this knowledge where applicable. How much do think this advantage over the fish and over other anglers will multiply your catches?

Bait always involves confidence and indeed many anglers constantly doubt their bait because they do not understand how they truly work, except having very limited and even incorrect ideas or impressions about proteins or flavours; as a result, many anglers are negative about certain baits, without even ever having used them personally! Confidence catches fish for many reasons because it makes you fish better and be sharper and more tuned-in and expectant of success, so you tend to do more things right at the right time, more often, but you can all the confidence in the world and still blank because of a lack of knowledge and understanding! Confidence is the thing that sells commercial readymade baits and anglers take second-hand opinions from so-called big-name anglers thinking they will emulate their success using the same bait, forgetting that many (not all) big-name anglers are the most skilled and talented anglers of their generation.

Why would you care of you knew anything more about bait anyway; after all you catch fish right, and you have confidence in your baits? The difference between you running against an Olympic champion and expecting to win is you can try hard as you can with the amount you already have or know, but the Olympic champion has prepared in as many ways as fully as possible for a very long time; and that is why he is the best; talent at the top is not enough! In many ways use of flavours is like a race, where so many are simple taste or flavour carriers and mere attractors, (not feeding triggers) but others are like live rocket fuel by comparison, but you could spend your life missing out by not finding out; because most anglers keep secrets to themselves…

Many secrets are hidden from our senses but uncovered very easily by a little messing about with baits and some very elementary science, for instance, many carp bait substances change when in water into different ones to those we experience as humans in air… Garlic releases that pungent smell when broken in air and we are all familiar with similar compounds from onions and chives for example. But the smells from garlic we associate with its success are not strictly accurate, as certain of the key chemicals do not get produced in water the same as in air, and this might suggest to some thinking anglers that far more is going on, perhaps on a more deeper level to do with the biology of the fish in response to bioactive garlic substances rather than just a smell or taste.

Carp may be influenced far more profoundly by internal impacts on their bodies than a simple flavour or taste offers and many proteins are thermogenic involving extra releasing of energy, and salmon is a very successful example of this, but poultry too for instance, but bait ingredients and substances impact on the brain, some far more powerfully than others! I tried an experiment today by eating wheat-free biscuits and an wheat-free doughnut too! However, after even the first bite, even though ingredients were virtually the same as the wheat-containing biscuits and doughnuts (but for only one key aspect,) taking another bite was more of a pain than a pleasure. All those good sweeteners, taste-enhancers, fruit flavours etc should have made me want to eat more right, but they did not, because I had got used to expecting something else to happen that did not; a release of feel-good hormones in the brain…

What a disappointment it was to eat the wheat-free foods and not want more! Although they still have all the same ingredients like the flavours, sweeteners and enhancers etc, something vital was missing that made me want to keep on eating and this is why I only had one doughnut; Homer Simpson would have been shocked to say the least! There was no key vital substance in the food to make my brain release a rush of feel-good hormones that occurs naturally in the wheat-based foods.

If you apply this to fishing, it is like using a bait with a flavour and sweetener, and fishing next to it a bait with the same ingredients exactly, but with that extra vital brain chemical releasing impact. Which food or bait will catch more fish and which might you go for preferentially?! As it is your brain the makes the decision for your body you may have no choice and you may have noticed that so many people over-eat wheat-based foods and store-up fat as a result despite this being far from a healthy thing to do; it’s natural drug-induced behaviour for sure, even though certain emotions are frequently still involved!

When you look, you won’t believe how hard it is to get away from wheat in your diet as it is exploited so much in modern foods to get you to eat more and buy more in regular, habitual ways! Even in carp fishing it is recognised that fish eating baits without supplemental nutritional foods can drop weight as with fish addicted to tiger nuts or peanuts alone, so using such things as part of your nutritional bait is a massive edge. You might not call it manipulating carp behaviours in your favour, or call it creating addictive or habit-forming behaviours, but it works in practice; you are your own guinea-pig every day! These edges are supplied to you by the bait secrets ebooks author with more experience of eating healthy biscuits and doughnuts (probably,) than any other author!

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By Tim Richardson.

When you use carp bait blind without knowing how it works you are using blind faith. In contrast, if you understood far more how and why key aspects of that bait induced bites and had the power to manipulate these potent effect far more then your catches will definitely improve. Read on to find out more…

Confidence in a bag, (or bottle) when it come to bait is one of great personal opinions for every angler, because the truth is everyone has different experiences even on the same baits, at different waters, and many anglers with put down other baits even though they have never even used them, which is a tad bit short-sighted perhaps. Confidence mostly comes from perceptions in fishing, and certainly not from first-hand experience. But it is first-hand personal experience that is the only thing you can truly trust as fact, but I do not mean by this that claims about commercial bait quality and effectiveness are not true.

Now you might wonder what all this confidence stuff has to do with actually knowing something useful about vital carp senses beyond appreciating that they like a bit of protein or a maybe have a flavour preference now and again. In terms of flavours, not all are the same! If I suggested that chilli powder can help your bait be detected from greater range by senses involving various specialised receptor cells and specialised canal pits along the lateral line (and in the actual skin of the fish,) this might be new to many.

Science is tricky and seemingly irrelevant for many anglers until they realise the enormous significance that chemicals change in solution with water and many substances are simply not the same in water as air, and fish are experiencing different chemicals all over their bodies and not just on the tongue like humans. Imagine garlic on the tongue; it is mixed with air and saliva, but in mixed just water, garlic produces different compounds and the tastes and smells we experience as humans will be different ones that carp experience. This means that the flavours or pungent smells we might imagine impact on the fish may well not be present in the same form at all, and this might mean that something else is triggering a response from carp, even an internal one where something in garlic is acting to produce thermogenic (metabolism and digestion speeding-up effects for example,) and even have very potent antioxidant and antimicrobial impacts etc.

Perhaps you might begin to think maybe something other than just smell and taste was influential and impacting on the carp; maybe something more profound, internal and physiological, or even psychological… To help clarify this big point, I ate a wheat-free biscuit (and wheat-free doughnut today!) Comparing the ingredients with the wheat-containing versions, the only substitution was that the wheat-free foods were based on maize flour, tapioca starch, soya flour and rice flour. All the rest of the ingredients in the wheat-free products were the same as the conventional wheat-based biscuits and doughnuts, including the fruit flavours, sweeteners, acidity regulators, (preservatives) and enhancers etc.

Now when I ate these foods, the bit that made me want another wheat-based doughnut or biscuit after eating the first one had disappeared from the wheat-free products, (and what a surprise and disappointment that was!) This meant that something beyond just taste and smell impacts was involved. Something that effected the release of those feel-good hormones in the brain were gone and I really noticed the difference!

Just imagine eating a food for years without that feel-good feeling after each morsel; making you want another one, and then eating one which does have this effect. Which one would you choose?! I don?t think you would have much choice; your brain will decide for you, and that is one reason why over-weight comfort food eaters who binge on cakes, biscuits, chocolate and many other foods, regularly can?t help themselves.

When you look, you won’t believe how hard it is to get away from wheat in your diet as it is exploited so much in modern foods to get you to eat more and buy more in regular, habitual ways! Even in carp fishing it is recognized that fish eating baits without supplemental nutritional foods can drop weight as with fish addicted to tiger nuts or peanuts alone, so using such things as part of your nutritional bait is a massive edge. You might not call it manipulating carp behaviors in your favor, or call it creating addictive or habit-forming behaviors, but it works in practice; you are your own guinea-pig every day! These edges are supplied to you by the bait secrets ebooks author with more experience of eating healthy biscuits and doughnuts (probably,) than any other author!

Tim Richardson.