New to bass fishing

[JuanvolstruisJonck]

Hi guys new to this site and new to bass fishing. I am from Oudtshoorn and as all should know we are in a draught stricken area. This however does not stop me from fishing any body of water I can find in the area. I have caught 25 largemouth bass this month, my PB is 2.3kg's but want to improve. Any help with regards to what baits works best will be appreciated. I currently fish 4 dams in our area, but have found what works in one dam does not work in another. Hope to hear from experts soon.

[Jim_From_Zim]

You have some nice waters close to you Volstruisdude

And as for which lures to use - well, thats the never ending secret isn't it? 

Do some reading here on this forum and you'll get some tips and pointers for lure selection. This can help you make a better choice. 

And me, for this month - I'm on a fat zero

[JuanvolstruisJonck]

You have some nice waters close to you Volstruisdude

And as for which lures to use - well, thats the never ending secret isn't it? 

Do some reading here on this forum and you'll get some tips and pointers for lure selection. This can help you make a better choice. 

And me, for this month - I'm on a fat zero

Hi Jim 
Yea we are lucky to have two big dams Raubenheimer and Melville. Have not caught any at Raubenheimer... yet but was lucky to telly one at Melville dam the past weekend. Bank fishing is not as easy as tubing or boating I assume. The farm dams have some nice fish but the farmers are not all as accommadating as others. So I have 2 farm dams i can fish, of which one farmer wants the bass out of his dam. So anyone wanting to come catch let me know.

[Navrik]

Welcome JVJ. I have fished Raubenheimer twice from a boat and watermelon flukes worked well in the crystal clear water.

[JuanvolstruisJonck]

Thanks for the info Navrik

[Gary Myburgh]

There are a few basic rules/guidelines. Here goes:
1.Try Topwaters early in the morning and late afternoon/eve. Poppers and "Spooks" work well. Also prop lures. I also have a lot of success with floating minnows which I twitch / pull under and allow to come up and rest; repeat.
2. Minnow style baits can be fished throughout the day but will generally produce best in lower light conditions.
3. Cranks can produce well around structure, but generally require a boat to be fished effectively and not get hung up.
4. Plastics are generally the most productive lures in the middle of the day / when light levels are high. There is a huge selection available. My "go tos" are Razor's Dirty Dawg, Dipstick, Mud Bug and Cash Craw. The Cash Craw I usually fish as a jig trailer but sometimes just Texas rigged. The Dirty Dawg I almost always fish Mojo style. The Dipstick I generally fish weightless. Ordinary finesse style worms (like the Razor C-Worm) are also very effective at times. I particularly like to fish them om Shakey Heads.
5. Match lure colours to water clarity and light levels. i.e. in clear water and high light levels go for clear/subtle lures (eg Fire in ice, clear chartreuse, pumpkinseed, Watermelon seed, etc). In badly discoloured water or very low light levels opt for dark colours - eg black, black/blue, black neon.
6.Fish behaviour changes with seasons. When water is below 16C the bite is likely to be slow and presentations must also be slow. When temp is around 19C the bass will tend to feed aggressively. In these conditions a faster/more aggressive presentation will tend to get hits. e.g try a crank, a big curly tail worm on a jighead fished like a crank, etc.
I hope this helps a bit.