Technique

Pitching lures to catch bass is a very effective technique when targeting bass in shallow cover. The act of pitching a lure allows the bait to take out line as the lure travels toward the desired target, and then ideally enter the water with a minimal disturbance. This technique can help the most when casting around docks, trees, grass, or other shallow water obstacles.

Video:Ott Defoe, Bassmaster Elite Series Pro, explains how to pitch baits into and around cover.

Crankbaits can be a great tool when looking to cover a great amount of water. When fishing with a crankbait, deflection is key. The more erratic the action of the bait, the better the fish will typically react.

Video:Ott Defoe, Bassmaster Elite Series pro, explains how to choose the right fishing rod when fishing with crankbaits.

A shaky head allows anglers to present fish with a smaller offering in a more subtle, slower technique. The shaky head can be attached to a variety of different soft plastics, although a slim, finesse style worm is the most common choice.

Video:Ott Defoe, Bassmaster Elite pro, explains how to rig and fish a shaky head.

Swimbaits are baitfish imitating lures that have a great visual appeal. These lures are best used in clear to lightly stained water, due to their ability to draw fish by sight alone. Having the right tackle when throwing swimbaits can prove crucial, as they are typically known as a big fish lure. Without the right tackle, pulling the larger fish away from cover can be tricky and be detrimental to the success of fishing swimbaits.

Video:Ott Defoe, Bassmaster Elite series pro, explains how to choose the right gear when fishing a swimbait around cover.

A spinnerbait is extremely versatile. It can be fished in almost any condition, deep or shallow, and imitates a baitfish. By giving off flash, vibration, and a great visual appeal, the spinnerbait when worked correctly can help you catch big fish, and loads of them.

Video:Ott Defoe, Bassmaster elite series pro, explains how to fish a spinnerbait and the proper gear to use.

Dropshoting is a finesse technique which uses light lines and weights accompanied by a small soft plastic. This technique involves the weight being tied below the hook, which gives the bait the ability to float off the bottom. Using a drop shot proves effective in all water depths from shallow to deep and even has the ability to help target suspended fish.

Jerkbaits come in two types, soft and hard, both of which have their advantages. Soft jerkbaits can be rigged weed-less which gives the angler the ability to fish around cover without getting hung up. Hard jerkbaits have 2-3 treble hooks on them, and have the ability to suspend. This action allows the bait to remain in the strike zone for long periods of time, and entice a bass into eating it.

The exciting heart pumping action that can come with fishing a topwater bait, is not the only benefit of this technique. Topwater baits can be fished in shallow and deep water and allow anglers to cover a lot of water to find where the active fish are feeding. The best times of day to fish a topwater bait are early in the morning or late in the evening. Frogs, poppers, stickbaits, buzzbaits and prop baits are the most common topwater lures.

A magnum shaky head can be a great replacement for throwing larger jigs. The larger shaky head allows anglers to fish in deeper open water or heavy cover, and big baits often times attract bigger fish! Magnum shaky heads are fished with larger normal worms and worked slowly over deep structure to trigger those big bites.

The figure 8 technique is used as the last step for retrieving a muskie lure when a muskie is following the bait, b