Black Bass |
Black Bass is America’s sport fish #1 – and for a good reason! He’s hard to find, clever and suspicious. On the hook – assuming you’re so lucky – he’s strong, acrobatic and unpredictable. It’s no wonder, then, that, of all the Ebro’s fish, he’s the icing on the cake and the one you will most remember catching.
When active, Black Bass will strike just about any type of lure in your tackle box if it’s properly presented. And, therein lies the catch. He is no scavenger and must be convinced that your bait is alive (twitching or moving). He is also suspicious of baits which do not appear natural or behave as they should. (He loves crawfish, for example, but will not strike a crawfish bait moving rapidly or swimming in open water. Crawfish don’t do those things and the Bass will ignore it.)
Unlike Zander, for example, there is no “pattern” to Bass fishing. Adult Bass are loners, each with his own preferences and priorities. One bass may strike your lure aggressively, while the next ignores it completely. In an area where Bass have been caught, it is important to try a variety of lures and presentations before moving on.
Bass feed primarily at night and rest in the daytime. (They will occasionally take advantage of the opportunity for a daytime meal if your lure is close by and not moving too quickly. Accurate casting and careful presentation are there for critical). The best times of day to fish for Bass are dusk and dawn (the beginning and end of his feeding period) when he is most likely to be actively searching for food.
When feeding, adult Bass lie quietly in cover and “ambush” their prey. A daytime Bass in plain sight is generally not interested in food. However, these “sighted” fish can sometimes be provoked into striking by repeated invasion of your lure into his “space”. Often, however, these “sighted” Bass will simply approach the lure out of curiosity, then ignore it.
Black Bass spawn in May or early June, depending on conditions. Pre-spawn Bass can be caught in April and early May with small, slow-moving baits while post-spawn Bass (mid to late June) often feed aggressively. As with most predators, the cooler temperatures of autumn triggers a pre-winter increase in feeding. From late September through the end of November, Bass may remain active throughout the day.
His readiness to strike at surface lures sets the Bass apart from all the other Ebro species. It is this exciting type of fishing which makes the Bass so popular the world over. Fishing for Bass with surface lures, including fly-fishing with tiny floating poppers. is clearly the ultimate freshwater fishing experience.
No fishing trip on the Ebro is complete without the unique experience of Black Bass fishing.