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The Field & Stream Bass Fishing Handbook
Provides anglers with information on lures, tackles, and techniques for fighting, landing, and releasing the popular game fish
119 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1999
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June 21, 2025
This was written in 1999, so it made it a little difficult to read as it was very wordy without a lot of charts and good 3D colored photos. Despite this the book was packed full of good information!
I think my main takeaways were:
Overall:
- The book taught me to have a systematic pattern when fishing. That includes sticking to only small sections of the lake at a time and learning them before proceeding to other portions of the lake. I have previously always ventured one side of the lake to the other not maximizing my time with line in the water. It also includes fan casting starting on one side of the boat and working in a clockwise direction and working different depths. You can know the depth of your lure by counting “1 and” which equals 1 ft at a time as it drops.
- The book taught me to focus on 5-35 ft of water because the bass won’t survive much deeper than that due to low oxygen levels in the water. The focus area is 5-15ft.
- Work structure and drop offs and know that bass always want an easy escape into the deep water.
- In Creeks and rivers know that bass always face upstream so therefore they don’t like to sit in the current. They like to sit to the side but will always be near the current in order to catch food. They will sit in eddies and behind current blocking structure such as rocks and logs.
- Bass typically always gravitate towards shady sections of the lake where there is good cover. Example: under docks, under lily pads, in the thick milfoil, near stumps or fallen trees
Where I thought the book lacked was describing and displaying different types of lures. I would like to explore this more to help organize my tackle box better and know what to use when. Such as dark water vs clear water etc. It was 115 pages to sum up what could have been said in 50 pages or less utilizing better pictures or charts.
Reality is tho you learn how to fish by fishing, so just gotta get out there and fish one.
I think my main takeaways were:
Overall:
- The book taught me to have a systematic pattern when fishing. That includes sticking to only small sections of the lake at a time and learning them before proceeding to other portions of the lake. I have previously always ventured one side of the lake to the other not maximizing my time with line in the water. It also includes fan casting starting on one side of the boat and working in a clockwise direction and working different depths. You can know the depth of your lure by counting “1 and” which equals 1 ft at a time as it drops.
- The book taught me to focus on 5-35 ft of water because the bass won’t survive much deeper than that due to low oxygen levels in the water. The focus area is 5-15ft.
- Work structure and drop offs and know that bass always want an easy escape into the deep water.
- In Creeks and rivers know that bass always face upstream so therefore they don’t like to sit in the current. They like to sit to the side but will always be near the current in order to catch food. They will sit in eddies and behind current blocking structure such as rocks and logs.
- Bass typically always gravitate towards shady sections of the lake where there is good cover. Example: under docks, under lily pads, in the thick milfoil, near stumps or fallen trees
Where I thought the book lacked was describing and displaying different types of lures. I would like to explore this more to help organize my tackle box better and know what to use when. Such as dark water vs clear water etc. It was 115 pages to sum up what could have been said in 50 pages or less utilizing better pictures or charts.
Reality is tho you learn how to fish by fishing, so just gotta get out there and fish one.
Displaying 1 of 1 review