Maine Largemouth Bass fishing in can be fun. You’ll have better luck when the water is over 60*. Maine Largemouth Bass fishing is popular through out the State with hundreds of well established ponds to support the sport. When thinking about Maine Largemouth Bass, think of shade; Maine Largemouth Bass prefer shady conditions. They are most active between 60*f and 80*f. They like to hide in grasses, submerged tree limbs. under docks and position themselves next to underwater structure.

Underwater structure is defined as a change in the bottom conditions. A large flat may not have changes in the lake bottom. But the flat will have structure. Some areas may have bulrush, lily pads, or boulders. They all are considered underwater structure. And Maine Largemouth Bass like to hang next to them. Maybe is makes them feel safe. The hunters can always become the hunted.

While fishing for Maine Largemouth Bass, remember that Maine law bans the use of live bait from April 1st to June 20t; only artificial lures are allowed during this time. There are more Largemouth Bass fishing techniques than I can go over in this article. So, I’m going to review a four Maine Largemouth bass fishing techniques that have worked for me; tubes, spinner baits, wacky worms and the Dawg.

I want to remind you that I’m not the definitive answer to bass fishing. I do not fish in tournaments, and I do not fish exclusively for bass. But I do catch and release my fair share of Maine Largemouth Bass, and I know of a few Maine Bass fishing techniques that have worked for my friends and me in the past.

In case you are not familiar withMaine Largemouth Bass, let’s first review what they look like and the difference between a Largemouth Bass and a Smallmouth Bass.

First, a Maine Largemouth Bass has a strong stripe on its lateral line; the line that runs along the center of the bass’s side. A Maine Smallie (Smallmouth Bass) does not have this marking. Also, the Largemouth’s smile extends beyond an imaginary vertical line that passes through its eye. Take a look at the links above; the differences are pretty easy to figure out.

Now, let’s take a look at Tube Fishing, Spinner Bait Fishing, The Wacky Worm and Walking the Dawg.

Tube Fishing for Maine Largemouths : Tube fishing is most productive when fish are off the bite and sluggish. This might be right after a cold front moves in or while the water is in the lower sixties or below. My most productive tube is made by Canyon Plastic and it comes pre-rigged with a plastic weed guard and a 1/8 oz weight. Canyon Plastics is the company that was originated by Gary Garland and his brother. They invented tube fishing. But that is not why I like it, I like it because it works. Make sure you slide the weed gaurd forward letting it dangle for better hook sets. I fish it in the color of electric blue until mid June if water is clear, and then move on to black with a chartreuse tail. I don’t use these colors exclusively, they are my starting colors. I then work my way to Pumpkin, Purple, Chartreuse, and Motor Oil. You won’t find this pre-rigged version on the Canyon Plastics web site but give them a call; you can order directly from them if you wish. If you don’t have time for that, stop in to the Kittery Trading Post. They usually have the first two colors in stock.

I catch most of my Maine Largemouth Bass with this tube by casting into two to five feet of water. Try a cast abutting a weed bed, then watch the line as the lure descends. If you see anything irregular in your line path, set the hook. If you don’t hook up, the instant the lure hits bottom start your retrieve, stay in contact with the tube by using a slow steady retrieve. Bump it along the bottom with intermittent quick hops; do this by varying the lift of your rod tip while retrieving. Try to imagine what the lure is running into. If you feel a tap, set the hook. It takes a little practice, but this technique can be very productive when the water is cold or the fishing is slow. The lure action should look something like this.

I also flip the tube into 3 inches of water and begin the retrieve from there. If you are new to this type of fishing and not familiar with your rod’s sensitivity, I recommend you start with this technique in 3 inches of clear water. Get a feel for what the rod is telling you. You want the tube to rise slightly (6” - 18”) off the bottom then bump its way along. Vary the height of its jumps off the bottom as you retrieve the lure. Try different speeds while retrieving, and try to get a feeling for the tube. Pretty soon you will know what the tube is doing without seeing it.

Once you become familiar with tubes, try rigging them with different hooks, weights and patterns. The trick is to rig the tube to descend in a swirling pattern. Many people fish tubes hollow with no weight inside of them. It is not my preferred method, but many people have good luck this way. They believe the bubbles leaving the tube make a big difference in the presentation. I haven’t found this to be the case here in Maine.

Spinner Bait Fishing for Maine Largemouths: When it comes to spinner baits, you either have it or you don’t. It is all in the retrieve. Spinner baits are best fished at a constant rate of speed intermingled with changes of direction and short pauses. I hate to use the word pause because it denotes a pause in action or speed. With a spinner bait neither is true.

When you pause a spinner-bait, the action doesn’t stop. The spinner bait will fall on a pause; the action is really changing not pausing. And if you pause it for a fraction of a second, the pause is hardly noticeable. If you pause it momentarily, the spinner bait falls to the bottom in a helicopter fashion. For Maine Bass Fishing, the spinner bait and the pause go together.

The Bait Fish Pause: This pause will mimic the pause a school of bait fish makes just before changing direction. And that is not a very long pause when bait fish are being pursued by a Largemouth Bass. Try retrieving the spinner bait straight towards you, pause and quickly move your rod tip to the left. Then quickly begin retrieving, pause, retrieve, pause, retrieve, change direction. Mix it up a little! Run it across the top of a weed bed somthing like this.

You have to develop a style of your own. You also have to develop a quick hook set and there is no better a place than to do this than on the water.

I like using a large single Colorado Blade when using this technique. Your rod should be sensitive enough to feel the vibration of the blade. If the vibration stops during a retrieve, set the hook. As with the tube, it is important to stay in contact with the spinner bait by feeling its vibration.

Largemouth Bass will generally attack your spinner bait on the fall, the pause, but it won’t be in its mouth for long. Quick hook sets are essential when it comes to spinner-bait fishing. Largemouth Bass have sensitive mouths and use them to determine what type of bait they have encountered. Once the bass feels the metal, you have to set your hook quickly. Keep your pauses short and stay in contact with your lure. A half second pause is the max and a quarter second pause is more of the norm for this type of retrieve.

The Skipping PauseAnother spinner bait presentation I have found affective during the summer months is the skip. Not many people used it, and I stumbled upon it while trying to skip over a dense weed bed. This presentation works best with a set of willow leaf blades. I like the drag they create and the amount of splash they provide. Cast your spinner bait to the opposite side of a weed bed. With a quick retrieve skip it across the top of the water; keep your rod tip high. Pause the spinner bait slightly when a clearing becomes available and then quickly continue the skip. This method can be affective once the sun moves higher in the sky and bass are hiding in the weeds.

Helicopter and the Pause: The helicopter pause is the most widely used pause in spinner bait fishing for bass. Unfortunately it is one I have never mastered. But I’m going to explain it to you anyways.

When you pause a spinner bait, it begins to fall. If the spinner bait is rigged with one large Colorado Blade, it will spin like a chopper blade as the lure descends. The strike will happen on this fall. It is important to stay in contact with the bait by keeping the line taut as it falls. If you feel a bump before the bait hits bottom, set the hook. As far as casting goes, the heavier the spinner bait the better. But if the weather is cold, the fast decent created by this will dampen your efforts to hook up.

I have never developed the feel for this and use line movements to indicate a strike. This takes far longer to determine and I loose many fish because of this.

The Wacky Worm: After the water warms to 68* or 70*, this is one of my favorite presentations. Remember, it not what it looks like that counts. It’s whether or not it catches bass that really matters. A Senko or similar worm is used for wacky rigging. The worm is non-tapered. It can be rigged Texas Style or wacky style depending on the time of year or day.

I have had good luck trying both methods. When rigging Texas Style I vary the position where the hook enters and exits the bait. By stringing ¾” to 1” on the hook before exiting, I can bury the monofilament into the worm. This gives me the ability to steer the worm from side to side, imitating an injured bait fish. Regular Texas Rigging with the eye of the hook still in front of the worm works well also.

Wacky rigging can be approached in several different ways as well. First, simply hooking the worm in the exact middle (end to end) provides tantalizing action by shaking the end of a light duty rod. The bass will inhale this thing if they are on the feed. Don’t let them run with it for too long. I set the hook as soon as I feel the fish. I loose more this way but it insures that the fish does not swallow the bait.

An even safer way two fish this style of worm is in tandem. I don’t mean one behind the other but two on the same hook. Simply rig one Texas Style but instead of finishing with the hook through the same one stick it perpendicularly through a second worm. This gives the bass a larger presentation and something to chew on while you’re deciding on a hook set. I sometimes even mix the colors up when I do this to provide different patterns. I have found this bait very effective early to late summer. I will twitch it, intermittently reel it, and buzz it across the surface by reeling fast and high. My most effective method is twitching intermingled with short retrieves then twitching again.

This is truly fun bait for young and old. It has a short learning curve and enables you to be a little sloppy on your hook setting ability.

If a bass does swallow a hook when ever you are fishing, don’t be afraid. Even if only the top of the hook is showing through its gullet, it can be removed. After the fish has tired, pull slightly on the hook while holding the bass’s jaw and the fishing line with one hand. With your other hand insert a pair of needle nose pliers into its rear gill fold and carefully grab on to the hook. I say carefully so that you use caution not to damage the bass’s gills. Let go of the line with your other hand but hold on to the bass’s jaw. Start pulling on the end of the hook, and turning it, so that the eye of the hook is pointed backwards. The fish may kick a little at this point but you have to be still. Once the hook eye is pointed to the rear of fish, move the hook rearward, then away from your hand and quickly forward. Repeat the motion if you have to.

I have retrieved many hooks left in by others as well as my own this way.

Walking the Dawg Walking the dog is fun, visual and effective, in many different situations. First you need a top water stick bait like the Zara Spook or Cabela’s Walking Dawg. I use both and but prefer the Dawg when I’m dressing the tail.

The technique consists of casting the lure out and retrieving it with short angled pops. The rod action and retrieve differs a little from using a jitterbug or popper. Instead of a straight retrieve, a zigzagging retrieve is desired. Use your rod tip to coax the action you want out of the lure, lift your rod from ten o’clock to eleven o’clock or use a rolling action. Reel in line as you bring you rod down. Twitch the Dawg and wait and twitch it again then pop it. Wait, twitch, pop, wait, twitch, twitch, wait, mix it up. It is an easy technique to learn. You have total visual contact with the lure while practicing. As you develop your own style of retrieve, work on having the Dawg zigzag back to the rod with intermittent twitches and pauses.

This technique is very easy to master and works great around under water cover such as logs and submerged weed beds. Keep varying the rate of you retrieve and pauses until you see what works best for the day. Remember, Largemouth’s are lured out of cover using this technique. Quick, firm hook sets are essential as well as horsing the fish away from underwater cover. Bass will seek the cover they came from after the hook set, so be ready to keep them away from it.

If the bass does get back into the weeds, a strong line will be required to pull it out. If your bass gets back into a downed tree or rooted stump, it takes more then a strong line to get it in the boat. It takes a little luck and a lot of skill. Once bass have the structure working for them, it is much harder to boat it. And in the past, with a little luck, I have boated fish that have wedged themselves into underwater structure. And remember, patience is a virtue! And it takes both patience and luck to boat a bass that you let get into heavy cover.

If you want to read about a few Maine spots check href=”http://www.wmi.org/bassfish/reports/maine/index.html” target=”new”>this out.

Good luck and have fun fishing!

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