Beginners' Guide to Lure Fishing for Bass

Bass lure fishing is a fast growing and popular sport in the UK, Europe and around the world. 

We at Drift Fishing are keen to help more anglers to start lure fishing for Bass and so have written the below guide as a useful starting point. 

Here are our five steps to getting started Bass fishing. 

1. Purchase or borrow a rod. A rod suitable for lure fishing is likely to be 8' - 9'6" with the ability to chuck a lure between 10-50g. The Nomura range of rods would be a good starting point. 

2. Purchase or borrow a reel. The reel will be a mainstay of your tackle as it is used constantly in Bass fishing. A fixed spool reel of size 3000-4000 with 3+ internal ball bearings which will help with the smoothness of the action. We have found the Penn Battle Two reels are reasonably priced, smooth and hardy.  

3. Purchase a selection of lures. You will need a selection of topwater and sub-surface lures in different styles, colours and actions to cover a range of scenarios. Some examples of useful topwater lures are the Xorus Patchinko, HTO Glide and the Albie Snax. We'd also recommend purchasing some sub-surface lures such as the Sidewinder Skerries Eels, the Savage Gear Sand Eels and of course our very own Drift Shads. You'll also need a waterproof bag to hold your gear, a pair of pliers and a tape measure. 

4. Find an area to Bass fish. Bass frequent a range of different marine habitats and so different coastal areas will represent different opportunities for Bass anglers. Surf fishing from the beach can represent one challenge, picking between rocks and chucking lures into white water a wholly different challenge, whilst a flooding tide on a large sandy beach another.

5. Give it a go. A huge amount of Bass fishing is perseverance regardless of conditions, weather, tide and simply learning through doing. 

Let us know how your first trip goes and if you have any other tips for beginners please write them in the comments section below.