Bassing for Bonus Fish
by Jerry Carlson

  There are lot of reasons I like to fish for bass during the summer months. I love the opportunity to catch numbers of fish in a short period of time. I never get tired of the aerial display they put on, and I greatly appreciate the scrappiness of these fierce fighters.

However, there are other reasons for targeting bass that are often not publicized as much. One of the best parts of bassing is the potential to catch a few bonus fish along the way.

I remember running a point on a weed line one summer day looking for a school of bass that usually hangs out in the area. When I located the fish, I threw a marker, backed the boat up to a safe distance and pitched a Texas rigged worm to the fish.

I was expecting the telltale tick of a pick-up that told me when to set the hook, but I was not expecting the 18 inch walleye that showed up on the surface. This school of fish was hungry as I caught three walleye in three casts.

It was a Texas rig worm that was producing bass on a small lake by my hometown. My fishing partner and I were working the edge of a cabbage bed when he tied into a fish that was obviously not a bass. After some serious tussle and a lot of weed cutting, we netted a 36 inch northern. A few minutes later, we pulled a 35 inch fish out of the same spot.

One of my favorite ways to work bass is with a jig worm. An eighth ounce Lip-Stick Jig
with a six inch PowerBait worm is a deadly combination. Depending on the lake, it is not
unusual to catch big bluegill, crappie, walleye, northern and bass all on the same outing.
The jig worm is small enough to attract little fish but big enough to entice anything that is
looking for a snack. It is a great bonus fish presentation.

A recent outing proved this point very well. Even though we were targeting bass that were
hanging on the deep weed line of this lake, we caught several three to four pound northern that
added to the enjoyment of the day.

It was during the opening day of the bass season that a dandy bonus fish hit my lure. Fishing
partner, Duane Osgood and I were working a weed line with wacky worms and Texas rigs when
the tug was more than that of a bass. After a couple of trips around the boat, the northern found
the net.

Bass angling has many positive attributes that really appeal to my fishing style. It seems like I
am planning my next outing before I have returned home from my previous excursion. There is
no doubt that part of this appeal comes from bonus fish.

If a person likes to catch fish and is not making an effort to work bass, I believe they are
missing out on lots of action, including the bonus fish that are associated with bassing.
Bass fishing pays big dividends to those that pursue this sport.