Top 10 angler questions answered

Anglers ask questions all the time. What kind of bait are you using? How do you fish that? Where should I go? How do I get that? Ask.com, the popular online question-and-answer engine, recently sent me a list of the top 10 questions anglers ask most frequently on their site. I put those 10 questions to some of the world's best bass anglers.

The anglers include Team Evinrude members Chad Brauer (three-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier with more than $330,000 in career winnings), David Walker (more than $750,000 in career FLW Tour earnings, almost 40 FLW top-10 finishes and six appearances in the Bassmaster Classic) and Guido Hibdon (Bassmaster Classic Champion, two-time B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year and a Bass Fishing Hall of Fame Inductee); and SOG Specialty Knives and Tools pro Michael Iaconelli (sixth-place finisher in the 2010 Bassmaster Classic with a previous classic win, 11 appearances, almost 70 top 20 B.A.S.S. Elite series finishes and more than $1.6 million in career earnings).

Q: How do you tie fishing knots?

Brauer: The most important thing is to pick one knot and learn how to tie it correctly and quickly. I personally use the Palomar knot. It is easy to tie and retains the strength of the line.

Q: When is the best time to go fishing?

Iaconelli: The best time to go fishing is anytime you want to have fun! Seriously, the best season to go fishing is usually in the spring and fall. It is during these transition periods that most species of fish, both in fresh and saltwater, are migrating and more easily accessible to the angler. The best time of the day to go fishing is usually early in the morning and late in the evening. It is during these low-light periods that fish most actively feed. Some of the best fishing also occurs just before, during, and after a new and full moon. Finally, the best fishing usually occurs during periods of falling barometric pressure. This most often occurs just before and during an approaching cold front.

Q: What bait do you use for bass fishing?

Hibdon: My favorite bait is a jig. I enjoy using a small one because most fishermen want something heavy. I like to swim a 1/8-ounce to a ¼-ounce so it looks like a shad. You can fish it along the bottom like a crawdad.
Iaconelli: There are endless choices for baits to use for bass fishing. A bass is a very opportunistic creature. It will feed on anything that could appear to be an easy meal. Live bait is a good choice. Minnows, worms, crawfish, shiners, leeches and frogs are all great choices. Artificial lures are also a great option. Try and pick a lure that matches what the bass are feeding on naturally in the environment. Lures like plastic worms, crank baits, top waters, spinner baits, jig, and spoons are all good choices. Try and impart an erratic movement to the lure and fish it from the top to the bottom of the water column until you connect with the fish.

Q: Who invented the fishing pole?

According to GNO's research: When the fishing pole was invented and by whom is unknown, but stone inscriptions indicate they were present in ancient Egypt, Greece and China, so they've been around for several thousand years at least. Early fishing reels started popping up in the 17th and 18th centuries, but little is known about the exact origins of the fishing pole.

Q: How much is a fishing license?

The cost varies by state. Here are the annual fees for a general fishing license in states within GNO's coverage area. Does not include trout/salmon stamps:

Indiana: $17 resident, $35 non-resident

Illinois: $15-$31.50

Iowa: $17.50-$39.50

Michigan: $15-$34

Minnesota: $17-$39.50

Ohio: $19-$40

Ontario: $33.75-$68

Wisconsin: $20-$50

Q: How do you put new line on a fishing rod?

Walker: Good question, depending on the type of reel will determine how you should set the spool. On spinning reels simply lay the spool flat on the surface holding rod tip above it- - with your hand that is not turning the handle on the reel pinch line between your thumb and index finger. Steadily retrieve until spool is almost full. On reels like bait casters have someone hold your new line spool for you with a pencil so spool will turn freely while you hold tension on line with free hand. Turn handle on reel until reel is almost full. Be careful not to over fill your reel, this will result to tangled lines known as backlash.

Q: How does barometric pressure affect fishing?

Brauer: It is tough to tell exactly what barometric pressure does to bass but as a fisherman I see certain tendencies under differing weather conditions. What causes these to happen is not certain. Low pressure is usually associated with cloudy, rainy days and bass tend to be more active on these days. They seem to be more aggressive and you often get more bites under these conditions. High pressure usually comes with bluebird skies and the bass tend to be less aggressive. You generally get fewer bites and the bass keep close to any surrounding cover.

Q: What is the biggest fishing state?

Iaconelli: There are good bass fishing opportunities in every state in the U.S. except Alaska. Generally the deeper lakes and rivers with a lot of good cover hold the best bass. Also places that receive little angling pressure are often more productive than places that receive a lot of fishing pressure. Without a doubt, the biggest bass live in the states with the longest warm-water growing season. Specifically, states like Florida, California, and Texas offer some of the best big bass fishing in the world. Lake Okeechobee and Lake Kissimmee in Florida, Falcon Lake and Lake Fork in Texas, and Clear Lake and Lake Casitas in California are some of the best.

Brauer: Great bass fishing can be found in almost any state. My favorites are Missouri and Texas.

Walker: Not sure. I feel like my home state of Tennessee probably ranks as high as any of these.

Q: How do you fish for bass?

Hibdon: Summer in Missouri in most of the lakes I would go with a 10-inch plastic worm. My favorite color is green/pumpkin in the brush piles. Fall is great top water fishing or a DD22 (crankbait) on main lake points. Spring is tube baits, shallow running crank baits on secondary points or back in warm pockets.

Iaconelli: Bass fishing requires a basic knowledge of bass behavior and a big dose of wanting to have fun. A good general rule for where to find bass is to fish around some form of cover. Cover is basically a physical object in the water. Things like stumps, trees, vegetation, rocks, docks, or any object in the water. Bass like to hang around these objects as a way to ambush prey and find a break from current. Always try and cast your bait or lure near the cover. For anglers using artificial lures, always try and match the size and color of the lure to what the bass are feeding on naturally in the environment. Also try to impart an erratic movement to the lure to mimic the natural movement of hurt or distressed prey. After every fish you catch or bite you receive, try and remember what happened. Take notice of the water color, wind, depth, and how the strike occurred. Then try and duplicate that for continued success throughout the day.

Brauer: One of the best things about bass fishing is there is no right or wrong way to do it. The two most important things to learn are what the bass are currently feeding on and how they move seasonally. These two things change in different regions of the U.S. but if you can locate the bass and present something that looks like what they feed on, you will catch some bass.

Walker: Bass are a predator fish and they like to eat other fish. So many, many many, lures work well for bass as does live bait. Bass will not eat dead items or lures fished without any action. Be sure to keep whatever you are using, if it is live bait make sure the bait is lively such as worms and minnows. Artificial baits need to be worked with a steady retrieve.

Q: How do I start my own fishing guide service?

Captain Steve Chaconas, who has been guiding on the Potomac River for about 20 years, offers the following advice: The best way to start a guide service is to see whether you have the temperament and patience to be a guide. Start by taking friends and neighbors out for a full day of fishing. Teach them and provide a service to them. This is what guiding is all about. It is NOT having someone pay to watch you fish.

After that, the most important thing is to get commercial insurance! There are very few companies writing policies specifically for bass guides. BoatUS has a great program to protect the guide and the passengers. Next, you need to find out if there are any laws applicable to guides in your area. On the Potomac, we need to have a USCG Captain's license, a Maryland Guide License, a license for passengers, and First Aid & CPR annually. In addition, you must be enrolled in a random Drug Testing Program.

Now you need a boat, a bunch of tackle. I suggest spinning gear as most people can use them. Using bait casting gear with clients could make for a long day of untangling backlashes. As for lures, I suggest using simple presentations and lures that do not require dead-on casting accuracy. This would include shallow crankbaits, topwaters, and splitshot or drop shot rigs.

The idea is to keep it simple and easy for the average angler. Once you determine how well they can cast, then you can introduce other techniques.

Set up a web site with a lot of information on it. Show pictures of your boat and possibly some of your customers. Then it is all marketing and gaining experience to deal with all of the variables of taking strangers fishing for a day!