5 Ways to Catch More Bass this Spring

In today's fast-paced society, it can be tough to free up an entire day to fish. All too often, our fishing ends up being a few hours after work, or a weekend morning before a busy day.With limited time to fish, just catching fish becomes a bigger priority. When you've got a whole day or weekend ahead of you, it's easy to spend a couple hours doing something less productive or trying to specifically target big bass.Setting the hook is always the goal of any fishing trip, but it becomes a necessary component of success when you're limited in time.With that in mind, we've pulled together some tips for upping your number count this season.

1. Fish faster

When you've got all day to fish, it's easy to devote a couple hours to a single point, or really dissect a main river ledge, trying everything in your tackle box. If you're working on a tight window though, you've got to maximize your opportunities by only targeting aggressively feeding fish.The best way to do that is to speed up. By covering a lot of water with fast moving baits like spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and topwaters, you up your odds of running into an active school - and active bass are easily enticed by power fishing techniques. Sure, you'll probably fish right the top of some potentially good areas, but if the fish in those areas aren't willing to bite, does it really matter?

2. Downsize

The current rage in fishing as well as life is "bigger is better". You're seeing bigger crankbaits, big glide baits, and 12 inch worms become every day parts of many anglers' arsenals.Big baits like those are great for triggering big bites, but for numbers, not so much. If you want to really load the boat, instead try downsizing your presentation to something more appealing to all sizes of fish. Throwing ¼ ounce spinnerbaits, small crankbaits, or a 4 inch worm will almost certainly entice more bites than a much bigger offering, particularly on smaller waters.

3. Try a new bait

Everyone's likely heard the old adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Well, what if it is broke? What that means is that if you're interested in catching more bass, that desire implies that you're not completely satisfied with the amount you're currently catching using your current lineup of ''regulars''. So try a new bait this summer, learn a new technique, and open up a new avenue for catching more bass. That's the great thing about Mystery Tackle Box. It provides anglers an inexpensive way of exposing themselves to a number of new products and techniques every month.

4. Fish from shore

Although anglers with boats will likely scoff at the notion of fishing without their floating tackle store, you can catch a lot of fish from shore – sometimes more than you'll catch from a boat. Shore anglers have access to many smaller waters that are inaccessible to boats, and they're often teeming with bass.Bass in smaller waters are also much easier to catch because they don't receive nearly the pressure the bass in bigger waters receive. It's also a great way to maximize fishing time if you've only got a few hours - there's a time cost to hooking up your boat, driving to the launch, and heading to your first fishing spot. Find a good pond close to your house and you could wear them out before you'd have even gotten to the lake with your boat.

5. Get up early

In addition to catching the worm, early birds will also catch more bass. It's no secret that the low-light conditions early in the morning are the best time to catch aggressive fish. By getting on the water early, you'll be able to maximize the morning bite and greatly increase your odds of running up your numbers. Anglers with family duties can also benefit from getting on the water early, as most family destinations don't open until later in the morning on weekends, making a couple hours on the water early followed by a day with the family a very doable proposition.