Bass Fishing Books

If you only want to read one book about Largemouth Bass fishing, this should be it.  It is the most comprehensive of all the Largemouth Bass books that I’ve ever read and explains things in an easy straight-forward tone.  If you ever wondered what an “oli” lake is or what a flatland impoundment looks like and how to fish them, this book is for you.  In addition to the types of water that Largemouth Bass live in, the history, biology, seasonal periods and food sources are covered as well as how to fish specific structures such as boat docks, points, weeds etc.  Some of the specific lure techniques are a bit dated and lacking but that doesn’t detract from the overall value of the book.  With that said though, I should add that if you just want a book that tells you how and when to fish a spinnerbait or a plug or a worm, neither of the In-Fisherman bass strategy books are for you.  The books are meant to give you a broad base of knowledge about the bass and its biome and how an angler can exploit such to catch bass. 

Everything I stated about In Fisherman’s largemouth book can be stated for this book.  This book really is the definitive book on fishing for Smallmouth Bass.  Much of the info that is in the Largemouth Book is repeated here but is more form specific to the smallmouth species.  As I stated about In-Fisherman’s largemouth book, I will add that if you just want a book that tells you how and when to fish a spinnerbait or a plug or a worm, neither of the In-Fisherman bass strategy books are for you.  The books are meant to give you a broad base of knowledge about the bass and its biome and how an angler can exploit such to catch bass.

In my opinion, this is a very under-rated book.  Weiss does a nice job of integrating biology, tactics, weather and technology in a concise informative format that is easy to read and digest.  The three main black bass species are covered; Largemouth, Smallmouth and Spotted.

The book is an easy read but the information about jig fishing for bass is rather basic. For the novice bass jig fisherman, I think the book would be very helpful. Appropriate tackle such as line, reels and rods are discussed as well seasonal approaches to jig fishing.  Overall, I thought the book lacked in detailed information. The diagrams and maps were quite rudimentary and Denny Brauer talked quite a bit about how his jig by "Strike King" is superior. Plugging his product prevented him from detailing how different jig designs might be a better choice in specific situations.  If you're an advanced bass fisherman, I can't recommend this book but if you're new to using jigs for bass, this book is a good start.

The book title is a misnomer.  In this book, Brauer doesn’t really talk about his tournament strategy.  He mainly talks about how he fishes various lures and why he chooses those lures and how he uses them on different types of cover and structure.  It is an easy read but if you consider yourself to be an advanced bass fisherman, don’t bother with this book.

Of the books written by touring pros, I consider this one to be one of the best.  Although much of the information is rehashed bass fishing tactics common to Bassmaster, This book does offer insight into the thinking processes of a bass fishing professional.  How to deal with differing weather and water conditions as well as fishing specific types of structure and cover is offered in this book.

I think that this book was rushed out to capitalize on Vandam’s Classic Championship.  No real “secrets” are revealed here and I don’t believe that there is anything in this book that isn’t covered in Vandam’s other book: Kevin Vandam’s Bass Strategies: A Handbook for All Anglers.

As the title might suggest, this book is about the life of Tom Mann the founder of Mann’s Bait Company.  Personally, I don’t usually like books like this but I found this one to be quite entertaining and inspiring.  One likely won’t learn anything about bass fishing by reading this book but it does entertain none-the-less.

As far as I know, this is the only real “scientific” book about black bass and bass fishing that is specifically written for the angler.  Dr. Jones, in very specific detail, writes about the biology of the black bass.  He outlines many of the studies that he and his colleagues performed at Pure Fishing in a relatively clear, easy to understand prose.  If you’re interested in reading the latest findings about the biology of the black bass, this book is the ticket.  Be aware though that it isn’t an easy read by any means.  Although Dr. Jones does a nice job of simplifying the subject matter, the book is scientific none-the-less and may be just plain boring to many.

A very well conceived book that covers black bass fishing from a biological standpoint.  The stated emphasis of the book is to catch “big bass” but the subject matter contained in the book is valid information for all sizes of bass.  Some of the lure specific techniques are a bit dated but don’t let that dissuade you from reading this book.

This is really a techniques book - how to fish ledges, weeds, stained water, clear water etc.  Yes, there are patterns there but how to recognize and exploit a specific pattern isn’t touched upon at all.  Beyond that though, the book is an easy read and is informative albeit a bit dated.

Just subscribe to Bassmaster and you’ll get the same thing.  This book is Larsen interviewing touring bass professionals on how they fish different lures and their strategy for differing situations.  The “Table of Contents” looks great but the book is very shallow in detail.

This book is similar to Larsen’s bass fishing strategies book.  This time, Larsen isn’t interviewing pros but talking to bass fishing guides.  If you are seeking some tips for Largemouth Bass fishing, this book offers up a few but if you’re hunting Smallmouth or Spotted Bass, don’t waste any time with this book.  As a matter of fact, I suggest that you skip this book all together.

Jimmy’s story telling is entertaining but beyond that, this book offers little to help the angler seeking bass fishing knowledge.  An easy read – you’ll be able to finish it on any frozen winter night if you’re looking for an entertaining read to break up the monotony of the season.

A very engaging book – the offering here is nicely done.  Not a lot of depth but a nice read for the beginning bass fisherman whom it was meant for.  Also, ethics are stressed throughout the book – not only fishing and tournament ethics but family and life too. 

This is a pretty neat book.  If you ever wondered what it would be like to make a run on the professional bass fishing tour, this book does a great job of illustrating what it’s really like behind the scenes.  This diary is easy to read and captivating.  Will it make you a better tournament angler?  I don’t know but at least you’ll get an idea of what you’re getting into.

Whitlock is one of my favorite fishing authors.  This book contains everything a novice fly fisher needs to know to fish for bass.  An experienced fly fisherman may find the information a bit more for the neophyte.  If you buy only one book about fly fishing for bass, it should be this one.

If you’re into reading scientific papers (who isn’t?) this is the book of all books.  Sixty scientific papers from the August 2000 Black Bass symposium are in this large book covering the biology and management of the species. 

If you live in Western New York or plan on fishing there, this book is a must.  Recently updated and re-released in March of 1994, this book covers just about every lake, river, stream, creek and fishable puddle in WNY.  The book is divided by county then further broken down by flowing waters and still waters.  Sander covers access points, special regulations and the type of fish that are in the specific water as well as information about weeds and the water chemistry involved.  The book is heavily illustrated with contour maps as well as directional road maps.  This book helped me to discover many new honey holes and I refer to it often.

This is an update to a book that has been long out of print.  This book is suppose to be released sometime in 2005 and it should be every bit as good at Sander’s Western New York book.  Many of us are eagerly awaiting the release of this book.

This book isn’t anywhere near as thorough as the Sander’s book but it is quite useful none-the-less.  The coverage in this book travels a bit further east then in Sander’s WNY book and Rybaak does offer some good information about access and techniques.

Overall a very good book offering insight on some of Eastern New York ’s better waters.  Like Rybaak’s WNY book, this one has access, species and travel information for numerous Eastern New York waters.

Other Species

This is the only book on Crappie fishing that I’ve read so I don’t really have anything to compare it to. With that, it did answer the questions that I had about fishing for Crappies.  As is typical in the “In-Fisherman” series of books this one covers the biology of the fish then talks about the strategies one might apply for lakes, reservoirs and flowing waters. Seasonal aspects are discussed as well as lures and their presentation.  Overall, this is a very thorough offering on Crappie strategies.

Another very thorough “strategy” book from the “In-Fisherman” staff.  Esox as a family are discussed; not only Northern Pike but Musky and Pickerel are covered in this book.  Biology, habitat, seasonal strategies and lures are explained.  Additionally, historical information about Esox fishing in Europe and stocking of the fish in North America is covered.  This is another excellent, thorough “strategy” book from “In-Fisherman” which I highly recommend.

The definitive scientific book about all freshwater fish found not only in Canada , but North America .  Personally, I’ve been trying to get a copy of this book for some time.  My local library has a copy and the librarian must muse to herself why I check it out so often.

In this book Whitlock discusses the major foods that trout eat in an easy non-scientific manner then he illustrates how the fly fisherman can imitate the food most effectively.  Once you’re done reading it, you’ll realize that you’ve just painlessly read a book on entomology – that is how easy this book is to read for a difficult and confusing subject.

If you’re just starting out fly fishing, this book is a great start.  Everything you’ll need to know is covered and Whitlock’s illustrations are superb.  The only weakness in this book is that fly casting is not discussed in depth but that probably is because L.L. Bean has a handbook solely dedicated to that facet of fly fishing.

An excellent book on fly casting!  All the various casts and techniques are covered here in a simple straight forward manner.

This is a book for beginning fly fishers that is written in comic book format with wry humor and elegant simplicity.  This is a very “different” type of book and one of my favorites.  I find it difficult to describe except to say that it will do what many books fail to do and that is at the same time, it will educate and entertain.