I’ve been interested in art lure fishing for quite a while now, not just for bass but for species including barbel, carp, tiger fish and whatever would be interested in the lure. Taking the time from my busy schedule however is sometimes a daunting task and reading up on this facet of the sport was left until a week or so ago when we got invited to a bass lodge in Nylstroom. I’m sure as is the case with most newbies to bass fishing, the variety of rods, reels and lures left me flabbergasted. So as the well known saying in IT goes, “Google is your friend”. Armed with my left hand on the keyboard and my right hand on one of the pages in the newest Tight Lines, I filtered through the vast variety of information that was yet again presented to me. Experts and beginners alike gave some valuable insight into art lure fishing, all comming to the same conclusion, a conclusion that is simple, a conclusion that I will be following next weekend, a conclusion that is spelled out below!
What equipment do I need?
As a begginer you do not need a boat, the most expensive rods and reels or a fast number of lures. First make sure that you really like this facet of fishing. As a carp angler I’m sure I would love art lure fishing, but different people have different interests! So start off with one of those old light weight fishing rods that is probaly lying around the house somewhere. If you do not have a small rod lying around, borrow one from a friend or buy one of those cheapies. A begginer bass combo (rod and reel) can cost anything from R300.00 to R1000.00, but if you are prepared to start of with the absolute basics, you can get a light weight combo for R100.00 to R200.00.
When it comes to lures, start off with the tried and tested. Rapala is a well known brand in South Africa with a proven track record. Lures can be expensive and one or two is often all you need. To be honest, as a beginner myself, I chose two lures on nothing else but instinct and a bit of common sense. The first lure I chose is a white Bronzeye pop frog by SPRO.
The white Bronzeye Pop frog
The following is said about this lure on the back of the box: ” The Dean Rojas signature series Bronzeye pop frog was designed to attract bass out of the thickest cover with its loud popping sound…”. I chose this lure for a variey of reasons. It’s bright, it makes a loud popping sound, the hooks fit the bait perfectly and it floats. Because this lure float, it is ideal to use at fishing spots with alot of structure causing snags and tangles. According to the loads of information I went through, this kind of lure is especially effective early in the morning, fishing near features such as water lillies. The second lure now part of my arsenal, is the Rapal Shadrap.
The Rapala Shadrap
This was a choice based purely on the look of the lure. There is really not much to say about Rapala, almost every article book or other piece of information available on bass fishing make mention of Rapala.
Where to fish
It is clear that the majority bass anglers prever the smaller private dams. These dams are often human made with great structures providing the perfect habitat for breeding monster bass.
As they say, practice makes perfect, and hopefully the more I practice the luckier I will get!
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So now finally arriving on the other side of the dam, it was time to focus all my energy on the fishing. My strategy was a simple one, because the dam was unknown, I would fish on 
