Bass fishing

I want to do some bass fishing this year, but i've never done it before.
Where is some good lakes to do this?
What time of the year?
And what tackel to use?

I grew up in the South fishing for bass, but I have a love-hate relationship with them in Oregon (they don't belong here and feed on salmon/steelhead smolts, but they are ridiculously fun to catch).

I have limited experience, but I understand that a number of Oregon coastal lakes have largemouth in them (including some around Tillamook/Rockaway). 

I've done a little smallmouth fishing in the Columbia, with good luck.  I've always wanted to try Drano or the Beacon Rock area.  Silver Lake is another good bet in WA.

This year I am absolutely going to spend some time fishing Davis Lake (down near Bend/Sunriver in OR).  This was a world-class trophy trout fishery, fly-fishing only, that some genius decided to dump a bucketfull of bass in a decade or so ago.  Now the bass are taking over the lake, and get very large.  To their credit, ODFW has not yet rewarded the evil-doers by lifting the fly fishing restriction, so it is a popular place to go fish for big trout and bass from small boats on fly tackle.  Heats up in early May.

I have yet to fish for bass in Oregon.  I'm hoping that will soon change.  My first lake to try will be Henry Hagg Lake (wast of Portland near Forest Grove) which has both smallmouth and largemouth including the most recent Oregon state record smallmouth.  I'm not sure what lakes and rivers you have out near Kent.  My guess is you'll have an easier time finding smallmouth in some of the rivers. For example, the Willamette and Columbia both have smallmouth and I imagine many of the Columbia tributaries do as well.

As for time of year, they can be caught all-year long, but spring is usually a good time while they are in their pre-spawn aggressive stage.  During the actual spawn fishing slows down a bit and the only way to catch them is to tick them off while they're lying on their nests.  After that is stays pretty good until the water cools down in the fall.  During the summer, smallmouth tend to stay in deeper cool water while the largemouth will hang out in the shallows.

Tackle wise they hit just about anything and almost any rod will do.  Like any type of fishing it's probably best to try and master one technique first then add more techniques as you go.  Trying to be the "jack of all bass fishing" at first only leads to confusion and frustration.

One early in the year tactic that I like to use is to troll or cast crankbaits in fairly shallow water (10-15' or so) near structure (steep banks, submerged logs/trees, points).  Later in the summer these fish will move deeper and I'll switch to a deeper diving crankbait.  Once they get deeper than 25 ft or so, I'll switch to jigs.

Other popular lures are senkos, creature baits, spinner baits.

Your lighter steelhead rods will work fine, but if you are itching to buy a new rod there are plenty to choose from.  Smallmouth fishing tends to favor lighter action rods even ultralights with light line, while largemouth fishermen often fish with heavier rods and line, especially if they are doing something like flipping jigs into heavy structure.

There's a ton of information on bass fishing online.  Probably one of the best is http://www.bassresource.com/fish/bass_fish.html

Brian

Kool thanx for the info. I'm not really itching to buy a new rod. I just wanted to give it a try this spring and summer, since I usually fish in the fall and winter for salmon and steelhead. This is my first year kayak fishing so I figured I would ease into it with smaller fish and water until I get more comfortable in my yak. I've been out several times but have not yet hooked into any fish. I can't wait until I do so I can get a feel of what it's like to have one on.

Both Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish have good bass fisheries.  Lot's of smallies and some largemouth as well.

-Allen

I don't know about Washington, but in the Willamette/Tualatin Valleys, some of the best largemouth fishing is in neighborhood parks with lakes.  When I was kid we used to nail 5lb'ers regularly in Commonwealth Lake (Beaverton), Summer Lake (Progress), Sunset Lakes (Bethany) and lots of other mud holes all over the place.  Worms, Top water plugs, flatfish, Poppers etc.

One fall in High School, several friends and I would do recon on private ponds around the Tualatin Valley during the week.  On the weekends we'd sneak in before dawn and fish till we got caught.  Ahhhh those were the days....

Both Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish have good bass fisheries.  Lot's of smallies and some largemouth as well.

-Allen

what he said, ....and add to that list lake kapowsin down here by me, and the aforementioned silver lake about 2 1/2 hours south of you...which is also down here by me.. american lake, angle lake [ seatac parks area i believe] ...

mcdc, a good read that i found very useful is "Washington Fishing, the complete guide to fishing lakes rivers streams and the ocean" by terry rudnick, publisher is foghorn outdoors it's yellow and red like the old sante fe super cheif trains were.. you can find it in the book section of your local freddies, $21.95 s.r.p. 

since i'm trying to learn the fisheries here, being a relative newcomer, it's been a really great "go to" reference for me... it breaks down the state by regions, then details each region by water types and species.....

honestly, any spinning or bait casting or fly tackle that you might use on the streams for trout or panfish will work.. i've caught plenty of smallmouths on the susquehanna river in penna. and various texas lakes using panfish and fly gear. look at it this way... regardless of all the high tech tackle hype on the early morning tv shows on versus and the outdoor channel, use a few basic lures  that you might use on other fish and you should be fine.
Rich

Have you seen the Washington's Lake site, yet? You'll want to sort through some of the information, but it'll be a good start, especially as far as learning what lakes have what fish. http://www.washingtonlakes.com/

Thanks for all the info. Very helpfull I appreciate it.

mcdc1369- You may want to look into Beaver Lake in Sammamish if you are wanting to get started in bass'n.  There aren't many hawgs, but there are plenty in the 1-4lb range.  Another bonus is that the lake is electric only so you don't have to be forever mindful of careless powerboats and pwc's. 

Keep checking the WashingtonLakes.com site for when local lakes start heating up.  If you are new to bass fishing I would definitely stick with smaller lakes.

Thanks I'll definitely check it out.