Companies have been riding the crest of bass fishing interest for decades now. The hobby has "hooked" many people, and they have elevated this onetime recreational activity to a legitimate sport. Outdoors shops, gear and even businesses have been built in that time, and many other peripheral areas have benefited.

More and more people are starting to realize what the buzz is all about today. The sport of bass fishing is about a whole lot more then just netting a bass. With tournaments, growing in popularity, it's become more and more about landing that perfect trophy bass. To someone who is just starting out, it can seem overwhelming.

Probably the very first thing to cover is some of the lures that are vital to your success in bass fishing.

Any idea what some of the best lures for landing trophy bass might be? While there isn't any particular scientific method applied to this, an informal poll was taken of many of the professional bass fisherman, and they determined that plastic worms seemed to be the number one choice among the pros, followed up closely by spinner bait and crank bait.

Often times however, you have to dig a little deeper for the right lure. There are a number of other things you need to consider. First off, if you think it might be better to work a smaller area of water or if you want to very quickly work a larger body of water, then a plastic worm isn't going to cut it. The use of worms is a more time consuming process, and they tend to work best when you find bass that are running in schools. That of course takes time.

The other area where you can sometimes run into a problem with plastic worms is with strikes. Plastic worms require the use of a fairly heavy sinker to get them far enough under the water to be useful. However, the weight of the sinker can sometimes cause you to not feel a bass strike when it happens.

Conversely, spinner bait can be moved about much more quickly across the surface of the water. You can temporarily bounce it on the bottom, and move it in ways that mimic a live insect, and influence bass to strike. Spinner bait is also an effective lure for the shoreline due to its tangle free design.

Finally, crank bait can also cover a wide area of water in a short period of time. This also helps out with investigating a specific area in a brief amount of time. If you can't find the schooling bass in the water, this may be your next best bet.

The main idea to pull from all of this is that, whatever type of lure you decide to use, wherever you have decided to cast your line, you absolutely must make it as easy as possible for the bass to see the lure, and strike it. Fish have limited visual abilities, but can sense distance very well. The closer you put your lure to the bass, the more likely they are to make a strike.

This is the single biggest key to successful bass fishing - learn the characteristics of your lures very well, and everything else will fall neatly into place.

Before we wrap up, let's quickly discuss exactly when you should be out on the water for maximum effectiveness.

Fish tend to go deep into cooler waters when the sun is in the sky, and they are considerably less active. This makes the times just before sunrise, and just after sunset the absolute best times of the day to pull in the highest number of fish.

One thing to keep in mind though...when fishing during these times, be sure to being your lure in at a steady pace. With poor lighting adding to their limited vision, it becomes even more imperative that the bass can consistently sense the bait so he has the opportunity to strike it.

Finally, if you are going to be out at dawn or dusk, make sure the temperature is over 50 degrees. Same as being too warm, bass will become much more lethargic when the ambient air temperature drops below 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

With a solid understanding of the proper time of day to fish, and the proper bait to use to catch them, you're already ahead of many anglers who have been at this for years. There is much more to learn, such as the way that weather effects bass activity, and water quality and purity, but that will come later. For now, go have fun and bring home your limit!