Book Recommend? 2024
Rick Howard reply :
I have about a month or two until the ice is gone. To help pass the last few moments till fishing, reading a good Bass book might do the trick. What are you folks recommends?
Thanks,
Rick
A-Jay reply :
In Pursuit of Giant Bass by Bill Murphy
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0963312006/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all
And
Spoonplugging by Buck Perry
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0006CGGPK/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all
A-Jay
MIbassyaker reply :
In-Fisherman Largemouth & Smallmouth Handbooks:
https://www.amazon.com/Largemouth-Bass-Fisherman-handbook-Strategies/dp/0929384113
https://www.amazon.com/Smallmouth-Bass-Fisherman-Handbook-Strategies/dp/0960525432
A little old, but still rock-solid on the fundamentals.
In Fisherman did a more recent update for largemouth with the Critical Concepts series, but it seems those are getting hard to find for a good price:
https://www.amazon.com/Fisherman-Critical-Concepts-Largemouth-Fundamentals/dp/189294734X
https://www.amazon.com/Fisherman-Critical-Concepts-Largemouth-Location/dp/1892947706
https://www.amazon.com/Fisherman-Critical-Concepts-Largemouth-Presentation/dp/1934622850
Team9nine reply :
On 3/1/2019 at 3:58 AM, A-Jay said:In Pursuit of Giant Bass by Bill Murphy
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0963312006/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all
And
Spoonplugging by Buck Perry
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0006CGGPK/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all
A-Jay
On 3/1/2019 at 4:15 AM, MIbassyaker said:In-Fisherman Largemouth & Smallmouth Handbooks:
https://www.amazon.com/Largemouth-Bass-Fisherman-handbook-Strategies/dp/0929384113
https://www.amazon.com/Smallmouth-Bass-Fisherman-Handbook-Strategies/dp/0960525432
A little old, but still rock-solid on the fundamentals.
In Fisherman did a more recent update for largemouth with the Critical Concepts series, but it seems those are getting hard to find for a good price:
https://www.amazon.com/Fisherman-Critical-Concepts-Largemouth-Fundamentals/dp/189294734X
https://www.amazon.com/Fisherman-Critical-Concepts-Largemouth-Location/dp/1892947706
https://www.amazon.com/Fisherman-Critical-Concepts-Largemouth-Presentation/dp/1934622850
You’d be hard pressed to come up with anything better than the recommended books above. This thread is now closed.
Oh, wait - I forgot I’m not a moderator ???? ????
Tennessee Boy reply :
On 3/1/2019 at 3:58 AM, A-Jay said:Spoonplugging by Buck Perry
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0006CGGPK/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all
A-Jay
I agree with A-Jay's choices but not his source. You can get used versions on amazon but they are usually not much cheaper. You can get a new copy direct from https://www.bucksspoonplugs.com/ or from the same folks through ebay with cheaper shipping depending on your location. Compare the cost of the book plus shipping on all three sources to get the best deal. Buck Perry is a must read for any serious fisherman IMO. Pursuit of Giant Bass by Bill Murphy is also good and based on many of the same concepts.
WRB reply :
Josh Alwines (BR member) books High Percentage Fishing and Lunker Lore should be added to your bass books to read list.
The late Bill Murphy's family still receives some revenue from original book sales and well worth reading In Pursuit of Giant Bass.
Tom
Heartland reply :
A Universe from Nothing - Lawrence Krauss
The Big Picture - Sean Carrol
Glaucus reply :
I've read that Spoonplugging doesn't really apply for modern fishing. True or not?
J Francho reply :
I think the concepts of structure and bass movement are still relevant. Some of his explanations weren't 100% correct, based on modern science, but he was dead on about the observations. There's still decent movement of "spoonpluggers" around. Guys like @Catt and @Team9nine. I've read a few pages myself, but never made it through.
As for good books, the In-Fisherman books on Smallmouth and Largemouth, Bill Murphy book, plus a couple textbooks from college when I was a wannabe fisheries biologist.
WRB reply :
True, today's bass anglers don't troll anymore.
What both Perry and Murphy offer besides thier lure presentation techniques is bass behavior and that never changes. Look beyond the lure presentations and gather up the knowledge nuggets that will last you a lifetime.
Tom
12poundbass reply :
On 3/1/2019 at 5:01 AM, Tennessee Boy said:I agree with A-Jay's choices but not his source. You can get used versions on amazon but they are usually not much cheaper. You can get a new copy direct from https://www.bucksspoonplugs.com/ or from the same folks through ebay with cheaper shipping depending on your location. Compare the cost of the book plus shipping on all three sources to get the best deal. Buck Perry is a must read for any serious fisherman IMO. Pursuit of Giant Bass by Bill Murphy is also good and based on many of the same concepts.
Ahhh but purchasing a used Spoonplugging book there’s a chance it’s filled with helpful notes from previous owners like mine is.
Team9nine reply :
On 3/1/2019 at 8:14 AM, Glaucus said:I've read that Spoonplugging doesn't really apply for modern fishing. True or not?
We'll start with the short answer, which is - absolutely false! 
J.Vincent reply :
Book of The Black Bass by James Henshall also Advanced Bass Fishing by Dick Sternberg
bowhunter63 reply :
Jim Roots new one on Smallmouth is really good.
davecon reply :
Glen Lau - book and videos.
Heartland reply :
On 3/1/2019 at 8:14 AM, Glaucus said:I've read that Spoonplugging doesn't really apply for modern fishing. True or not?
If nothing else (which I don't agree with) it gives us a great source of common terminology that makes understanding fishing and comparing apples to apples much less difficult.
Tennessee Boy reply :
On 3/1/2019 at 8:14 AM, Glaucus said:I've read that Spoonplugging doesn't really apply for modern fishing. True or not?
I know guys that are rabid Buck Perry followers. They believe that if Buck said it, it has to be true. I think those people lack critical thinking skills and are naive. That said, they were always the ones I was worried about when I competed against them in tournaments.
A-Jay reply :
On 3/1/2019 at 10:05 PM, Tennessee Boy said:I know guys that are rabid Buck Perry followers. They believe that if Buck said it, it has to be true. I think those people lack critical thinking skills and are naive. That said, they were always the ones I was worried about when I fished tournaments.
Seriously ?
That's some weak salad Bro . . . .
A-Jay
Troy85 reply :
https://openlibrary.org/books/OL24220371M/Spoonplugging.
^This is how I read Spoon Plugging. While not many fishermen troll for bass anymore,most other points in the book are still valid.
The Fishermen Critical Concepts books are also a good choice.
I'm currently reading "In Pursuit of Giant Bass"
Tennessee Boy reply :
On 3/1/2019 at 10:21 PM, A-Jay said:Seriously ?
That's some weak salad Bro . . . .
A-Jay
Yeah... I guess you're right. Let me try to explain my thinking on Buck Perry. Buck Perry's teaching have had a profoundly positive impact on my fishing. I know that much in his book has been proven wrong by science. I can learn from the things in the book that are true. I can reject the things in the book are not. I do not have to accept or reject the man's teachings in their entirety. I've known people that felt like they have to accept it in its entirety. Those people have been well served in their devotion to his teaching. You are better off accepting all of it than rejecting all of it IMO. That's why I highly recommend the book. Explaining why I think reading the book is important would take more words than I'm able to type right now. It even goes beyond structure fishing.
FryDog62 reply :
If interested in Smallmouth - lakes and rivers, check out the books from Tim Holschlaug.
MIbassyaker reply :
It would be helpful to hear more specifically what people think Buck Perry got right and got wrong.
My understanding is that he was basically right about --and was the first person to systematically describe-- locations where catchable bass could be found, as defined by structural features. This accounts for an apparently long history of anglers becoming much more successful upon studying Perry's principles.
Where he seems to have been wrong, or at least not consistently borne out by evidence from modern tracking methods, is in the theory that bass make daily movements from a deep home to shallow feeding grounds, using structural features as "signposts". Instead, the tracking studies show bass tend to resist large depth changes most of the time, tend to move parallel to breaklines rather than regularly crossing them from deep to shallow and back, suspend more often than anglers realize, and that bass caught at very different depths are likely different populations of fish.
Tennessee Boy reply :
@MIbassyaker you made a lot of good points. It seems like every thread that mentions Buck Perry becomes a thread about Buck Perry. That say's a lot about his influence on the sport all these years later.
I would say generally, Buck presents a model of Bass behavior and movement. His model is far from perfect but can be used to find quality bass. It doesn't explain why all of the fish in the lake are doing what they are doing but we don't need for it to. We can't catch all of the fish in the lake. If we can just locate and catch a few of the bigger fish in the lake on a given day, it's a good day. Buck Perry's book can help.
Team9nine reply :
On 3/1/2019 at 11:49 PM, MIbassyaker said:It would be helpful to hear more specifically what people think Buck Perry got right and got wrong.
My understanding is that he was basically right about --and was the first person to systematically describe-- locations where catchable bass could be found, as defined by structural features. This accounts for an apparently long history of anglers becoming much more successful upon studying Perry's principles.
Where he seems to have been wrong, or at least not consistently borne out by evidence from modern tracking methods, is in the theory that bass make daily movements from a deep home to shallow feeding grounds, using structural features as "signposts". Instead, the tracking studies show bass tend to resist large depth changes most of the time, tend to move parallel to breaklines rather than regularly crossing them from deep to shallow and back, suspend more often than anglers realize, and that bass caught at very different depths are likely different populations of fish.
I’d say that is a fair analysis. The only caveat I’d add, at least initially is that looking at the big picture, what specifics he may not have got technically correct based on modern telemetry doesn’t really matter. It doesn’t change the outcome any.
So you have a group of bass on one point in 12’ of water, and another different group of bass further out in 22’ of water. Different schools, but by following the procedures Buck laid down, you are still going to run into and catch both schools of fish. Doesn’t matter that the fish in 22’ didn’t move up, or the fish in 12’ didn’t move back down.
Similar with suspension. Who cares whether as Hope documented, a suspended fish moved horizontally over deeper water until he hit a structure, or whether that fished moved up from deeper water to hit the same structure at the same depth. If you’re there fishing at the right time in the right manner, you’ll still catch those fish. That’s the beauty of Spoonplugging, you can be right for all the wrong reasons and still make great catches. Lots of us have the pictures to prove it ???? 
Glaucus reply :
I didn't mean to open up that can of worms. I've looked into Spoonplugging a few times but I've always come across people saying it doesn't apply and much of the information is not correct. To be clear, I only wanted to know for myself because I may get the book.
Tennessee Boy reply :
On 3/2/2019 at 12:51 AM, Glaucus said:I didn't mean to open up that can of worms. I've looked into Spoonplugging a few times but I've always come across people saying it doesn't apply and much of the information is not correct. To be clear, I only wanted to know for myself because I may get the book.
No problem man. We all enjoy a good can of worms. It's what gets us through the winter. Good discussion!
Harold Scoggins reply :
In defense of Bill Murphy's book, our tackle changes over time, but our approach to structure doesn't. Just when I think I got that green fish figured out, it throws me a curve ball. It is then that I think of the wisdom behind his words on page 47.
TnRiver46 reply :
On 3/1/2019 at 8:23 AM, WRB said:True, today's bass anglers don't troll anymore.
What both Perry and Murphy offer besides thier lure presentation techniques is bass behavior and that never changes. Look beyond the lure presentations and gather up the knowledge nuggets that will last you a lifetime.
Tom
I love trolling for bass
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