How to Fish With Crickets for Bass

If you’re going bass fishing, you may be inclined to use artificial baits such as jigs, minnows, and spinnerbaits. However, live bait such as cricket could be pretty effective because of how much bass love crickets. So, you would need to know how to fish with crickets for bass.

How to Fish With Crickets for Bass

Fishing with crickets for bass falls into two main categories:

• Topwater fishing
• Underwater fishing

Topwater Fishing

This mainly involves hooking the cricket on a line and then casting it out to float using a bobber. Provided the cricket was hooked right, it would remain alive and create sufficient motion attraction via kicking and twitching.

Locations such as weeds, submerged timber, fish beds during spawning season as well as weed edges are great areas to target. In addition, you could opt to go without a bobber since the cricket would easily float on the water thanks to their light weight.

Underwater Fishing

To fish underwater with crickets, they would have to be dead so that they can sink. You would also need split shot weights to help your bait descend to the depths; one would work, and you may attach multiple too.

How to Hook a Cricket for Bass

Hooking a cricket can be quite intense, however, it is achievable. Before we proceed, it’s essential to note that using live cricket is preferable to using dead cricket as bait. This is mainly because a live cricket creates enough movement by wiggling in water which easily attracts a bass.

1. First off, hold the cricket firmly enough in your hand that it is secure. It could try to jump off, so ensure your hand is dry so it doesn’t slip off your hand. They are delicate creatures and should be treated gently.
2. Next, with your hook on your other hand, turn the cricket’s back and place the hook on the cricket’s head. Their head is the hardest part of their body.
3. Gently pierce the cricket’s back with the bent part of your hook in a slow motion. You need to be careful here.
4. Pull the hook through the body deep enough so it is secured and not too loose so it does not get free. The cricket should be alive and able to move after attaching your hook. It’s important it is capable of moving as its movement is pivotal to baiting a bass.
5. Afterward, cast your bait delicately into the water and patiently wait for a bass to strike.

Avoid swinging it carelessly, throwing it around, or engaging in any reckless activity so your cricket doesn’t die. Similar to this technique, there are other methods of hooking a cricket that is easily done in a couple of minutes. In addition, you could use a bobber or a saber hook to cast out the cricket.

It’s worth mentioning that your cricket may not live very long in the water. Once they are hooked and immersed in water, they could die in a few minutes. Regardless, you have nothing to worry about. A bass will undoubtedly fall for the appealing bait before it dies.

Do Crickets Attract Bass?

Cricket is an excellent option for fishing. Often, it is overlooked by both beginners and professional anglers when fishing for bass because of the complex procedures involved in using cricket as bait. Although the process involved – finding a cricket, handling and hooking it – may be seemingly tedious, the reward is always worth the stress.

A wide amount of fish species are attracted to crickets and this is primarily because of their irresistible movement in the water that attracts hungry fish. They are ideal for bass fishing in summer and can be used in any body of water. Also, crickets are quite accessible, they can be found easily and require no special equipment to be used as bait. With basic fishing gear and cricket in your hand, you are set to go.

You may end up attracting a trout, bluegill, catfish, or even a pike. Don’t be surprised as they are also fond of consuming small insects. In a bid to not waste your bait and effectively lure a bass, it’s best to fish in shallow areas and dense aquatic regions.

How to Catch Crickets for Bass Fishing

Catching a cricket isn’t as challenging as most people think it is and you probably have gone cricket hunting as a child. Crickets live close to the water and often shy away from sunlight. As a result, you may find them under logs of wood, leaves, or rocks. So how do you catch a cricket? Let’s begin with the easiest and most popular way:

Plastic Bottle Method

For this method, you need a plastic size 2-liter bottle.

1. With a clean dry cloth, erase any form of liquid in the bottle and cut the top of the bottle to its neck.
2. Next, get a piece of bread or a cube of sugar. If you’re using the former, wet it with a bit of water and put it inside the bottle. If you’re using the former, there’s no need to wet the sugar, simply place it inside the bottle.
3. Then lay the bottle on the side and carefully place it in any surrounding you’ve seen crickets or where they commonly live. Bread or sugar will instantly attract them and lure them to go into the bottle. However, because of the funnel-shaped bottle, they won’t be able to go out.

This is the easiest way to catch a cricket. With this method, they’ll be unhurt and can live for as long as you need. To preserve them even longer, you can use a needle to pierce multiple holes in the bottle for oxygen.

Newspaper Technique

For this technique, you need granulated sugar, bread crumbs, and a jar.

1. Mix them into a cup and sprinkle it where you’ve seen crickets. Sprinkle your mixture before nighttime when they usually gather.
2. Use a sheet of newspaper to cover your mix so the cricket can crawl under. You’d be surprised by the number of crickets this attracts. While they are feasting, you can capture them in your jar.
3. Afterward, seal your jar with a lid and there you have it! Try to provide some breadcrumbs to feed the crickets while you keep them.

Alternatively, you can purchase crickets from fishing and pet stores that sell baits, lures, rods, and other necessary fishing equipment. You could also buy crickets from a cricket farm and have them delivered to you.

Also, you could freeze your crickets. As you’d expect, this will kill them, however, a dead cricket also serves the same purpose as a live one. However, it may be less effective. A dead cricket retains the scent of a live one, so you can be sure that bass will fall for the bait.

Related Questions

Should You Fish Largemouth Bass With Grasshoppers?

No, you should not fish largemouth bass with grasshoppers. This is because largemouth bass is not very attracted to grasshoppers and would ordinarily not go for them. The only exception could be if the grasshopper is pretty sizable and lands right in front of them.

Largemouth bass would rather consume prey like shad, bluegills, and frogs. On the other hand, they make excellent bait for smallmouth bass because they love them.

Conclusion

If you’re fishing for bass with a cricket, hooking a cricket while simultaneously keeping it alive may seem arduous. However, with this guide on catching a cricket and hooking it for bass, you will find it easier to peg a cricket and entrap a bass.