Having been a beginner myself not too long ago (and in many ways I am still a beginner), I can sympathize with those who want to get started bass fishing, but don't know where to begin.  Here are 10 tips to hopefully get you started.  And if you like, please feel free do to drop me a line on my bulletin board (coming soon):

1. Find a fishing buddy - nothing improves your fishing game more than being able to learn from somebody with more experience.  Check bulletin boards in fishing shops and on-line for people who know the lakes in your area, and ask if you can join them on a few outings.  Be accommodating, polite, and considerate in your request.  Listen carefully, and try to be a sponge for knowledge.  Soon, you will be able to synthesize what you learn on your own with what you are shown to start catching fish consistently.  Don't limit yourself to only those techniques you are shown, however.  Try new things to determine what technique best suits your personality and personal skills.  There are many ways to catch bass.

2. Get a boat - Having a boat changes everything from a fishing perspective.  I was primarily a bank fisherman growing up, and when I finally got a boat that could get me around to different structure and cover, I was amazed.  The scenery constantly changes, you can work to find the most productive water, structure, and cover.  Even if its a small inexpensive one, try to find a boat with at least a 9.9 HP motor and a foot controlled trolling motor with at least 40 lbs of thrust.  A depth and temperature finder would be helpful as well.  I paid less than $5k for my tracker, and I know guys that have spent a lot less and go a lot faster for their money!  If you're not sure that you will be able to sustain your interest, get a buddy to take you out on his boat, and see if you enjoy it.  That way, you won't be stuck with a boat you have to sell in three months if it turns out you don't like fishing as much as you may have initially thought.

3. Rods, Reels, and Line Advice - I would strongly advise getting a decent bait casting reel and learning how to use it.   Spinning reels are good for open water situations where pinpoint casting is not required, but nothing beats being able to cast, pitch, or flip baits into the exact spot in cover you think could be holding fish.  I would spend at least $75 on a reel, and at least that much on a rod to ensure that you are getting gear that will enable you to feel subtle strikes on soft plastics and jigs.  You can often find combo deals that pair decent rods and bait casting reels together.  I'd recommend a 6 1/2 foot, medium action, graphite bait casting rod.  As far as brands, you can trust Falcon, Quantum, Shimano, Daiwa, and the other key manufacturers.  Pair it with a medium-quality bait casting reel by Shimano, Daiwa, or Quantum.  I would suggest getting a high speed reel with a 6:3:1 gear ratio for fast line pickups, and a bit more versatility.  As far as line is concerned, if you are going to fish in open water (water without a lot of cover), you can get away with 8lb to 12lb test line.  If you are going to start throwing into cover, rocks, and wood, start at 14lbs and consider moving up to 20lbs.  Choose a good quality line by Berkeley or Stren.   Believe me, you will thank me for keeping you away from cheap line.  Backlashes are the worst, and they happen the most with cheap line - never mind losing fish to break-offs!

4. Baits, Baits, and More Baits! - Recommending baits is difficult, since all water is different, and the baits you use are highly dependent on season, water color, water temperature, and the like.  But there are a few basics you can count on:.

   • Spinnerbaits - are easy to learn how to throw, and are very versatile;  if you buy one or two baits, buy a couple of  3/8 oz white and chartreuse spinnerbaits, one with willow leaf blades, and the other with a Colorado blade.  Use the willow in clear to stained water, and the Colorado in stained to muddy water.

   • Crankbaits - The key for the beginner is getting the right depth and color.  I would recommend that you fish relatively shallow first as a beginner, and buy crankbaits that dive from 5-7 feet.  Remember, you want the crankbaits to carom off  of bottom structure, so if you don't feel bottom, get a crankbait that will touch the bottom, but not dig in too much.  Colors - I like natural shad and baby bass in clear to stained water, and firetiger and pearl with a green back for stained to muddy water.  Fish them with a moderate retrieve in spring and fall, and a bit faster in summer.

   • Jigs - Jigs can be difficult to learn how to fish for the beginner, due to the patience required to learn how to fish them.  However, I strongly recommend that you do learn, since jigs are known as the 'big bass" lure, and can be good in a number of seasonal applications.  Start with back and blue in stained water, black with chartreuse in mud, and natural craw and green pumpkin in clearer water.  Use a trailer (I'd suggest using a rubber craw as a trailer, with about 2/3rds of the "tail" of the craw chopped off.  Also, I like to thread the craw onto the jig instead of just "hooking" it through.  Powerbait by Berkley has great craws.  Also consider getting real "pork" frogs as well.  Denny Brauer rigs them with the fatty side "up", so the fish bites into real flesh.  Match the size and color of the trailer to the size and color of the jig.  I like Denny Brauer's own Pro Model Jig by Strike King.

   • Topwater - Topwater fishing is really fun!  I'd suggest the PopR in a shad pattern in medium size, The Heddon Baby Torpedo in shad or firetiger, Hula Poppers in black for night fishing, and the Zara Spook in light or reflective colors for clear topwater fishing.

   • Senkos - I love fishing 5" Senko worms.  What's a Senko?  The are salt-injected soft plastic baits that you fish weightless, Texas rigged,  on a 5/0, wide gap hook.  They are part of a class of rubber worms known as "do nothing" worms, because - like the phrase implies, you "do nothing" when you fish them.  Actually, that's really not true.  You concentrate on feeling bites, that's what you do!  When cast properly, Senkos actually fall horizontally - something bass really like, and while they are falling, they wiggle on their own to create a really enticing action that bass really can't resist.  I like to match my Senko colors to the color of the water, using pumpkin with a black fleck in stained water, baby bass in clear water, and black/purple in muddy water.  Pitch as Senko into heavy cover and just let it fall on it's own.  Watch your line, and develop a rhythm as it falls.  If you feel a thump, followed by a "live" feel and look to the line, SET THE HOOK!  If it moves to the side quickly, SET THE HOOK!

5. Read Books! - Nothing helps you accelerate your fishing knowledge more than doing some good reading.  You can find a recommended reading list on my site here.  Good reading!

6. Locating Bass Seasonally - Finding fish is a critically important part of fishing success.  Every body of water is different, but here are a few general rules of thumb:

   • Early Spring (Pre-Spawn) - find fish in deeper water between very deep water (where they hang in the winter) and areas that are possible spawning grounds.  Most fish spawn in protected areas such as in the back of creeks, and in shallow bays and protected flats off the main lake.  Look for long points that extend to creek channels that fish might use as migration routes.  I've heard that suspending jerkbaits work well in pre-spawn conditions when water temps are between 45 and 60 degrees, working them slower with lots of pauses in cold water, and faster in warmer water.  I have yet to catch one on a jerkbait, but I've heard that the strikes can be really exciting. Also, don't fish a suspending jerkbait in anything but generally clear to clear/stained water, since bass rely heavily on sight to locate forage from longer distances.

   • Mid Spring (Spawn) - look for pea gravel and other finely textured hard bottoms in 3-5 feet of water (deeper in clear water, shallower in stained and muddy water).  The area should be protected

   • Late Spring (Post Spawn) - Again, look along those migration routes tracking the path back to deeper water.  Generally use slower moving baits because the fish are in a more negative biting mood after all the work involved in spawning (think of the fish "having a cigarette and chilling after doing the dirty deed....").  Use Senkos, slow moving jigs, Carolina rigged small soft plastics.  I've heard small grubs on lead head jigs can be good on some bodies of water.

   • Summer - Think shallower early in the AM and in the evening (dawn and dusk), and deeper in the late morning and afternoon.  Start with topwater, spinnerbaits, and crankbaits on flats and in shallower banks of creek channels near deeper water.  Later in the day, look to use jigs, plastic worms, and deep cranks.  Try drop-offs, points, and humps (on the deep side) of main lakes, main lake structure, creek channel sides, and 90 degree rocky bluffs.  Fish bottom hugging lures with more aggressive hops in the summer, and fish your deep-diving crankbaits with a faster gear ratio reel.

   • Fall - Explore flats at medium depth, isolated cover like logs and bushes on flats, and the areas half-way back in creek channels on good structure and cover.  Bass are generally feeding on shad at this time of year, and the shad are generally large due to their having grown throughout the season - so make them on the larger side.

   • Winter - SLOW moving baits are the order of the day, as are small baits, fished off of vertical drops, deep creek channel edges, and other deep spots.  When you think you've fished slow enough, fish 90% slower.  I've read that some of the largest bass can be taken in the winter, and guess what?  No fishing pressure!

7. Learn How To Pitch Baits - pitching is an underhand "casting" technique used to throw baits softly into targeted cover.  If you are right handed, disengage your reel, lightly hold the bait in your left hand, drop your rod tip, then sharply raise the rod tip while swing the bait out in front of you as you release the bait with your left hand.  Use a 6 1/2 to 7 foot, medium/heavy action rod and 17-20lb test line.  Generally, pitch jigs, soft plastics, or any bait or presentation that requires a soft landing and a pinpoint placement.  I barely cast at all any more now that I've learned this technique.  It's also great for fishing below tree limbs, boat docks, or any cover  that is difficult to get to using other techniques.  When properly executed, the bait should travel across the water to its target no more than a foot or less above the water, and land without a splash.   After the bait hits the water, quickly (or simultaneously) switch the rod to your main hand and engage the reel.  You're ready to go in the back yard and practice now!  Loosen up your reel's mechanical and magnetic drag for this technique.

8. SET THE HOOK! - remember, you can't catch fish properly without setting the hook effectively after the fish has the bait.  Setting the hook is executed differently with different kinds of baits, but is most critical with soft plastics and jigs. If you see the line moving in a subtle way that feels even the slightest bit alive, drop your rod tip slightly, reel in the slack and SET THE HOOK! If he pounds it and runs hard to the left or right, point the rod tip at him, drop the rod, reel in the slack a bit, and SET THE HOOK!  I'd suggest that in fishing jigs or soft plastics, you should pay careful attention to what the bait feels like as you cast, work, and retrieve it multiple times.  Get use to the weight, how long it takes for it to fall completely, and what it feels like bumping different kinds of bottom cover such as vegetation, rocks, and wood.  If ANYTHING feels weird or different when you pick up your rod tip slightly, SET THE HOOK!!!!!!

To Be Continued...