MOTHERBAITS

Learn why crankbaits are the best lures for fall bass fishing. This beginner's guide covers baitfish migration and how to catch scattered bass.

Japan's bass fishery is small, intensely fished, and largely clear — conditions that force innovation faster than abundant water ever will. Anglers there ran out of easy fish decades ago, and the tackle evolved to solve a fish that watches a lure before deciding. That pressure-first design lineage is why Japanese bass fishing lures now set the pace globally.