The Maestro

Incredible! 2 treble hooks on a moving bait completely in it's mouth and it doesn't get hooked. Equally amazing is how you were able to find and share some obscure fishing video from nearly 50 years ago in a few minutes. I'm going to watch the whole thing when I have time.

It's all in the timing. When I see the line going straight down into the water I know the fish has it. Hi-vis yellow line and a yellow or white frog helps with this. Then it's a matter of reeling up the right amount of slack based on the distance and the way your rod loads up. I then use a hook set that is as straight up and in front of me as possible (as opposed to the over the shoulder style). This ensures the frog collapses and the hooks find the roof of the mouth. I gotta figure they weren't using the braided line and rods available today but still it is amazing.

It becomes instinctual with practice. Bass can pick up a bait so subtly that it's practically imperceptible. Sometimes the "thump" is actually the fish spitting the bait and that's why there's nothing there when you set.

I like the BOSS jig heads.

Another thing about wearing a pfd regardless of how well you can swim is that if you do go in it allows you to focus your mental and physical energy on figuring a way out of the situation instead of putting it towards keeping your head above water.

I don't have any input as far as your ponds are concerned (bass ponds are no where near as common in Canada). However, to answer the question posed in the title of your thread, I think bass (particularly big ones) are smart. As far as fish are concerned bass are known to be a smart fish (along with trout). I say this based on my observations of their behavior. Sure much of it is instinct but I do believe they are far smarter than most people give them cedit for.

The most drastic change I've seen is the sheer amount of information available. Combined with the massive advancements in technology (gps, side/down-imaging, mapping, power poles, spot lock, rods, line, reels, super realistic baits etc.. ), the learning curve has been dramatically reduced from 20-30 years ago.

This is pretty much my standard. Here in Ontario, if were talking largemouth I would put that 5 fish bag at 15lbs. It was only this past year that I started to feel like this was a realistic possibility whenever I go fishing. Does it happen all the time? Not even close. But it does happen sometimes and more importantly I feel confident enough that it could happen on any given day.

It seems like everyone has their own unique style of handling a fishing rod. Somewhat like no 2 baseball plyers swing or pitch exactly the same. I guess it comes down to whatever works for you. If there's one thing, I would say the motion needs to be smooth and not jerky. It amazes me when I see pros pitch with their winding hand and then change hands but it has obviously worked well enough for them.

I like this definition. As for defining a great angler. I would say the ability to even somewhat consistently catch big fish would be part of it. Locally, I know of only a handful of guys I would put in that category.

I know that "good" is a subjective/relative term, but do you guys consider yourselves to be good anglers? How long until you started to think of yourself as a decent angler? What was it that made you start thinking of yourself as a good angler? I know for a lot of guys it's when they start competing and beating others whom they consider to be good. What about for those of us who don't compete, so we have no direct way of comparing? I started to think of myself as a decent (not great, just ok) angler just this past year. It's been almost 10 years since I got more serious about fishing, and I can honestly say that I would have told you that I straight up sucked at it until just recently. I know the learning never stops but I finally feel like my bank of knowledge and experience is to the point where I can usually catch them or at least scratch out a few on a really tough day. How about you guys?

I started making and re-skirting jigs this past summer when I realized how much $$$ I've wasted by throwing away perfectly good jigs because the skirts were trashed. Anyhow, what I do is use the regular rubber skirt bands for convenience and ease of use. Then I tie the skirt down with a piece of 15lb mono pre-tied with a uni-knot. I just separate the skirt, lay it all out as evenly as possible then slip the loop over it and cinch it down at the collar. It's very easy and works incredibly well. You can catch fish after fish and that skirt won't budge. I haven't the inclination to pour and paint my own jigs so I buy BOSS jigs and some basic skirt patterns. The jigs are phenomenal quality and I really like the molded in bait keeper and skirt collar for added flare.

Everything else being equal, the 5/8 will fall substantially faster than a 3/8. Try it out.

I really like catching them on jigs. I've tried to explain to non-anglers how feeling a bite transmitted through the rod and into your hand is just the sickest thing. And then the first time you properly set the hook on a big one with a heavy flipping stick and braided line and you feel the full weight and power of the fish you're ruined from that point on. It's impossible to not want to do it again....and again...and again....

I can't swim but I always wear an inflatable pfd from the moment I leave the dock. I fish alone most of the time and it's my one and only life line if I go in. I'll only take it off during lunch breaks or in super shallow water. Lots of good points have already been mentioned about cold water, wind, clothes, getting tangled in weeds, being miles away from land etc... One thing that really stuck with me is I slipped off a dock once into about 2 fow and my feet sunk into the muck bottom past my ankles and it felt like I was completely cemented in. I had to use my arms to push off the dock to get myself out. I don't care how good you can swim if this happens and the water's over your head and there's nobody to pull you out and nothing to grab onto you would be really screwed really fast. I really think a large percentage of people who drown know how to swim they just overestimate their ability. Falling into a lake is not the same as a leisurely swim in a heated pool.