Is there a technique you feel is more difficult to become really good at.  I know it's totally subjective but I personally feel like becoming really good with crankbaits would require the most time and practice.  There's just so many different types for different situations. They can be fished in so many ways.  Crankbaits have never really taken off here like they have in the US and my experience with them is quite limited but I just feel like it's one of those presentations where there's much more to it than meets the eye.

Great question.  No doubt some are harder to master than others.  Some are deceptively harder than they might seem.  IMO buzz baits are probably one of the easiest and I would agree crankbaits are pretty difficult.  It is very subjective as you said.

For me it’s flipping and pitching.  So many casts in such a short area.  Unless I get some action quick, I move on to something else.

I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum. Crankbaits are a piece of cake and are very effective for me (always have been). Dragging a jig or bouncing a drop shot around are my most difficult techniques. 

Dropshot

I find the slow, almost do-nothing type techniques to be the most difficult (dead sticking senkos, dragging the ball & chain, drop shotting, etc).  Not that they're actually difficult to do, I just don't have the patience for them.

I think it depends on where you fish.  Someone fishing shallow lakes, choked with weeds probably is going to have a hard time with drop shot or cranking.  I would have some difficulty using finesse jigs in 40' of Lake Ontario water for smallmouth.  Same goes for jerkbaits, which are popular one lake over on Erie.  They typically only come into play with a short window in spring and fall.  For a beginner fisherman, I think detecting the jig bite is the trickiest.  I'm still learning things about them, and I fish them a ton.

Mojo Rig. I can not get the feel of what my bait is doing and I know I'm missing more bites than on a t-rig.

Mojo rig smells a lot like a Carolina rig, and that's pretty stinky. 

Spinnerbaits are a good example of a bait that’s easy to get started with but are deceptively hard to master.  I’ve caught fish on them for 30+ years but I’ve never taken the time to master them.  The great spinner bait fishermen I know carry a couple of hundred extra blades and are always customize their baits in ways and for reasons that baffle me.

Couldn’t agree more JF

I can flip, pitch, and make a lure dance like there's no tomorrow, but when it comes to skipping, you better have your Kevlar helmets on. That's one thing that I've never mastered. 

I’m with Harold...skipping can get messy!

Sometimes my pitching is dead on and other times I can’t even get the bait out of the boat. 

I will offer two ~ 

First is deep cranking - really deep cranking.  Long casts with beefy hard pulling baits; requires a lot of winding.

It's work.  Commitment & dedication are tested. The reward can be more than worth it.  

 

 Second, is Big swimbaits - because the bites are so few & far between that even the most committed angler often needs to put in quite a bit of time before coming close to putting it all together.

 

Personal skill level with both presentations = neophyte.

 

But I'm working on it.

A-Jay

 

Jerkbaits- it just doesn't feel right to me.

 

 

The one you're just starting to learn...

 

For me - that's pitching & flipping. Never done it before because I didn't have a rod/reel combo I was confident that had the power to pull through the weeds.

 

This year it's a technique I'll be learning and practicing...and probably loosing some lures with.

Any type of light line, finesse type stuff that requires a spinnng rod. 

 

Just cant stand fishing that way. 

 

 

 

 

Mike

The difficult thing about crankbaits is getting the correct depth from them . Berkely Dredgers take the guess work out of that . Just pick the next one up with the advertised depth thats deeper than the bottom . 

16 minutes ago, scaleface said:

The difficult thing about crankbaits is getting the correct depth from them . Berkely Dredgers take the guess work out of that . Just pick the next one up with the advertised depth thats deeper than the bottom . 

Correct depth is one of the reasons I picked crankbaits as one of the more/most difficult techniques to master.  I'm pretty sure getting the size, profile and action right is a big part of it also.  I think color might play a more important role compared to other baits as well. Then you have speed and action that you can impart with the rod.  I remember reading about how Kevin VanDam is constantly working the bait with movements of his rod during the retrieve. Just a lot of variables to consider.

1 hour ago, Mike L said:

Any type of light line, finesse type stuff that requires a spinnng rod. 

 

Just cant stand fishing that way. 

 

 

 

 

Mike

That's my favorite way to fish lol

5 hours ago, J Francho said:

For a beginner fisherman, I think detecting the jig bite is the trickiest.  I'm still learning things about them, and I fish them a ton.

   Agreed.... very much agreed.   jj

If you are a spin or baitcast guy, try picking up a fly rod for the first time. That takes some time to learn not to mention master. 

Just now, Scott F said:

If you are a spin or baitcast guy, try picking up a fly rod for the first time. That takes some time to learn not to mention master. 

When I had access to good trout streams, I picked up a fly rod. Man was that a tough thing to learn. I eventually did, but after moving to a place where access to trout streams was difficult, I sold all my fly-fishing gear...including the fly tying equipment - ya, I was tying my own. Now it's been years and picking it up again would be like first learning it.

I can fish pretty much any technique... catching is a different story!