On 8/25/2023 at 11:18 AM, LrgmouthShad said:

Intermediate. Like chess, anybody that I meet that just kinda fishes casually, I will outfish most of the time. What I lack is years of experience on any body of water or even a region of the country

This is very well said. When I fish with my friends, I almost always catch more than them, despite trying to coach them and such. I also very rarely get skunked… but i feel like I’m FAR from being a well rounded and experienced fisherman.
 

My biggest struggles are:

- When the fish aren’t biting the way I expect them to, I often struggle to figure out what to change about my approach. 
- Fishing offshore. It feels like trying to find a needle in a haystack. 
 

I often wish that I had a bass mentor, of sorts. I’m the best bass fisherman I know… which isn’t saying much. Wish I knew some more bass guys I could learn from. 
 

 

A rookie? I'm 80. What do you think? ?

Not a rookie, but there is so much to learn it takes a lifetime.  If the bass fishing expertise scale were a 1-10, I'd say I'm a 2, maybe a 3.

My half coffee thought of the morning is to think how much experience a pro bass fisherman gets compared to me.  Let's say I get to fish an average 2 days/week for 5 months of the year (working sucks and our bass season is sadly very short - really only late June-mid November and that's IF it stays warm enough to fish that late).  So I'm getting about 45 day's experience year.  Compare that to a pro who likely fishes 6 days/week for what - 10+ months/year?  So that's more like  260 days/year.  In 10 years, that means I've got maybe 450 days experience vs. 2600 days for the pro.  Plus they hang out with other pros so have direct access to a ton of knowledge, plus the fish the country top to bottom where I may only fish a couple dozen relatively local lakes in my lifetime.  That's a depressing takeaway.?

Welp... off to work.☹️?

@The Baron great observation 

@Will Ketchum With a name like Will Ketchum I never doubted you.

A big part of my recent muskie addiction is the learning aspect of it. My bass game is pretty dialed in after decades of chasing them, but the muskie game has me really learning again rather than just fine tuning things, or picking up a new technique once in awhile. 

 Bass fishing carries over well into muskie. They can be very much cover oriented like largemouth at times, and nomadic/palagic like smallies as well. It's all about what they're eating. In my lakes it's shad during the cold water periods, and whatever they can fit in that big toothy yap in the warmer months.

 It's exciting to have found success at it early on, but I feel like I've barely scratched the surface, and have so much yet to learn. That gets me really excited to get out there after 'em.

 

To feel like a rookie all over again, I just need to visit a new body of water.  
 

blam! Baby-talk. 

Considering this is only my second summer of fishing for LMB, other than the years I waded farm ponds with my brothers for LMB when we were kids, I'm an LMB rookie. And 2022 was only a half summer, so, yeah, total rookie.

 

I read the fishing articles, watch the videos, and ask you guys questions, but it's so much data that I can't hold it all in my head. Because I don't have electronics, I study depth maps too.

 

I reach tomorrow morning's bog down a river, which I've never fished, but I saw this evening that it's seven feet deep, so I'm going to give it a try tomorrow morning and I tied some T-rigged soft plastics to my outfits, hoping I can hook a bass. I know I'm going to hook some weeds because that river's a jungle. I share this story because it encapsulates my approach, which is to ask, listen, and study and then chuck and hope. 

Barely proficient 

i figure i'm the perpetual rookie..........

I have been fishing for over 50 years but I learn something new every time out….??

Ive fished for 30+ years. Bass boats, kayaks, tournaments, as well as being a guide in the past. Thousands of hours on the water in multiple states.

 

So yes, Im a rookie.

I need more time on the water and after 50 years Ill get back to you.