A man's got to know his limitations. What are yours?

[ol'crickety]

Clint Eastwood said, "A man's got to know his limitations." What are yours?

 

Here are some of mine:

 

Walking bait fishing. I have never caught even a single bass on one. And I must own a dozen of them! Still, I cast them and hope.

 

Baitcaster casting. I watch those YouTubers cast into bitsy pockets and sigh.

 

Wrasslin' bass out of weeds. Gosh, it's hard and I often fail. However, my new MH rods are helping. There are times when I feel like I have half a measure of control over three-pounders. Above that, all bets are off.

 

Froggin'. I can do it, but I don't do it well.

 

Remembering the names of lures, line, rods, and reels. Some of you guys remember everything. EVERYTHING! Not me. Not even close.

 

 

And if you want, share what you do well too. Here's me:

 

Stealth. I'm a sneaky, snake-y fisher.

 

Paddle. I have paddled so many thousands of miles that a paddle is just another part of me. I can bend it like Beckham. 

 

Early riser. 

 

I'm willing to fish with less, as in a comfy boat, engine, and electronics, which puts me atop bass that aren't pursued by fishers with comfy boats, engines, and electronics.

 

 

 

 

 

[TnRiver46]

Night fishin , I’m too sleepy 

[ol'crickety]

2 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Night fishin , I’m too sleepy 

 

[WRB]

Sitting in a canoe and trying to work a dog walking lure it’s difficult to snap the rod tip downwards to get the lure walk in place without too much forward movement.

Selling my boat has really change my fishing, hard to catch bass sitting in the recliner.

Tom

[TOXIC]

If I had to say the one thing I do really good is fishing plastics.  Doesn’t matter what technique, I love fishing plastics.  What I don’t do so well is fishing a whopper plopper or bladed jig.  I have caught a lot of fish on the “walk the dog” baits.  They are my favorite topwater.  Especially a Sammy. 

 

[NorthernBasser]

One thing I really suck at is fishing the Carolina Rig. I suck so bad at it, I've never even tried it. Not once. Ever. ?

[12poundbass]

57 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

Remembering the names of lures, line, rods, and reels. Some of you guys remember everything. EVERYTHING! Not me. Not even close.

I’m right there with you!

 

Finesse presentations! I just have a hard time fishing slow. I’m a patient person but for whatever reason I don’t have the patience to fish slow.

[volzfan59]

Here's my weakness and quite the paradox. Fishing a jig, I'm terrible at it. Here's the weird part, I've caught exactly two fish on a jig. A drum and my PB (6.5 lb) smallie! Either dropped it right on top of her or she was the dumbest smallie in the lake! I keep trying though.

 

Big swimbaits. 

 

Like @TnRiver46, night fishing is also a weakness. I can get up at 0300 to go fishing, but can't stay up all night.

 

My strength, other than jig and big swimbait fishing, I'm pretty versatile. 

[padlin]

1 hour ago, ol'crickety said:

Clint Eastwood said, "A man's got to know his limitations." What are yours?

 

Here are some of mine:

 

Walking bait fishing. I have never caught even a single bass on one. And I must own a dozen of them! Still, I cast them and hope.

 

Baitcaster casting. I watch those YouTubers cast into bitsy pockets and sigh.

 

Wrasslin' bass out of weeds. Gosh, it's hard and I often fail. However, my new MH rods are helping. There are times when I feel like I have half a measure of control over three-pounders. Above that, all bets are off.

 

Froggin'. I can do it, but I don't do it well.

 

Remembering the names of lures, line, rods, and reels. Some of you guys remember everything. EVERYTHING! Not me. Not even close.

 

 

And if you want, share what you do well too. Here's me:

 

Stealth. I'm a sneaky, snake-y fisher.

 

Paddle. I have paddled so many thousands of miles that a paddle is just another part of me. I can bend it like Beckham. 

 

Early riser. 

 

I'm willing to fish with less, as in a comfy boat, engine, and electronics, which puts me atop bass that aren't pursued by fishers with comfy boats, engines, and electronics.

 

 

 

 

 

That’s me too, pretty much word for word. I even use a length of carpet in the canoe to cut noise.

[Will Ketchum]

Driving long distances to go fishing. Why go far to not catch anything when you can not catch anything close to home? ?

[greentrout]

Pitiful.

Jig Fishing. Pitching and Flipping fishing. Decent with spinning gear when pitching. Heavy cover fishing with frogs.

Most, 80 percent, of my fishing is done on pressured, open water fishing where finesse fishing applications work better for me. How finesse is defined can be different from one to the other.

[Skunkmaster-k]

Drop shot . I am Ahab , and the drop shot bass is my Moby Dick. 

[Pat Brown]

I'm still trying to figure out how to fish a dropshot.  Never caught a fish on one but not for any lack of trying in supposedly optimal conditions.

 

I'd even say 'finesse' is my weakness.  I am bad at the downsized everything and fish it really slow approach.  I guess a jig or a t rig is about as close as I get to doing it and that's more power fishing how I tend to do it.

 

Anyway.

 

Walking hard treble  hook topwaters also are something I can't seem to consistently get good results with.  I get nipped at and exploded but rarely ever choked or chomped.  Switch to a frog and it's game on.  I don't get it.

 

I don't do well on days when there's zero wind or current and maybe that's exactly where the finesse bag of tricks would work....I guess I gotta work on finesse!

[gimruis]

1 hour ago, 12poundbass said:

Finesse presentations! I just have a hard time fishing slow. I’m a patient person but for whatever reason I don’t have the patience to fish slow.

 

I have a hard time doing it too.  I know how to do it, and I can usually catch fish doing it, I just don't like doing it.  I'd much rather chuck and wind looking for more aggressive fish.  Don't even get me started on a drop shot. 

 

51 minutes ago, Will Ketchum said:

Driving long distances to go fishing.

I am not really into driving "long" distance either.  Hauling a boat around gets pretty old if I have to drive more than about an hour with it one way.  Part of this is because I have other obligations to attend to like family, house, a dog, a full time job, etc.  Finding time is my biggest hurdle.

 

I personally often stick with what has worked at a specific location too long, even if its not working.  Most of the waters I fish are not unknown to me, as I frequent the same 5 or 6 lakes every season for the most part.  I need to be more willing to branch out and diversify when the bite isn't on how it was the previous time there in the past.

[Catt]

Crankbaits ?

 

I know they're deadly, just can't seem to tie em on.

[Pat Brown]

Except that mega hawg on the ole ratt L trap in Toledo gold right???? ???

 

Or do you mean lipped specifically?

[MIbassyaker]

Skipping.

"Ripping" something out of weeds (e.g., lipless).

Finding smallmouth in lakes.

[king fisher]

1- night fishing.  Because it is dark.

2- Time and money Time-  I haven't been bass fishing since June, and don't see any opportunities coming up until Late November.  Money- I would love to have a boat, with the latest electronics, and stay in nice motels, but I doubt I will ever have more than a Kayak, and camp in a cheap tent.  Not complaining.  I have more rods, reels, and tackle than I ever dreamed of having when I was young, and I catch my fair share of bass out of my Kayak.  I don't mind camping, and have zero debts.  Life is good, but I have to admit, I wouldn't mind having more time and money for bass fishing.

3- Patience.  I have never been a patient fisherman.  Having zero patience  has many times helped my success as a fisherman, but at the same time, it wouldn't hurt, if I developed some patience one of these years.  I am working on it.

[A-Jay]

Clint Eastwood said, "A man's got to know his limitations." What are yours?

Here are some of mine:

Never caught a fish on a glide bait. 

Years in the gym have improved my casting accuracy & especially distance. 

I have seriously consider adopting a Goby. 

I have a full arsenal of rigs - at least that's what I'm calling it. 

As hard as I try, waiting up to an hour for inexperienced boaters

taking forever at the ramp to launch or recover their rigs,

makes me want to spoon out an eye.  

Just I'm not a patient man. 

 

And if you want, share what you do well too. Here's me:

I am a walking bait and popper ninja.

Besides being mostly addicted to the presentation,

it's accounted for many trophy class bass both internationally & domestically. 

 

Jerkbaits and Vibrating jigs are my spirt baits. 

 

I can burn a big spinnerbait until one or both of my arms fall completely off my torso. 

 

I have quite a bit of boat handling skills and experience

that have come from hours on the water.

(insert North Atlantic). 

 

I live for the night. 

 

I will fish as hard as I can for as long as I can, unfortunately including the travel, I max out now somewhere between 6 - 8 hours, start to finish. 

 

I wear too much HUK gear. 

 

A-Jay

[813basstard]

Senko…there I said it. I don’t throw them so I don’t catch on them so I don’t throw them…

 

It’s a sad, dangerous, cycle of decay and neglect that must end. 

[Woody B]

3 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

Baitcaster casting.

 

That's funny, I can't cast a spinning rig.  I'd be lucky to hit the water in the middle of the ocean with spinning gear.   

With my casting gear I'm not good at flipping (I think that's what it's called) where you have the lure in your hand, or at least extended from the rod with a rods length line and make it go somewhere close and accurate.   

I also hate to admit but I'm often slow to adapt to changing conditions.    Once I catch a couple bass I stick with that "pattern" (even though it's not enough for a pattern) for the rest of the day, even if conditions change.  

 

What am I good at?   

I can usually find and catch a few Bass regardless of conditions.  (I just don't adapt that day when things change)   

With my baitcasting gear I can cast.   I can't hit a coffee cup like the pros but I can hit a 5 gallon bucket in any conditions at any resonable distance.(20 feet up to 100 feet or so)   I can also skip pretty dog gone good.   I rarely backlash but when I do it's a "professional" backlash.   

Believe it or not, I'm also a nice guy.   This morning right after I left the ramp I saw a boat flashing the light on their cell phone at me.   Their battery had died and they were stranded.  I jumped them off and followed them back to the landing.  This was before I even started fishing.   I know I shouldn't brag, but I hope someone like me is around if I ever need help.   

 

 

Now, the last thing I'm really good at.    Using Active Target, Live Scope, FFS.  Just today I pulled up to a point and saw some fry jumping like they were fleeing a predator.   I quickly deployed my trolling motor (with my sonar turrent on it) to insure it was a fish chasing the fry.   I could have been a Coyote, Grizzly Bear or Mountain Lion chasing them.  I wouldn't want to catch any of those.   After insuring it indeed was fish, in the water I made a precise cast, within 50 feet or so of the bass that was actively feeding.   The pursuing fish is pictured.     (actually I pulled up to the point, and saw the fleeing fry.  I cast and caught that bad boy before I deployed my trolling motor or turned my active target on)

 

 

[thediscochef]

Lipped crankbaits and the dropshot. I can get bites on a dropshot but settinf the hook has been my problem. The lipped crankbait is a nemesis. I don't think I've gotten into the right conditions for it and as far as I can tell its just crank and wind with some pauses. The lipless on the other hand is my bread and butter. I tend to throw the same stuff over and over a little too often but I consider myself a more well-rounded fisherman than I was a year ago. I wanted to do more with a lizard this year but I can't force strikes on anything. My strongest point is definitely fishing riprap 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Continuing to pursue a hobby/sport where luck plays such a huge role in both your successes and failures.    I got big into poker in the early 2000s, but eventually quit because regardless of how good your technical ability was, luck always accounts for a huge percentage of the outcomes.    

 

Access like 99% of other Bass anglers.......I can't fish OH Ivie, Baccarac, Toledo Bend, or places that produce 13lb+ fish 150-200 days a year.    

 

My limitations are luck and access, I can control or learn everything else.....so can everybody else in this thread.    

 

 

[Smokinal]

Skipping a bait...bad, bad, bad

 

C-rig...I want so bad to be able to use this technique...but I don't throw it because I've never caught a fish on it.

[Mobasser]

My big limitation is crankbaits. I have a bunch I've bought over the years. I probably haven't cast one in five years. I got so tired of getting snagged.