Kev-mo Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 Other than being on a great national website where you can ask questions and get great feedback like that listed above....listen to the old timers. Best information I've gotten over the years has been from several river rats. The other big thing(s) for me were confidence and success. Success bred confidence and confidence led me to persevere which led to more success. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User ol'crickety Posted March 11 Super User Share Posted March 11 Where is @AlabamaSpothunter? He's a sledge hammer. My best bass-catching quality might be curiosity. I'm close to the opposite of Al Lindner, who preached finding a pattern. I'll catch a fish on one lure and my next cast will be with a different lure. Within a few hours, I'll cast 7-14 lures. If I could load my canoe with 20 rods and reels, I would and I'd use them all. I'm always trying to decode bass. What will they hit? When and where? I want to learn something from every outing. I also change my fishing lures before every trip. I'm not just retying, I'm deciding on the first seven I'll throw based upon where I'm going, whether it'll be foggy, overcast, raining, or sunny, wind direction, depth, etc. And each year, I'll fish a few new lures to add to my box of tricks. I use Whopper Ploppers a lot because they're fun, but even there, I'm changing the sizes, colors, shapes, and makers. I also work harder to fish the water I fish. If there's a ramp, I'm much less likely to fish that pond/bog/lake. Bass can abound beyond yonder. @craigp and @Reel are right about precision casting. Lastly, when @WRB talks, listen. 3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSanford33 Posted March 11 Author Share Posted March 11 7 minutes ago, ol'crickety said: Lastly, when @WRB talks, listen. Facts. There’s about a dozen people who regularly post on here that I go out of my way to listen to. @WRB is definitely one of them. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User ol'crickety Posted March 12 Super User Share Posted March 12 I agree with a couple points that @Reel made: Quote There are fish everywhere, more in certain places, less in others. Yep, it's the same where I fish. I think this is because I'm not fishing bodies of water where there are great differences in depth. The deepest is typically ten feet, but it's common for me to fish a big bay where the entire bay is five feet deep. @Reel also talked about missing strikes. This is huge. When I was a kid, I was fishing a pond in southern Ohio. I was retrieving my lure along a weed line and I saw a bass emerge, inhale my lure, and eject it while I felt nothing. Ever since, I'm always looking for signs of a bass hitting my lure. It might be a sudden end of resistance while retrieving my lure or the line moving sideways or something so slight that I can't even describe it. Set the hook if think a bass might be there. Lastly, since it seems to be the thing to do: I'm no hammer. Metaphorically speaking, I would struggle to insert a tack into a soggy, rotten bulletin board. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulVE64 Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 When my cat was younger I would spend winter tossing a 1/16 oz lead wt with some ribbon across the basement floor. The cat would explode out of ambush to savage that thing. And it was amazing how little of it I could detect. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crow Horse Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 I have no business posting in this thread because I'm a career bass student, but I'm compelled to add this to the mix for whatever it's worth. Sometimes you have to go with a "gut feeling", a hunch, or an anomaly that draws your attention to a specific area, I've had this happen a number of times when the bite was slow or non-existant and something or a feeling just pulled my attention to an area that I wouldn't normally go to. More often than not, I end up connecting. To that point, I wouldn't dismiss any "hunches" that you have. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Global Moderator TnRiver46 Posted March 13 Global Moderator Share Posted March 13 @Crow Horse, that works for me too! A lot of times I ask whoever is fishing with me to pick a spot. Often it’s a spot that looks terrible but fishes well 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User WRB Posted March 13 Super User Share Posted March 13 Strike detection is easy when the bass are aggressively feeding not so about 80% of the time fishing. Watch Big Mouth Forever video by Lau. Homer Circle is casting a crank bait and doesn’t detect big bass striking his crank bait.....should open your eyes! Tom 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User LrgmouthShad Posted March 13 Super User Share Posted March 13 On 3/8/2024 at 4:32 PM, A-Jay said: Good anglers work hard, spending long hours developing and refining their patterns and approaches. On 3/8/2024 at 4:32 PM, A-Jay said: Knowing and acting on these tiny details is the difference between an average and a great angler On 3/8/2024 at 4:32 PM, A-Jay said: there’s no substitute for practicing that knowledge on the water On 3/8/2024 at 4:32 PM, A-Jay said: Stay organized All of the above share a common denominator: time. The time commitment that good bass fishing demands is tremendous - especially on large bodies of water. How much time are you willing to sacrifice? What are you leaving behind? Is it worth it? It’s difficult to be a “hammer” 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Catt Posted March 13 Super User Share Posted March 13 On 3/8/2024 at 4:00 PM, KSanford33 said: how did you become successful at it (other than time on the water)? It's still gonna come down to time on the water. 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User ol'crickety Posted March 13 Super User Share Posted March 13 6 hours ago, WRB said: Strike detection is easy when the bass are aggressively feeding not so about 80% of the time fishing. Watch Big Mouth Forever video by Lau. Homer Circle is casting a crank bait and doesn’t detect big bass striking his crank bait.....should open your eyes! Tom I emphasize bite detection a lot as being a difference maker. The bass are knockin' at our front doors a lot more than we think. Figuratively speaking, we have the stereo cranked and there's a Transformer movie on the TV too and so we can't hear them knocking. This might be why I like to fish on lonely lakes, so I can concentrate. When I do share water, I am often dismayed by the amount of clatter and chatter one other boat can produce. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Catt Posted March 13 Super User Share Posted March 13 I don't care if its @WRB, @A-Jay, @Dwight Hottle, @roadwarrior, @Glenn or who ever they're gonna tell you. Ya gonna learn the most with a rod in your hand. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User WRB Posted March 13 Super User Share Posted March 13 6 minutes ago, Catt said: I don't care if its @WRB, @A-Jay, @Dwight Hottle, @roadwarrior, @Glenn or who ever they're gonna tell you. Ya gonna learn the most with a rod in your hand. Fishing with your rod in hand👍 = Time in the water. Tom 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSanford33 Posted March 13 Author Share Posted March 13 58 minutes ago, Catt said: I don't care if its @WRB, @A-Jay, @Dwight Hottle, @roadwarrior, @Glenn or who ever they're gonna tell you. Ya gonna learn the most with a rod in your hand. This is so accurate. No matter how much detail and advice you get, you don’t know what water feels like until you’re in it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MassBass Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 I have a dream of taking a hammer, going around and smashing every pro's computer complex on their bow, just before launch. Fishing and finding fish can be an instinctual skill, but I feel that can only fully develop outside of electronics. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Munkin Posted March 15 Super User Share Posted March 15 See if you can find the Rick Clunn article on seasonal patterns. He goes into detail on where to find the highest percentage of bass based on time of the year and water temps. Additionally look for Rich Z's work on finesse fishing. Allen 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrashVector Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 I spend the first hour I'm on the water just simply trying to pattern the fish. Where are they and why...what lures they prefer, etc. Doing that, you will learn a LOT about their behavior. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironbjorn Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 I'm good at bass fishing. I know this to be true and it's backed by my experiences on the water. I'm not delusional enough to believe I'm a pro, or vain enough to call myself a hammer or whatever else. I just know how to catch them. Everyone can learn baits, pattenrs, whens and wheres. I became good when I became one with the lure, the action, the water, and the elements. You may see my fishing on a partly cloudy 78*F day with 9mph winds, standing 6'0, 210 lbs, staring at water with my polarized glasses. That's not where I am though. I am with the lure and the water. I am envisioning, seeing, and feeling everything going on underneath. Only those who know .... Will know. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junk Fisherman Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Time on the water also helps you see where other people fish. Spots become community holes for a reason. I always watch where the guides and reputable fishermen are fishing. I'm far from a bent-pole fisherman but I always go back and check out places later to see why people were fishing certain spots. I'm not ashamed to say that I have found some of my best spots by investigating where others have fished once they have left a spot. Then when you go to new bodies of water you can identify spots similar to where you've had success in the past on other bodies of water. Doesn't always work but often it does. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Catt Posted March 16 Super User Share Posted March 16 Tip: when I see one of guides loading his boat after a day on the water. I will walk over & start a conversation. While talking I'm looking around the bottom of boat. If there's a pile of plastics of a certain color & shape I promise you that's what they were catching on. If there's a pile of hard baits, they wasn't catching on those. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BayouSlide Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 On 3/14/2024 at 4:29 PM, MassBass said: Fishing and finding fish can be an instinctual skill, but I feel that can only fully develop outside of electronics. I don't totally agree. I find electronics can speed up the learning curve, especially important for those ancient ones among us who have more years behind than ahead of us. 😉 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody B Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Disclaimer: I'm not a hammer, and won't pretend to be. Others have already mentioned time on the water. Catt mentioned talking to a guide while looking over his boat. Talk to everyone, and pay attention to everything you see. See someone at the landing ask "did you do any good today?" Many people will give out good information. If another boat, or person is fishing near you keep an eye on them. You may get a hint about what to do, or not to do by watching them. Every body of water is different, and every day is different. I think the best kept secret is.....there is no magic secret to unlock catching Bass. When I catch Bass I learn from it. When I get skunked I learn from that too. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulVE64 Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 I have a great tackle shop 2 minutes away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MassBass Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 On 3/16/2024 at 1:48 PM, BayouSlide said: I don't totally agree. I find electronics can speed up the learning curve, especially important for those ancient ones among us who have more years behind than ahead of us. 😉 Sure if you like playing around with the electronics, have at it. My angst is more directed to the new generation coming up on the pro bass tours, I feel physically ill when I watch pro bass fishing. I go out on the water, and read the water, not another screen. Every second your neck is tilted down at a screen, you just missed a following fish, a diving bird, a mouse on the shore, etc. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BayouSlide Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 46 minutes ago, MassBass said: Sure if you like playing around with the electronics, have at it. My angst is more directed to the new generation coming up on the pro bass tours, I feel physically ill when I watch pro bass fishing. I go out on the water, and read the water, not another screen. Every second your neck is tilted down at a screen, you just missed a following fish, a diving bird, a mouse on the shore, etc. Why should a professional's choice to use electronics prompt someone to "feel physically ill"? I would figure as professionals, they know what it takes to elevate their chances of putting money in bank and paying for all that fancy gear: more power to 'em 😉 Rather than relying solely on electronics, I ... and probably a lot of other people... find electronics are just another tool in the bag used to find bass. You can watch electronics to see structure and watch for fish activity, while still studying the wind direction, see indications of bird activity, fish surfacing etc. I often will see how a fish or multiple fish at 10 feet deep or more react to a crankbait running too quickly or a jerkbait I'm fishing. Plenty to learn there. I'm always surprised how electronics, and other people's use of them, irks some people who don't chose to take advantage of what they have to offer. Freedom to chose and all that, and respect the choices of others whose choices differ has always been my motto. As the old bluegrass gospel song states: "You go to your church and I'll go to mine. But we'll walk the road together." 😎👍 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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