What's your best bassin' skill? And your worst? Just name one of each:

 

MIne is casting. As long as I don't think about it, but just cast tap decades of casting, I can hit the pockets, again and again and again. I can also hurl a lure half of forever and I catch a lot of bass way yonder from my canoe.

 

Just don't ask me the name, maker, or color of the lure I just cast!

Accuracy is pretty high on my list. I can hit a spot the size of a dinner plate with overhanging trees 9 out of 10 times with a bait caster, and I can skip a stick bait under a dock with a gap of one inch above the water 9 out of 10 times with a spinning reel. And almost everything in between.

 

My worst “skill” is probably that I constantly get stuck on what has worked in the past. I think back to where and how I caught fish last time, and continue to do that for too long, even if it’s not working. I need to be more willing to adapt quicker.

8 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

What's your best bassin' skill?

Patience.

8 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

And your worst?

Impatience.

Best Bassin' Skill ~

Boat Handling

 

Worst Bassin'Skill ~

Inventory Control.

 

A-Jay

4 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Inventory Control.

Control may be an issue but we’ve seen that it’s very organized. Both rod/reels and tackle.

I really am horrible at crank baits, I bought a bunch this year, and made a promise to use them more and catch more bass. Somewhere along the line, the fish didn’t get the memo. 
I’m catch a lot more with soft plastics, wether it be going along a shore line, casting at targets or pitching in the lily pads, around old sunken docks. 
 

Best - finesse, patients and line watching.

 

Worst - fishing with power fisherman and loosing everything above because I'm catering to their needs 😳

Best - buying tackle.

Worst- using it.

Best: having fun

 

Worst: catching fish

Best - roll cast accuracy. I’ve been practicing for a long time

 

Worst - patience. I haven’t been practicing for a long time

Best: getting up early to hit the water

 

Worst: my “last cast” is always 50-100 casts. 

Best

Anything on Bottom….(Flippin, Pitchin, Punching)

 

Worst

Everything I rarely do

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

Best is finesse worst is top water and I love top water 

Best is strike detection with bottom contact lures. Worse is Frog fishing.

Best: spinnerbait fishing

Worst: fluke and jerkbait fishing 

Best:  It's a tie between spinnerbait fishing and pitching T-Rigs and jigs.  I'm pretty dang accurate at getting into some impossible spots with a 10-point Olympic diver entry.  I'm just not fast at it. Some guys can reel up and recast in one swift move. That ain't me!  I mean, I can do it, but accuracy and presentation go out the window.

 

Worst: Fishing large swimbaits, larger than 6".  Just the thought of heaving 2-4 ounce baits all day makes my arms sore!

Best: fishing structure & fishing grass

Worst: crankbaits, I know how productive they are, just don't throw em.

Best : putting the bait where it needs to go.

 

I pride myself on presentation with all lures that I have chosen to put energy into.  I think it is presentation that truly allows anglers to separate from the herd and do something fish haven't seen yet.  Lots of room for exploration here.

 

Worst : staying cool and focused when fishing is good/bad.  I get emotions!

 

I try to stay dialed in and calculated but I love fishing and I hate not catching fish - both get me riled up in different ways and both can mess with the rhythm on a good day if I don't stick with the program.

Being able to read the water. That's the one thing I've always felt was completely natural and didn't have to be developed.

Greatest Strengths:

1) I know how to get skunked and not let it get me down. As a shore angler in Western WA, sometimes the bass catching window is small so getting skunked is more a function of knowing I can’t access them but I still try. 

2) Finding that nugget or thing learned or gained each trip and adding it to my memory bank. 
3) Writing my reports. I have not been making reports like I used to like when I took seniors fishing fairly regularly. Or when I took my dad fishing for salmon and he caught 2 species in one day. It is one of my most memorable times. He will be 84 this year and now has Alzheimer’s and dementia. 
4) Tinkering and making things to improve my fishing experience. I’ve made cranks, jerk baits, and in-line spinners and all of them have caught fish. I also made what I call my rod quiver. And saving money on drop shot weights by using pencil lead. 
5) Not giving into the bait monkey. It’s my wallet and I’m the boss … Down boy! Get back in your cage. 
 

Weaknesses:

1) Shore angler. If you put me in a boat, I would not even know where to start

2) Was jigs until just recently. 
3) Sometimes I can over analyze and get caught in that, “it worked last week” and get stuck on a lure or technique. 
4) Sometimes I get messed up when deciding to “stick with something” or knowing when it’s time to change a bait. 

Best: Tenacity. That could be learning new skills or just grinding out on the water.

 

Worst: Finding quantities of quality fish on big lakes. I’ve put a lot of work into reading depth maps, weather and wind patterns, etc. and it has helped me locate larger schools of baitfish. But something is off because I’m not locating the bass in the warmer summer waters.

Best? Bite detection. I think one thing that the River really teaches is that. With the current and things moving around so much you need it. Now do not get me wrong I will lay the hook into stuff because I am not going to take the chance it’s not a fish. Even when I’m 90% sure it’s a snag. 
 

worst? I do not think I move on to a new area fast enough. I am way to guilty of “fishing history”

Best: plastic worm fishing.       Worst: deep crankbaits.

Best: Coming up with a plan how to find and catch Bass before I get to the lake.  Most of the time my plan works great.  

 

Worst:  Changing when my plan doesn't work.  

Second best: master of plan B