In the yard I can flip to the tiniest thing I put out there with in 20 feet. Or a certain clump of grass or a shadow line. Low to the ground and gentle. Right up under my kids trampoline. What ever it is. Put me on the deck of the boat and I struggle to hit targets some. Or make a louder splash than I’d like. Anyone else have that problem lol?

The bass will tell you how you're doing, not the trampoline or whether or not you liked it.

Yard practice is good to get us started.

Then it's time to fine-tune the presentation on the water.

That's where the confidence comes from.

Finally if & when a presentation happens to miss the mark,

we say "Fish it like you meant it".

Caught more than a few by making a 'bad cast".

Sort of like getting a giant bite while picking out a backlash.

Not that I ever do that . . . .

Keep at it.

🤓

A-Jay

I think sometimes I get excited in the boat and flub a cast - the key in bass fishing is to stay cool and do things more gentle and methodical - when I can remember that I usually make better casts.

2 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

The bass will tell you how you're doing, not the trampoline or whether or not you liked it.

Yard practice is good to get us started.

Then it's time to fine-tune the presentation on the water.

That's where the confidence comes from.

Finally if & when a presentation happens to miss the mark,

we say "Fish it like you meant it".

Caught more than a few by making a 'bad cast".

Sort of like getting a giant bite while picking out a backlash.

Not that I ever do that . . . .

Keep at it.

🤓

A-Jay

Thanks so much that is an excellent point for sure. Stupid trampoline anyway lol.

1 minute ago, Pat Brown said:

I think sometimes I get excited in the boat and flub a cast - the key in bass fishing is to stay cool and do things more gentle and methodical - when I can remember that I usually make better casts.

I definitely am trying to make more gentle presentations for sure. This year I’m struggling to slow down and be methodical. I’ve caught a lot this year on moving lures. And I need to get back to slower presentations and more methodical.

For me it was always about where I was in relationship to the water.

For years I used the standard Denny Brauer designed Team Daiwa flipping rod that is 7'6".

If I am too close to the water I could not dip the rod tip down low enough and it went into the water. So I needed to be physically higher up off the water.

And since the boat is not changing anytime soon something else had to give, and that was the rod length. I am now using a 6'11" rod and find it easier to maneuver, and now I don't have to be higher up off the water. Problem solved for me.

I'm curious if maybe you are having a similar issue?

I've never had braid wrap, backlash, trouble tieing an Alberto, wind knots, line getting into a split ring or losing a fish.......in the yard.

It's different on a boat. 😁

I pitch, rather than flip. I can tell you that I personally find it much more difficult to practice pitching in the yard rather than on my boat because I'm so used to being at that specific height above the water as I've done it so much. Put me on flat ground and I lose some skill. Perhaps your issue is the opposite and you just need practice from the height of your boat.

29 minutes ago, BigAngus752 said:

I pitch, rather than flip. I can tell you that I personally find it much more difficult to practice pitching in the yard rather than on my boat because I'm so used to being at that specific height above the water as I've done it so much. Put me on flat ground and I lose some skill. Perhaps your issue is the opposite and you just need practice from the height of your boat.

This is probably exactly the issue lol

A lot of it comes down to mechanics and confidence.

I learned to flip back in the 80’s, standing on a 5 gallon bucket in the backyard (I think it was Dave Gliebe that said this was a good idea in an old WON article). While this helped a lot with focusing on maintaining balance and a good stance, I still get off kilter on the water and lose my mechanics sometimes.

For reasons totally unknown, my boat has the trolling motor mounted on the “wrong” (starboard) side - I have gotten so used to working around it, that I can’t flip or pitch to save my life off anyone else’s boat.

Stand on the deck in the driveway, drop the trolling motor and hit some targets that way - set up buckets of water to get the splash to a minimum.