7 hours ago, BassIQ_Angler said:

Great advice in this thread already. A couple things I'd add that don't get mentioned enough for beginners: 1. Time of day matters a lot. Early morning (first 2 hours after sunrise) and evening (last 2 hours before dark) are when bass are most actively feeding, especially in summer. Mid-afternoon when the sun is high is often the toughest time to get bites. If you've mostly been fishing during the day, try going out at dawn and you may be surprised. 2. Fish edges and transitions. Bass rarely sit in open water - they relate to structure. Look for where two things meet: a weedline where grass ends and open water begins, a point where a shallow flat drops into deeper water, where shade from a dock or tree hits the water. Cast parallel to those edges rather than into the middle of nowhere. 3. Slow down your retrieve by about 50% from what feels natural. Most beginners fish too fast. Bass are ambush predators - they want easy prey. A slow-moving or almost-still bait is often irresistible. Keep at it - the learning curve is steep at first but it clicks fast. Everyone here had a two-week stretch with no bites at some point!

Whoa, your very first post is a winner!

I've learned over the years that catching fish is easy, it's finding the fish that's difficult. As has been said, keep movin. Read up on where fish are supposed to be at different times of the year where you're located and focus on those areas.

"Most fisherman fish their whole lives and never realize it wasn't really the fish they were after."

Enjoy the process.

On 6/12/2026 at 5:57 PM, hampter said:

Been bass fishing for about 2 weeks now and haven't gotten a single bite despite trying multiple spots and different lures. What am i likely doing wrong? Any tips for a complete beginner would be appreciated.

On 6/15/2026 at 12:45 AM, BassIQ_Angler said:

Great advice in this thread already. A couple things I'd add that don't get mentioned enough for beginners: 1. Time of day matters a lot. Early morning (first 2 hours after sunrise) and evening (last 2 hours before dark) are when bass are most actively feeding, especially in summer. Mid-afternoon when the sun is high is often the toughest time to get bites. If you've mostly been fishing during the day, try going out at dawn and you may be surprised. 2. Fish edges and transitions. Bass rarely sit in open water - they relate to structure. Look for where two things meet: a weedline where grass ends and open water begins, a point where a shallow flat drops into deeper water, where shade from a dock or tree hits the water. Cast parallel to those edges rather than into the middle of nowhere. 3. Slow down your retrieve by about 50% from what feels natural. Most beginners fish too fast. Bass are ambush predators - they want easy prey. A slow-moving or almost-still bait is often irresistible. Keep at it - the learning curve is steep at first but it clicks fast. Everyone here had a two-week stretch with no bites at some point!

Hello and welcome to Bass Resource ~

@BassIQ_Angler - IME your advice is solid.

However, stick around a while and you'll soon realize that this info is plastered all over this massive forum.

@hampter

Reading it all takes time.

Applying it on the water takes even longer.

But that's the best part about fishing—time on the water.

Have fun.

A-Jay

@hampter This is a relatable struggle for many new anglers, I like to agree with the folks that encourage to enjoy the process and simply invest time on the water. Ultimately catching bass is the byproduct of enjoying the process and keeping an open mind. Welcome to the forum the writing here will certainly accelerate your understanding. Read what's been said, and get out on the water and give it a shot, all bass need to eat eventually and when you finally get one you get your first glimpse into how they operate.

The most basic start is to make sure the place you're fishing has a history of people catching fish. About every state has areas of "dead water" that may look like fish heaven but is just a snowmelt pond or something like that.

My first fish were generally caught throwing spinner baits and buzzbaits around wood and grass, and pulling Texas rigged craws and creature baits in those same areas. Eventually I just happened to intercept a fish and overtime an intuition grows where you can predict where fish will be, its magical but it takes time.

A final note I'd like to share is a philosophy for bite detection. Go beyond bites and learn what a bite IS NOT. Essentially use each cast to learn what grass feels like, what wood feels like, what rock feels like. What does a lures natural resistance in the water feel like? etc. Basically train your feel to know exactly how your lure feels as it navigates the underwater world. When that feel is developed bites become very obvious because you are so tuned into what grass, rock, and wood feels like that anything different at all means time to swing. Hooksets are free and don't feel a fool to go ripping the rod up at anything weird.

7 hours ago, RenzokukenFisher said:

A final note I'd like to share is a philosophy for bite detection. Go beyond bites and learn what a bite IS NOT. Essentially use each cast to learn what grass feels like, what wood feels like, what rock feels like. What does a lures natural resistance in the water feel like? etc. Basically train your feel to know exactly how your lure feels as it navigates the underwater world. When that feel is developed bites become very obvious because you are so tuned into what grass, rock, and wood feels like that anything different at all means time to swing. Hooksets are free and don't feel a fool to go ripping the rod up at anything weird.

More good info about bite detection here.

This is Bass Catching 101, but just to be clear, bite detection can be a challenge with soft plastic lures. With hard plastic lures, the bass is typically suddenly hooked. A soft plastic lure can also suddenly hook a bass, but usually it's subtle. If the OP is fishing soft plastics, I suspect he's had some bites, but couldn't differentiate them from all that @RenzokukenFisher just described.

Bite detection is a topic in and of itself. Use your intuition and experience as you go. You'll develop a feel for all things, and will mostly know when to hit or when to leave it and keep working your bait. Mental focus and what we call "settling in" will take you far. One of the biggest mistakes a beginner will make is pressing oneself and trying to keep up with the jonses.

DO NOT worry about catching bass to start. Get good on your mental and observation games; all the rest will fall into place in time. Who cares if you flub the first 10 bass you get to bite as long as you take something learned and EARNED from it. Make mistakes, lose fish, miss fish, hang up, get annoyed, but let all that push you to where you wanna go. I'm hungry every single trip because I'm not perfect and last trip...I missed some meals...

Dont just cast a lure out randomly and reel it in. Cast at everything and anything. If your fishing from a pond shore there is nothing to cast at then let the lure sink to the bottom . Explore the bottom .

5 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

More good info about bite detection here.

This is Bass Catching 101, but just to be clear, bite detection can be a challenge with soft plastic lures. With hard plastic lures, the bass is typically suddenly hooked. A soft plastic lure can also suddenly hook a bass, but usually it's subtle. If the OP is fishing soft plastics, I suspect he's had some bites, but couldn't differentiate them from all that @RenzokukenFisher just described.

This is super true! Soft plastics can be so subtle and it takes time to learn that feel. So many times its the absence of anything that could be a bite. Once I commented on a Roland Martin youtube video asking him how he knows when to set the hook with the Senko. He responded saying even he cant always tell and just swings for the fences to see if a fish is there 😂

I feel your pain. Honestly sometimes I think God hates me. I gone a whole season already