coldsteel Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 Hey Guys! I know everyone here has a couple hidden tools of the trade/great secrets they havent gotten around to telling... ;D Start sharing! (it can also be about panfish and stuff...) Mine Is: Fish where no one else is. Turn your back on the shoreline...fish structure you cant see...the bass arent as harrased and you will have the waters to yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 I try to fish every winter rise in my bass streams especially in winter. After a 3 foot rise that nearly muddied up the river last night, I caught the snot out of them today. Five bass over three pounds and 16 others both smallies, Kentucks, and Largies. I just love the good ole boys that tell me "That river's not in shape!" I tell them I'm just running out the old fuel in the tank! I have never seen another boat trying to fish i9n these conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldsteel Posted February 15, 2005 Author Share Posted February 15, 2005 kool ;Di never would have guessed... Also guys...if you dont want to display your secrets in the open, shoot my an Im ...Thats fine also..im just a beginner and love to know these things. ty ;D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Bass_Rich Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 For the biggest fish on your pond/lake/river, remember the biggest ones choose the best structure. This usually means the most obvious structure that everyone has fished. Does that mean there's no fish there?? NO! Just find a way to fish it different than everyone else, and you might hook yourself a trophy of a lifetime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick_Barr Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 Go with your gut feeling, it is the only way to catch a fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick.Culver Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 As you get better you'll learn when to trust your intellect and when to trust your intuition. Alls I can say is time on the water is everything. I'm trying to put in 200 days this year. So almost everyday this summer I'll be out. I know that since I went out a lot more last year. I learned when my gut tells me something to do it. But what if your gut isn't telling you anything. You begin to get flustered. So this is when you need your intellect. Knowledge of what stage the fish are in. What conditions your faced with. What technique is best. All those sort of questions. With more intellect comes more intuition. This comes from the words of the Zen master Rick Clunn. Maybe the greatest angler ever. I believe these words too. they work for me and I hope they work for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AricStoner Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 If you spend enough time on the water, try to learn each technique on it's own untill you have mastered each of them. The best way to do this is take as many rods as you want, but bring one, and I mean only ONE type of bait out with you. This will force you to use it and not switch up every 10 casts when you don't get bit. Case and point, when I was just starting out I started to get a pretty good selection of tackle in my box, but I didn't catch many fish. Well in the middle of the summer my tackle was stollen But that didn't stop me! I went out and bought a few lures to get me back on track. I was unemployed at the time of this unfortunate incident and I wasn't able to buy a whole lot of lures, but the few I did I was forced to use them exclusively for the rest of the season. I learned them so well that they are now my bread and butter go to baits! I'll let ya in on what they are because they are pretty good starter baits for most anglers anyways because they are just that effective. Another plus is that they cover top to bottom as well. - Pop-R, it's what got me hooked on topwaters! - Spinner Bait, was there any better lure ever made? lol - Tube jig, haven't yet found a lake where I can't get em on tubes. Hope this helps! Aric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AricStoner Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 Another thing that might help you if you ever get into tournaments is fish hard right up to the very last possible second you have. My best finish so far happened because of this. We desperately needed to cull out a few small fish! We figured we had about 6-8lbs in the well, but that certainly wasn't going to cash a check that day. We decided to give our hotspot one last go. There must have been about 10 boats scattered around us and that was disappointing to say the least. Everyone, including us were flipping to everything in sight but nobody seemed to be catching anything at all. So I figured well we only have about 10-15 to go, lets try some topwater! Maybe I'll get a nice pike to hit and make a pleasent end to a tough day. First cast I had to sneeze 3 times just after my frog hit the water. As soon as I looked up a 3lber slurped it under. After landing that fish, my partner casted near where I had my blow up and a 4 3/4 lb fish crushed his spoon! This certainly helped us, but we were worried about the 10oz. dink (which surpriseingly was the largest of the 3 we originally needed to cull out!) that was still in the well. We didn't get any bites after that untill my very last cast, a cast that my partner didn't even want me to take because he was worried about being late and just wanted to fly. But I had a gut feeling and said what the heck, I have nothing but a few seconds to lose! I fished it with no success and then began to burn it in to get going. Thats when another 3 hit and I landed her quickly. This put us just over 13lbs. and secured a top 5 finish for us. There was less than a lb.s difference between 15th and 2nd so that fish made all the difference in the world! The fish on the right in my photo was that last keeper I landed. So you see, don't give up, it only takes one cast to catch the big one, or atleast the important one in my case. My partners 4+ helped too tho, just a little ;D cheers! Aric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeke Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 Go early and stay late!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 Hit the high percentage places often. Analyze cover or structure to determine the high percentage key features. Try to figure out what makes it tick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User roadwarrior Posted February 15, 2005 Super User Share Posted February 15, 2005 Try deep structure near the original creek bed or river channel. An abrupt drop that provides big fish access to deep water will often hold fish, sometimes suspending, sometimes in position for an ambush. Smallmouth position themselves several feet out, in current if possible. Largemouth are more likely to be found nestled right up against a rock or a stump and almost always in calm water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DumbLuck Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 This is not a hidden secret, but back your boat off and cast to where the bank beaters boat is sitting. I've caught bigger fish doing this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldsteel Posted February 15, 2005 Author Share Posted February 15, 2005 Cool! Thanks guys! ;D Keep em coming...You can also message me if you dont want your secret in the open... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abelfisher Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 If you eve catch a fish on your first cast, your day is over. You might as well go home. You will not catch anymore that day, So NEVER catch a fish on your first catch! LOL ;D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldsteel Posted February 16, 2005 Author Share Posted February 16, 2005 abelfisher Hmm... now that I think about it.... ;DYour right! ;D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Bass_Rich Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 abelfisher, that is so true on so many days... I wonder WHY! ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papadew Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Coldsteel, ya got me to thinking, which at my age is a feat in itself. Memory @ any age is fallible. The details of a successful day can be forgotten. I'm considering the simplest way to keep up with details and log them for the next trip. A voice-activated digital tape recorder is to be my next purchase in lieu of the latest whiz-bang lure out this season. A palm pilot would work, I guess, but since I'm not tech savy, I will K.I.S.S. I want to fish, not sit in the boat trying to figure out electronics. Then I'll jot my info down in a small logbook kept in the boat. My 512K RAM is currently @ 64K at my age. Papadew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldsteel Posted February 17, 2005 Author Share Posted February 17, 2005 My mind is young and spry! ;D I dont fish enough to keep track of the little details... Anymore hints?...Anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangeruss Posted February 18, 2005 Share Posted February 18, 2005 Had a simular thing happen during a tournement up here in South Dakota during the early spring with cold water temps. We had about givin up by 1:30pm didnt have a nibble all day, everyone we talked to couldnt get bit. with about an hour to go and no fish in the well i thought well lets go over to this little curved indention off the main lake, its sandy with a little bit of weed and a bush or two. I tied on a lousy chartreuse jig,the kind you use to fish walleyes, 1/8th oz and stuck a chartreuse minnow body with a flipper tail and on the first cast i caught a 2 lb smallie with about a dozen chasing him!! I just about crapped my lucky boxers! The non boater i drew for the tournement and i both had a limit in 45min, but he had more weight then i. I was starting to panick, i own the boat i cant let a non boater opponent beat me off the back of my own boat!!! With 5 min to get back i made one more cast and got bit hard! that 3.5 pound smallie not only won me the tourney but got me an xtra 150.00 for big bass also, it was freakin incredible! an example of the worst fishin day ever to greatest ever in 1- 45min period. my opponent got second a 3 oz difference but we beat every body else by at least 8 lbs!! that last cast made the 3 oz difference i needed, but i give God all the credit im usually not that lucky on my own.... lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lunkers0 Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 My Dad is a private pilot. There is a notebook that he uses that attaches to his leg. Two straps, one high on your thigh and one just above the knee. Only hand you need free to write is the pen hand. Havent tried it yet but I will this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Gatorbassman Posted February 19, 2005 Super User Share Posted February 19, 2005 Practice, Practice, Practice. Even if you aren't able to get on the water. Keep a detailed record of every day and every fish. There are many great computer programs out there that become searchable logs after several times out. I would also recomend reading everything you can get your hands on, find a couple of books that are great to keep in a zip-loc bag in the boat to pull out when you are stumped. One I recomend is Advanced Bass Fishing by John Weiss. It is old and 380pgs long but worth ever word. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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