I would relate my fishing skills to my golf skills.

When I first began playing golf, I practiced during the week and took lessons, lots of lessons. My goal was to become a bogey golfer. Bogey golf is basically 90, that puts you in the .05 of ALL golfers. If you can play bogey, you can play with anyone and everybody will have fun. You make a few good shots and, most importantly, you won't hold anyone up.

Now, shooting 90 will not win any club tournaments and if you play with "good" golfers, you won't be winning any rounds, but you might win some money!

So, that's how I feel about my fishing. I would feel comfortable fishing with just about anyone. I can fish most techniques adequately, even the ones I don't like. Occasionally I catch some great fish (like making a great golf shot). I sometimes fish with guys that are tremendous fishermen, guides on their own water. That can be humbling.

I guess I consider myself a bogey fisherman.

Sponsors say I'm a 9 .......my son says I'm a 10 .......but I say it varies from 4 to 8. :-/

I think I'll listen to my son! ;D

I'll go with a better than nine  

Done it all. Did freshwater tournaments for many years. Got bored and now do saltwater. Much more fun and a lot heavier fish.

34 lb codfish

Winter "layover" Stripers

My biggest striper @ 43 lbs

A (est) 80 lb blueshark

alloymiken, stripers and sharks dont count. ;D

alloymiken, stripers and sharks dont count. ;D

:-/ :-/ :-/

Why not? Stripers ARE bass.  

alloymiken, if I could just catch a largemouth about half the size of that striper I would have a world record on my hands, then I will be rating myself right up there with the PROS !! The thing that gets me about pro bass fishing is anybody can do as long as you have a fat checkbook. There is really no set way to qualify to be a pro, just show up with your money(lots of it) and fish.All other pro sports involve a lot of other levels to make it to the top level.There are a lot of PROS out there who cant fish at all but are on the tour because they can afford to be(especially FLW) and one day will get lucky enough to catch some fish and get a sponsor. I really shouldnt complain though cause if I had the cash I would be out there too, and I sure dont rank myself as a pro. ;D

alloymiken, if I could just catch a largemouth about half the size of that striper I would have a world record on my hands, then I will be rating myself right up there with the PROS !! The thing that gets me about pro bass fishing is anybody can do as long as you have a fat checkbook. There is really no set way to qualify to be a pro, just show up with your money(lots of it) and fish.All other pro sports involve a lot of other levels to make it to the top level.There are a lot of PROS out there who cant fish at all but are on the tour because they can afford to be(especially FLW) and one day will get lucky enough to catch some fish and get a sponsor. I really shouldnt complain though cause if I had the cash I would be out there too, and I sure dont rank myself as a pro. ;D

lol

I wanted to try the pro circuit earlier in my life. But now I'm going to be 50, and can't keep up with the young bucks any longer. Hence my need to find "stupid" fish in the ocean.

It has been a helluva experience. I am planning on getting my Captains license this fall so I can take out charters of up to 6 people. Just to sort of pay my expenses.

The pro circuit is not easy. I respect everyone that tries whether they succeed or not. It's a beotch.

Good luck in whatever you do. But always remember, if it stops being fun............do something different.

alloymiken, where do you live. I'm going south in a couple of weeks and could use some saltwater advice. I want to catch something big(not a shark ;D) preferably with no teeth.

I would have to rate myself on a few levels, here they are.

tackle=7

confidence=6

commitment=7

actual abilities=3

I am fairly new to bass fishing and I have trouble locating them, but I know inside I have the potential to be a good bass fisherman. I have fished trout most of my life and I can honestly say I am good at catching and locating them. I would like to answer this question again next year to see where I have progressed.

roadwarrior i liked your comparsion. wish i could fish as good as i can golf though. born and raised on a golf course and can shoot in the 70's about anywhere on average day. if the draw becomes a hook i will shoot in the low 80's and sometimes i just flat out wish i would have stayed home shooting high 90's.

now my fishing is backwards from what i just said. i can go out and fish about anywhere and catch a bass or two but that dosen't make me good. other days i do better and catch a few. and sometimes it seems like i can't do anything wrong.

60% of the time i am in the spot where i can catch a few "at least 5"

38% of the time i can only manage one or two

2% or less it seems i can't do anything wrong.

           Rebbasser needs a good swift kick in the seat of the pants for giving himself such a low rating. I'm a 6-7 easy and all I do is learn from Reb,you seem to have the skills of an 8.

                             flippin4it

"Start fishing tournaments if you want to claim greatness, you may find out you're just and average Joe"

I'm not trying to debate you but I highly disagree with that. Why? because of the luck aspect. Think about it. There are "pro's" who may win 5 big tourneys in a row and than for the next five years they can't even make top 20. To me I believe it's more of an "understanding" than a skill. Sure you could go "by the book" and use all that techniques and tactics that are proven to work. But beyond that you need an understanding of how fish live day to day and what there world consists of. And over time you just "know" what to throw and when. It's basically like hunting. After many years of experience you gravitate towards the same cover as the animals do without even making a mental note of it, you almost become one in yourself. And the same applies to fishing, imho.

alloymike,..remember when these were just outside of snug harbor?? Those were the days!  PS- you have a pm.

"I am planning on getting my Captains license this fall so I can take out charters of up to 6 people. Just to sort of pay my expenses."

If you think the touring "pros" life is tough, wait till you try this one. You are going to need better motivation than paying expenses to be any good at this one.

What's funny about this is, is that I used to rate myself just to kind of gauge where I am to the real good  bass fishermen. I'd hear something like Hackney saying, "Well a year ago, I didn't even know what a pattern was," and I would think, "Well I knew what a pattern was and he's on the tour!" So I must be pretty good right? Not necessarily! What you tend to forget is the absolute natural talent these guys have. Patience, determination and focus that is hardly matched. Nowa year or two ago I would have said I was a 6, but now I know I was no where near a 6. As I get better, the more I know how little I know. And I think that's key. Always keep learning. I never want to see my plateau of skill or knowledge.

With this in mind, I'd like to rate myself at a -10. YES, you have seen the first integer.

alloymiken, where do you live. I'm going south in a couple of weeks and could use some saltwater advice. I want to catch something big(not a shark ;D) preferably with no teeth.

I live in RI.  :-/

But I have done a lot of fishing in the South. Where are you going?

I have made several trips to the Florida Keys. I love Key West fishing for Tarpon and bonefish. If you want excitement, go Tarpon fishing. If you want real excitement (fly fishing) go bonefishing. Both will give you a woody. lol

mike

alloymike,..remember when these were just outside of snug harbor??  Those were the days!  PS- you have a pm.

I don't remember those "days"

:-/

I was probably doing the tournament thing back then. I did that for many years and was reasonably successful so I kept at it hoping to make the Classic. But as time went on and all the TV shows were happening, many young "bucks" got really good and it got a lot harder to get a check. When it became more frustrating and less fun, I turned to "stupid" fish in the ocean. lol

My best friend has a 28 foot hydrosport and goes offshore regularly to the edge (80 miles) for these bigguns. It is a real blast.

mike

I would rate myself as a novice fisher. All I have  done is freshwater fish for mainly Bass. I would love to go on a deep sea fishing trip with a good guide and or a bass fishing trip with a guide. I don't own a boat aswell. But my father and I are looking into a small pond boat.

Here we go on a seasonably cool Wednesday morning

. . . . 18 years, 2 months, 21 days including today.

 

I'd say the bass do a great job at telling me exactly what my 'rating' actually is.

My version of it is that I have some 'experience'.

Some trips it helps.

Some trips, not so much.

Fish Hard

A-Jay

 

I have been bass fishing for a little over 7 years now. I rate myself according to the scheme OP provided a 5) “not bad”

I am absolute perfection in all things.  Just ask my dog.

*checks calendar to make sure it isn’t December*
 

Anyways, one of the best fishermen on this site is @Bluebasser86

I am a 1. I’m terrible. I have a terrible amount of fun doing it though. 

One thing I quickly realized about this old thread, not a single contributer back in 2005 is still around other than a moderator.

Oh, I'm not competitive in the least and have no idea what or how I would rank myself.

Drive would be a 10 as would fun.

Old thread but I'll play. I'm only as good as the day I go fishing. No rating. No label. Sometimes pro city, slam and dunk everything that swims. Other days it's funk and skunk no matter what's tossed at them. I recall one night catching (3) 7lb bass back to back. Was I excited? Sure was! But I knew what it was: it was about me, sure it was, but it was about me being in the right place at the right time with Jupiter aligning with Mars, everything jived to make that happen. When I started realizing that, to except defeat yet learn from it or to except great conquest yet still learn from it, I became at once comfortable with any outcome, no matter what it was. The days or nights suddenly become unified into one quest: to go fishing and make the very best of it!