for those of you who fish strictly for recreation and no tournements do you feel that it is necesssary to involve your self deeper than the basics?   i feel that  there is only so much info that can be put out with montlhy magazines that after a while alot of atricles start to get away from the basics and  dwell on things that could work once in a blue moon .   how can a montlhy magazine keep the subscribers coming back for more after 10 years or more?  Or how can the lure manufactures attract a wave of dollars coming in other than coming out with somthing that is different and will in reality only give minor success. this is why i feel they come up with some odd ball techniques so they have something new to put out.  not to say it wont work but under most cases it probably doesnt.    do the recreation fishermen out there go beyond the basics

and catch enough fish to make it all worth while ?   what is your input on this

I am purely a recreational fisherman yet I strive to learn as much as I can every day.

I am always tinkering with lures, trying new things, listening and observing all the time.

I love bass fishing. I enjoy the outdoors, the challenge, the physical nature of the sport, the sights and smells of being on the water. It's ALL good.

I don't need nor desire a check or trophy as an incentive.

I don't mean to sound corny, or blasphemous but for me bass fishing is being close to God.

I am at peace with myself and the world.

Seriously.

avid

Avid,

Well said.

Blanked,

You are a recreational fisherman, only you can define what is "enough" for you.  If you are happy being out there and catching a few fish... you can do that regularly with just the basics.  If you want to catch more and bigger fish with regularity or understand why certain things work or happen, you may need or want to learn more.  

New tecniques and new baits in many cases, fill gaps.  Look at the drop shot for example... we could always fish deep and slow but this is not like we ever fished baits before.  And there are people filling the boat with fish that otherwise would have been missed.  Even I drop shot once in a while.  ...lol

The bottom line is spend the amount of time and money you are comfortable with and enjoy any time you get to spend on the water!!

I do fish tournamets, but I still consider myself a recreational fisherman.

I'm always looking for something different a new technique or lure to give my self an advantage over the fish.

It's all about the fish, and what I have to do to be more successful at catching them, be it in a tournament or when I'm just out for a day on the water.

If I wasn't fishing tournaments i'd still have all the rods, reels, lures, sonars, boat, a dozen magazine subscriptions and other equpiment that I have.  

Obsession/Addiction, theres a fine line seperating the two, I just can't seem to find it!!!!!

There are many types of fishermen:

Some men fish and hope to catch one.

Some men expect to catch fish and hope to catch a big one.

Some men want to catch a lot of fish, they seek the numbers.

And some men fish for big fish. Whether they catch many fish is unimportant, as long as the ones they catch are HUGE!

I like two kinds of fish: Good Ole Bigguns' and Big Ole Gooduns', and I like catchin' lots of 'em!

I am purely a recreational fisherman yet I strive to learn as much as I can every day.

I am always tinkering with lures, trying new things, listening and observing all the time.

I love bass fishing. I enjoy the outdoors, the challenge, the physical nature of the sport, the sights and smells of being on the water. It's ALL good.

I don't need nor desire a check or trophy as an incentive.

I don't mean to sound corny, or blasphemous but for me bass fishing is being close to God.

I am at peace with myself and the world.

Seriously.

avid

Amen. For me there is a spiritual awareness that comes from being out on the water. I don't think it is blasphemous. I believe He created nature for us to enjoy, and what better way to enjoy it than fishing?

I am more calm on the water than any other time.

For me, it is also spiritual in a way.

I am purely a recreational fisherman yet I strive to learn as much as I can every day.

I am always tinkering with lures, trying new things, listening and observing all the time.

I love bass fishing. I enjoy the outdoors, the challenge, the physical nature of the sport, the sights and smells of being on the water. It's ALL good.

I don't need nor desire a check or trophy as an incentive.

I don't mean to sound corny, or blasphemous but for me bass fishing is being close to God.

I am at peace with myself and the world.

Seriously.

avid

Avid pretty much covered my views 8-)

You know you are a bass fisherman when:

Your house is old and unpainted but your bass boat and tow vehicle are brand new.

Your idea of getting a higher level of education consists in attending Bassmasters University.

You lawn looks like a jungle.

You practice pitchin, flipping n 'skipping in the jungle that used yo be your lawn.

Dick Cabela and Johnny Morris send you greeting cards during the seasons signed by them in person.

You know all the employees of the fishin department of BPS by first name.

You arrive at BPS and they put a red carpet so you can step on it.

You have more tackle than money.....or brains.

Should I continue ?

dont get me wrong i dont mean that anything new that comes out and has been tried and proven is horse puckey. if a majority of the bass fishermen say this new thing works then i would call it a basic. one thing that comes to mind is this new biosoinic deal. if those of you who feel that any new possible edge is what your stiving for , how many of you are spending money on this biosonic?      

We've beat that thread up a few times, biosonix.   I believe BASS didn't allow them onboard at the classic this last time.  

Yes, I'm a bass addict.

Hookem

I'm a bassin' addict.I love reading about the sport when I'm not actually bassin'.I do like how to articles,but I can pretty much pick out the new techniques that I know won't work where I fish.That being said,a technique that is a hottie on the various bass tours is one that I really want to give a try.

The problem is that it seems that many of these magazines and companies are trying to reinvent the wheel.  As fishing fanatics (as I'm sure everyone here is), we all have our favorite techniques and lure choices (most of which, I'm sure weren't found in magazines).  Now don't get me wrong, I've got a stack of mags within arms reach of the crapper; however, I wouldn't say that they necessarily influence my fishing choices (besides, I have never seen an article that talks about my area, or anywhere near it).

My advice, keep it simple and you'll probably enjoy yourself more and catch more fish.  That's what its all about isn't it?

Joe bass.- Hey Louie ! you hear that ?

Louie bass.- What ?

Joe bass.- That irresistible sound I 'm hearing.......it sounds like lunch !

Louie bass.- No kiddin ' ?

Joe bass.- No kiddin..... I swear it sounds like lunch

Louie bass.- and what are we goin to lunch, bluegills ? minners ? trout ? shiners ?

Joe bass.- don 't know, but it sounds like lunch, let 's take a look !

Instead of a Biosonix I think I can ketch me more fish with a nice rod with the money I 'm not going to spend in that gadget.

Bass addict here. I have no other sport in mind. I had a dozen fishing magazines coming but eventually, to me, they all began saying the same things over & over.  I let all but one lifetime subscription lapse, also keeping BASS Times. That one covers environmental news pretty well and I like keeping up with those pros. I prefer fisheries related pro journals like "Fisheries" with articles written by researchers. They don't talk fishing. They talk all the stuff that relates to fish, about the world OF fish. When I learn something new about their food supply I get bait ideas, then go shop for a bait that might work with that new knowledge. You can go online and find all sorts of free material, even some feature Fisheries articles.  

http://www.fisheries.org/html/fisheries/fishery.shtml  

The very first feature is Fish Habitat

"Quantifying submerged aquatic vegetation using aerial photograph interpretation: Application in studies assessing fish habitat in freshwater ecosystems"

That's the work I did for years using high priced software, satellite imagery and custom aerial photos searching for potential wetlands areas and monitoring the areas we had under management. You can get pretty good ones free now on the internet. I guarantee if you would work at that alone you will improve your ability to locate fish on a strange lake.

I got into tournament fishing in the 70's-80's mostly because everyone I worked with did and we competed in clubs against clubs but really it was against each other so we could rib each other on the job and make the hours more fun. In the 90's I got cut short on all that, eventually having to give up guiding off hours too. But the spirit of tournament competition is still there, so I go at fishing as though I had a $5,000 entry fee on the line, yet as always fish for recreation. If the enjoyment left I'd find something else to do. And yes, it's easier to find God out there contrary to a busy townscape or phone-ringing home, but I won't substitute fishing for church going.

Jim