About as important as being able to take another breath.

I had to keep the fish moving in figure-8's next to the boat, with my rod buried in the water while my partner grabbed the collapsible net. I was never worried, and not because it never happened to me (believe me, I've broken off some good fish in the past!), but because I knew the knots were strong, the line and leader were fresh, and the fish was well hooked.

If you were so confident in your gear why didn't you just swing it in?!?!?

;D

I actually don't like swinging, especially 5# fish, on a light power/x-fast drop shot rod, LOL.

I beleive it has a lot to do with it. I will try something new for a few min but i seem to always go back to what always seems to catch fish for me. If im fishing with stuff that i dont have confidence in it seems like i cant catch fish. I guess this goes back to the old saying "Dont fix it if it aint broke"

Lack of confidence will soon lead you to thinking that you may not have the skills to catch bass. On the other hand catching bass gives confidence to continue fish and try different techniques, locations and presentations.

When you teach children or new fishermen to fish, the first thing you want to do is have them catch a fish, to give them confidence.

Knowledge and competence comes with education and practice.

You learn a lot from reading and watching others fish. Applying the knowledge and learned skills requires time on the water. Catching bass gives you the confidence to continue learning, developing new skills and spending more time on the water.

WRB

PS; not all jigs have skirts.

Confidence is very important to me.

As others have stated confidence is gained through experiance and knowledge. However  confidence for me is looking at a situation, analyzing the situation and picking the correct tool. I have to have confidence in this tool even if it's not something I usually like to fish.

For example just today I was out and the conditions were right for a lip-less crank bite. I have just never done well with these baits. However I knew that conditions were right for this bait and had the confidence to fish it even if it had not worked for me in the past. I ended up having a great day and slaying them on this bait.

Confidence is everything for me! If i don't feel confident in a lure, presentation or location, i will almost always leave empty handed! Because at the end of the day, a fish is a wild animal that does what it wants, not what a book or internet forum says it has to be doing at a certain time!

Knowledge is a process of piling up factswisdom lies in their simplification

Knowledge + wisdom = confidence