I'm wondering what has been the hardest thing  for you guys to learn? Has it been a technique like walk the dog, or maybe something like boat control. For me its been having patience enough to wait on top water bites to set the hook, which i still haven't been able to do. So lets hear it , what has been the toughest thing for you to learn when it comes to bass fishing.

hardest thing for me is taking someone with me who don't really know anything about fishing. most of the time it is ok but sometimes they need help every five minutes and don't remember anything you show them.

mastering the San Diego Jam knot has been hard, although not the 'hardest'.

breaking off too many 15-25lb Stripers on fluorocarbon with Uni-knots led me to research a better fluoro knot.

The San Diego Jam fits the bill. (the name sounds cool too - like a movie about foul play).

A video on Youtube helped me to perfect it, at least most of the time.

My av is a 24lb that came from a 600 acre lake last December (San Diego Jam baby!).

Being succesful with  the really big baits, like  4+ ouncers.

Deep Cranking

A-Jay

Being patient enough to jig or worm fish (when the conditions call for it) and not throwin' the rod down to grab my crankbait setup.

The hardest thing for me is to get over loosing a fish during a tournament

Locating fish consistently in highly-pressured waters.

There are lots of things I can't say I've learned yet, because it is a work in progress.  Confidence with a jig, deep cranking, sonar skills, drop shotting, fish locating skills, would fall into this category.

As far as a skill I've learned, I'd  have to say pitching.  It took me most of 2 seasons, making myself pitch when I could have overhead cast or side arm cast, to get good at it.  Now, for the most part, If a target is within 70 feet and I've got a lane to it, I can hit it.

I went through a couple of service spools of 14 lb Vanish during those seasons, I backlashed alot.

Most everything I've tried came pretty naturally.  Each new thing I learned opened new doors to more fish.  As a kid, all I did was crank deep water.  When I learned how to tie a Texas rigged ribbon tail worm, all the weedy haunts were now available to me.  That's just one example.  Hollow body frogs, something I only started throwing a few years ago is another.  Total slop, unlocked.  I even use these in open water now.

Probably the hardest thing to learn was the jig.  It takes concentration to learn.  Problem was, I wasn't sure what I should be concentrating on, LOL.  Then I fished with a jig man, and now its probably the bait I throw the most.

Fishing a jig.

My strong suit is soft plastics and you might think

the jig is about the same...NOT!

After more than two years, I finally "got it".

Even though soft plastics are far more productive

than any other class of lures, I prefer fishing a

jig.

8-)

The patience to fish plastics.  That's what I have to work on this year.

as far as lures go i dont fish hard jerkbaits enough nor dropshoting and shakyhead

The hardest part for me has been (and will always be) understanding how bass react to the million-and-one possible combinations of conditions. The good news is that this is also what makes this pursuit so enjoyable. Every day is a new challenge.

Deep Cranking

A-Jay

X2  However now that I have a good depth finder it's gotten much better.

Also mastering the drop shot would be up there, but I also haven't given it enough time to really say that it's the hardest to learn.

Finding and catching fish offshore in the deep.

Dealing Crank. 

This may sound stoopid, but the hardest for me was learning how to flip, and pitch..sometimes I still get overruns, maybe cuz I don't do it enough..?

This may sound stoopid, but the hardest for me was learning how to flip, and pitch..sometimes I still get overruns, maybe cuz I don't do it enough..?

Definately not stoopid.  It is still a work in progress with me.  Seems like it takes a while to remember how each time on the water.

Detecting the jig bite.

As far as techniques I would say drop shot. This is a weird rig. It feels different and the bite is different than other techniques with plastics.

For me, it isn't so much a technique problem as it is an attitude problem.

I need to learn how to adjust to changing conditions better.  I may go into a day with a specific battle plan of baits and/or spots, but if the fish aren't responding that day, I'm in trouble.  Too many times I retreat to the wormin' stick, even though I know something better might work.

The hardest thing for me is skipping a jig. Just can't seem to get the hang of it. :'(

For me it's off shore structure, I'm not talking about 10-15 of water, I'm talking about 40-50 of water. I can pinpoint the structure and catch a couple fish off it, but I know there's more fish there. It could be better boat position too. I'll get better.

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