Trying to improve at a technique 2025
jsh32 reply :
I've decided to try to really improve on several different techniques. Would it be better to do just jig fishing no matter the situation until I am very comfortable or should I try and pick a few techniques and try and decide which would be better for that day and then try to learn new things
reerok reply :
Jig fishing itself has lots of different techniques within it. Swim jigging, pitching and flipping, bottom hopping, stroking, and on and on. So if you want to focus on jig fishing, you probably could jig fish just about any situation. You just have to adjust to the lake, the season, and the structure and cover that's in front of you and fish a jig accordingly. You could do that alone for months if not years and still not know all that there is to know about jig fishing. But you'd learn a lot and could become a better angler.
jsh32 reply :
I usually always have one tied on or sitting right beside me. with that said I have the most confidence in that and weightless senkos. So should I take those off and try other techniques until I have more confidence with them or would you just keep one of those on for the tough day so you don't lose confidence in the jig?
scaleface reply :
If you want to learn how to fish jigs , I'm assuming weedless jigs that you work through cover , I would instead master Texas rigs . They are basically fished the same way , bites feel the same .
riverbasser reply :
Some good advice above. Ill add that anytime your in an area and your not sure about the bottom contour. Pick up your jig and use it to find out by dragging and hopping it around. This way your learning about the area you fish and I garuntee you will catch fish while doing that.
William Rossi reply :
When the fish are biting good is the time to try a new technique. You should get fish then and confidence. Spring is best for this.
Say you are addicted to Senkos like I was. Good spring shallow bite goin. Then try a jig. Stay light, like 1/4 oz if shallow. Less hangups and easier to feel a bite.
I did this with the NED rig last year and it worked well.
j bab reply :
On 12/16/2016 at 2:33 AM, jsh32 said:try and pick a few techniques and try and decide which would be better for that day and then try to learn new things
papajoe222 reply :
If you want to not only learn a new technique, but gain confidence in it, you can do one of two things; Leave everything else at home and just fish it all day until you know exactly what it feels like and looks like when retrieved, let settle, picked up a weed, bumped a stump (you get the idea). The other way is to wait until you're on a good bite with your confidence bait and then switch to the new technique. The downside of the first is when you don't catch anything, the frustration may turn you off and with the second, your confidence bait may produce better and give you reason to choose it over the new one for future outings.
The best advice I can give, however, is to stick with one bait when trying out a new technique. Concentrate on learning the bait and not so much on catching fish.(the first suggestion) It's like the muscle memory a golfer develops.
scaleface reply :
I think using a lure for long period of time just trying to learn it would be a waste of time . Use it for awhile then try to figure out how to catch fish . I rather spend my time catching fish than playing with lures .
fishballer06 reply :
If I have a technique I want to learn/improve, I usually go to a local pond where the fish are pretty easy to catch, and I'll just fish that lure/technique. After catching a dozen or so, it will really help give me confidence once I go out onto the big lakes.
roadwarrior reply :
On 12/16/2016 at 12:28 PM, papajoe222 said:The best advice I can give, however, is to stick with one bait when trying out a new technique. Concentrate on learning the bait and not so much on catching fish.(the first suggestion) It's like the muscle memory a golfer develops.
Catt reply :
On 12/16/2016 at 12:28 PM, papajoe222 said:The best advice I can give, however, is to stick with one bait when trying out a new technique. Concentrate on learning the bait and not so much on catching fish.(the first suggestion) It's like the muscle memory a golfer develops.
This at night!
You will be amazed how much better your sense of feel is without eyesight!
Edited by CattOperator error
Attila reply :
A couple of years ago I wanted to learn how to fish a jerkbait. I'd start the day with my topwater and once the bite died down I'd take out my jerkbait setup and fish that for the whole day around as much cover as I could, learning everything I could along the way. I did the same with crankbaits a few years ago.
I intend on doing the same with chatterbaits/spinnerbaits this coming season...
Fishes in trees reply :
Here's what I do - when I go by myself I have 20 or so rigs in the boat. When I have a bud in the boat I try to keep it at 15 or under. Jika rigs, 10"worms tx rigged, brewer slider worms, spinning shake head, bubba shake heads, drop shot rigs, cranks (deep & shallow), spinner baits, chatter baits, lipless cranks, buzz baits, frogs & A rigs are all in play. So are finesse cranks like a #5 shad rap thrown on 10 lb nanofil, qnd Ned rigs and jerk baits.
Put in the boat & go fishing. Fish a spot, try one bait and if that don't work try another. Fish enough spots and try enough baits and something nearly always clicks. Obviously, over time you get better and figuring out what to try where, which is most likely to work.
I'm not big on the idea of "specializing". I think that as you get better at fishing, you get better at fishing no matter what technique you're doing at that particular moment. Fishing skills are transferable from technique to technique. Just because you aren't "educated" on any one particular technique isn't any reason not to try it. Next year I'm going to learn how to fish jigging spoons. I'll do that by tying on a jigging spoon and fishing it in spots that I think it might work, in spots that through conversation or research suggest that they might work.
Sooner or later I'll figure it out. It is more or less about the journey and not the destination.
One more anecdote to illustrate this. I have a buddy who likes to fish Ozark float streams. He's even went to the trouble of buying a float stream boat - 18.5' long , maybe 36 or 40" wide at the widest point. It floats in 2" of water and doesn't take much current to push it over gravel bars without getting out and dragging.
Me, I have very limited time fishing in Ozark streams and zero time floating ozark streams. My bud is very focused on baits - small jigs & soft plastics. Me with less experience, I bring a wider variety of gear. There is room in the boat for 5 or 6 rigs. First half dozen ripples we go through I pull a 12" or 14" small mouth out of the ripple, not casting at the bank but throwing a pretty heavy spinner bait at the largest rock ahead of me as we're going through the riffle. Later in the day, I catch a 21" largemouth on a Ned Rig next to a stump. Point is, these fish didn't happen because of my expertise in certain fishing situations, never been in those situations previously. The fish happened because I don't suck at fishing - not an expert by any means, but I don't suck either. Current takes a little getting used to, but once you do it is very predictable. I lost 20 1/16 oz mushroom head learning how predictable it is.
So, there is an alternative path to getting better at fishing. You can limit your scope and use just one lure until you get comfortable with it.
Or you can fish a variety of techniques and over time you'll get better. At you get better, the learning curve for new to you techniques gets quicker/easier. JMO - hope this helps
WRB reply :
The way I learned to fish any lure was by trail and error. When I was 10 years old a good bass angler did teach me how to cast and retreive bass lures for a few hours, after that I was on my own. I spent a summer learning how to catch bass on 2 lures; Arbogast #3 weedless spoon and Creek Chub Injured minnow surface lure walking the bank. Pikie jointed plug was Jason Lucas favorite lure so the next summer I added a Pikie to my lures, now I had 3 to choose from. Over 60 years later there isn't any lure or presentation that I haven't tried or mastered. Learning to bass fish takes time and practice. Start with 1 or 2 lures and master those. Jigs are the most difficult to detect strikes with, sliding bullet weight Texas rigged soft plastic worms are easier to learn and you will loose fewer of them. I suggest to start with a T-rig, then add jigs.
Tom
A-Jay reply :
Trying to improve at a technique” is probably always a good idea. The more tools one has in their tool box, the more diverse an angler may be.
Something to consider is the environment / habitat you’re fishing. When looking at this, there are a decent list of factors that come into play. These may help one determine in advance if & when a certain technique / presentation is a viable option. Without going down the list, it’s the same considerations one might use to effectively select the presentations you’re using now.
As @Fishes in trees so eloquently stared above “fishing skills are transferable from technique to technique" – and I’d agree with that; unless one is in the very early stages of an angling life. So building your “tool box” is often a cumulative evolution. As is often the case, results encourage commitment and a lack of feedback can undermine determination.
Perhaps “learning to fish a frog” in 30 ft of open crystal clear water might not be the way to go. But put that same bait in the lily pads you might get your arm broke. I’ll admit that this is a bit of an over the top example, but I think it highlights my next point. And that is learning as much about where you plan to fish a new (or any bait) in advance can be worthwhile. Additionally, knowing as much about the bait, technique or presentation as you can; as far as where it is usually effective can help.
The old saying “match the hatch” is one we hear a lot of. I’ll submit that match the presentation is a good one too – for all baits & presentations not just new ones.
Finally, not every bait, technique & presentation is effective in every body of water. Some places for whatever reason, the fish do not respond to some baits / techniques. I have no idea why but it sure seems that although a bass is a bass, in some lakes I fish they will crush one thing where the same deal on a lake two miles away goes untouched. I have lakes that I have designated as “a jig lake” while still others have proven that “Topwater doesn’t play there”. So selecting where & when you try “the next new one” may be more than just tying it on and winging it out there.
Good Luck
A-Jay
scaleface reply :
On 12/17/2016 at 1:45 AM, Fishes in trees said:Fishing skills are transferable from technique to technique.
Yep , Ilike this . Also from species to species .
Yeajray231 reply :
A jig is a great thing to learn to fish.. can be fished year round and can really fool some lunkers. When I'm fishing with someone else and they are using some type of jig... I never question if it could produce . Because they produce everywhere all the time.. just with certain variances complementing the conditions.
hunterPRO1 reply :
work one one thing learn it then learn another,
whenever the bite isn't on thats what i am doing, learning new techniques,
jsh32 reply :
thanks guys, alot of good advice in here. im pretty confident in my jig and texas rig fishing on a small pond i have on my property but when i go to a bigger pond i dont know as well or a lake near my house either on my kayak, brothers jon boat or just bank fishing i seem to come up empty handed or with a small number of bites. i dont know what im doing wrong or different at these new locations. im fishing laydowns and rocky points where other people are catching them hand over fist from what ive heard.
Raul reply :
I fished nothing but spinnerbaits for 6 months, fished nothing but a texas rigged worm for a year, fished nothing but a jig and trailer for 6 months ..... you get the idea.
Jeff H reply :
I think the most important thing in throwing jigs is knowing precisely where to put it. That may sound overly simple but too many guys don't understand how to find and interpret structure. When you can do that, fishing a jig is too easy.
RB 77 reply :
On 12/16/2016 at 2:33 AM, jsh32 said:I've decided to try to really improve on several different techniques. Would it be better to do just jig fishing no matter the situation until I am very comfortable or should I try and pick a few techniques and try and decide which would be better for that day and then try to learn new things
Well its always a good idea to be prepared with different techniques and presentations for anything that might arise, but there are definitely days were I have just brought a jig box with me when I felt the conditions would line up preferably for it. I stayed with it and was rewarded accordingly. Sometimes you just have to live by the sword and die by the sword...
Catt reply :
If ya wanna speed up the learning curve with any technique try night fishing!
I don't mean try it for a night or two but dedicate an entire year to it.
I guarantee you will amazed at much it improves your sense of feel!
whitwolf reply :
This thread Is a great example of the value of this website. While there are different thoughts on going about learning a new technique there is value in each and every response. Take what you need, apply it on the water, and please share your results!
As for my input, as limited as It will be, I'm in the camp that I take the time(Time measurement will vary) to simply fish a particular bait until my comfort level dictates I have a reasonable grasp of what I want/need to do. At that point I go about trying to master of find what works for me. 
Catt has brought up an Interesting and Intriguing point. For those of you that have fished at night you know that feel Is heightened and sight Is diminished. Maybe for me that was a given but to read that gave It a certain clarity!
Raul reply :
Well, I wouldn't go night fishing at my everyday lake, I'm brave but not bold, however, you can just close your eyes once the lure is in the water.
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