How do you break down all the science? 2024
jbmaine reply :
I've been reading / watching all the info I can on bass fishing this winter and I find it somewhat overwhelming. It seems like we are inundated with " science " on fishing. Fish patterns/ weather patterns/ water conditions/ specific reasons to use this or that line, lure, rod, reel , etc.. To use all of this info we need to be a combination of physicist, mechanical engineer , meteorologist , marine biologist, electronics expert, and so on.
Don't get me wrong, I am glad all this info. is out there, and I love learning more about the "science" of fishing, but for me it gets overwhelming and my brain screams overload.
I have always fished on instinct, my gut, call it what you will. If a place looks " fishy " I'll stop and fish it. If I catch fish I'll find more similar places and fish them. If my sonar shows arches I figure they are fish and try to catch them. If a lure works I'll keep using it. If my rod will cast a lure 50" I don't know or care if a different rod will cast it 10 more feet.
It seems fish need to eat, feel safe and comfortable doing it ,and some times need to breed.
So I guess what I am wondering is.
Is there a simple way to break down all this " science" and knowledge to make it easier for a "dummy" like me to use it?
For example, our first trip out this spring I'll look for sunny shallow water and see if there are any LM warming up on them. I'll look for rock piles, humps, drop offs etc. for SM. If I catch fish great. If not, then I'm stumped. With all the things I've read/ watched, I'm not processing what to do next.
Is there a simple way to relate all this info/ knowledge to every day fishing?
Thanks
Jim
Sam reply :
When I used to teach adjunct at Villanova and the University of Richmond, I was told by some wise old deans of the business schools that any student who breezes through a test will not do as well as a student that has a difficult time with the test.
Why?
Because the student who is having difficulty has learned a lot of data and is having a hard time deciding how to answer the question. The student that breezes through the test fast has less knowledge and understanding and is just answering the questions with a gut feeling and not from a strong positon of knowledge.
So it is OK to hit the water and get confused. It is part of bass fishing. Happens to us all.
And what adds to your challenge is the fact that the "pattern for getting bites" can change by the hour or the day. So what works now may not work in an hour or two or when you return back to the same places in the future.
Your job is to read, read and read and watch, watch and watch and then fish, fish, fish, using what you know and understand.
Sooner or later you will have "confidence" in your rods, reels, lines, weights and baits that will produce strikes. At that time, you will continue to expand your understanding of the physics and mental challenges of bass fishing.
Have fun! 
Oregon Native reply :
Yes.....there are many things to read and lures to apply to these reads. The biggest of all is "Time on the water". Sounds like your going to start off right...enjoy your time. If your not getting bit and don't see anything on the graph......move
BassWhole! reply :
On 3/12/2018 at 7:15 PM, jbmaine said:I've been reading / watching all the info I can on bass fishing this winter and I find it somewhat overwhelming. It seems like we are inundated with " science " on fishing. Fish patterns/ weather patterns/ water conditions/ specific reasons to use this or that line, lure, rod, reel , etc.. To use all of this info we need to be a combination of physicist, mechanical engineer , meteorologist , marine biologist, electronics expert, and so on.
Don't get me wrong, I am glad all this info. is out there, and I love learning more about the "science" of fishing, but for me it gets overwhelming and my brain screams overload.
I have always fished on instinct, my gut, call it what you will. If a place looks " fishy " I'll stop and fish it. If I catch fish I'll find more similar places and fish them. If my sonar shows arches I figure they are fish and try to catch them. If a lure works I'll keep using it. If my rod will cast a lure 50" I don't know or care if a different rod will cast it 10 more feet.
It seems fish need to eat, feel safe and comfortable doing it ,and some times need to breed.
So I guess what I am wondering is.
Is there a simple way to break down all this " science" and knowledge to make it easier for a "dummy" like me to use it?
For example, our first trip out this spring I'll look for sunny shallow water and see if there are any LM warming up on them. I'll look for rock piles, humps, drop offs etc. for SM. If I catch fish great. If not, then I'm stumped. With all the things I've read/ watched, I'm not processing what to do next.
Is there a simple way to relate all this info/ knowledge to every day fishing?
Thanks
Jim
Sounds like you are already doing a good job of utilizing information and data. I will say this, and it applies to pretty much everything we do, not just fishing. Do it the way it makes sense to YOU. I know very good and successful anglers who stress every detail, maintain multiple spreadsheets, consult all kinds of tech aides as well as equally good and successful anglers who just grab a rod and go fishing. It has to to with the psychology, human nature (and game theory, causality, and probability). But ultimately, you need to find the balance. Also keep in mind that in practice, every body of water fishes differently, so all that information can be pared down considerably. Of course that requires the most important factor to becoming a good angler, time on the water.
A-Jay reply :
On 3/12/2018 at 7:15 PM, jbmaine said:I've been reading / watching all the info I can on bass fishing this winter and I find it somewhat overwhelming. It seems like we are inundated with " science " on fishing. Fish patterns/ weather patterns/ water conditions/ specific reasons to use this or that line, lure, rod, reel , etc.. To use all of this info we need to be a combination of physicist, mechanical engineer , meteorologist , marine biologist, electronics expert, and so on.
Don't get me wrong, I am glad all this info. is out there, and I love learning more about the "science" of fishing, but for me it gets overwhelming and my brain screams overload.
I have always fished on instinct, my gut, call it what you will. If a place looks " fishy " I'll stop and fish it. If I catch fish I'll find more similar places and fish them. If my sonar shows arches I figure they are fish and try to catch them. If a lure works I'll keep using it. If my rod will cast a lure 50" I don't know or care if a different rod will cast it 10 more feet.
It seems fish need to eat, feel safe and comfortable doing it ,and some times need to breed.
So I guess what I am wondering is.
Is there a simple way to break down all this " science" and knowledge to make it easier for a "dummy" like me to use it?
For example, our first trip out this spring I'll look for sunny shallow water and see if there are any LM warming up on them. I'll look for rock piles, humps, drop offs etc. for SM. If I catch fish great. If not, then I'm stumped. With all the things I've read/ watched, I'm not processing what to do next.
Is there a simple way to relate all this info/ knowledge to every day fishing?
Thanks
Jim
@jbmaine Jim - I agree with you.
"All the science" & "Looks Fishy" may very well be the same thing.
The only thing I could suggest regarding your first trip out - perhaps consider the 'north end' of the lake and especially in the spring - don't discount the attraction of submerged wood. (warms up nicely & hold heat)
That may not be 'science' but it has routinely led to net use for me - early & often.
Good Luck
A-Jay
scaleface reply :
On 3/12/2018 at 8:04 PM, A-Jay said:To use all of this info we need to be a combination of physicist, mechanical engineer , meteorologist , marine biologist, electronics expert, and so on.
You just have to put time on the water . Before we ever get to a body of water we already know the season and weather patterns . When we arrive , we get a general impression of the water without putting much thought into it . Then simply , try to make good decisions . I "usually" fish in only 4 different ways and might do them all on the same day .
Junk fishing
Pattern fishing
Structure fishing
Contour fishing , where I am targeting a depth and following that contour .
A-Jay reply :
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
@scaleface
Hey ~ I didn't say that ??????????
A-Jay
Darren. reply :
I know what you mean, Jim. Some of us are diligent
note takers, journal-keepers, and so forth. Sometimes
I wish I was one of those, but I'm not. Probably why
I never went in to the sciences - even though I enjoy
reading and absorbing much of their stuff...
So my gut usually leads me on a given day. Known
places that produce, etc. Like @A-Jay said, they both
may be one and the same.... At least I like to think of
it that way, LOL. 
I fish with science, I just don't know
it!
Dirtyeggroll reply :
On 3/12/2018 at 7:15 PM, jbmaine said:I've been reading / watching all the info I can on bass fishing this winter and I find it somewhat overwhelming. It seems like we are inundated with " science " on fishing. Fish patterns/ weather patterns/ water conditions/ specific reasons to use this or that line, lure, rod, reel , etc.. To use all of this info we need to be a combination of physicist, mechanical engineer , meteorologist , marine biologist, electronics expert, and so on.
Don't get me wrong, I am glad all this info. is out there, and I love learning more about the "science" of fishing, but for me it gets overwhelming and my brain screams overload.
I have always fished on instinct, my gut, call it what you will. If a place looks " fishy " I'll stop and fish it. If I catch fish I'll find more similar places and fish them. If my sonar shows arches I figure they are fish and try to catch them. If a lure works I'll keep using it. If my rod will cast a lure 50" I don't know or care if a different rod will cast it 10 more feet.
It seems fish need to eat, feel safe and comfortable doing it ,and some times need to breed.
So I guess what I am wondering is.
Is there a simple way to break down all this " science" and knowledge to make it easier for a "dummy" like me to use it?
For example, our first trip out this spring I'll look for sunny shallow water and see if there are any LM warming up on them. I'll look for rock piles, humps, drop offs etc. for SM. If I catch fish great. If not, then I'm stumped. With all the things I've read/ watched, I'm not processing what to do next.
Is there a simple way to relate all this info/ knowledge to every day fishing?
Thanks
Jim
I am glad you use quotations marks around the word science. There's actually only a very small portion of the information related to bass fishing that truly qualifies as science. Most claims about bass fishing lack the appropriate controls to be science and turn out to be a testament toward what someone else did or what worked with their gut instinct and the fact is that statistically, how someone caught fish on a certain day was determined to a high degree by chance. Because of this, even knowing all of the published information doesn't do much toward increasing your odds of catching a fish. In other words most "science" about bass fishing are simply the conclusions someone has drawn about a series of events and may or may not be the what is true. Science is the method/application, not the answer. Good science promotes/perpetuates itself. In other words, truths about bass fishing are reproducible and quickly disseminate. Such as things you have already mentioned such as fish relating to structure and cover.
The most "scientific" approach you can take toward fishing is to keep a log and try to reproduce what you have done before given the conditions.
As far as gear is concerned there is a lot of good science. It is extremely reproducible that you can cast further and get a crankbait down further on lighter line, if that is the only variable. Whether or not that actually improves the odds to catch a fish, on the other hand, is an entirely different question.
jbmaine reply :
Thanks for the replies,
I use the term "science " loosely " for lack of a better word. I guess I got thinking about this from a conversation with a local member. He was asking for advise on a body of water we both fish. I had a hard time giving good advise because I could say " I was here and I caught fish using XXXX. But I couldn't say the fish will still be there tomorrow unless these things change, because I don't know how to relate/ process the changes or what they all are.
Maybe simple is all I need.
I have a lot of time on the water and experience, but my mind just says, LM like shallow water and weeds/ lilly pads. If I don't catch them there, move deeper. Look for blowdowns things like that. If I catch one in the shade I'll keep fishing shade, things like that.
My idea for SM is they like rocks. I'll try rock piles, gravel bottoms, drop offs, that type of thing.
It's when I'm not finding fish that I wonder "if only I could process better the variables of what changed, I would spend less time hunting for the fish and more time fishing for them. It's when I try to process all the possible changes, and what they mean as to where the fish are, I stall out.
Jim
senile1 reply :
Jim, don't feel like you are the only one to wonder about all the "rules of thumb," science, and advice unsupported by evidence that we receive as anglers. It is a lot to sort through at the beginning. Eventually, due to your love of the game you will sort it out and find what works for you. As some have stated above, but in other words, there are the following:
- Real science.
- Rules of thumb that may apply more often than not due to that science.
- And also pure fishing conjecture based on that science.
Avoid number 3, and don't forget that number 2 only applies some of the time. Take the real science, apply it on the water, and as you spend time on the water you will work out some things that work for you. I know that is a very general statement but it is why so many mention "time on the water" because there is an art to learning to apply the science so that it becomes second nature . . . . almost instinctual, and that art is developed only by time on the water.
Paul Roberts reply :
On 3/12/2018 at 7:15 PM, jbmaine said:Is there a simple way to relate all this info/ knowledge to every day fishing?
Thanks
Jim
Good stuff. Hopefullly, the head and the gut should be working together. So, don't ignore either.
First, enjoying your fishing time is primary, of course. If you enjoy the "science", great. My advice would be not to expect to kill it -'cause you can't. You can't know it all. It's a process, and there really is no end to that process. Problem is, we are not talking simple machines in a simple environment here. We're talking deeply complex "machines" in enormously complex environments.
For me, I've spent my life -with varying degrees of success- essentially trying to figure Nature out, and aquatic systems esp. Still working on it. Don't expect to be done anytime soon. That said, I feel like there are some pretty core pieces that explain a lot. Then there's being able to relate what I . That's where I'm at with it.
I can say that I'm a lot less clueless for all that effort than I used to be, and able to be a lot more philosophical about the rough spots. Maybe this latter is the wisdom beneath the "knowing".
If you enjoy learning -more than knowing- you are in the right space.
BassWhole! reply :
On 3/12/2018 at 8:30 PM, scaleface said:You just have to put time on the water . Before we ever get to a body of water we already know the season and weather patterns . When we arrive , we get a general impression of the water without putting much thought into it . Then simply , try to make good decisions . I "usually" fish in only 4 different ways and might do them all on the same day .
Junk fishing
Pattern fishing
Structure fishing
Contour fishing , where I am targeting a depth and following that contour .
One of my best patterns (I'm not admitting there is such a thing) is to junk fish structure along a contour...
lo n slo reply :
the more i fish the more it confirms my belief that fishing is not an exact science and i hope that we never fully figure them out. i love the mystery and have always embraced the “sporting aspect” of catching bass. man vs fish. the quest is my addiction.
FishDewd reply :
On 3/13/2018 at 1:43 AM, lo n slo said:the more i fish the more it confirms my belief that fishing is not an exact science and i hope that we never fully figure them out. i love the mystery and have always embraced the “sporting aspect” of catching bass. man vs fish. the quest is my addiction.
I agree, all the science behind infers that the way fish think don't really change. Some days, they just aren't predictable, not acting "normally", are in places or not in places that we don't expect them to be, or just simply not active or not feeding. I've seen large bass get caught off the bank of a lake with no shelter, nothing but a sandy bottom, in 100* weather in full sunlight. Didn't make a lot of sense but there it was. There are certainly some indications and patterns we can follow, and a lot of rules of thumbs but sometimes nature just doesn't do what we expect. And those kind of days are the ones I've been having lately. 
Jaderose reply :
As I get more experienced I can answer the question, "Does that look "bassy"? more accurately. THAT is time on the water.
deep reply :
On 3/12/2018 at 7:15 PM, jbmaine said:
Is there a simple way to break down all this " science" and knowledge to make it easier for a "dummy" like me to use it?
Sure. Turn on the fishfinder and look around for fish. When you find them, note their depth(s).
Next, find some structure with breaklines (and/ or breaks) at said depth(s).
Fish those breaklines with baits that can reach those depths, and try out different speeds.
If you do catch fish, great. Either finetune it, or fish breaklines/ breaks at the same depth(s) on other structures.
If you do not catch fish, troll (as in trolling motor, not troll a bait although you can do that too) around and see if you can find suspended bass. They might just be inactive at that time, and you can try other structures and hopefully find active bass there.
Luckily, not all bass are inactive at the same time. More luckily, only 10% of the water holds 90% of the fish (or something like that). So you needn't flail away here there and everywhere trying to find active bass.
Buck Perry had this really neat plan. Fish the shallows on the bottom and then mid-column. Then fish deeper water on the bottom etc etc. Not randomly, of course. @Team9nine is your man.
Part of the puzzle is the forage. What are they up to?
Team9nine reply :
I've dabbled extensively on the science end of things, and my recommendation would be to not put the science first, trying to understand everything and applying it in a practical way, but instead, use science to help explain and let you understand why something you observe or others might suggest (fishing wisdom or guidelines) might be happening. Seems to work much better that way.
For example, it's much easier to try and come up with a good scientific explanation for why you see suspended fish on your depthfinder during the summer months, than it is to try and learn the science of limnology and develop effective theories and ideas as to where the fish might be based on your understanding of the science.
Or, as 'deep' alluded to, become a Spoonplugger and never worry again about any of the details, theories, garbage and/or 'science' espoused by magazines, Internet angling pros and manufacturers 
Mobasser reply :
Very good point Sam. The student who has a harder time has to think it out.Therefore, he will learn more in the end.We can all get baffled while fishing, but each time you solve the problem you've learned something
Catt reply :
The problem with "the scientific approach" is once I think I have them figured out they prove to me I don't!
mattkenzer reply :
On 3/13/2018 at 6:25 PM, Catt said:The problem with "the scientific approach" is once I think I have them figured out they prove to me I don't!
Exactly this ^^^^^. Thus, the addiction.
You can leave the golf course thinking you could win the Masters ..... Next time out, 100!
TOXIC reply :
The problem with science is that Bass can't read.
Will1248 reply :
Im a biochemist so I got some cool simple info.
1. Fish, like most predators, ambush food when possible, so fish from upstream and you will find a fish in waiting.
2. They are cold blooded. So they love warmer water. On cold days odds are they are deeper and/or in or near clearer water to soak up some sun.
3. Fish do have long term memory none of that goldfish 15 seconds crap. I can even link the study if you really cant just look it up on google scholar. So mix up your retrieve, colors and presentation.
4. Like almost every animal, you can provoke a territorial response. So aggrivate them, suprise them and make it look like the easiest meal ever without it being too obvious. We are, after all, a slave to our natural responses.
5. As the water warms, the closer to the shore they get. But if its too warm, they will look for colder water to cool off. They can not regulate their blood temp naturally so they have to force it by the environment. So look for structure, shaded places and ambush/hiding points.
6. Fish like us have meal times. Sometimes even if they are hungry. They wont eat. Its the same thing as working all day and forgetting. Give it a few minutes to an hour and your luck might change dramatically.
Im not sure if this is what you want but itll help someone.
jbmaine reply :
Thanks every one for the great replies and information.
You've given me a lot to think about and work on.
Jim
NYWayfarer reply :
On 3/12/2018 at 7:15 PM, jbmaine said:
Is there a simple way to relate all this info/ knowledge to every day fishing?
Nowadays there's an app for that.
I had one on my phone last season that would take tide, moon phase, water temp, etc into consideration and predict peak fishing times on the locations I chose. Worked pretty good IMO. Days and time of day it said were peak fishing time were pretty accurate. I found myself catching more at those times. It would alert me of these peak times on my phone.
I changed phones last year and haven't found the app to download it again.
scaleface reply :
On 3/13/2018 at 10:05 PM, NYWayfarer said:Nowadays there's an app for that.
in the early 90's a friend of mine bought a tournament fishing game for PC's of our home lake . He would add the current conditions , fish the tourney , then find out where and how the tournament was won . Then go out and apply it to the lake . It was a huge failure .
NYWayfarer reply :
On 3/13/2018 at 10:12 PM, scaleface said:in the early 90's a friend of mine bought a tournament fishing game for PC's of our home lake . He would add the current conditions , fish the tourney , then find out where and how the tournament was won . Then go out and apply it to the lake . It was a huge failure .
Sounds like what I did with one of the first PC football games that came out. You could add the current conditions and stats while playing the season. I played my NY Jets that year and they won the superbowl...
WRB reply :
"Shallow bass are hungry bass"...Dee Thomas, hall of fame bass angler who introduced flipping to tournament bass anglers.
After bass fishing for a very long time one thing came to mind; bass eat and sleep, it's easier to catch them when they are eating.
Back in the early 70's I was asked to do a seminar on bass fishing. I thought the audience would be interested on what I knew about bass, it turns out the majority of bass anglers want to know a easy way to catch big bass. I sat down over a weekend and listed everything I knew about largemouth bass and tried to condense this to 1 sheet of paper to hand out at the seminar. What I came up with was my Cosmic Clock and Bass Calender, it was 2 sheets of paper.
I thought this was perfect and started into my presentation in front of a few hundred audience and quickly realized it wasn't going over well with deer in the head light looks. So I offered anyone interested in all this detail I had a hand out and talked about how to catch bass on jigs.
Lession learned, few anglers are interested in the details and even fewer are analytical.
Tom
Raul reply :
On 3/12/2018 at 7:15 PM, jbmaine said:I've been reading / watching all the info I can on bass fishing this winter and I find it somewhat overwhelming. It seems like we are inundated with " science " on fishing. Fish patterns/ weather patterns/ water conditions/ specific reasons to use this or that line, lure, rod, reel , etc.. To use all of this info we need to be a combination of physicist, mechanical engineer , meteorologist , marine biologist, electronics expert, and so on.
Don't get me wrong, I am glad all this info. is out there, and I love learning more about the "science" of fishing, but for me it gets overwhelming and my brain screams overload.
I have always fished on instinct, my gut, call it what you will. If a place looks " fishy " I'll stop and fish it. If I catch fish I'll find more similar places and fish them. If my sonar shows arches I figure they are fish and try to catch them. If a lure works I'll keep using it. If my rod will cast a lure 50" I don't know or care if a different rod will cast it 10 more feet.
It seems fish need to eat, feel safe and comfortable doing it ,and some times need to breed.
So I guess what I am wondering is.
Is there a simple way to break down all this " science" and knowledge to make it easier for a "dummy" like me to use it?
For example, our first trip out this spring I'll look for sunny shallow water and see if there are any LM warming up on them. I'll look for rock piles, humps, drop offs etc. for SM. If I catch fish great. If not, then I'm stumped. With all the things I've read/ watched, I'm not processing what to do next.
Is there a simple way to relate all this info/ knowledge to every day fishing?
Thanks
Jim
Whew ! That was some reading ....
Who ? Me ? ... I make it simple Jim, I use The Force, Obi-Wan told me that.
Bladesmith, reply :
Me, I'm a big believer in science. Problem is; the bass in my lake aren't. I study my map, figure time of year and water temps and conditions, and determine where they should be and what they should be doing. Trouble is; the bass don't seem to have the same map. After exhausting all the possibilities of where they should be and what they should be doing, I usually start catching fish when I abandon all that knowledge I've accumulated over the years and start doing something unorthodox like going by feel. IMO bass fishing is kind of like prospecting for gold. You can have all the knowledge in the world about geology and still not be able to predict where you will find it. Bass are the same way. They are where they are at any given point in time, and just because you found them doesn't mean you can catch them.
jbmaine reply :
On 3/14/2018 at 3:50 AM, Raul said:Whew ! That was some reading ....
Who ? Me ? ... I make it simple Jim, I use The Force, Obi-Wan told me that.
Ya, I tried using a Light sabre, Darn thing kept cutting my line
scaleface reply :
I dont know where the bass should be . I just strive to have something figured out before the day is over .
frogflogger reply :
Bass tournaments illustrate that (during the same time frame) bass are caught on different lures, techniques, depths, etc. They are caught by anglers of all different types from highly organized to hardly organized - some approach with science and some with a lucky hat. The common theme shared by all successful bass fishermen is they are on the water fishing.
papajoe222 reply :
This is what I teach the kids and new anglers that want to learn about becoming good anglers (you are the type that want to learn). Don't expect instant gratification when approaching this sport. It's similar to school, you can't expect to be able to apply the knowledge of a college graduate if you're just entering high school. You can do all the research and be able to access all the information they have, but you don't have the experience off applying that knowledge.
Start with bass fishing 101, how and why bass make seasonal movements and how, being a cold blooded creature, the conditions they are faced with, control their actions. From there, apply a new piece of information each time you venture into their world. If, over the course of just one season you do this, you'll be spanking those college boys in just a few years.
One word to the wise, if I may. Treat other angler's advice as what it is, advice. Base your learning on facts and you won't make poor decisions. There is no best rod, reel, lure, etc. as there is nothing set in stone when it comes to this sport. Lastly, remember that even the most experienced, professional anglers are faced with conditions when they can't figure out what and why those little pea brained creatures do. You, too, grasshopper will be there someday.
scaleface reply :
I worked with a guy who was trying to get into bass fishing and he just gave up . He bought a boat , rods reel lures and expected to have success . He would complain to me that he is fishing where the bass are suppose to be , with the correct lures and getting skunked . He just wasnt cut out for bass fishing .
I would say that more times than not , the bass are not behaving the way I suspect them to be . Connecting the dots to try and figure it out is fun to some people but not others . I love it .
TOXIC reply :
On 3/14/2018 at 8:41 PM, scaleface said:I worked with a guy who was trying to get into bass fishing and he just gave up . He bought a boat , rods reel lures and expected to have success . He would complain to me that he is fishing where the bass are suppose to be , with the correct lures and getting skunked . He just wasnt cut out for bass fishing .
I would say that more times than not , the bass are not behaving the way I suspect them to be . Connecting the dots to try and figure it out is fun to some people but not others . I love it .
You bring up an excellent point. I have seen it many times while guiding where I have 2 anglers in the boat fishing the same lures on the same gear in the same spot and one will be smashing them while the other doesn't get bit. I have watched and looked for anything I see one angler is doing different from the other and it's just not there. Always perplexed me. I just tell them that they're just not holding their mouth right.
jbmaine reply :
Thanks again for all the replies,
From reading all of these It seems I am like many, When the fish do what we think they should do, catch rate is pretty good ( most of the time I do OK). But when something changes, and the fish aren't where we think they should be, I am not alone in sometimes struggling to find/ catch them. The best advise seems to be more time on the water/ keep looking until you find them, and even then, some days it just isn't going to happen.
I guess reading and viewing all the specific info out there put me in the mind set that I was missing some critical link.
Seeing someone say " if you go to X and use Y and Z you will catch fish, and having them catch a 5 lb'r while they're saying this, got me to thinking, what am I missing.
Thanks again
Jim
boostr reply :
I just go out and fish. I don't have the time to fish only when a chart or the stars tell me when. I go out when I have the chance. I do adjust to time of year though. I just hit the probable spots then fish the out of the box areas... Thats my science.
RPreeb reply :
On 3/12/2018 at 7:15 PM, jbmaine said:I've been reading / watching all the info I can on bass fishing this winter and I find it somewhat overwhelming. It seems like we are inundated with " science " on fishing. Fish patterns/ weather patterns/ water conditions/ specific reasons to use this or that line, lure, rod, reel , etc.. To use all of this info we need to be a combination of physicist, mechanical engineer , meteorologist , marine biologist, electronics expert, and so on.
Don't get me wrong, I am glad all this info. is out there, and I love learning more about the "science" of fishing, but for me it gets overwhelming and my brain screams overload.
I have always fished on instinct, my gut, call it what you will. If a place looks " fishy " I'll stop and fish it. If I catch fish I'll find more similar places and fish them. If my sonar shows arches I figure they are fish and try to catch them. If a lure works I'll keep using it. If my rod will cast a lure 50" I don't know or care if a different rod will cast it 10 more feet.
It seems fish need to eat, feel safe and comfortable doing it ,and some times need to breed.
So I guess what I am wondering is.
Is there a simple way to break down all this " science" and knowledge to make it easier for a "dummy" like me to use it?
For example, our first trip out this spring I'll look for sunny shallow water and see if there are any LM warming up on them. I'll look for rock piles, humps, drop offs etc. for SM. If I catch fish great. If not, then I'm stumped. With all the things I've read/ watched, I'm not processing what to do next.
Is there a simple way to relate all this info/ knowledge to every day fishing?
Thanks
Jim
I'm right there with you. I'll also add the overload of shopping for tackle. The first time I was in a BPS after deciding to try bass fishing after my 50 year hiatus, I left without buying anything. My head was spinning. The last time I had fished for bass the entire bass section in a tackle shop would have fit in one aisle at BPS. Now I have a marginally better idea of what I'm doing, and before I go to Cabela's, I have a general idea of what I'm looking for.
I feel the same way when reading some of the articles and watching the videos here at Bass Resource. So much info, and so much of it that I am forced to modify because I don't (and may never) own the gear that the particular demonstrator is advising. Ultimately, I now try to watch for methodology and just pass over the advice on rods and reels that I just don't have.
At least for this season, I'll also be doing without any sort of electronics, so a lot of my fishing will be pure trial and error, searching... searching... searching, just like I did it growing up. I expect to be doing a lot more fishing than catching, but that's just how it's going to have to be.
bagofdonuts reply :
One of the things that makes bass fishing great is that there is something for everyone. Some folks get great satisfaction and enjoyment from the science behind the fishing, and in the end, knowing more of the science will bring more satisfaction to your hobby.
But it is not necessary to know all that to catch fish. I have bass fished for a long time and know quite abit about them, but most of the time I just like going fishin. I don't think much about science, i just fish and try to pay attention to what the bass are telling me and then try and repeat it.
I would say learn the science, enjoy it; but don't let it get in the way of fishing. There's an art to it as well.
Graham reply :
Recreational Biology!
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