How many secrets do fisherman keep? 2024
Needemp reply :
I started to realize this year that expert fisherman don't tell all thier secrets. I think that most, if not all, will hold on to the really good stuff. And I don't think they should spill all. If a person puts all that work and time into this sport, they should keep the really good stuff they find from others. What it seems like they do is kinda point you in the right direction and then you have to work hard to solve the mysteries. And to be honest, I like it that way. I would just like to know how much some of these pros really know. Does anybody feel the same?
vtbassin reply :
I do not agree 
I have people in my boat form time to time that need help. I tell them everything I can think of to get them catching fish. I have also been with others that have showed me different tacticts many times.
On the other hand I have fished with some that work to try and catch more fish no matter what 
Boat positioning is what comes to mind as a way a couple fine gents tryed to keep the upper hand I do not fish with them more than once 8-)
This board is a good example of people telling it all. I have seen some detailed explanations here ;D All you have to do is ask
CJ reply :
I think it depends on what they know and what is going on when they figure out something that they may want to keep to themselves.This mainly concerns tournament anglers.
Sometimes a different kind of lure,presentation,or pattern may evolve on a particular body of water.Any smart angler is going to keep his mouth shut.
Marty reply :
I'm no expert and if I kept secrets, nobody would be hurting. The one thing I shut up about is small ponds that can easily be ruined if they received more fishing pressure, especially from the meat hogs. And if someone else shows up and asked how I've been doing, I'll tell the truth unless I caught some good ones, in which case I just say I caught a couple of small ones.
I share this type of information only with my two regular partners and a trusted friend or two. I've seen too many small ponds go bad. All it takes is one fisherman at some places. A town park pond just two miles from home used to be a great place for quality bass. I've caught a few hundred keepers from it over the last ten years of so. What if I kept them? This place is only 13-15 acres. Unfortunately, there have been a couple of guys who DO keep quality fish and this little gem so close to home is now not worth a &*%$!! :'(
Raul reply :
What are the odds of you and me meeting and competing in the same place ? there 's more probability of an asteroid crashing on earth and sending us back to the stone age than you and me meeting, I fish in Mexico, central Mexico to be exact, how many Mexican anglers have you met here ? so given those odds what "secrets" do I know that I can 't tell ? If I know something is for me to share, my only satisfaction is to see that what I told has helped you and others who had the time to read my advice to catch fish. What secrets do you want to know ?
Valascus reply :
I don't keep secrets...unless I am on a HIGHLY pressured waters. If you let anyone know that you have caught ANYTHING on pressured waters your spot is gonna be full of people...which is massively annoying...to say the least. Other than that, I have no problem telling other anglers any info they wanna know. Help your angling brethren! 
Needemp reply :
My statement was more about professional fisherman, tourny-men and television/magazine hosts. There are a lot of fisherman that can go to any lake and catch quality bass given a little time. I can't do this, but I have figured out a few little things that work and that I have never read about or heard. It's just some of the little things I have noticed that improve my quality of catch.
KenDammit28 reply :
I don't mind telling absolutely anything that I know. Growth comes from knowledge and if no knowledge is being passed on, it will eventually die.
I believe that everyone should LEARN on their own with things ex. I hate all the questions about "what do I do right here when this is like this and thats like that?" or "where are the bass?" That takes away the whole point of fishing!
Things like techniques, lures, patterns on a particular body of water, I see no reason not to share that.
Needemp reply :
QuoteWhat secrets do you want to know ?
How to catch a 10 pound bass everytime out! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
guest reply :
It's funny but I agree that fisherman love to "crafty" and secretive. Ever notice how some guys always put their rod tips out of site when you approach so you cant see the bait they fish?
Ask "How they bitin?" "Not bad"
What are you catchin em on "worms" or in the case of my lake. "topwaters"
It's a game. I'm not too good at it. I usually just start talking and giving up everything. I've come to learn that most other anglers don't believe you anyway. LOL
Now that I live on a private lake and see alot of the regulars, it's a little different. Most of us will share details, but there are still are a few who still say "topwaters" even when their line is dragging accross the bottom ;D
RoLo reply :
My trade is tool & die making, and I've seen toolmakers who actually threw a hand rag
over their job when they seen another toolmaker coming. They didn't want him to learn
their technique (One-fluted gun reamer, lefthand thread with lathe in reverse, etc).
In every case though, these fellows were incompetent and dealing with a limited skillset.
It's no different in the angling arena. Fishing ideas and improvisation are unlimited.
I believe it's the mediocre angler who's more likely to play close-to-the-vest,
because his hand is not all that strong. I would think that an angler with a broad knowledge base
would eagerly share his knowledge, because he knows that there's more were that came from.
He can spill his guts, but before you can sift through all the data he's already onto new techniques.
Roger
CJ reply :
QuoteMy statement was more about professional fisherman, tourny-men and television/magazine hosts. There are a lot of fisherman that can go to any lake and catch quality bass given a little time. I can't do this, but I have figured out a few little things that work and that I have never read about or heard. It's just some of the little things I have noticed that improve my quality of catch.
That's kinda where I thought you were going with this.The members on this forum are out to help anyone who are willing to learn,I know this first hand.
As for the TV and "SPONSORED"tournament fisherman,they are leading you to buy a product that they are sponsored by.Now don't get me wrong,there are great tips and techniques on alot of the shows but,some of them have gone to far with pushing their sponsor's products.It is up to you to weed out what works for you where you fish.
K_Mac reply :
These are some of the reasons I am not interested in tournament fishing. Maybe I'm too dumb to know better, but I get a kick out of helping others catch fish. More than once I've had anglers see me catching fish and ask me what I'm doing. I always tell them. A couple of times this has happened I was fishing small grubs on light jig heads and line. One of those times I gave the young guys a few grubs; I always offer. Another time I gave away some Roadrunners. It is not a big deal because I have been on the recieving end too. I watched two guys catching fish, one after the other, on a local lake many years ago. I had just fished the same bank they were fishing without a fish, and could not help but ask-light line, light jigs, small grubs. They gave me a couple of jigs, a half a bag of grubs, and showed me how to use them. I caught fish the rest of the day, and hundreds since because of their willingness to help. For me that is part of what fishing is about. When Madhouse gives away a rod or LBH takes a youngster fishing it promotes that spirit. It is one of the reasons I love fishing.
BTW I rarely fish small ponds that are not private, but agree with Marty and Valascus that there may be specific places where you have to keep quiet for the good of the lake.
Coopa reply :
maybe its just my personal take on fishing, but if i find an effective pattern or trick or tip i tend to only share it with others that are catch n release fisherman. i let the hungry fisherman think im striking out. now granted my tips and secrets couldn't fill a sentence most of the time.
Chris reply :
How many secrets do fisherman keep? Well, after 2,000 + posts not many. It is like this if I put on a seminar about a lure or tactic for a large group of people you might only retain 10% of what I said. The information is there and complete it is up to you to pick up on it or retain it and use the information in a working environment. What most people do is pick the information apart and forget the rest. A lot of the guys in the top tear retained the most information and was able to pick up on what was said and understood how to apply it to there fishing. You hear a lot of guys say that time on the water is the best teacher. This is very true but what you didn't pick up on was that it takes time on the water and catching a lot of bass to know what a weed feels like or a strike or log. It takes years of fishing to pick up on the light bites. It takes hours upon hours of observing the conditions and fish to figure out what the bass should be doing and what it will take to make them bite. It is the time on the water and the countless bass that you catch in the processes that conditions you to become a better fishermen. This is what makes you become more in tuned to your lures and how to place the lure where you need to in order to draw a bite. This is the biggest secret that fishermen keep.
dink reply :
The popularity that bass fishing enjoys today leads me to believe that there are no secrets. If you think you have discovered something completely new and innovative, think again. Chances are someone has already been there and done that. I will personally tell anyone anything as far as fishing info is concerned because I fully believe that success hinges on personal ability more than any secret bait or technique. The only secret I keep is my password to my e-mail ;D ;D.
splat_baseball51 reply :
i have to start catching bigger bass before i qualify to have a secret, my biggest this year is only 3 lbs.lol
J@k3 01s3n reply :
I agree with you 100% on not telling secrets on highy pressures ponds/lakes. I fish this one that is a GEM of a little lake, and if I even told 1/4 of the guys I see there what/how they need to fish, I'm sure it would be a stinker of a place by august. Other than that, I am always willing to help if someone is willing to listen.
George Welcome reply :
"I started to realize this year that expert fisherman don't tell all their secrets."
Those words in the question that were the operative words were the highlighted ones.
TV shows are first and foremost shows, not show and tell. What you see in the span of a 22 minute show may have taken 16-24 hours of fishing to put together.
What the professional fisherman has that very few in the fishing population has is an absolute unshakeable belief in a couple of tenets of bass fishing. They can certainly have no secrets as television coverage of these tournaments is pretty complete.
The two most important "secrets" of bass fishing:
1) The largemouth is the largest member of the sunfish family. This makes the bass a schooling fish - if you find one you have found a bunch.
2) Once you have found fish, don't leave fish to find fish.
Aha, you say, "that's simple enough". On any given day I watch boat load after boat load of people bypassing fish. The trolling motor is running and the fisherman is intent on finding that next location. In the meantime, we leave the lake day after day with both numbers and size, because when we fish we live by #'s 1, and 2. When you combine 1 and 2 you end up with the "secret" of fish the fish, not the lake.
senile1 reply :
I keep no secrets, not that I have any to keep. All of the technique's I have used are known by anyone who is a regular bass fisherman. I think most of us are familiar with most techniques. It's the little modifications or the special lure that works at a particular time on a particular lake, that some people will keep secret. I see no reason for this, unless you are a tournament angler and you are hiding the information from your competitors. The more we share with our bass fishing brethren, the more enjoyable the fishing becomes for more people. I think this is healthy for the sport and gives everyone a stronger bond with bass fishing and other bass fishermen. This stronger bond could be handy if we ever need to band together to resist laws that can hurt fishing.
Wildbillb reply :
my belief is just because someone lends out a secret doesnt mean the person who hears it or reads it will use it. For instance I was fishing with a buddy last summer and I was having a way better day then him on the lake. He was using all my equipment and standing right next to me but just wasnt having any luck. Well he wanted the rod and bait I was using because that had to be the answer. I told him it was not and to just try a slightly different presentation. Well he didnt want to listen so we switched rods. Well guess what? On the next cast I landed a 4 pounder (good for here) and he was ready to go home.
pcorajr reply :
Well Been new to fresh water fishing I have rely on others to get my starting point. Some people have shared their secrets with me and helped me alon the way. Now that Im getting my family and friends involved i sharte everything i have learned with them. there are things that you keep to your self, fishing holes, your go to retrive when nothing is bitting, your go to lure ect ect ect. I learn that the hard way a few weeks ago.
I found afishing hole 10 min away from where I live, and shared it with a few friends, the fish there where not pressured, they hit anything you throw at them, well somehow the word got out and now the fishing spot flooded with people. Worst thing is that now i have to access the spot by walking 1 mile on the river bank, there is private property between the road and the hole, its a construction site. well now it is corded off with huge sings on it. needless to say the hole is ruined.
Next time i will know better and keep it to my self, its not about been greedy or unfriendly but certain things are best left unknown.
nboucher reply :
I agree about doing whatever is necessary to keep a body of water from being overfished, or fished in a way that harms the population of healthy bass.
As for secrets on how to catch fish, I think it's just not necessary to withhold any knowledge whatsoever. I happen to be reading John McPhee's The Founding Fish, a great book about shad and shad fishing, and he has a great bit in there about the day he went out with one of the best shad fishermen on the Delaware River. He used the same shad dart as this guy, stood just a short ways away him, imitated him as best he could, and even though McPhee is a longtime experienced shad fisherman, he caught nothing. Meanwhile this other guy kept pulling in shad after shad. Finally the other guy had to leave, so McPhee went and stood in the exact location the guy had been fishing from and cast to the exact same spot he'd been casting tobefore leaving the guy had told McPhee precisely where he'd been casting and just how he'd been working the dart. McPhee fished there a couple more hours without catching a single fish. :-/
The point is that difference between success and failure in fishing can be very subtle, just as it is, say, in hitting a baseball. As in baseball, there's a ton to be learned, but some guys just have a tiny bit better instinct for applying that learning. Or maybe the fish can sense who it is at the end of the line! Anyway, it's that mystery, the elusive nature of success, that makes fishing so addictive, I think. The secrets can get you started, but as someone already said, no two people apply the same secrets exactly the same way.
Raul reply :
QuoteQuoteWhat secrets do you want to know ?How to catch a 10 pound bass everytime out! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Move to my neck of the woods. ;D
Matt Fly reply :
I don't care if someone has a special rigging tip or new secret bait. Learn your prey, ie........Mr. Bass, and learn the biologics of baitfish and you will unlock doors that secret baits can't.
You take that new chatterbait to a lake that has never seen it. The morale is: if you haven't put your self in the right spot, you aren't going to catch many.
Knowing how to eliminate water and find productive water is more important than having a secret technique or new baits.
Needemp reply :
QuoteQuoteQuoteMove to my neck of the woods. ;D
Mehico- here I come. Uh, :-? you do have an extra room right? If not, I'll give you time to buy a bigger house ;D ;D ;D
Needemp reply :
QuoteLearn your prey, ie........Mr. Bass, and learn the biologics of baitfish and you will unlock doors that secret baits can't.
That is a good point. Do you know any good links dealing with the biologics of baitfish (Mainly bluegill, young crappie, and shad)?
Raul reply :
You can start by reading all the articles BR, the ultimate source for information ( and it ain 't a joke BR = best resource ) has in the home page, there 's tons of useful information that will make you a better and more consistent angler. Other things come from observation, listen to what the lake is telling you, water temperature, water clarity, weather today, wetaher the previous days, etc, etc, all those are pieces of the puzzle, tidbits of information that when you know the fish will tell you with what, where and how to catch the fish.
Fish Chris reply :
As far as techniques go, I tell "pretty much" all that I know ;-)
On the other hand, as far as giving away my favorite big fish spots, heck no. I figure, most of my spots are fished heavily anyway..... but ususally with small to medium sized fish, techniques. No since quadrupleing the number of Huddlestons being thrown on my big fish spots. On the other hand, if a guy gets out there and covers the whole lake a hundred times over, and deduces down to those same spots anyway, then he earned the right to those spots just like I did, and my hats off to him.
Peace,
Fish
Matt Fly reply :
Man, there are pages of Know they Prey Pt. I and II by Raul and Shad threads. Give me a few minutes to find them.
Know thy Prey Pt1
http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1125948523
Know thy Prey Pt 1a?
http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1125959631
Know thy Prey Pt 2
http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1125601642
Know thy Prey Pt3
http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1134662267
Know thy Shad pt1
http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1134661967
Know thy Shad pt 2
http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1134662267
Shad question
http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1127181187
Hope this helps, please comment on each and it will pull those threads to the front page so others might see also.
Hookem
Matt
Rattlinrogue reply :
With you guys,I'll spill my guts with what little I know.Locally,if you tell where you're catching your lunkers,the next time you go fishing the lake will be overrun with bassboats.I don't mind giving tips and advice,but I'm not telling where my honey holes that I've spent hundreds of mornings getting up at 3 AM to develope to every Tom,Dick, and Harry who for the most part sleeps in every morning and horns in on hot spots.
langs15 reply :
I am with Rattlinrogue....not going to spill my honey holes but will give some advice. Over the last say three months, been spending A LOT of time over at my bait shop and have been learning MANY secrets and how to fish amost every bait that I can think of for softbaits...and a popper. I share my secrets with these two guys over there who may be like 25-30ish or older and they share their secrets. One of the guys knows more so it's cool. I just learned how to fish two new baits and another secret to attract more fish today when I went fishing for my tournament for tomorrow! What goes around comes around. But be very careful who you share with.
RobDar reply :
I wont go blabbing during a tournament, but other than that...I don't care who knows what.
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