One piece of advice for a newbie 2024
Brett Stair reply :
What is the one piece of advice you would give to someone just starting or getting back into bass fishing?
CroakHunter reply :
Slow down. Simplify. Focus. Check your line/knot.
MN Fisher reply :
Study the lake/pond/stream/river you'll be fishing. Contour maps are a must but also pay attention to the plant growth both in the water and on the shore.
BassWhole! reply :
Fish more, read less, oh wait that's two pieces of advice, in that case just read less.
2tall79 reply :
Keep your line wet! And come here often. 
scaleface reply :
Dont get discouraged . If you like fishing then good times will come with more experience .
Catt reply :
The bite moves... the fish don't ????
MichaelCopeland reply :
Learn the habitat of the bass and fish as often as you can.
WRB reply :
Troll Spoon Plugs.
Tom
PS, don't ask on April 1st!
Mike L reply :
There's more than one..????
When you need to slow down and you think you did...You didn't.
Let the fish tell you what they want...
When it gets tough, fish your strengths.
Color and/or scent doesn't always matter.
You dont need 500.00 rods and 300.00 reels to be successful.
Read and listen to everything and everyone you can,
But always remember...
Nothing replaces time on the water.
Mike
roadwarrior reply :
J.Vincent reply :
Free your mind, and the fish will follow, be color blind and don't fish so shallow.
DINK WHISPERER reply :
Go as often as humanly possible!
MIbassyaker reply :
Location, location, location.
Bluebasser86 reply :
Keep it simple and have fun.
ClackerBuzz reply :
Fish with people more experienced than you.
On 4/2/2018 at 7:08 AM, MIbassyaker said:Location, location, location.
x1,000,000
All Day Fishing reply :
You will get skunked, don't quit, keep fishing, never stop! 
austinF reply :
On 4/2/2018 at 12:10 AM, reason said:Fish more, read less, oh wait that's two pieces of advice, in that case just read less.
Practice more.
Koz reply :
Patience.
TOXIC reply :
There is no replacement for time on the water.......period.
Fishingmickey reply :
Learn how to fish a Texas rigged plastic worm.
FM
papajoe222 reply :
Ask questions that pertain to fish location and presentation speed rather than; what did you catch them on, or what color bait were you using? That will focus you on what the fish are doing, which is way more important to becoming a successful angler.
A-Jay reply :
10% of the water holds 90% of the fish.
Learn where bass will be seasonally and most importantly, why they are there.
A-Jay
Sam reply :
My advice is: buy all of your tackle, baits, rods, reels, line, plastics, new boat and motor, all boating accessories and all maps plus subscribe to all of the magazines you can before you get married.
Just a word from experience.
You are welcome. 
ohboyitsrobby reply :
It's better to be good at a few techniques than average at a lot. This will help you find your strengths and become confident in them.
senile1 reply :
On 4/2/2018 at 6:57 AM, Active_Outdoors said:Free your mind, and the fish will follow, be color blind and don't fish so shallow.
And the bass say, "Before you can read me you gotta learn how to see me."
WRB reply :
Now that it is April 2nd my advice is master your casting skills to start with and focus on 1 presentation technique until you are confident using it. This site has lots of good instructional articles and vedio's to study, far more then you will ever have time to put into practice.
Good Luck.
Tom
All about da bass reply :
Don't start fishing in the winter, that's when you will quit fishing. Gain your confidence in the spring and fall. I started liking fishing a lot around the winter.. I got tired of not catching fish and almost quit. Now I'm a little more educated about year round fishing and more confident. So I'm gonna say gain some confidence and that takes patience.
Lucas Cooper reply :
Be confident with baits and build from there.
InFishingWeTrust reply :
Be confident in your self. Keep a positive attitude. Dont be afraid to thibk outside the box.
BassNJake reply :
On 4/2/2018 at 12:00 AM, Brett Stair said:What is the one piece of advice you would give to someone just starting or getting back into bass fishing?
Seems like you have received some quality advice already.
I'll go a different route; When needed TP in a ziplock bag can be priceless
Bassun reply :
My advice would be to focus on YOUR fishing, not what everyone else is saying, using, doing, etc. Go fish, and pay attention to what happens when YOU'RE fishing. You can cram your head full of what everyone one else is doing, and it does no good whatsoever if it isn't right for your situation. Focus on yourself, your technique, your situations, your success and failure - learn from it all. By focusing on your fishing, your fishing experience and knowledge will expand then you can start to implement techniques that fit YOUR situation.
soflabasser reply :
Time on the water and learning from each fishing trip is worth far more than what you read online or on a book.
AggieBassin10 reply :
I recommend keeping a fishing log that tracks weather, gear used, location of fish etc. that way after a year or so you can readdress what did and did not work during the same seasons under similar conditions
the reel ess reply :
Buy some Trick Worms and use them.
snake95 reply :
Many newbies will fish from the bank. My advice:
You will get snagged and it is frustrating. You will lose lures, some of them quite expensive and plus your stocks will get depleted at the most inconvenient of times. That is part of the cost of fishing.
But it doesn't have to be unmanageable: learn to use the various types of soft plastic lures; they provide many advantages over hardbaits. They can be rigged for fewer snags (usually by burying the hook) and when you lose them it hurts less. If they are sold in large quantities (Zoom, Yamamoto, Yum, etc. etc.) in major stores, its because they work. Learn to Texas-rig and texpose, with/without a weight.
When I started, I often wondered how to "work" plastic lures.
The answer is: often you don't do much, you can just reel in, and very often, all it takes is the action of the lure fluttering down through the water after splashdown, especially with stickbaits, in order to attract a strike. Often, less is more.
"hamma" reply :
I cant believe no one has said it yet,... rookies!
SSShhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,...... (In my best elmer fudd voice),.. be berry, berry, quiet,... were hunting bass huh, huh, huh, huh, ha.
bass cant just hear with ears, they can actually feel the vibrations noise makes as it travels easier under water, with a line of nerves running down their sides called a "lateral line".
Even if your shore fishing, tread lightly! Ive seen bass bedding close to shore, that have reacted to me walking by as I stepped on a branch and broke it,..he felt or heard that vibe!
Boating? so many of us are used to all the electronics, motors, gadgets etc. Try just drifting along a shore line some day, without anything on or running. no finders on, just barely touching a trolling motor for safety's sake,... be silent, no dropping hatches shut, knocking over stuff, try to make but not a single sound.
If a big fish is around, and she knows your there,....your 99.9 % already done. she's gunna back into a hole and shut down any activity til danger subsides. even baby bass have basic survival skills
tander reply :
Go early, stay late.
the reel ess reply :
On 4/5/2018 at 8:11 PM, tander said:Go early, stay late.
If your wife asks what time you'll be back, tell her when it's too dark to see. She'll eventually assume.
Swbass15 reply :
I would say pick two techniques to start with. When I got back into it I was trying it all at once and learned nothing. Once I picked two baits and committed to them I saw my productivity pick up. Then I started learning new ones and still trying to today!!! Good luck and have fun!!!
MichaelCopeland reply :
On 4/2/2018 at 1:05 AM, Mike L said:There's more than one..????
When you need to slow down and you think you did...You didn't.
Let the fish tell you what they want...
When it gets tough, fish your strengths.
Color and/or scent doesn't always matter.
You dont need 500.00 rods and 300.00 reels to be successful.
Read and listen to everything and everyone you can,
But always remember...
Nothing replaces time on the water.
Mike
Amen to that! ????
redux reply :
^^^Time on the water.^^^
NHBull reply :
Fishing isn't always about catching fish and it's
Cheaper than therapy
Gundog reply :
Enjoy it and share it.
soflabasser reply :
Its a good idea to carry a 2 piece rod in the back of your car along with a small tacklebox of lures. This way you can fish places you drive by that you might not want to make a full trip for.
On 4/2/2018 at 1:05 AM, Mike L said:There's more than one..????
When you need to slow down and you think you did...You didn't.
Let the fish tell you what they want...
When it gets tough, fish your strengths.
Color and/or scent doesn't always matter.
You dont need 500.00 rods and 300.00 reels to be successful.
Read and listen to everything and everyone you can,
But always remember...
Nothing replaces time on the water.
Mike
Well said.You don't need expensive gear to catch bass and you might even have a little fun if you fish in ways most people don't. This may make some people laugh but I have caught plenty of +6 pound bass on YoYo reels or 2 foot ice rods for fun...lol
Happybeerbuzz reply :
Prepare your wife for what is to come with your new life style choice.
N Florida Mike reply :
Just do it ! You'll learn !????
Landin' Lunkers reply :
Don't buy into everything that you read on the internet or see on TV. Experiment, try different thing, find out what works for you.
Choporoz reply :
Wear sun screen.
Someone from BR will get sunburned this weekend....maybe not my Badger brothers, but someone will....sounds extreme, but he will be one step closer to skin cancer.
the reel ess reply :
Just before you jump in the car or truck, stop and take an inventory of your equipment. I don't know how many times I got to my destination and didn't have something I definitely needed (like a boat plug or battery or depth finder or kayak paddle rods or tackle box or...) I still do it 
Mobasser reply :
Learn from your time on the water, and have fun!
CTBassin860 reply :
It's not the size of the fish.....It's the motion of the ocean/lake/pond
Dtrombly reply :
Spend as much time on the water as you can
shovelmouth83 reply :
pick one method and work it till you are good or comfortable with it. IE drop shotting or jerk baits. when you get comfortable with that then go to another.
BCline reply :
On 4/2/2018 at 12:02 AM, CroakHunter said:Slow down. Simplify. Focus. Check your line/knot.
What he said. Forget everything you have seen on TV. Fish slow and watch your line.
thinkingredneck reply :
A couple things:
Plastics Texas rigged is a good start
Get on the water
safety first: kill switch, pfd, sun screen, mosquito spray, etc
Mosster47 reply :
Think like a living predator.
If it's been cold and you have a warm day, where would you be?
If it's been hot all day where would you be?
Could you ambush in open water with no cover?
Would you rather be in stagnant air or a breeze?
Would you look for food where there is no food?
These are dumb beasts. They're like electricity; easiest path.
slonezp reply :
Further North reply :
Fish as much as you can, with people who are better at it than you are.
Unsolicited 2nd piece of advice: Pay it back later when you can.
LCG reply :
Take something away from each outing, even when you don't catch fish.
Don't get frustrated or down on yourself, think what could you have done differently or was there better places to target the fish.
True story - first year of fishing, I caught one fish... But it was awesome and I was addicted.
soflabasser reply :
Here's another good piece of advice for a new bass fisherman;
Find someone who is a much better bass fisherman than yourself and become a good friend to them. Make sure to always join them when they invite you and help them out if they ask you for help. You will learn much more when fishing with someone who is a much better fisherman than yourself than fishing with someone who is at your level or less. I know this sounds very blunt but it is my honest advise and its what I did in my first couple years of bass fishing.Its like the saying " You can't soar like an eagle when you surround yourself with turkeys" so make sure to surround yourself with eagles and not turkeys and you will become a much better fisherman in a much shorter amount of time.
LionHeart reply :
Don't have a pet technique or lure. You must be willing to throw what the bass are biting even if it means using a technique or lure you Don't enjoy.
Seth_7 reply :
Senkos are awesome... Fish em!
Dranrab reply :
Don't be afraid to go small. Light line and small baits will almost always deliver for me when the big stuff isn't working.
DRT reply :
Embrace the senko. Learn it, live it, love it!
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