So what type of angler are you? 2025
CraigBaugher reply :
What type of angler are you?
LURE:
1. GENERALIST - an individual that uses a wide variety of lures, know them well, but a master of none
2. SPECIALIST - an individual that uses mainly two or three lures, knowing everything about them and the master of their use.
WATER:
1. GENERALIST - an individual that fishes all depth zones, know them well, but a master of none.
2. SPECIALIST DEEP - an individual that fishes deep water, depths greater than 15-feet, and are a master of fishing the structure, presentations at those depths.
3. SPECIALIST MIDWAY - an individual that fishes midway, depths between 8 & 16 feet, and are master of structure and presentations at those depths.
4. SPECIALIST SHALLOW - an individual that fishes shallow water, depths from 1 to 8-feet, and are a master of the structure, presentations at those depths.
ANGLER:
1. FINESSE - an individual specializing in lighter line, subtle presentations
2. POWER - an individual specializing in flipping & pitching big baits, with big rods
3. RUN & GUN - an individual specializing in fishing fast moving lures while continuous moving from spot to spot, target to target.
When I got into fishing, I was told I needed to be a specialist. So while I learned how to use a wide variety of lures, I concentrated on the tubebait and jig-n-pig. I was also taught to stay off shore, so I fish primarily in water between 8 & 15-feet, so I guess I would be considered a midway specialist as well. I'm also a Finesse angler by nature, even when fishing the jig-n-pig.
I know today, they teach everybody is to be adaptive generalist, and while I believe that is a good thing, as much as I try, I find myself in 12-feet of water, using my spinning rod, light line, and either a tubebait or small jig-n-pig.
What type of angler are you?
RI_Bass_Guy reply :
Lure: Specialist....jig and pig, drop baits
Water:Generalist...I have fished 80 feet deep and in 5 inches for bass.
Angler: not on your list...Power/Finesse..
Siebert Outdoors reply :
Lure: even though I consider myself a good jig fisherman I am going with generalist. I'm familiar with most lures and techniques but not "pro" in any of them.
Water: I would say Midway. I would consider my favorite depth 8-16 a comfort zone. Shallow imo is pretty much simplistic because its typically feeding/cruising fish. Typically the easiest to catch.
Deep water 30+ is where my down fall is. Reason I believe is not many places around here get past 30 ft. so I'm not acustomed to fishing it.
Angler: Is there a such thing as finesse/power?? I throw a finesse jig 3/8 oz on a heavy action rod with 15lb flour alot. If not I would say power because I mostly pitch. I usually dont go below 10lb line. Except open water I will go down to 8lb maybe 6. I fish more stained/murky and weedy water too so I feel I can get away with the heavier line.
KU_Bassmaster. reply :
Lure: Generalist
Water: Generalist
Angler: Although is not on your list ... Generalist as well. I am probably 70% finesse/30% Power
I consider myself a "junk" fisherman. Not really GREAT at anything, but at the same time I feel pretty comfortable with all presentations, techniques, depths, etc. Although I still do have a comfort zone ....... Fishing relatively deep structure in the 10-18 ft range, with a jig and pig, with a fairly light bait casting set up.
TravisLovett reply :
Lure: I'd go with specialist. I'm a deadly T-rigger and I'm really confident with soft plastics of any kind. I also love to throw topwaters, just another confidence bait for me. Jerkbaits would have to be my third pick.
Water: Specialist shallow. If I see a bass, its usually my bass. Unless of course its one of the lock jaw "cruisers" that I cannot get to even notice my presentation.
Angler: Finesse. I love everything about finesse fishing. I feel like an artist on the canvas when I'm dragging my drop-shot across a grass line. Really to me it is an art, and the satisfaction to your masterpiece is a beautiful bass.
gloomis7 reply :
Lure: Generalist- In the lakes I fish I think someone would have to be in order to excel, due to the different situations there are to catch fish. I have favorites like anyone else but reall I fish a lot of different lures at a time.
Water: Generalist- I especially enjoy shallow flippin and pitchin but I definitly wouldn't call myself an expert. 
Angler: I would be about 60% Power and 40% Finesse.
p.s. Great Question, it really makes you think. :-?
Rattlinrogue reply :
Lure:generalist:I fish many different types of lures,but I consider myself better than average with three or four.
Water:specialist;I consider myself an excellent shallow water angler,but I do fish medium and deep water when conditions call for it.I'm not bad at those depths,but I'm not great either.
Angler:specialist;I like and am good at power fishing.On the other hand,I do like dropshotting,splitshotting,and weightless Senko presentations.
bass109 reply :
POWER & RUN & GUN , my own unique style. 8-)
wvubassfan reply :
Generalist
Generalist
Finess almost all of the time
Bud reply :
I would have to say I am
Lure
1. GENERALIST - an individual that uses a wide variety of lures, know them well, but a master of none
Water
SPECIALIST MIDWAY - an individual that fishes midway, depths between 8 & 16 feet, and are master of structure and presentations at those depths.
Angler
FINESSE - an individual specializing in lighter line, subtle presentations
I also like the tubes and Pig & Jig. I use then about 75% of the time I am on the water
cbfishalot reply :
Specialist
Generalist
Finesse
cwen reply :
Generalist. Unless I am drinking while fishing. Then I am whatever type of angler that stops and pees every 5 minutes.
Vekol reply :
Lure: From the menu of choices, I guess I'm a specialist. I don't really want to be either a specialist or a generalist. I think you need to have a repertoire of lures (tools really) that will allow you to cover the water column from top to bottom.
Water: Shallow. That is a factor of the water I typically fish. To be successful on the Potomac you need to fish the grass, and the grass is generally in less than 5' of water. When I lived in Arizona I caught most of my fish in the mid-range.
Angler: Run and gun, but I made good progress on finesse style of the past year, and am working on power fishing.
roadwarrior reply :
Specialist almost exclusively.
Soft plastics, deep structure and a light line, finesse presentation. The rest is just gravy!
I'm slow and meticulous...well, MUCH slower than that...
I like BIG baits, SLOW or NO movement and almost NO ACTION. If you look up BORING in the dictionary, you'll see a picture of me.
Go BIG or go home...and I'm not kidding.
senile1 reply :
Lure: Somewhere in between. I'm a generalist but there are a few lures that I'm very good with.
Water: I specialize between 9' 4" and 9' 8". I'm an expert in these four inches of water. 
Seriously, I'm more of a generalist than a specialist.
Angler: A combination of all of them.
Reading through the posts, I'd say my fishing style is similar to KUB's.
Fish Man reply :
lure = specialist....like spinnerbaits and in line spinners
water = specialist shallow..........all the watter i fish is 6feet to several inches
angler = run an gun and finesse
Other. reply :
Not sure about all that fancy stuff. All I know is that I am a REAL GOOD ANGLER!
*I have decided to be serious*
lure: specialist
water: generalist
angler: Run an gun
Catt reply :
LURE:
SPECIALIST - With every lure but crank baits but my personal preference is plastics/jigs
WATER:
SPECIALIST - If it's wet I can catch fish in it; a master at reading structure at any depth.
ANGLER:
SPECIALIST - I fish power baits with finesse using simple techniques to perfection to consistently catch.
My back ground came from fishing offshore in the Gulf of Mexico where reading structure is a must as well an ability to fish the entire water column.
Garnet reply :
I have fit all these catagorys at some point. Right now I would say generalist that has master a lot. Still have weekness or haven't found a lake were certain technics work c-rig would be my biggest weakness.
Garnet
RiskKid. reply :
I'd say I'm a generalist for now since I only got back into fishing a couple of years ago and started slowly. I have been using mostly t rigged plastics and fishing slowly along shoreline cover (I think I need to get slower).
Valascus reply :
Lures: GENERALIST. I am pretty comfortable with MOST lures and presentations, but am far from a master at any of them. I am probably best with a crankbait.
Water: GENERALIST. I would say I am pretty comfortable anywhere between 0-20 to 25 ft of water. When it starts getting deeper than that I start struggling. I tend to do best in shallower water, but can catch 'em mid range if it calls for it. Water clarity doesn't really seem to have much effect on me.
Angler: JUNK. I am really a junk fisherman. I generally use copolymer lines from 6 to 12 lb test and will throw just about ANYTHING on it. Some days I feel like power fishing some days finesse...and most days I just do whatever until the fish tell me what they want.
Stringjam reply :
LURE: probably specialist.....I love to throw cranks and will whenever the opportunity presents itself (and sometimes when it doesn't). I'm definitely not a "master" of any of it, however.
WATER: Generalist
ANGLER: Like a couple of other anglers said....power/finesse. Most people wouldn't think a 1 oz. crankbait with a giant lip is a finesse lure - - but my twisted mind thinks it's a great one. 
VaAngler reply :
Lure im a Specialist, although i learn to use other lures i primarly have my go to baits i beleave i can catch a fish with in any conditions.
I am a shallow specialist i love catching bass in the shallows. But i skip midway and go to the deep alot,
im a run and gun type of angler like to cover alot of realistate in a short amount of time
sal669 reply :
Excellent post !!
LURE: I'd say Generalist. I'm confortable with spinnerbaits, crankbaits, jerkbaits,tubes, jigs/pigs, top water stuff but my "go to" is T-rigged 6-8" plastic worm
WATER: somewhat specialist: I fish out of a canoe with a trolling motor on it, so i'm limited to smaller bodies of water on good weather.I'm looking for them from shore to 12-15 feet of water
ANGLER: Finess. My baitcasters have 10 & 12 lb line on them, the spinning reels 6-8lb.I have to mention that the lakes I'm fishing don't have too much of wood or rock , mostly weeds and the water is clear.
Low_Budget_Hooker reply :
QuoteWhat type of angler are you?LURE:
1. GENERALIST - an individual that uses a wide variety of lures, know them well, but a master of none
2. SPECIALIST - an individual that uses mainly two or three lures, knowing everything about them and the master of their use.
WATER:
1. GENERALIST - an individual that fishes all depth zones, know them well, but a master of none.
2. SPECIALIST DEEP - an individual that fishes deep water, depths greater than 15-feet, and are a master of fishing the structure, presentations at those depths.
3. SPECIALIST MIDWAY - an individual that fishes midway, depths between 8 & 16 feet, and are master of structure and presentations at those depths.
4. SPECIALIST SHALLOW - an individual that fishes shallow water, depths from 1 to 8-feet, and are a master of the structure, presentations at those depths.
ANGLER:
1. FINESSE - an individual specializing in lighter line, subtle presentations
2. POWER - an individual specializing in flipping & pitching big baits, with big rods
3. RUN & GUN - an individual specializing in fishing fast moving lures while continuous moving from spot to spot, target to target.
What type of angler are you?
I'm a mix of all of the above. I fish all water, master of some parts but know them all pretty well. I can catch on pretty much anything that anyone else could catch on but have narrowed the choices down to conserve time, money. As for my style, I do it all other than running and gunning. That would be done in the salt though.
Needemp reply :
Versitile. I want to be able to look at the conditions and use whatever technique is called for that day to catch fish. That is probably the only label I would want to describe me.
MALTESE FALCON reply :
Lure-Generalist and Large Shinerist
Water-Midway to Shallow. When you fish St. Clair, you will find yourself in 2' to 15' Spring, Summer, and Fall.
Angler-Run & Gun
Falcon
Low_Budget_Hooker reply :
Shinerist- ;D
Phd in Shinerology
I myself have a masters in live bait riggitology myself. From Bridle rigging to wacky.
frogtog reply :
I will reply later! It will take me awhile to write this one. 8-)
Nick B reply :
General across the boards
hi_steel_basser reply :
When I'm fishing a spotted bass lake, I'm a deep water brushpile findin' shakyhead riggin' fool. On LMB water, I am a power fisherman, with spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and critter baits bouncing through every laydown I can find. However, I'm not any good at any of it, so I'd say I'm really not a fisherman at all. ;D
silvercliff_46 reply :
Conservative...., oops wrong answer!
I prefer shallow water, both in reeds, wood, and slop. Mostly because it feels more like hunting then fishing. I will however do what ever the situation calls for from ultra-lite to flippin' stick. We have a lot of muskies swimming around, so most of my equipment is pretty heavy duty.
MALTESE FALCON reply :
Riggitology, I wish I'd have thought of that one. lol
Falcon
FIN-S-R reply :
Bi-Modal Specialist: Finnesse as the name implies and DEEP crankin.
Bi-modal Depth: Greater then 20ft and less than 5 with a vibe
Bi modal Style: Stick on the spot boring/ Trolling motor on high ripin' the vibe or dredgin' the bottum.
.ghoti. reply :
Good question Mr Baugher, I had to think about this one a bit. I've come to the conclusion that I'm a specialist. I'd like to be able to say that I'm a generalist, but I've only been fishing about 50 years or so.
For baits, I'm a specialist. Soft plastics account for at least 80% of my fish. Within that specialty, I'm a generalist. I carry and use a wide range of baits. So many that I've devised a new organization scheme for my soft plastics. I used to lug around 8 double sided binder bags, stuffed full of different plastics. I've cut it down to three. I was going for two, but couldn't quite pull it off.
For my target range, I'm a specialist. Give me the 6 - 15 foot range. If I can find some structure in that range, with some cover on it, I'm a happy camper. Almost all of the biggest fish I've caught have come from the 8 - 12 foot range. A few shallower and a few deeper. I do fish shallow, early in the day, or at night. I do fish deeper, but rarely have to. I'm comfortable down to about 30 feet.
I'm clearly a finesse guy. I do not use heavy rods and line. I use 8 and 10lb test on my spinning rods, 10 and 12 on my baitcasters.
The run & gun approach drives me crazy.
Interesting topic.
Cheers,
GK
roadwarrior reply :
ghoti,
We must be twins! However, I've gotten my 80% down to a 12" X 10" x 2" Plano box.
That way I have plenty of room for all the stuff I rarely (never) use.
The Amistad Man reply :
Lures: I would have to say I am general as I am fortunate to have acess to water that you can catch them on most things most of the times.
Water: all of it, I am a true student of finding fish I look for them systematically through all of the water colums.
Angler: Power fisherman to locate / slow and thorough once found.
Great question and good to meet ya'll
Cigarlover 1 reply :
Very interesting topic.
First and foremost I'm a newbie. Only got back into fishing about a year ago. I would consider myself a generalist in all categories and my goal is to continue that way. Last summer I spent my time just getting back into it, getting comfortable with with rods, casting, different lures and all that good stuff. Now I just want to practice as much as I can on all the catergories and hopefully be able to be successful in each.
nboucher reply :
I'm a sequential specialist, a serial obssessive. In other words, I'll tend to stick with a type of lure or water depth for weeks or months, then realize I'm limiting myself and switch to another type and become focused on that for weeks or months.
CrankinCliff reply :
Lure: Specialist I love my Crankbaits, and Spinnerbaits, and my soft plastics! I started with soft plastics when I was learning because they were easy, then crankbaits once I got my boat, and I just started with Spinners 2 years ago when I started learning Baitcasters
Water: Specialist shallow/mid I don't own a depth finder; hopefully that'll change this summer. So I generally stick to areas where i can see the bottom, but if I know theres a weed edge down there I'll fish it 8-)
Angler: Power/finess: When I'm workin my reaction baits I'm all about Power fishing, but I find I have the best luck with weightless soft plastics, so I fish them with ML Spinning tackle most of the time.
squid reply :
LURE: GENERALIST.....I LIKE TO USE THEM ALL...AND WITH WHAT IS WORKING AT THE TIME.
WATER: GENERALIST AGAIN.....FISH WHERE THE FISH ARE AT THE TIME OF DAY AND CONDITIONS.
ANGLER: LOL...GENERALIST....I FISH ANYWAY I CAN TO LOCATE AND CATCH FISH. FROM RUN AND GUN TO FINESSE FISHING.
bigdog reply :
I'm a jerk of all luers and a masterbaiter
Pond Hopper reply :
Specialist- spinners/buzzbaits, t-rigs, jerkbaits, and lipless cranks.
Shallow specialist- alot of the water I fish isnt more than 8 ft in most areas.
Run and gun- look at my signature, I have no patience and target the aggressive fish.
Ky_Lake_Dude reply :
Lure:Generalist
Water:Shallow
Angler:not on the list/Power Finnese
senko_77 reply :
Lure - Shakey head, Senko, Split shot rig, Lipless Crankbaits
Water - Im real good in the 5-10ft range, or that's where my comfort zone is. When the water is super clear but looks light green is when I'm most confident
Angler - I'm definately a finesse fisherman. I may use big baits ocassionally, but my presentations always have a finesse twist.
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