Strong Points and Weak Points 2024
Mobasser reply :
After more than 35 yrs of bass fishing, I've still not mastered all the teqniques of the sport. I don't think I need to either. My own personal strong points are soft plastic fishing, mostly plastic worms. 3 ways I fish them- Texas rig, shakey head/slider, and split shot. Second up would be jigs, followed closely by spinnerbait/trap. Cold water-plastic grub or blade bait.My own weakest point is crankbait fishing. I don't throw them nearly as much as other baits. This is simply what's worked the best for me. What are your strong and weaker points? Have you mastered all the teqniques?
Bluebasser86 reply :
Deep water/offshore fishing would be my weak point. I think that's largely due to the fact our lakes don't fish well offshore because if I go somewhere with an offshore population of fish like Table Rock or Bull Shoals, I can usually catch them.
TOXIC reply :
Everybody is going to have a "preferred" way to fish but a lot of times the preferred way isn't what the fish want depending on season and current conditions. While I consider myself a slow adapter, meaning I'm not jumping on every new technique, I always look at new baits and techniques to see if they really are "new" or just a modification of something that already exists. You do yourself a disservice by not being open to and trying all of the "proven" techniques to some degree. I used to hate cranking due to my love for plastics but found that I wasn't doing myself any favors by not learning and using cranks when that's what the fish wanted.
CroakHunter reply :
My weak point is fishing lippes crankbaits. We have a lot of grass in our lakes and pits so its tough to throw a crank and get it to dig without 10lbs of salad. Strong point would be fishing wood. Wether its a deep brush pile or shallow standing timber I feel that if there is a catchable bass aitting on it I can catch it.
Sam reply :
Smallmouth fishing in the middle of lakes.
If you know where the humps, trees, rocks, road beds, drop offs, bridges, boats, etc. are on the bottom of an open area you can go out there and do well for both largemouth and smallmouth.
Takes a lot of practice and experience to be a strong smallmouth guy and I would rather stay close to the bank and fish for largemouth.
Harold Scoggins reply :
Strong at pitchin and punchin. Weak at skippin, and now that I fish mainly from a yak I doubt I'll ever master it.
scaleface reply :
My weak point is trying new stuff . There are so many techniques now days I dont put in the fishing hours to try everything . Texas rigs , crankbaits , spinnerbaits , buzzbaits make up over 90 per cent of what I use and I'm happy with that . I can fish all cover and depths i encounter effectively . There are times where other lures come into play and I'm open minded about using them but my main four usually get first preference .
On 2/5/2019 at 8:52 PM, Harold Scoggins said:Weak at skippin
That and back-handed casting for me .
Mr. Aquarium reply :
My strengths are fishing, slow on bottom and top. Jigs, Texas rigs, chatterbaits, flip'n pitch'n, swimbaits and spooks. I can also skip pretty good
My weakness are fishing in coldwater, jerkbaits and fast baits, Like crankbaits, spinnerbaits, buzz baits.
A-Jay reply :
I do not have the opportunity to do much 'punching' through super thick surface stuff to access fish. Just not much of that type of cover here. As a result, the few times I in counter this deal - I often struggle to feel like I'm being as effective with my presentation as I could be. Plus - I'm rarely whacking them much do it. But I'm working on it.
Skipping a bait (any bait) is still a work in progress for me. The anglers who have it mastered certainly make it look easy. However, I don't fish much shoreline cover - so I'm not really looking to do it a whole lot.
The vast majority of my angling occurs on or near off shore structure. It's been that way for a while and I really do enjoy 'the hunt'. Keeps me any from 'the crowd' (relative term) and usually offers me the best opportunity to catch the bigger adult brown bass I'm most often in search of. So if I had any strengths - anything associated with this, would be it.
I'm also at least average when it comes to driving a boat.
A-Jay
Catt reply :
My strength is understanding what structure is, how to truly identify it, interpret it, and then fish it effectively.
My weakness is bed fishing, just don't care about it!
Due to their biological urge to reproduce you know where they're at, when they're there, & they don't really wanna leave.
Kinda like deer hunting over a feeder ????
A-Jay reply :
On 2/5/2019 at 9:40 PM, Catt said:My strength is understanding what structure is, how to truly identify it, interpret it, and then fish it effectively.
My weakness is bed fishing, just don't care about it!
Due to their biological urge to reproduce you know where they're at, when they're there, & they don't really wanna leave.
Kinda like deer hunting over a feeder ????
This ^^^^^
Times a Bajillion . . . . .
A-Jay
Allaroundfishing reply :
i was the same way at the start of last year, I LOVED and still do love throwing a lizards or senko on a t rig or wacky rigging a senko . I was enlightened to the way of the square bill in an early april tournament when my partner promptly put 4lbers in the boat on back to back casts. This year i fished my highschool tournaments alone and every single fish i caught has come on a squarebill. (except a 3lber i caught skipping a dock) Now i would say power fishing with a squarebill and spinnerbait are my go to's. Alot of people i know swear by a chatterbait but i cant catch a fish in a barrel on it. i use my 1.5s and spinnerbaits and get just as good of results. I think this is mainly because i can have absolute confidence in my technique which makes it 150% easier to focus on the actual fishing. Stepping outside of a comfort zone pays off sometimes but knowing what your doing and being confident will result in a better turn out all the time. I can think of no one who has "mastered all techniques" but i know there are many who are confident in fishing most techniques.
Fishingmickey reply :
On 2/5/2019 at 9:40 PM, Catt said:My strength is understanding what structure is, how to truly identify it, interpret it, and then fish it effectively.
My weakness is bed fishing, just don't care about it!
Due to their biological urge to reproduce you know where they're at, when they're there, & they don't really wanna leave.
Kinda like deer hunting over a feeder ????
Right there with ya Catt, if I catch a bedding bass it's by accident. I feel if you pull a bass off of the bed your likely to allow the bluegills to feast.
FM
TOXIC reply :
On 2/5/2019 at 9:40 PM, Catt said:My strength is understanding what structure is, how to truly identify it, interpret it, and then fish it effectively.
My weakness is bed fishing, just don't care about it!
Due to their biological urge to reproduce you know where they're at, when they're there, & they don't really wanna leave.
Kinda like deer hunting over a feeder ????
I'm not trying to be a smart alec here but do you stay off the water completely during the spawn? Because if you don't, you are more than likely still catching spawning fish even though you are not targeting them. They spawn deep and shallow during the season. I don't like catching bed fish either and on our annual trip the St Clair we will stay off shore and throw cranks and jerkbaits more but one of my good friends who grew up on the lake laughs and says that if we think we are not catching bedding fish we are sadly mistaken.
Mobasser reply :
On 2/5/2019 at 9:40 PM, Catt said:My strength is understanding what structure is, how to truly identify it, interpret it, and then fish it effectively.
My weakness is bed fishing, just don't care about it!
Due to their biological urge to reproduce you know where they're at, when they're there, & they don't really wanna leave.
Kinda like deer hunting over a feeder ????
This one is #1! If you can learn to identify and fish structure well, for me the presentations are second to this.
Catt reply :
Like @A-Jay mentioned the hunt is just as satisfying as the catch or kill.
@TOXIC I don't specify target bass on a bed; the whole pre-spawn/spawn takes place in waves. On Toledo Bend I can fish pre-spawn bass from late January through April. Once the bass in an area start "locking" on beds I move areas.
@Fishingmickey There's scientific research that shows bed fishing does not effect the spawn. I'm more concerned with mishandling big fish than loosing a few eggs to bluegills.
TnRiver46 reply :
On 2/5/2019 at 7:54 PM, Sam said:Smallmouth fishing in the middle of lakes.
If you know where the humps, trees, rocks, road beds, drop offs, bridges, boats, etc. are on the bottom of an open area you can go out there and do well for both largemouth and smallmouth.
Takes a lot of practice and experience to be a strong smallmouth guy and I would rather stay close to the bank and fish for largemouth.
Open water smallmouth are my favorite!
TOXIC reply :
@CattWe try to avoid the parade line of boats fishing the same beds over and over but I was surprised to think that even our deeper fish, well off of the shallow beds, were still (more than likely) bedding fish. Yes we catch more pre-spawners on their way in to the bedding areas and some post-spawners leaving (depending on the weather while we are there) and that's why we plan our trip when we do because we "can" catch them in all phases and it opens the door for many more techniques. Last year we saw some out of staters (we are as well
), throw a buoy out a small group of beds and sit there all day long catching the same fish over and over.
Catt reply :
I would rather catch a bass I can't see in 30' of water than one in 3' of water I can see.
Like I said it takes the "hunt" out of it ????
Tennessee Boy reply :
I've always felt like it was better to master a few techniques than to be novice at many. Denny Brauer comes to mind as someone that went to the top by being a master of some very specific techniques. I love fishing offshore structure and feel like I still have many ways that I can improve doing so. That will be my focus for the foreseeable future.
TnRiver46 reply :
On 2/5/2019 at 10:22 PM, TOXIC said:I'm not trying to be a smart alec here but do you stay off the water completely during the spawn? Because if you don't, you are more than likely still catching spawning fish even though you are not targeting them. They spawn deep and shallow during the season. I don't like catching bed fish either and on our annual trip the St Clair we will stay off shore and throw cranks and jerkbaits more but one of my good friends who grew up on the lake laughs and says that if we think we are not catching bedding fish we are sadly mistaken.
I just never sight fish for them. 30 minutes of aggravation to catch one seems silly. I like the thought of catching a 15 lb limit in 30 minutes a lot better
TOXIC reply :
On 2/5/2019 at 11:51 PM, TnRiver46 said:I just never sight fish for them. 30 minutes of aggravation to catch one seems silly. I like the thought of catching a 15 lb limit in 30 minutes a lot better
On St Clair with Smallmouth, it's about 10 seconds. Put a bait anywhere near their bed and they will attack it instantly if they are "Locked-on". Release and repeat same fish over and over. Not very sporting.
TnRiver46 reply :
On 2/5/2019 at 11:54 PM, TOXIC said:On St Clair with Smallmouth, it's about 10 seconds. Put a bait anywhere near their bed and they will attack it instantly if they are "Locked-on". Release and repeat same fish over and over. Not very sporting.
It's nothing like that in my neck of the woods, although the classic competitors may prove me wrong next month. When the smallmouth nest up on the rivers near me, you might as well fish for something else like white bass and skipjack . They usually spawn in mid April and all of my shallow water buddies success goes from plentiful to zero once they lock onto beds. This is in shallow shoals on big rivers, where prop boats can't go. I've never even seen a spawning bass in our reseevoirs, then again I haven't really hunted them
Dwight Hottle reply :
On 2/5/2019 at 7:54 PM, Sam said:Smallmouth fishing in the middle of lakes.
If you know where the humps, trees, rocks, road beds, drop offs, bridges, boats, etc. are on the bottom of an open area you can go out there and do well for both largemouth and smallmouth.
Takes a lot of practice and experience to be a strong smallmouth guy and I would rather stay close to the bank and fish for largemouth.
Sam if you grew up fishing lake Erie you would probably be an expert smallie fisherman. The reason why is you know how to fish what you know. It's the unknown that throws everybody off. I learned to fish for smallies on lake Erie & it was a pretty quick learning curve for me. That's because I wanted to catch them and I concentrated on expanding my early successes. If we all practiced and studied that which we don't know we would get better at it pretty quick. Think why you are good at what you do & try mimicking that success with something you don't do well because it's too hard or you haven't really tried.
FCPhil reply :
I wouldn’t say I have mastered it but I love fishing topwater and feel pretty confident with just about every style of topwater lure. Weightless worm fishing also is something I’m pretty confident with.
I feel like I’m starting to get a feel for fishing glidebaits, which has been a multi season learning curve.
I feel the most at a loss fishing Texas Rigs and Spinner baits. I don’t fish bottom contact presentations much because of the conditions I fish in and I have never had much luck on spinnerbaits and set them aside since. Going to work on the T-rig this season though.
Koz reply :
Weak everywhere and I don't care! I just like to fish.
Fishing exclusively from the banks limits a lot of different techniques as well as areas that I can fish. So I take what I can get and I'm happy enough and land more than my fair share of 4-5 pounders throughout the year.
That being said, I do have a hard time fishing slow. If I was sitting in a boat or sitting on a chair on the bank I could probably do it but I'd rather cover ground looking for fish than fishing slow. That's probably why I hate winter fishing so much.
keagbassr reply :
Since I often say I have no use for deep,or clear, or cold or weedless water I'd say those are my weaknesses. My strength would have to be catching them when they're willing to bite what I want to throw.
Bankbeater reply :
Bottom contact baits, and moving baits would be my strengths. Stop and go baits would be my weakness. I just can't seem to get the correct retrieve when I'm working one.
Spankey reply :
Great post. Finesse fishing soft plastics and crankbait fishing are my stronger points. Been replacing some of my rods for both, that has made it better also.
Not it that is a weak point but this upcoming season I need to get into punching, pitching and flipping. I just never exposed myself to it. Weak not knowing anything about it. Feel that I’m passing over some quality fish by not doing it. It will be a whole new ball game.
EWREX reply :
my strengths are definitely shallower water fishing from 1 ft. to 12 ft. with soft plastics and jigs. it's mainly just a confidence thing. i really want to improve my offshore fishing deeper water and structure, and fishing crankbaits more effectively and make myself believe i can catch fish consistently doing that
WRB reply :
There are very few lures I don't use because I enjoy learning new presentations and new lures. The lure I use the least is a jerk bait and little use for a Ned rig.
Tom
Russ E reply :
my strong points are soft jerkbaits, bottom bouncing soft palstics and jigs.
In the last few years I have forced myself out of the comfort zone to try new techniques.
the ned rig is one bait I have added to my arsenal. I still don't use it a lot. Most of the time it is when all other baits fail.
My weak point is probably deep diving crankbaits. I use them if necessary, but I personally don't care for chunking and winding the depths. Plus, on most of the lakes I fish, bass don't go all that deep. If they do I would rather pick apart structure with the soft plastics and jigs.
N Florida Mike reply :
My Strong point is soft plastics and skipping. I also can read structure and figure out where the fish are.
Im moderately good with spinnerbaits and certain topwater baits.
I am not good with crankbaits and jerkbaits. I also dont do well with jigs. There, I said it. Jigs.
I like to catch fish and soft plastics are the ticket to that around here. Why fix it if it aint broke ?
Mobasser reply :
I'm not surprised that most of us are not expert at all teqniques. Some just don't work for all areas. Confidence plays into this also. We tend to get good at what we like, and what works best for us. If someone said they were expert at ALL the teqniques, I might not believe it.Admitting that you need work in some things is the first thing towards getting better at it. I appreciate all the honest responses here
GReb reply :
My weakness is still understanding bass migration and movement in river current, tidal situations, and during Shad schooling. I’ve gotten much better but still have days where I get my butt handed to me. Once I find the fish I can usually put them in the boat.
scaleface reply :
On 2/6/2019 at 5:33 AM, Mobasser said:I'm not surprised that most of us are not expert at all teqniques. Some just don't work for all areas. Confidence plays into this also. We tend to get good at what we like, and what works best for us. If someone said they were expert at ALL the teqniques, I might not believe it.Admitting that you need work in some things is the first thing towards getting better at it. I appreciate all the honest responses here
I dont do a lot of traveling to fish . If I was to suddenly move to the Ozarks I would surely fish differently than I do now . 45 years of fishing stained to muddy waters I have a good idea how to do that . I'll fish them deep too and not afraid to pickup a Dredger 25.5 and do some deep cranking .
Mobasser reply :
On 2/6/2019 at 6:30 AM, scaleface said:I dont do a lot of traveling to fish . If I was to suddenly move to the Ozarks I would surely fish differently than I do now . 45 years of fishing stained to muddy waters I have a good idea how to do that . I'll fish them deep too and not afraid to pickup a Dredger 25.5 and do some deep cranking .
Me too. I tend to fish the same lakes, so I use the same things that have worked. We try to go to the Ozarks once a year if we can. If I were to spend more time there, I'm sure I'd be making a change up too
MN Fisher reply :
My strong points have always been crank and jerk baits with the occasional plastic worm on a T-Rig or drop-shot. It's always produced, but in the 1#-2# range with the occasional 3#. My PB was caught years ago on an inline spinner up in northern MN.
This next year, I'm going to work on my weak points. With a new rig, and a better quality replacement rig, I'll be pitching and flipping into growth...a place I've never fished before - always steered clear of major weeds. I'll also be trying Ned-rigs on my ML-rig as well as spinners, chatters and buzzbaits on my President BC-rig.
Maybe changing things up will net me bigger fish - what I've been doing hasn't done that.
Way north bass guy reply :
I would say I’m fairly versatile with most baits and techniques, but like most people, I have several tactics I fall back on most of the time.
One of my biggest strengths would be finding fish in new bodies of water.
Seems like every time I go to a new lake, the first time there can often be very productive for me, not saying I’d smoke everyone else there in a tournament, but I always manage to get on some decent fish. I think it has to do with the fact that I’ve been a multi-species angler since I was a little kid, and we have so many different types of water around here that I’ve had a lot of experience with different techniques for different habitats.
I’d love to give the mlf type of deal a try on a new lake against some real good fisherman, just to see how I’d hold up. I always find it fun to try to figure out a new lake.
Mike L reply :
My strengths are anything I can do with a piece plastic.
I'd rather punch hydrilla and sight fish all day than any other technique.
Also anything on top especially a frog and Spook.
My weakest area is fishing ledges. At a BFL Regional a few years ago on Kentucky Lake I was completely lost.
Talk about being out of my element!
I also despise any light line finesse fishing.
Neko, shaky, wacky etc.
Mike
TnRiver46 reply :
On 2/6/2019 at 3:50 AM, N Florida Mike said:My Strong point is soft plastics and skipping. I also can read structure and figure out where the fish are.
Im moderately good with spinnerbaits and certain topwater baits.
I am not good with crankbaits and jerkbaits. I also dont do well with jigs. There, I said it. Jigs.
I like to catch fish and soft plastics are the ticket to that around here. Why fix it if it aint broke ?
From what I have fished in Florida, the only thing you want to use with treble hooks is a rattle trap or topwater . I don’t see how in the world you could use a crank bait there unless it was a Mann’s baby 1 minus
papajoe222 reply :
I really don't think I have a strong point, although I consider myself versatile. I do have a weak point (besides the one between my ears) and that's finesse fishing. I mean true finesse fishing using spinning gear, light line and lures designed to be used as such. It's a mental block. I just don't like using spinning gear even, though that's exactly what I used when starting out.
When conditions are tough, I'll downsize my offerings and go to a lighter action combo. Heck, I even built a casting rod using a spinning blank in order to use some of the baits. 1/8oz. hair jigs and the last couple of inches of a floating worm. Yep, that's me.
N Florida Mike reply :
A lot of places I fish are too weedy for rattletraps and too shallow for cranks. I have fished some deeper, clearer lakes you can fish those on though. Ive done a little better with cranks than r.traps . Trolling cranks across deep holes at night has produced some big bass. A friend got a 11 pounder like that on a baby bass c.bait in a deep, clear lake.
Mobasser reply :
This is why I like weedless soft plastics the best. The lakes I fish have moss, milfoil, and some smaller pad areas. It's just to hard to fish a crankbait through most of it. Texas rig is still hard to beat, and to a lesser extent jigs.
ohboyitsrobby reply :
I'm pretty good at finding offshore fish on the shallower river end of the lakes I fish. Not so much the deeper clearer ends. I'm also pretty good at cranking and throwing a c rig. Not so much jerkbaits.
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