Why I am a better ________ angler than you are! 2024

WRB reply :

Thought this topic could generate some interesting replies. The "I" is anyone posting a reply, the blank is any specific lure/presentation you feel is something you are good at.

Why I am a better casting jig angler than you are!

Casting jig is a skill set that I feel very confident in using because of the time spent doing this started in 1955 over 60 years now.

My first jig was a Doll fly 3/8 oz black hair jig without a trailer and didn't have a clue how to fish it other than what was offered on the card it came with. Cast it out and hop it along the bottom. I soon learned a jig caught bass and snagged easily, Doll flies didn't have a weed gaurd. Soft plastics were unknown to me at this time, the Cream worm hadn't made it's way out west until 1957.

My source of bass fishing knowledge came from Jason Lucas outdoor fishing editor of Spirts Afield, Jay suggested using a pork rind bass strip for a trailer and a small denture rubber band hooked between the jig eye and hook barb, this worked great and would influence my casting jig fishing forever.

Back in those days my reel was a Langley Lure Cast bait caster with Dacron braid, the a rod a 5 1/2' tubular fiber glass Conolin bait casting rod.

This outfit could cast a 3/8 oz oz jig 50 yards, all the line the reel held. Being a bank angler back then a long cast allowed more distance to retrieve the lure, not necessarily a good idea because you missed most strikes. With the old knuckle buster reel you had to keep your hand on the reel handle all the time when retrieving or hopping the jig along the bottom,this also required holding the rod by the fore grip, line running over the index finger and under the thumb to feel strikes and help prevent the handle from spinning backwards during a hook set. This out fit also had a lasting impact on how I would develop casting jig fishing skills, strike detection, hook setting and controlling bass during the fight, you had to play the bass or lose it!

Today I still hold the rod the same way, make long casts, feel the line to detect strikes and use both the reel and rod to get a good "reel" set with rod sweep technique developed over decades of jig fishing. I also rarely use a fiber or wire weed guard preferring a piece of soft plastic worm attached via a spring between the hook eye and hook point that replaced my original small rubber band. I also still prefer hair jigs with pork trailers.

Why do I use this old school jig presentation of making long casts and use out dated hair jigs with pork trailers?

The answer is in the number of bass caught over 10 lbs, hundreds. My 5 top jig bass caught between 1982-1994 are: 17.4, 17.4, 17.6, 18.6 and 19.3 lbs.

Tom

kickerfish1 reply :

Hmmm.... While I generally agree with and appreciate most of your posts and respect the heck out of your fishing accomplishments (DD bass caught), I don't think this type of thread is going to fly. It will probably get to the point where people are taking shots at each other.

I am not going to claim I am better than anyone but my strengths are jigs, plastics, and drops shots. Weaknesses are crankbaits and deep cranking.

slonezp reply :

On 1/3/2016 at 4:59 AM, kickerfish1 said:

Hmmm.... While I generally agree with and appreciate most of your posts and respect the heck out of your fishing accomplishments (DD bass caught), I don't think this type of thread is going to fly. It will probably get to the point where people are taking shots at each other.

I am not going to claim I am better than anyone but my strengths are jigs, plastics, and drops shots. Weaknesses are crankbaits and deep cranking.

I disagree. If people get into as much detail as WRB, some of us might actually learn something

scaleface reply :

I feel my strongest bass fishing skill is hopping sinking lures off the bottom so...

...Why I am better at detecting strikes than you .

When I was a kid back in the 60's and 70's , I fished for bass , crappie , whites ,,,, on the Mississippi river and backwaters . Id ride my bike there and had a super cheap solid fiberglass pole and a zebco 202 reel that would never cast . Walking the banks with a crappie size yellow or white Doll fly I would jig it around the rocks brush , eddys , current breaks,,, I learned where the good spot were .Holding the rod in front of the reel with the line between my index finger and thumb I was able to detect light bites . I would spend hours down there, then ride back home to clean my catch .My dad worked at the Lock and dam and I would go with him. He worked his shift day or night and I would spend 8 hours fishing below the dam. Most of the time was spent tight lining for catfish until they opened the locks , then Id have the doll fly out because the game fish would go on a feeding spree . I still hold the rod with the line between the finger and thumb and am pretty decent at detecting strikes . There was no learning how to fish a Texas rig, jig n pig or other bottom bouncing lures , I could feel the slight taps since the first time I fished them .

A-Jay reply :

I fish alone a good majority of the time so comparison opportunities are scarce.

But since we're pumping ourselves up ~ I go with it.

Fishing from a small craft limits my mobility so this has forced me to learn something I call Fishing Small. It means since I'm not going to be running & gunning all over the lake, to get the most out each trip I have to choose when & where I fish wisely. Sometimes that's as simple as when to fish & at what section of a lake. Other times it refers to what time of day or night, to be on certain spots.

Learning to break a spot down. Looking at every possible environmental variable - it's challenging. There's the obvious ones of past, current and forecasted atmospheric conditions like air temperature, wind speed & direction, cloud cover, precipitation,and barometric pressure. Then there's the possible effects of any lunar activity, if you believe that there's any bearing there. Clearly the water itself, Depth, the turbidity, any current, temperature of course, is it rising or falling, what about the what level itself what's the story there? How about the presence of bait or what about food for the bait or other predators that even eat the bass ? Is all of this the same all over the lake ? Usually not. The presence of Cover, wood, weed, man made deals like docks & rafts. How about boating traffic & fishing pressure ?

I want to take as much of this into account as I can IN ADVANCE of my arrival, because if something is "out of tune" - With 3.5 mph as a top speed (if you can call it that) there's no Moving to another area of the lake. At least not very far or very fast ~ timing is everything.

Then there's the "what bait, technique or presentation" I do not use a "Search" lure - ever. By not beating the water to a froth with something simply to cover water looking for "a Bite", I've learned that by getting to the area, looking for the spot, finding the spot on the spot, and making a high percentage presentation to it, one can often fool the fish you're actually looking for before she realizes you're there. Big advantage. A little harder to do at night - darkness helps but so does practice.

A Ton of trial and error comes into play and there have been more misses than hits, but sometimes it comes together and I get a few decent ones. Even still, the environment routinely lets me know that I still have a lot to learn. And that my friends is what keeps me going back.

A-Jay

FrogFreak reply :

I would love to play but I haven't fished for bass long enough to say I'm better than anyone (yet). I grew up fishing for trout and salmon and only got into bass fishing around 9-10 years ago.

I might be as good as some at spending every waking moment thinking about fishing. I suppose because I fish in MN and fish as many as 20-30 different lakes per summer, I am pretty good at breaking down a lake and the conditions but I don't have the years of experience and I only fish from May until October.

My first trout reel was a Zebco 33 with a Zebco rod. It was pretty top of the line back then.

Senko lover reply :

Why I am a better backlash-getter-outer than you are!

I got a lot of them this year! Dang bushes around my pond always catch my lures in the act of casting.....

soflabasser reply :

I thank God for giving me the determination and persistence needed to fish well any body of water I decide to fish.

WRB reply :

Let me tell you why you are better flipping, pitching and skipping jigs than I am!

While I have a lot of time on the fishing casting jigs my skills fishing jigs in heavy cover or skipping jigs under docks are limited. Where I bass the lakes are deep structure with lots of rocks, little cover and no docks to target. Occasionally I travel to lakes or the delta where the bass relate to heavy cover and under docks and short casts are needed to hit small targets. I have developed a casting technique similar to Hank Parkers loop cast using my standard casting rod to make accurate casts close the the waters surface so the jig lands softly and accurately 30 to 50 foot casts. I don't own a flipping or pitching rod and sometimes a partner loans one to me. I can catch bass flipping or pitching, it's a struggle and not my strong suit.

My casting jig skills have taught me to watch and feel the line for any changes in sink rate, tension or movement. What I watch for is where the line enters the water cutting a V, if the V stops or moves that indicates a strike or the jig stopped. If I know the jig hasn't hit bottom yet or the line tension increased or decreased, set the hook!

Tom

Catt reply :

Why I am a better bass angler than you are!

List of anglers I have beaten either by winning the tournament or finishing ahead of them more than once on Toledo Bend & Sam Rayburn.

Harold Allen, Rick Clunn, Ken Cook, Jerry Dean, John Dean, Villis P "Bo" Dowden Sr, Todd Faircloth, Shaw Grigsby, John Hall, Tommy Martin, Darren "Mad Man" Mooneyham, Larry Nixon, Terry Oldham, Ron/Rick Pierce, Zell Roland, Bob Sealy, Lonnie Stanley, & John Torain.

You will only underestimate me one time!

Big C reply :

I am a better sand flea angler than you, because I highly doubt any of you are sand flea anglers.

papajoe222 reply :

I WAS a better Spook fisherman than you.

A spook was the first topwater lure I ever used and use it I did. As a bank fisherman, errant casts with treble hooked lures was a recipe for snags and lost lures, but I quickly found out that the fish liked to hang around and in those snags. After reading an article in 'Field and Stream' I decided to learn how to walk a Spook around objects. It took all of that summer, but I was able to master doing just that. The following season, I started throwing a Spook just after ice-out and did so on a regular basis until the end of the season. I experimented with a dozen different modifications, from bigger hooks, split rings, adding weight to the tail, feathered trebles and even moving the line tie location, not to mention different retrieves and rod angles.

That was back in the 70's. An accident and two operations later, I have very limited range of motion with my wrist. I've learned to compensate, but still deal with pain. As a result, my skills have deteriorated, but my love for that lure still has me reaching for my 'Spook Box' with regularity.

Fishing Rhino reply :

On 1/3/2016 at 6:09 AM, A-Jay said:

I fish alone a good majority of the time so comparison opportunities are scarce.

But since we're pumping ourselves up ~ I go with it.

Fishing from a small craft limits my mobility so this has forced me to learn something I call Fishing Small. It means since I'm not going to be running & gunning all over the lake, to get the most out each trip I have to choose when & where I fish wisely. Sometimes that's as simple as when to fish & at what section of a lake. Other times it refers to what time of day or night, to be on certain spots.

Learning to break a spot down. Looking at every possible environmental variable - it's challenging. There's the obvious ones of past, current and forecasted atmospheric conditions like air temperature, wind speed & direction, cloud cover, precipitation,and barometric pressure. Then there's the possible effects of any lunar activity, if you believe that there's any bearing there. Clearly the water itself, Depth, the turbidity, any current, temperature of course, is it rising or falling, what about the what level itself what's the story there? How about the presence of bait or what about food for the bait or other predators that even eat the bass ? Is all of this the same all over the lake ? Usually not. The presence of Cover, wood, weed, man made deals like docks & rafts. How about boating traffic & fishing pressure ?

I want to take as much of this into account as I can IN ADVANCE of my arrival, because if something is "out of tune" - With 3.5 mph as a top speed (if you can call it that) there's no Moving to another area of the lake. At least not very far or very fast ~ timing is everything.

Then there's the "what bait, technique or presentation" I do not use a "Search" lure - ever. By not beating the water to a froth with something simply to cover water looking for "a Bite", I've learned that by getting to the area, looking for the spot, finding the spot on the spot, and making a high percentage presentation to it, one can often fool the fish you're actually looking for before she realizes you're there. Big advantage. A little harder to do at night - darkness helps but so does practice.

A Ton of trial and error comes into play and there have been more misses than hits, but sometimes it comes together and I get a few decent ones. Even still, the environment routinely lets me know that I still have a lot to learn. And that my friends is what keeps me going back.

A-Jay

What you say is correct, but I'd take it a step further. At 3.5 mph, you are not going to miss those small patches on your sounder that would be missed in a boat doing thirty or more mph. The faster the boat, the more info you miss. Yes, the argument can be made that it will cover more bottom than you can in a slow boat.

I started fishing a small local pond, about a mile and a half long, and a half mile across in my canoe. In the course of traversing the pond, I found small patches of rocky bottom, weedy bottom, and transitional bottom that I would have buzzed right by in my bass boat.

I did as well or better on this pond with my canoe than most of the guys with bass boats. But, when I got a bass boat, I caught a lot more fish from this pond than I would have in my canoe.

But it was two years of fishing from my canoe that taught me a lot about what was lurking beneath the surface of the water. It never ceased to amuse me to watch guys launch at the north end of the pond then zoom to the south end, while others were launching at the south end, zooming to the north.

I still cannot understand that "logic".

Then again, I have taken guests with me, and they stated that just the ride would have made their day even if we hadn't caught fish.

slonezp reply :

I am a better "one trick pony" angler than you are.

What I mean by that is I find something that works and fish the holy hell out of it. I've been on a jig and/or swimjig kick for about 8 or 9 years. Not that I don't throw anything else, but 85% of the time that is my presentation of choice. I'll go one step further to tell you I throw 1 color swimjig, just changing trailer color. I've used Northstar jigs for years. Since they changed hands this year, I changed brands to Seibert Jigs who is making a custom order for me as we speak. Thanks Mike I use one brand of swimjig trailer. I throw 1 color jig most of the time with 1 brand and 1 color trailer but have been known to throw a second color jig and trailer on occasion. Using limited presentations makes for easy shopping because I buy everything in bulk.

My theory behind this: I believe a well placed bait is more important than the color. Doesn't matter what color bait you're throwing if there are no fish to see it. My ongoing kick with jigs and swimjigs is the average size of the fish tend to be larger.

I've got plenty of other colors and types of baits/lures for those times I have to adapt or are fishing water I'm not familiar with, but they are collecting dust in the 3700 boxes.

Chris at Tech reply :

On 1/3/2016 at 6:09 AM, A-Jay said:

I fish alone a good majority of the time so comparison opportunities are scarce.

But since we're pumping ourselves up ~ I go with it.

Fishing from a small craft limits my mobility so this has forced me to learn something I call Fishing Small. It means since I'm not going to be running & gunning all over the lake, to get the most out each trip I have to choose when & where I fish wisely. Sometimes that's as simple as when to fish & at what section of a lake. Other times it refers to what time of day or night, to be on certain spots.

Learning to break a spot down. Looking at every possible environmental variable - it's challenging. There's the obvious ones of past, current and forecasted atmospheric conditions like air temperature, wind speed & direction, cloud cover, precipitation,and barometric pressure. Then there's the possible effects of any lunar activity, if you believe that there's any bearing there. Clearly the water itself, Depth, the turbidity, any current, temperature of course, is it rising or falling, what about the what level itself what's the story there? How about the presence of bait or what about food for the bait or other predators that even eat the bass ? Is all of this the same all over the lake ? Usually not. The presence of Cover, wood, weed, man made deals like docks & rafts. How about boating traffic & fishing pressure ?

I want to take as much of this into account as I can IN ADVANCE of my arrival, because if something is "out of tune" - With 3.5 mph as a top speed (if you can call it that) there's no Moving to another area of the lake. At least not very far or very fast ~ timing is everything.

Then there's the "what bait, technique or presentation" I do not use a "Search" lure - ever. By not beating the water to a froth with something simply to cover water looking for "a Bite", I've learned that by getting to the area, looking for the spot, finding the spot on the spot, and making a high percentage presentation to it, one can often fool the fish you're actually looking for before she realizes you're there. Big advantage. A little harder to do at night - darkness helps but so does practice.

A Ton of trial and error comes into play and there have been more misses than hits, but sometimes it comes together and I get a few decent ones. Even still, the environment routinely lets me know that I still have a lot to learn. And that my friends is what keeps me going back.

A-Jay

You captured this in words better than I could have! Nice work!

There really is no pattern fishing when you move at 4.2 MPH. If you find a promising point, you better work the heck out of it since there is no option to fire up the 200 and hit 20 more nearly identical points!

That's also why it sucks to commit to make a time-consuming run only to find someone sitting on the spot you wanted to start on. Hehe...

A-Jay reply :

On 1/3/2016 at 10:21 PM, Chris at Tech said:

You captured this in words better than I could have! Nice work!

There really is no pattern fishing when you move at 4.2 MPH. If you find a promising point, you better work the heck out of it since there is no option to fire up the 200 and hit 20 more nearly identical points!

That's also why it sucks to commit to make a time-consuming run only to find someone sitting on the spot you wanted to start on. Hehe...

Thanks Chris

I hear ya about the long - BATTERY DRAINING runs. The other aspect of this is it Always pays to fish INTO the Wind and Blow Home.

Which is all well & good until the forecast is wrong (which hardly ever happens ) and the wind either changes direction or doesn't when its suppose to. Adding that second battery (which is only used to get home) was a game changer.

A-Jay

Chris at Tech reply :

On 1/3/2016 at 11:01 PM, A-Jay said:

Adding that second battery (which is only used to get home) was a game changer.

I'm WAY ahead of you here, buddy. I've already added batteries 2 through 6! Ha!

Paul Roberts reply :

Fun post. Thanks, Tom.

(I'm not entirely comfortable with the "better than you" phrase, but understand the point of the thread.)

I'm a pretty good crankbaiter around cover. It, and many other aspects of my fishing skills, come from my years as a jig fisherman. From my jig obsession I learned, among other things: concentration, visualization, where my lure is in the water column, and strike detection to a fine degree.

Quite a few years back now I showed a young tournament angler how to fish a crankbait (the Big O back then) like a jig. And on his very next tournament as a back-seater he frustrated the heck out his co crawling a Big O through cover. It became a GoTo technique and overall confidence builder for him.

Crankbaits beg to be fished chuck-n-wind -and that's great when the fish are willing- but that asks a lot of the fish much of the time. Being able to put a prey-sized critter (don't care what you call it) into the heart of things and applying proper triggers -and be able to detect the takes- will catch a lot of bass and expand your confidence in many lure types.

Sam reply :

On 1/3/2016 at 12:22 PM, Big C said:

I am a better sand flea angler than you, because I highly doubt any of you are sand flea anglers.

Take me to Virginia Beach and the Atlantic Ocean and I will take you on for some sand flea fishing.

Mike L reply :

Why I'm a better LEARNER than you are...

I read everything I can and listen to everyone who speaks about things I don't know that much about...drop shoting, jerkbaits, skipping, spy baiting, determining bottom composition, reading and understanding the various electronics, identifying the most productive secondary points etc. etc.

And most importantly, when, where and how to make the best decisions when a boater changes locations that will dictate a new pattern without notice and just starts to junk fish.

Mike

HoosierHawgs reply :

Well, I guess I'm chime in. Hope I don't sound to young and naive, but here goes. I'm a better BANK angler than you! I've fished for 13 years, all from the bank of reservoirs small and large. Learned shallow water fishing at it's finest. I've learned the best bank casting angles, how to parallel the shoreline, look for small differences in cover and structure, with only a handy pair of polarized glasses - no electronics. Caught my personal best, nearly 7 lbs, on a shallow flat adjacent to deeper water and near a small creek with my eyes, no down or side imaging, no sonar, just a handy pair of glasses. Anyone can say they are a better deep water structure fisherman than me, but I'll give anyone a run for there money in fishing shallow structure and cover.

PitchinJigz reply :

I really don't like to sound arrogant, and I know there's people better than me somewhere, but I'll give it a shot.

Why I'm a better dropshot angler than you are:

I've been fishing for my whole life (which definitely isn't as long as most of yours'), but not all always for bass. I started walleye fishing at 3 and became a hardcore bass fisherman a few years ago. Walleye fishing meant spinning rods and light line most of the time for me. Whether it was vertical jigging or using crawler harnesses, I always wanted to know what I was fishing in or around. I learned quickly what a soft bite felt like, and how to tempt a fish into buying in a vertical presentation. Ice fishing especially helped with this.

When I started bass fishing, i still had my spinning rods, so immediately I began finesse fishing. I guess that's what we do up in northern Minnesota. It's been said we grow up with a hockey stick in one hand and a spinning rod in the other. I spent all of my free time learning techniques on YouTube when I couldn't fish. I've watched hours of videos on how to read Lowrance/ Humminbird units and now I know what almost everything looks like on one.

Through experience, I've learned how to feel the bottom with a dropshot, how different attractants change your presentation on a dropshot, and when to use different types of baits. I started out using just Zoom Finesse and Trick Worms, my favorite color being "Sprayed Grass." The flake shows up more than the fairly translucent body in deep water. I now use 4.5" and 6" Roboworms and Jackall Crosstail Shads. The 4.5" Robo is for most situations. If you need one bait to throw on a dropshot hook, this is it. I use natural colors like Aaron's Magic in clear water and bright pink/ purple colors in dirtier water, such as Morning Dawn and MMIII. The 6" Robo I use when I'm fishing for largemouth 90% of the time. The same color rules apply. The Jackall Crosstail, or any shad shaped bait for that matter (I use the Yamamoto Shad Shape Worm as well) is reserved for fish schooling on baitfish or if I feel like there aren't a large amount of crawfish in the area (think very weedy lakes).

95% of the time a bite on a dropshotted bait is just going to feel like dead weight, especially with bigger fish. This is because a lot of the time, they stare at the thing before they decide to eat it. It's not an aggressive reaction strike like a (insert any reaction lure). The only time I get a hard hit on a dropshot is when they hit it on the fall or right when it hits bottom. These bites are the ones you typically have to watch your line for. I think a lot of guys don't notice some of the bites they get on a dropshot rig. If you're a good jig fisherman, you can translate your skills over to dropshot fishing fairly easily, in my case it was the other way around.

The main trick with a dropshot is to vibrate the bait with your wrist, but not to lift the weight off the bottom. The most I lift my bait off the bottom is maybe two inches to move it over a rock or check to see if a fish is on. Dragging the weight is the most efficient way to cover water with a dropshot. The speed of your drag depends on where you're fishing and how active the fish are. I drop down on structure I see on my boater's unit a lot of the time with this rig. I actually stand in the middle of the boat when I'm dropshot fishing to see the unit(s) better than I would on the back deck.

EDIT: As for the gear I use on a dropshot, I've changed it around a lot to fit exactly what I need. I started out with a 7'2" ML/F Daiwa Lexa spinning rod and VMC #2 dropshot hooks. I found the rod to be a bit stiff for dropshots. It was hard to lift up on a fish without them feeling the weight of the rod, which led to more fish spitting the bait before I could set the hook. Now I use a Powell Inferno 6101 dropshot rod. It's a L/XF rod. The tip action is crazy, but when I reel set into a fish, the backbone really shows up. I use Gama #2 Split shot/ Drop shot hooks now. They are lighter gauge than the VMC's, which makes them easier to set into a fish's mouth, especially the hard mouth of a smallie. I still use the VMC's around wood and grass because they're harder to bend out. Basically in a spinning reel, what I look for the most is a smooth drag. For line, I use 15lb hi-vis braid to a 6-8lb fluorocarbon leader. This allows me to see the line better and have more sensitivity. Plus the lack of stretch helps make up for the light tip on my rod.

I feel like I wrote too much, but hopefully it helps some people out. A lot of people dislike finesse fishing and spinning rods, but it's something you absolutely need to know, especially if you fish competitively. I think I like this technique so much because there's so many options: ways to fish it, things you can change. You can complicate it or keep it simple and still catch tons of fish in it. You can catch active and non-active fish on it any time of the year.

dcmclassic reply :

Why I'm a better __lazy__ angler than you. I'll tell you why........Actually no reasoning is needed.

I think some good info could come out of this thread though. Already learned some dropshot stuff.

clh121787 reply :

On 1/3/2016 at 3:09 AM, WRB said:

the Cream worm hadn't made it's way out west until 1957.

Creme *

hawgenvy reply :

I suck

Catt reply :

Many would think my strength would be a Texas Rig or Jig-n-Craw, y'all would be wrong.

I have a God given gift; when I look at a one dimensional topographical maps along with the one dimensional view on a depth finder screen I turn it into a three dimensional image in my minds eye.

As a teenager I worked as a first mate on my Uncle Joe Addison's charter fishing boat in the Gulf of Mexico where he taught me to understand what structure is, how to truely identify it, interpret it, and the fish it effectively.

During the early 70s I attended a 5 day seminar under Elwood "Buck" Perry. Before class, during breaks, during lunch, and after class I questioned him relentlessly. What I gleaned from Buck I added to what Uncle Joe taught me and completed my understanding of how fish relate to structure.

While y'all see the obvious structure humps, ridges, points, ect, I see little subtle pieces of structure y'all over look. In my thread on Toledo Bend I've shown guys "honey holes" that were right under their noses and they had fished around them for years.

Master Bait'r reply :

Bah, I'm just good at having a good time. Fishing I'm ok at but it's all about having a good time and getting away, enjoying the little things and being thankful for the day and the ambition to enjoy the hell out of every second of it.

CarlF reply :

Why I am a better armchair angler than you.

I have a two year old.

My wife works.

Local fisheries are poorly managed for bass, and are highly pressured. Better fisheries are 1.5-6 hours away, requiring a full day commitment.

Im easily distracted, and spend a lot of fishing time pursuing other species/methods.

I have unlimited access to the internet and spend hours reading forum posts and fishing articles.

Anyone want some unqualified advice?

the reel ess reply :

Why I'm a better bass fisherman than you: Because I'll fish for 4 hours for one bite. The fact that fish aren't biting well just makes me try harder. 3 times in 2015 the only bite I got was a bass over 5 lbs.I won't get sidetracked to other species unless they're what I was targeting when I went or I'm in the back of my buddy's boat-he's a crappie trolling expert. I won't get too drunk to fish. I fish from the kayak and advance very slowly.

Oh, and I fish smallish private waters with some bigger bass.

PS: I don't really think I'm better than any of you.

Scarborough817 reply :

i don't have any expertise yet since i've only really fished one year and i was mainly throwing craws into any visible cover

WRB reply :

This thread is coming along, some insight and sharing of skill sets that can hopefully help every angler without putting down each other.

We have a good mix of angler skills that very with age and time on the water.

Why I am a better bass angler than you are brings out how competitive most anglers really are. Some say they are only interested in being outdoors in natures wonderland , some like to catch numbers of any size bass, some are tournament bass anglers and a few focus on being big bass anglers, we all share the joy of catching bass.

We haven't heard from the sonar experts, Catt did add he is a top notch tournament bass angler and has the aptitude to translate 2 dimensional images into a 3 dimensional structure, being engineers we have that ability common. My guess is Catt also has a very good memory to recall details of isolated structure elements where he caught bass.

This leads us to reading sonar and understanding why bass prefer to locate where they are at the time you metered them. The bass are on that structure for a reason, prey is there.

Knowing the bass are where you are fishing is a big help. Knowing what the bass are feeding on helps you to select what type of lure to use, how to present that lure effectively, what depth to target saving a lot of time to catch those bass.

Understanding bass behavior starts by observation and education. There is lots of stuff to read to educate yourself but only you can put in the observation time on the water to apply what you have learned.

Why I am a better structure angler than you are...reading flashers, paper graphs, black & white and color sonar units for decades and having the knowledge to understand why the bass are where I found them.

Tom

J Francho reply :

I am better at learning because I teach others what I think I already know. The more I fish, what I think I know becomes less, lol.

K_Mac reply :

I am better at enjoying the moment than most. I am not driven by numbers or size so much anymore. It is interesting that not being driven to perform has allowed me to relax, and I often catch more and better fish. I am happy to fish with guys that are better than me at different techniques and if you catch more or better fish than me, especially from my boat, I am genuinely happy about it.

It is easy to get caught up in the competition to be the best. With few exceptions, I am really not interested. I have friends that I rarely fish with anymore because having a good time is dependent on the fish biting. Life is too short...

buzzed bait reply :

why i am not a better _____ angler than you are....

because i've never met or fished with you to make that determination!

i'm always happy to learn something new from anyone, when you think you're the best at something, you're limiting your ability to continue learning.

Catt reply :

K_Mac that's the reason why for the last 20+ years I've enjoyed teaching more than catching!

I thourhly enjoy seeing the look on an amateurs face when it starts clicking!

roadwarrior reply :

I don't think I am a better angler than most of the guys I have fished with, but my greatest pleasure has been putting several of them on their Personal Best. That includes several Forum members. A couple of years ago our very own Glenn May hooked up with the biggest largemouth bass I have ever seen in person during a BassResource.com Roadtrip at Pickwick. He fooled that girl with a Siebert Outdoors spinnerbait.

http://www.siebertoutdoors.com/Cosmic-Double-Willow-Spinnerbait-405.htm

the reel ess reply :

On 1/5/2016 at 1:07 AM, Scarborough817 said:

i don't have any expertise yet since i've only really fished one year and i was mainly throwing craws into any visible cover

Kudos! I never fished a craw before I was 35. Always a worm.

Scarborough817 reply :

On 1/5/2016 at 3:16 AM, the reel ess said:

Kudos! I never fished a craw before I was 35. Always a worm.

no shame in worms i was never a big crank fan until i locked one in my hand one day this year it was a productive day for large and smallies

the reel ess reply :

On 1/5/2016 at 2:54 AM, buzzed bait said:

why i am not a better _____ angler than you are....

Why I'm not better: Because I fish a few places I know really well. If I do catch a PB I've stacked the deck in my favor.

Fishing Rhino reply :

On 1/3/2016 at 12:22 PM, Big C said:

I am a better sand flea angler than you, because I highly doubt any of you are sand flea anglers.

Compared to me (and other lobstermen) you are a rank amateur when it comes to catching sand fleas. Put three or four pounds of bait in a lobster pot on good sand flea bottom and they will pick the bait to bare bones as fast as a dense school of piranha.

You can make book that I recorded those areas, and avoided them like the plague. Rather than lasting two to four days, it wouldn't last two to four hours.

Then again, I wasn't a recreational sand flea angler, so I had an unfair edge.

Jaderose reply :

I'm a pretty darn good hollow body frog fisherman. Better than some, I reckon. I got the timing "touch" and don't miss many.

scaleface reply :

Why I am a worse top water angler than you .

I get an explosion then set the hook on nothing .

fishballer06 reply :

Why I'm a better moving bait angler than you.

I grew up fishing with my Dad and Grandfather. Both of whom are very set in their ways, and love to throw crankbaits almost exclusively. I honestly don't think I ever fished with a single hook until I was in my college years. They just simply never fished that way and so I was never taught to use plastics or jigs.

In my younger years, my family had a permanent spot in a campground with a pond about 5 acres in size and it was very shallow. This entire pond didn't get much deeper than 6-8' deep, and most of it was 3' or less. Every weekend, from April through October, for probably 7-8 years, we would be at that campground. I would fish every second that I got at that pond. I learned every rock, stump, drop off, bottom change, everything.... I was obsessed with fishing and I spent all of my free time off the water reading, watching, and learning everything I could about fish, fishing, and water in general. I would take what I learned and I was able to apply it to that pond every single weekend. I quickly learned how the bass related to cover, what they liked, what they didn't like, and how I could trick them into biting. From banging squarebills off rocks, working a buzzbaits over cover, ripping a rattle trap over weeds, I was just able to master so many moving baits.

And then in the evenings, my Dad would take me to one of the local lakes on our old 16' Bass Tracker. I was then able to learn how to read the fish finder and fish for deeper fish. Shad Raps, bombers, bandits, and risto Raps were my main staples of my tackle box in the lakes. We'd catch bass and walleye and it was always a blast. My grandfather lived to fish topwater, and he taught me how to walk a spook and work a popper. As a kid, seeing a fish explode on top is enough adrenaline to get you hooked on fishing for life.

Fast forward a few years and I caught onto chatterbaits, swim jigs, and paddle tail swimbaits (Keitechs). The past two years I have really harnessed these lures and put my time in with them. If you asked my tournament partner what lure I catch my most fish on, he'd tell you a chatterbait. And if you asked him my second and third best, he'd tell you a buzz bait and a DT.

Catt reply :

roadwarrior I would believe ya if I hadn't seen those little mouths ya catch!

mrmacwvu1 reply :

I am not going to say that I am better than anyone at anything. However, when fishing I will say that I am willing to do more then most to catch fish. I do a lot of wet wading. In my case sometimes crawling on my belly a hundred yards to make one cast to one certain spot in a stream that looks too good to not hold a fish. I grew up reading small trout streams and spent as much time on the stream just watching and not casting. It is amazing the things that one can see in nature when no other creature knows that you are there. I think that is why I love wading streams for smallmouth so much. There is nothing like catching a 5 pounder on light line is swift current. Most of the time I only fish waters that other people are unwilling to hike to. However it is amazing when I am around other anglers that just hop out of the truck and start slinging lures or flys with no game plan. Usually when I am fishing a body of water even if it is one that I have fished for years I will take at least 5 minutes to watch the water see what nature is telling me and enjoy the quiet for a few minutes.

scaleface reply :

On 1/5/2016 at 6:12 AM, mrmacwvu1 said:

Usually when I am fishing a body of water even if it is one that I have fished for years I will take at least 5 minutes to watch the water see what nature is telling me and enjoy the quiet for a few minutes.

Excellent advice , I need to adopt this . I always liked to camp on the lake the night before a tournament and just spend sometime sitting on the bank and watching what is going on. .

the reel ess reply :

On 1/5/2016 at 3:16 AM, the reel ess said:

Kudos! I never fished a craw before I was 35. Always a worm.

.nm

WRB reply :

On 1/3/2016 at 10:34 PM, scaleface said:

Rick Clunn known as the zin master for his practice of camping out on the lakes he tournament fished to get a feel of the environment by being close to nature. Hard to argue with Clunn's success.

Tom

ww2farmer reply :

Why I am a better bass angler than you................Because I have "it" and I get "it" without getting spun out on useless minutia....................what "it" is, is up for debate. According to my wife ..................put the letters "S" and "H" in front of that "it" and I am an all timer of being full of "it".

WI_Angler1989 reply :

On 1/4/2016 at 5:35 AM, PitchinJigz said:

I feel like I wrote too much, but hopefully it helps some people out. A lot of people dislike finesse fishing and spinning rods, but it's something you absolutely need to know, especially if you fish competitively. I think I like this technique so much because there's so many options: ways to fish it, things you can change. You can complicate it or keep it simple and still catch tons of fish in it. You can catch active and non-active fish on it any time of the year.

There is no such thing as writing "too much." This is fishing! That was an excellent read for me, and anyone else who has no experience with dropshotting. I want to learn it next season, it's one of my biggest fishing goals.

One question for you, tell me about the weights you use. Size, shape, what effects which you decide use, etc.

Turkey sandwich reply :

There's a lot of really great info on here! There are a ton of you guys I'do love to get on the water with and pick your brains.

The thing that I'm probably best at doesn't necessarily have to do with time on the water, but likely learning efficiently instead. I was always pretty analytical, but I was extremely lucky in college to be able to study under and work with a leading researcher in learning, problem solving, and the development of expertise... Or I guess simply "how to learn". It was a really humbling experience to actually break down the process, especially with common "genius" cases like brilliant musicians, artists, and innovators. Interestingly enough, the same ideas have really benefitted me in everything from my career, to how I teach Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, to how I approach my time on the water.

The really short version of lots of research and case studies is that hard work plays a big role, but so do things like structured practice, tiered and evolving goals, engineering or troubleshooting a problem space, etc. For me, it was really motivating knowing that inherent "talent" isn't nearly the factor it's made out to be, and that most of time we just limit ourselves at what we decided to get "good" at.

I think, also, it may give me a different perspective than most when it comes to how I pursue my time on the water. I don't get as much of it as a lot of you guys, so I spend a lot of time learning a body of water before I get there. I'll typically have topo maps (if available), DNR fish surveys, YOY surveys, reports on water quality/silt/blooms/nutrients, etc, before launching the boat or putting on my waders. When I do get on the water, I'm paying attention to the sizes of baitfish, what's living under rocks, the colors of crayfish, relative water clarity, weather, etc. This also taught me to learn more techniques and diversify how I fish (for years, I was a jig/worm guy) without getting too tied down to just one strategy. I keep notes on how/where they were caught, but focus probably more on what/how I was imitating than just the lure I was doing it with.

The result might be similar to how a number of you have expressed having an engineer's approach to fishing. For me, it's the process of learning as efficiently as I can. It certainly doesn't make me a better fisherman than most of you guys, but I think it's ultimately given me a better than many understanding of what's happening under the water in the amount of time I've been back to fishing regularly. That said, I would love to get out on a boat with a lot of you guys and see how much I don't know.

the reel ess reply :

Oh, Not sure if this has been mentioned, but I'm a better angler because I keep a journal. My wife gave me one for Christmas last year. I started first time out in 2015. I was late getting going because i had foot surgery. But I'm looking back in it now and seeing what worked and didn't work from March on. It's like an almanac.

I was out Saturday fishing with a buddy who likes to bet college football. We've been fishing a long time and he told me I'd gotten a lot better. and asked how. I said time on the water and keeping a journal. He said that sounds stupid. I asked him if he wrote down his betting history and everything about the games and he said no. But that sounds like a good idea, might cut the losses. I said "Yeah."

scaleface reply :

Why I am a worse crankbait fisherman than you .

I dont deflect crankbaits off of wood , when I bump a tree the lure attaches itself to the tree .

quanjig reply :

Why am I a better "random" cast specialist?? In the last few years, that little "why not put one over there" casts has produced a kicker for me has really worked!!

Then I started thinking, at what point does it stop being random and start becoming progression!!?? Just a thought.........

Paul Roberts reply :

Great stuff mentioned. In particular, the ones that jive with me are: being willing to hoof/explore, knowledge of limnology/ecology, taking time to observe, and keeping a journal -an almanac is a good way of describing a journal.

WRB reply :

Everyone can be a better bass angler by using your most important tool, you.

The bass you are trying to catch are not invisible or trying to hide. If you use your eyes, your hearing, your intuition, coupled with your knowledge and experience, you will become a better bass angler.

When fishing with a partner I am usually more aware of what is going on with the bass because I look for them in the water to see if they are following my lures, bumping them. Chasing prey, nervous water indicating prey or predators and keeping an eye on animal activity, etc....keep in tune and use you brain!

Tom

Ratherbfishing reply :

Making comparisons is precisely why I don't fish tourneys so, while others do enjoy this sort of thing, I'll abstain.

the reel ess reply :

On 1/5/2016 at 10:28 PM, scaleface said:

Why I am a worse crankbait fisherman than you .

I dont deflect crankbaits off of wood , when I bump a tree the lure attaches itself to the tree .

Yeah, and usually on the first cast at that tree, ruining that tree for you. I fish one body of water that only has one good laydown on the entire reservoir. I'll always approach it with a T Rig for that very reason.

Fishing Rhino reply :

On 1/5/2016 at 1:03 PM, ww2farmer said:

Why I am a better bass angler than you................Because I have "it" and I get "it" without getting spun out on useless minutia....................what "it" is, is up for debate. According to my wife ..................put the letters "S" and "H" in front of that "it" and I am an all timer of being full of "it".

That's okay. I caused my wife no end of embarrassment prior to her retirement. She is a registered nurse and worked in the hospital administration.

The doc came in to see me when I came to after having a colonoscopy. "Any questions?", the doc asked. I asked him if he found my head up there during the procedure. He laughed and said, "No."

I then asked if he'd give me a signed statement to that effect, for my wife.

Sometimes, I embarrassed myself.

My wife had surgery for a not uncommon female condition. I went to the cafeteria, and on my way back to her room came across the female doc who had performed the surgery. She was telling that all went well, etc., etc. She said in that type of surgery, you never know what you might find.

Before I could stop myself I blurted out that it was like opening Pandora's Box. She thought it was quite funny. I stood there shaking my head, telling her that I realized before I finished what it would sound like, but too late to stop it.

PitchinJigz reply :

On 1/5/2016 at 2:10 PM, WI_Angler1989 said:

There is no such thing as writing "too much." This is fishing! That was an excellent read for me, and anyone else who has no experience with dropshotting. I want to learn it next season, it's one of my biggest fishing goals.

One question for you, tell me about the weights you use. Size, shape, what effects which you decide use, etc.

Sent you a PM.

WRB reply :

PM's not allowed in this thread, it's a open forum for all to learn.

If you are a better drop shot angler, tell your secrets and we promise to keep them.

Tom

Turkey sandwich reply :

I think one thing, that I am better than most at, is smallmouth fishing on rivers. I grew up on the Susquehanna and still know miles of it like familiar highway.

These are are some notes that I have:

-bass fisherman can learn a lot from trout fishermen about how to read a river. Paying attention to things like inside/outside bends, changes in current, converging currents, and current breaks are huge. If you learn basic seasonal patterns and can read the river, you can eliminate a lot of dead water. I've even watched guides on local/regional outdoors shows waste a ton of time fishing dead water. If you have an outboard or especially a jet boat, you can be very, very efficient in the summer and fall.

- as kind of a follow up, in rivers, depth is all relative. Often, fish aren't going to be able to drop down to 20-30' of water after a spawn the way they might in a lake. A 3' drop, with access to current might be equivalent to a 10-15' drop along a point or bluff wall in a lake. Remember, moving water provides food, current breaks provide resting/stacking points, and in moving water, depth doesn't always provide the temperature changes it does in ponds or lakes. Also, remember, in current fish need to eat more frequently and be closer to a consistent food source. A 20' hole or deep bend may look promising on a graph, but unless it offers close shallow water access with current and/or a hard bottom with current breaks, it's likely dead water. If you are marking fish, they're certainly worth a few casts, but they also aren't likely the most active fish.

- in many rivers during the summer, helgramites and madtoms/stone cats are king. Tragically, there aren't a whole lot of great soft plastics out there that represent them well. Outside of using live bait, some of the best imitations I've found are fishing worms with small appendages near shorelines (ideally with some depth) with either a very light nail weight or drop shot (especially with the dropshot, you want the weight light enough for your bait to still drift in current) between riffles and rocky shorelines (helgramites) and fishing fat grubs or small paddle tails like Confidence Baits' Bird or some goby imitations on small, weighted worm hooks in current make a decent culpin/madtom imitation. In all cases, bottom contact is huge. Another cool strategy to emulate helgramites is drifting black/brown/olive bead head wooly buggers on a 4-6 weight fly rod.

-here in the north, big smallmouth love perch (and why not? They're delicious). If you can find a school of perch, it's pretty likely that you'll find smallmouth nearby. Crankbaits, jerkbaits, and spinnerbaits with or without Keitech trailers can be a great way to pick up a kicker fish.

- smallmouth do not require small baits! They will crush full sized spooks, 3/4oz spinnerbaits w/trailers, and even big crank baits fished aggressively when conditions call for them.

- when in doubt, be simple. The reason you can still see small spinners, grubs, and tubes everywhere is because they catch fish almost anywhere. Spinners aren't typically my go to for size, but they're a great way to locate fish when you can't seem to buy a bite. Also, with the grubs and tubes, the size and weights used are typically much more important than the colors.

- smallmouth are super competitive in almost any body of water. You'll often get fish following right to the boat. I will almost always keep a light or ultra light rod rigged with light mono and a grub on an 1/8oz ball head to flip to following fish or short hits. it's almost unbelievable sometimes how many fish you can boat following something like a rattle trap with a finesse grub.

I hope this is helpful to some of you guys, at least in terms of getting more efficient on a river, and getting a better picture of what's going on down there.

Turkey sandwich reply :

On 1/4/2016 at 6:06 PM, Catt said:

Many would think my strength would be a Texas Rig or Jig-n-Craw, y'all would be wrong.

I have a God given gift; when I look at a one dimensional topographical maps along with the one dimensional view on a depth finder screen I turn it into a three dimensional image in my minds eye.

As a teenager I worked as a first mate on my Uncle Joe Addison's charter fishing boat in the Gulf of Mexico where he taught me to understand what structure is, how to truely identify it, interpret it, and the fish it effectively.

During the early 70s I attended a 5 day seminar under Elwood "Buck" Perry. Before class, during breaks, during lunch, and after class I questioned him relentlessly. What I gleaned from Buck I added to what Uncle Joe taught me and completed my understanding of how fish relate to structure.

While y'all see the obvious structure humps, ridges, points, ect, I see little subtle pieces of structure y'all over look. In my thread on Toledo Bend I've shown guys "honey holes" that were right under their noses and they had fished around them for years.

Your Toledo Bend thread is essentially a problem solving book on fishing that lake. How do you typically differentiate between productive humps and points versus maybe more secondary options? I like your notes on boat positioning and presentation once you get there, but what do you find makes on point, cove, or hump more attractive for large fish than other, similar structure? Even in deeper lakes, do you ever adopt a strategy of fishing heavy shallow cover versus deep weed lines and offshore structure?

Catt reply :

Wow! Turkey that's a big sandwich to chew!

Look under the best of at the top of the page!

Turkey sandwich reply :

On 1/6/2016 at 10:26 AM, Catt said:

Wow! Turkey that's a big sandwich to chew!

Look under the best of at the top of the page!

Figured I might try to get my money's worth :).

What "best of"? I don't know if I've ever noticed one.

Catt reply :

When you open General Bass Fishing section there are "pinned"threads one is the best of bassresource. Once you open it you will get your money's worth!

WRB reply :

Why I am a mediocre drop shot angler.

I started drop shot fishing using a dropper rig for salt water game fish in the 60's. I first heard of stacking or down shot for fresh water bass the rig didn't interest me, preferring a slip shot rig now called finesse C-rig. About the late 80's early 90's everyone was talking about the down shot or drop shot rig, so reluctantly gave it a try, tying a hook directly onto the line without a loop seamed wrong. Surprise...it worked!

I still hate to use a drop shot rig, hate even more getting out fished by A partner, so will use it under specific conditions...can't get bit on anything else!

I only finesse rig a drop shot using spinning tackle with 6 lb Sniper FC, Owner mosquito or down shot hook with Roboworms, Iovino worms or Basstrix Flash minnows, very limited selection.

I drop shot in depths from about 10' to 40' where I know bass are tight to structure.

If the bass are suspended a dart head or finesse wacky jig gets the call. If the bass are on slopping banks the slip shot or nail rig is used.

Tom

Catt reply :

Structure is structure!

It doesn't matter if it's me on Toledo Bend or WRB out in California or A-Jay up north or Rolo down in Florida or Raul over in Mexico.

There are (local) regional definitions of various types of structure but in it's purest form structure is the shape of the bottom of a body of water. All bodies of water have it; it starts at the bank & continues out to the bottom of the deepest depths.

When I'm faced with brush, timber, or vegetation my approach is the same; observe the structure first & then the brush, timber, or vegetation. Most anglers see the brush, timber, or vegetation (cover) but never look past it.

I see guys on Toledo Bend flipping/pitching/punching the massive fields of grass by randomly wondering down the outer grasslines. Knowing what structure lies below the grass field I target specific areas catching more bass, bigger bass. & in less time!

Turkey, look at what you wrote on river fishing & compare it to what I just said!

WRB reply :

Catt posted earlier that he has a gift to see 3 dimensional objects looking at a 2 dimensional (sonar screen) view. This is how the world is, it's 3 dimensional and structure isn't anything more than terrain surrounding the lake covered by water. Look at the surrounding terrain to get a clear 3 dimensional view of the structure where you fish.

A large flat bottom area is very similar to a farmers field, no structure elements other than flat earth at first glance. If you look closer you may see a rocky knoll, a drainage ditch, a covert, a fence row etc., the features that are different than flat earth are 3 dimensional structure elements or isolated structure that bass related to, if that field was lake bottom. The weed beds can be different and have edges due to different soil composition, differencies in structure elements like sand, clay, gravel, rocks, stumps, under the cover is where you should be focusing your effort on and they can be visible above water by the different types of cover growing there.

Read ole Catts "structure" threads like "humps" and learn from them.

Tom

senile1 reply :

Why I am a better teaching angler than you are. (I don't really believe I am the best teacher, but I'll play. )

Finding fish on structure is not a complex differential equation that requires a high degree of intelligence to comprehend. Structure and cover are very simple concepts that, once defined, should be easy for most anyone to understand. Often left unsaid is the fact that learning structure on a large lake takes a lot of work and time, and typically the rewards from this process come later rather than sooner. The process of learning the structure of a lake is not difficult to understand. It is just difficult to execute due to the time involved.

Back in the days of Buck Perry, the way to learn structure was to drag lures across the bottom in successive parallel paths, each one deeper than the last, so that the angler could feel and locate points, humps, drains, creek channels, etc. When a nice point or other type of potential bass holding structure was located, a series of paths perpendicular, parallel, and across the structure would be taken to determine its layout. Eventually, this process led to enough knowledge of the bottom to map out the bottom of the lake. Anyone can see that this method took a lot of time and even then, spots on spots could easily be missed. But . . . . it did work and Perry was dubbed the "Father of Structure Fishing."

Once depth sounders/fish finders came into vogue, this process was made slightly easier, though the angler could still only see what was under the boat. If you still use one of these depth finders, then you will need to spend a lot of time following a process similar to the old "Buck Perry" process if you truly want to learn your lake. Once you learn quite a bit, you will be able to find and catch fish much faster.

If you use side imaging and down imaging, then you have obviously shortened the process of learning the structure on your lake. One can now see out to the side of the boat and get a quicker view of structure. Anything that appears to be a potential spot to hold fish can then be further investigated with down imaging, 2D sonar, or lures.

Additionally, an angler can and absolutely should peruse maps and online data about lakes and weather to narrow down probable lake areas for investigation. He or she can then concentrate the investigation process in the areas already chosen, thus decreasing the time needed to find fish. Keep in mind though, that if one chooses the wrong areas for investigation in your pre-trip searches, you may find yourself struggling on the water. Always check the conditions, water, etc when you arrive at the lake so that you can hopefully alter your plan if necessary.

As one can surmise, small lakes can be learned pretty quickly. Learning a very large lake is where a lot of time is involved. It is imperative that you do your research on a large lake to narrow your search areas if you want to achieve success in a shorter time period. Keep in mind that knowing the structure of your lake is useless if you are not familiar with how a bass typically uses that structure throughout the seasons.

In summary, it doesn't take an intellectually superior human being to be a good angler. It just takes one with a desire to learn, persistence, and the time necessary to apply these ideas on the water. I am not among the best anglers in the world, or anywhere else for that matter. But I can teach you and I believe you will be more likely to absorb what I teach because you will never feel that what I teach requires a special gift or superior intelligence. If you struggle with finding fish, don't be discouraged. You can do this.

Catt reply :

Perfect senile1

WRB my depth finder is a 12 year old Hummingbird fishfinder 535, it shows only one dimension...depth!

Paul Roberts reply :

You know, I still like flashers -truly. A lot of using sonar is interpretation -knowing what's down there sending back those signals, and the fish species in that water- and that's fun. Mebbe I'll even break out the old tubular steel rod I have and go retro for a while.

Hope WayneP doesn't see this. He'll disown me.

WRB reply :

Flashers display real time returns within the transducer cone area, everything a LCD does without memory. Most anglers today don't realize the most modern units still display a flasher type real time return on the far right margin of the sonar screen, it's still there except the memory is displayed scrolling across the LCD screen.

My first unit was Lowrance green box portable Lo K Tor era early 60's, still have it!

Lowrance X-15 paper graph and Humminbird Super 60 flasher was my next set up in the early 70's until 2005 when I bought the LCX19C with X510 for the trolling motor for a new boat. I really like the target separation of the 19C and see no reason to upgrade beyond that. Fun to play with other folks new scanning HD units, don't to upgrade this late in the game, I know what's under the boat.

Tom

bigbill reply :

Fishing from a boat you maybe better than me but I mainly fish from shore. I can gun and run to different areas or different places to fish in a few minutes no boat to move. Shore fishing is a lot tougher than using a boat. I'll never make a pro status fishing from shore. I leave my ego at home and just fish against myself. I challenge myself to do better on every outing. Four months to the start date. Three months to grease the reels and add new line.

im the only fishing nut out there at 4am. Watching the sun come up everyday is priceless.

Don't Tell The Wife reply :

I don't know about being a better fisherman but I am a better learner. I love observing others and picking their brain from that I can take what I learn, add to it, and I now have something that's my own that I try to teach others. What a fun process.

I wish I had more opportunities to be around great fisherman and that I was a little better taking in subtle things in the environment while trying something new. This is what I am trying to get better at and its pretty fun too.

Sheepdog reply :

On 1/5/2016 at 12:38 AM, CarlF said:

Local fisheries are poorly managed for bass, and are highly pressured. Better fisheries are 1.5-6 hours away, requiring a full day commitment.

Hahaha! I got half way through your post and said to myself, "This guys sounds like he's from Utah!" Then I saw your info... had a good laugh. Spot on.

I'm still trying to figure out what I'm good at. Started the bass addiction one year ago. Now I'm stuck in a winter wonderland dreaming of some spring fishin.

the reel ess reply :

On 1/6/2016 at 12:44 AM, Ratherbfishing said:

Making comparisons is precisely why I don't fish tourneys so, while others do enjoy this sort of thing, I'll abstain.

The point of this thread is not to brag about how we're better than others. It's more of a way for us to see what others are good at, that we might not be. But rather than saying "I suck at____", it comes form the other perspective, allowing others to tell us what they're good at. See, if you don't join, someone who isn't good at what you are good at will miss out on your knowledge.

roadwarrior reply :

On 1/8/2016 at 5:38 AM, the reel ess said:

The point of this thread is not to brag about how we're better than others. It's more of a way for us to see what others are good at, that we might not be. But rather than saying "I suck at____", it comes form the other perspective, allowing others to tell us what they're good at. See, if you don't join, someone who isn't good at what you are good at will miss out on your knowledge.

Exactly...

Catt reply :

On 1/8/2016 at 5:38 AM, the reel ess said:

The point of this thread is not to brag about how we're better than others. It's more of a way for us to see what others are good at, that we might not be. But rather than saying "I suck at____", it comes form the other perspective, allowing others to tell us what they're good at. See, if you don't join, someone who isn't good at what you are good at will miss out on your knowledge.

While I agree isn't saying I'm better at something than you bragging?

Paul Roberts reply :

Semantics.

However, it is winter and cabin fever will be setting in. How things are worded is gonna matter more...and more.

Team9nine reply :

OK - I'll play along and contribute to this topic

Why I am a better "Ned Rig" angler than you are...

Let me first preface this by saying that the term "Ned Rig" is rather unfortunate. Kind of reminds me of the confusion around the spoonplug and "spoonplugging." While it may have been in use locally before then, the term "Ned Rig" doesn't appear anywhere on the internet until the summer of 2012. At that point, it is used to name "the bait" Ned is using, which in itself is already misleading. The term catches on, soon the thing blows up and gets bigger than life, ultimately leading to a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation being posted and written about. As such, most people "new to the party" haven't taken the time to research and understand the story behind the bait/name. Covering much of that in this post so you can understand what "Ned rigging" truly started out as will hopefully make you a better Ned Rig angler.

So to begin, let's clarify that the "Ned Rig" is technically not a bait but a specific philosophy or mindset of fishing called "Midwest finesse." It has its roots in the 1950s, in the heartland of America near Kansas City, initially with Chuck Woods, one of the fathers of finesse, as well as the creator of the Beetle, Beetle Spin, Puddle Jumper, Texas-rigged jigworm, as well as a variety of other baits and ways to finesse bass. In addition to Woods, Ray Fincke, Drew Reese, Dwight Keefer, Harold Ensley, Gete & Guido Hibdon, Ted Green, Virgil Ward and Bill Ward all have played a part in its history. But it is Ned Kehde, long-time editor and contributor to In-Fisherman magazine that I believe first coined the term "Midwest finesse" for this style of fishing in order to distinguish these methods from the finesse techniques that are employed in Japan and the Western states, including such things as drop-shotting and shakyhead fishing.

After fishing some traditional bass clubs and events for nearly 2 decades in the 1980s and 1990s, Ned and a few other NE Kansas anglers grow weary of the typical tournament angling approach and results, especially with its emphasis on "power" baits, and begin to research and resurrect a form of finesse fishing based upon those local anglers mentioned previously and their methods. By late 2005, Ned has the basic outline of what we now call "Ned Rigging" all hammered out. He calls it Midwest finesse, and at its core, there are two basic tenets:

1. That the method and its adherents practice frugality, and;

2. Instead of catching big bass, its goal is to catch a lot of bass, 101 largemouth, smallmouth or spotted bass on every four-hour outing specifically, and we jokingly call this 'bass fishing 101.'

The majority of the waterways around the Kansas City area are flatland impoundments, and as such they tend to be shallow water fisheries with stained water and abundant shoreline cover. Midwest finesse anglers spend a lot of time focusing on what Guido Hibdon used to call nothing-looking areas, and catching the majority of their fish in from 1 to 8 foot of water, and only rarely venturing into more than 12 feet of water.

We have found that the bass that inhabit these featureless areas are often overlooked by other anglers, and we also suspect that these bass are more active than the ones that are buried in brush or other objects. We also probe beds of submerged vegetation, such as coontail, bushy pondweed, milfoil, and curly-leaf pondweed, as well as the outside edges of patches of American water willows. Lastly, riprap and rocky shorelines, as well as shallow offshore rocky humps are common targets for Midwest finesse anglers during the course of the year. This is one of the big reasons for using small, non-weed-guarded jigs/hooks.

There are several other little known nuances with Midwest finesse as practiced by Ned. They include;

Almost all of Ned's outings are 4 hours long and occur during the midday hours, such as 9 p.m. to 1 p.m., or 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. This is tied to a theory on oxygen and submerged vegetation, as well as comfort/convenience given his age.
Standard finesse tackle revolves around six-foot, medium-action spinning rods that are fitted with medium-sized spinning reels. Ned uses $20 Shakespeare Synergy rods paired with 40 year old Cardinal 4 spinning reels, all with their bail arms removed. These reels are spooled with inexpensive 10-pound-test braid and a five-foot 8-pound-test fluorocarbon leader. After every season, the braid is tied to another reel and then rewound from one to the other, exposing all the fresh unused line underneath and assuring at least 2 years of use with every spool. Again, frugality is a virtue.
Throughout the year we employ just three sizes of Gopher Tackles’ Mushroom Head Jigs: 1/32-ounce with a No. 6 hook, 1/16-ounce with a No. 4 hook, and 3/32-ounce with a No.2 hook. The heads of the jigs are mostly painted red, chartreuse or blue. The 1/16-oz is most used, followed by the 1/32-oz. The 3/32-oz jigheads are used less than 10% of the time. Anything heavier, from 1/8-oz on up is considered "power finesse" and not used as part of the original system. It is hard to explain why the mushroom head is the best jighead to use with this technique, but Ned has tried most of them and settled on Gopher's mushroom. That jighead was originally given to him many years ago by Ron Lindner, as the mushroom head jig-worm was a staple in Minnesota and other natural lakes waters in the 1970s and 1980s.
There are about 8 or 9 different Z-Man soft-plastic baits that account for about 85 percent of all the fish caught using Midwest finesse. Several other non-ElaZtech baits from YUM, Gene Larew Lures, Zoom and Strike King make up the remainder of the baits. At times, we also used marabou-tailed and wool/bucktail or tinseled-bodied 1/32-ounce and 1/16-ounce jigs.
From Ned's experience, Z-Man’s ElaZtech finesse baits are the best soft-plastic finesse baits ever created. He finds that they elicit more strikes than any of the other soft-plastic baits. Furthermore, they are so durable that the same bait can be used to catch 150 or more bass, and as these lures become more worn and torn, they become even softer and catch more bass (frugality and efficiency). Another positive feature is that the well-worn ZinkerZ readily absorbs a scent, which Ned has used since 2011.
There are now 6 "official" retrieves used with these lures: swim and glide, hop and bounce, drag and dead stick, straight swim, drag and shake, and strolling. Again, we rarely probe water deeper than 12 feet and prefer depths of one to eight feet – even in the dead of winter and heat of the summer.
About ninety percent of the time, we shake our rods during the retrieve rather than holding them steady and implementing the do-nothing retrieve that Charlie Brewer of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, popularized decades ago, or the I-Motion tactic that some Japanese finesse anglers have recently discovered. Sometimes the shakes are slight and intermittent, while at other times they are vigorous and constant. Shaking seems to help with getting more strikes in the stained waters we tend to fish. Shin Fukae is credited with both our coloring of jigheads (red, chartreuse, blue) as well as putting the "shake" into the basic retrieves. This happened after Ned spent a day in the boat with Shin back in 2006 at an event that Shin ended up winning, the same year KVD gave him (Ned) his first ElaZtech baits.
One other very important aspect of Midwest finesse is what is termed the "no-feel" retrieve. Contrary to what you have likely read recently in various places, Midwest finesse anglers actually don't want to be able to feel their baits touching bottom. Most retrieves keep the bait off the bottom the majority of the time, and so using braid, along with the lightweight jigheads and the buoyancy of ElaZtech material assists in this effort. It is also the reason why "cheap" rods are perfectly fine with this technique. Standing up on its nose while resting might provide some benefit at times, but is NOT the primary reason for using ElaZtech baits. If you insist on using heavier heads and NRX-type rods so you can "feel the bite," you have a misunderstanding of the original technique (that's not to say they won't work, obviously).
We prefer to make short 35-foot casts, mostly perpendicular to the bank. Shorter casts provide greater control and are usually not an issue in the stained flatland reservoirs we fish.

As more and more people use the "Ned Rig" you will read about more and more variations and riggings and retrieves that others will espouse. These likely all work to some degree, or might even be necessary depending upon the waters being fished. However, the important point to keep in mind is what formed the basis for all the interest and where/how all these variations came from, and that is the basic Midwest finesse foundation written above and still practiced by "hardcore" Ned-riggers like myself.

Hopefully this write-up will give everyone a little better understanding of the technique and the bait as developed, practiced and espoused by Ned.

-T9

the reel ess reply :

On 1/8/2016 at 5:51 AM, Catt said:

While I agree isn't saying I'm better at something than you bragging?

It would be if we really meant it. But look how many people have made the admission that they probably aren't better than the rest. I did.

Paul Roberts reply :

Brian, just plain, Wow! Great write-up on MWF.

soflabasser reply :

On 1/7/2016 at 11:28 AM, bigbill said:

Fishing from a boat you maybe better than me but I mainly fish from shore. I can gun and run to different areas or different places to fish in a few minutes no boat to move. Shore fishing is a lot tougher than using a boat. I'll never make a pro status fishing from shore. I leave my ego at home and just fish against myself. I challenge myself to do better on every outing. Four months to the start date. Three months to grease the reels and add new line.

im the only fishing nut out there at 4am. Watching the sun come up everyday is priceless.

I agree with you that fishing from the shore is much more difficult than fishing on a boat. Anyone can get a big bass from a boat but very few bass fishermen can catch a +10 pound bass from a highly pressured lake from the shore.

Catt reply :

On 1/8/2016 at 9:40 AM, Paul Roberts said:

Brian, just plain, Wow! Great write-up in MWF.

I agree 100%

Being a Southern Boy I fully remember the argument between the Redneck Bubba Bass fishermen (broom handle rods, stout lines, heavy weights, & big baits) and the Sissy Bass fisherman (buggy whip rods, light lines, small weights, & tiny baits).

Now you'll find both baitcasting & spinning setups on the deck of most everyone's boat, well the smart ones will have em!

bigbill reply :

I'm not better, I'm a decent fisherman. It's all about staying focused and motivated.

the reel ess reply :

On 1/8/2016 at 10:51 AM, bigbill said:

I'm not better, I'm a decent fisherman. It's all about staying focused and motivated.

Right. The BEST way to get better is to practice. My secret: I try harder than most, but not all, are willing to. I've learned the most on days when it wasn't working and I had to adjust or experiment to get a bite. And often it was at the very end of a 4-and-a-half hour trip that it became successful because I finally threw the kitchen sink at them.

WRB reply :

I chose the title to spark some participation discussing bass fishing that otherwise may not be shared. Everyone is good at something, none of us are good at everything regarding bass fishing skills. It's the season to sit back and share something that may help your fellow bass anglers.

If you are sitting back in the shadows, come out and join in. I know Glenn is better at making bass technique specific videos than anyone else!

Tom

deep reply :

I'll pretend Dwight isn't a member and talk a little about jerkbaits. While I spend most of my time bottom bumping swimbaits, jigs and plastics, for me jerkbaits are a fun way to catch a lot of (mostly small) bass. Plus I seem to catch a lot of wrong species on them too, and that's pretty neat.

Anyway, while depth and speed are the two big factors (in addition to location of course), in the few waters I fish, with jerkbaits, action seems to matter a fair amount.

I guess 90% of my jerkbaits are Lucky Crafts. That's the brand I started with, and I still have the most confidence in. I did *discover* the 110 this last summer, but we'll see how that goes. I am not sure if Lucky Craft has a high-action slow-riser in their lineup.

So, talking about action. I fish 4 baits that go down to the 4-5 feet zone, and stays there. The Pointer 100, Pointer 112, Pointer 95, and for the last few weeks the 110 FX Tour. Each of these have a different sound, and act differently. (How well do you know your baits?)

Colder water I'm usually starting with the 112; warmer, the 100. Seems to me the 112 has a tighter action than the 100. If all else fails and it's cold, I try the 95. Different attitude while suspended too. Sound might have something to do with it though. Not sure. I wish they made each of these baits in a high pitch, low pitch, and a silent version.

One bait that I feel is a shallower counterpart to the 112 is the 110 flashminnow. I think Hooligan turned me onto these. Very underrated bait, and for whatever reason, everything in my waters love it.

Going down deeper into the column, I have my staysees, live-leviathan and the Pointer XD. Among the three I like the Leviathan the best. You can give it a quick pop while suspended and it sort of rears up. Difficult to explain. Also, you don't fish the DD jerkbaits with a jerking retrieve. I find it better to sweep and pause.

Even with shallower baits, if the jerk pause deal isn't working, I'll actually sweep and pause if I want to catch some jerkbait fish. Seems to work especially well with the flashminnow and the 112.

bigbill reply :

What skills we learn at one body of water applies to every other new place we fish at. We must never get caught up with one bait. Put that one bait we mastered in the Arsenal then continue to learn new baits and different presentations. Actually presentations is the key to success. Don't get hung up one one color. A certain color may catch a few fish another color may load the boat.

i don't have all the answers but get into the zone when fishing. Don't think of things at home or work, don't talk, it's you and the fish. It's skill that catches fish not luck. Luck is for the casino.

J Francho reply :

On 1/7/2016 at 3:29 AM, Paul Roberts said:

You know, I still like flashers -truly.

I like a working flasher, too. It's what I learned on. There's really nothing as fast. The RTS bar on H'birds is close, but still not the same.

Paul Roberts reply :

It's what I learned on too. I picked it up really quickly since I already knew what to expect down there. I had an understanding and feel for landscapes and water bodies, and knew fish species and how they generally behaved so -to be fair- I could make pretty good guesses at what I was seeing. The machines were simple -set the gain on known bottom and watch the dial. Those flashes simply meant stuff to me.

Catt reply :

I like the way Team9nine put it, "the Ned Rig is technically not a bait but a specific philosophy, or mind set of fishing"!

It takes a rare breed of fishermen using simple techniques to perfection to consistently catch bass!

Anglers often respond to failure & frustration by over-complicating theory & technique. As much as it helps our ego to regard a difficult task as complex, this type of thinking is often the biggest obstacle between you & your fishing success.

Tackle manufacturers have built a multimillion dollar industry by knowing bass anglers are a gullible crowd when you simply appeal to their belief "it's the tackle not the angler"!

corn-on-the-rob reply :

On 1/9/2016 at 5:26 AM, Paul Roberts said:

It's what I learned on too. I picked it up really quickly since I already knew what to expect down there. I had an understanding and feel for landscapes and water bodies, and knew fish species and how they generally behaved so -to be fair- I could make pretty good guesses at what I was seeing. The machines were simple -set the gain on known bottom and watch the dial. Those flashes simply meant stuff to me.

I as well. As a younger angler I am glad I got to learn on it in order to have a good understanding of bottom layout and content. Most other guys my age that jump in my boat have no clue what that "red flashy light" is.

Paul Roberts reply :

On 1/9/2016 at 5:56 AM, Catt said:

I like the way Team9nine put it, "the Ned Rig is technically not a bait but a specific philosophy, or mind set of fishing"!

It takes a rare breed of fishermen using simple techniques to perfection to consistently catch bass!

Anglers often respond to failure & frustration by over-complicating theory & technique. As much as it helps our ego to regard a difficult task as complex, this type of thinking is often the biggest obstacle between you & your fishing success.

Tackle manufacturers have built a multimillion dollar industry by knowing bass anglers are a gullible crowd when you simply appeal to their belief "it's the tackle not the angler"!

Agreed, and well put. But... easy for you to say! Simplifying isn't an easy, or quick-n-dirty road.

everythingthatswims reply :

I'm a better buzzbait fisherman than you because I fish from a kayak. The difference between having a buzzbait paralleled within a foot of the bank or a piece of ~~structure~~ *cover* versus throwing straight at it and bringing it back out is huge. I can cover hundreds of yards of bank while staying within a rods length of the bank the whole time, this has produced lots and lots of fish for me. I fish my buzzbait exactly how I do with my big swimbaits, giving the bass something to pin it against. It works!

the reel ess reply :

On 1/9/2016 at 10:21 AM, everythingthatswims said:

I'm a better buzzbait fisherman than you because I fish from a kayak. The difference between having a buzzbait paralleled within a foot of the bank or a piece of ~~structure~~ *cover* versus throwing straight at it and bringing it back out is huge. I can cover hundreds of yards of bank while staying within a rods length of the bank the whole time, this has produced lots and lots of fish for me. I fish my buzzbait exactly how I do with my big swimbaits, giving the bass something to pin it against. It works!

Something I like about the buzzbait is that most curve and you can aim it at a tree, stick, rock, pier piling, etc. to entice a strike.

clh121787 reply :

On 1/8/2016 at 9:48 AM, soflabasser said:

I agree with you that fishing from the shore is much more difficult than fishing on a boat. Anyone can get a big bass from a boat but very few bass fishermen can catch a +10 pound bass from a highly pressured lake from the shore.

Maybe. But catching large fish from shore can also be easier in my opinion. Because you have stealth on your side. No electronics clicking no trolling motor buzzing. But from a covering water stand point or having to fish elbow to elbow with others really makes things difficult

hawgenvy reply :

I've generally done better from shore, fishing small local waters, usually in the evening after work. I think the key is having access to ponds you can't drop a boat into, and locating nearby places few people fish. I caught twenty bass in an hour three days ago from shore on a little blue Horny Toad, and all day in a boat on Lake Okeechobee yesterday with only a handful of bites. Then this evening I fished for ten minutes on a residential pond right behind my friends' house, caught a feisty 3 1/2 pound bass on a swimbait, then strolled back inside the house and feasted with my wife and friends on New Orleans-style barbecued shrimp, French bread, and beer. How can you beat that?

soflabasser reply :

On 1/11/2016 at 8:40 AM, clh121787 said:

Maybe. But catching large fish from shore can also be easier in my opinion. Because you have stealth on your side. No electronics clicking no trolling motor buzzing. But from a covering water stand point or having to fish elbow to elbow with others really makes things difficult

It all depends on where you fish!I caught a +10 pound bass from a highly pressured lake from land not that long ago.This is a public lake where hundreds if not thousands of people fish every year and most never get a bass over 5 pounds from.People have even talked to me while I was fishing this lake and told me that I was wasting my time there!!!Those fisherman have very little patience and patience is something I have in very large amounts .I could only imagine fishing that lake with a boat with a fish finder,it would make it so much easier to get more big bass!

A boat with a fish finder makes it much easier for a bass fisherman to reach and fish a good spot,there is no denying this fact!These spots see less fisherman so the bass in these spots are much easier to catch compared to a spot a shore based bass fishermen and boat bass fisherman fish from.One exception to this is fishing golf course ponds that few people fish.These golf course ponds are full of big,stupid bass that will bite anything that moves in front of their face.So in this situation fishing on a boat in a public lake is far more challenging than fishing in a golf course pond.

bigbill reply :

The best tool to use from shore is a hummingbird cast out fish finder. I use it to learn the bottom layout of what's in front of you. Knowing the depth is one clue to know how to fish it. The other good tool is between your shoulders.

Funny when I was fishing in the evenings at a crowded place they see me catching bass after bass but there's more to the approach than a CRANKBAIT sprayed with a scent.. if the man who talked to me would slow up his spinnerbait and let if fall below the sight line he'd be catching fish too.

It's which bait. Size, color, depth, presentation.

burrows reply :

I am the better fisherman because I'm just gonna walk away from this thread.

WRB reply :

Those who take the time to share their best bass fishing skill with others are better for doing it. There are no secrets, being tight lipped and unwilling to share knowledge is counter productive and doesn't help anyone.

I am a better bass angler becuase I have shared knowledge and learned from others who have shared their know how.

Tom

Catt reply :

Glen May founded Bass Resource with two goals in mind;

To share his love for this sport and to give others a place to share their love for this sport!

Bass_Fanatic reply :

Over got a few things that I think set me apart from many bass fisherman. On the other hand, I've got plenty that kick my butt. But, just for fun...

Why I'm a better tournament angler than you. This one is simple, I work harder. Just this past weekend as I was prefishing for basschamps I fished daylight to dark thirty. There were hundreds of boats on Rayburn all day, but when a storm rolled through at 4 pm, everyone left, except me. I had the lake to myself and figured something out while everyone else was back at the hotels. I caught 2 over 5 during the storm. I also fish for 5 bites. I have two patterns going on right now on Rayburn. I caught 7 all day Friday, but had a few big ones, and caught 25 Saturday but most where smaller. Most people will go catch their 5 on pattern 2 then look for a kicker with pattern 1. I plan on staying with pattern 1 looking for 5 bites. Why catch 5 fish I need to cull anyway?

Why I am a better Arig fisherman than you. I throw it and I throw it often. There are many days hat I will not get many bites on the rig, but when I do, it's a giant. Other days I may catch over 100 on it. But I throw it because I know its potential. I'm also not scared to hang it up. If I'm fishing brushpiles in 35 ft, I'll let it hit the bottom and drag I through the pile. I'll get hunt plenty, but I also catch some studs doing this.

Why im a better deep water fisherman than you. Like Catt, I understand structure much better than most. Cover is an added bonus, but structure is the first thing I look for. Channel swings, humps, ridges, ect are what I key on. Then after finding the right structure I will begin to look for key cover on said structure. Also, when I find this sweet spot, I will fish it hard. Many people go down a break line for 100's of yards fishing. I fish specific spots on these structures that hold fish. I try to maximize my time by fishing high opportunity spots rather than cover an entire ridge.

Now my weakness, no doubt, is when the fish hit the banks...at that point, I'm screwed lol.

paangler13 reply :

This is why I am a better frog fisherman than you.

I throw it a lot. I mean a whole bunch, probably more than I should. I love that it can go from open water to the bank, and catch fish the whole way. But, why I am better has to do with where you put it. I catch more fish fishing behind guys cause I put it right on the bank. It is amazing how shallow bass will be in thick slop. Also stick it where the sun doesn't shine, Literally! Shade, and shade lines, up into bushes, over limbs, as deep as you can get it. There is a reason for that 65# braid!

If YOU want to be a better frog fisherman than ME, than my advice is to practice casting......

Jim

mnbassman23 reply :

Why I'm a better jig fisherman than you.

Because most people tend to fish their jig to fast and don't put it in the areas they should to catch big bass. Skip it under that dock/overhang, pitch it into the heart of a big laydown, and crawl it through that rock point that eats lures like it's going out of style. Once you get it in a prime area let it sit and move it slow. People tend to pitch their jig in, shake it quick, and pull it right back out. You get the point, fish slower. After I bought a GoPro I realized how fast I actually fished my jigs and it was a real eye opener. I've since slowed down with my retrieve. Next time your retrieving your jig count how long it takes you from cast/pitch to getting it back to the boat. Probably much faster then you expect and much faster than you should. Another good option is to anchor up, power pole/talon down, and methodically work a high percentage area. I didn't start doing this until 3 years ago and the amount of big fish I caught after doing so went up dramatically. Most people do not work an area thoroughly enough by a long shot. Getting that proper boat position, maintaining it, and working the area slowly is key to those bigger bites.

I also make my own jigs so I have colors specific to the bodies of water I fish. If you don't think color matters that's fine (not here to argue) but I can tell you on the lakes I fish you will get out fished if you don't have specific colors at certain times of the year. I can also dial in the ROF I get with my jig based on head weight and strand count which is another important factor.

There are plenty of guys on here that would whip my arse when it comes to jig fishing but over the past 7 years of focusing on jig fishing I have made a lot of improvements that I wish someone had told me years ago.

FrogFreak reply :

I love this site! What a bunch of awesome information!

Why I'm a better popper fisherman than you:

I throw a popper when others don't, where others don't and work it with a level of creativity that many won't.

When:

I believe that regardless of the fish's mood, a popper can catch them. I throw a popper when I think bass are in a negative mood because i think I can fool them into biting. I throw it when they are neutral because I think they see a popper as a meal that they can't pass up and I throw it when bass are aggressive because the strikes are so darn much fun! I throw a popper when the sun is high in the sky and in the middle of the day. These times and conditions aren't typical but I have had success during these times and in these conditions on many occasions. I also throw a popper from pre-spawn until the lakes up here freeze with success. Before you cry foul, please read on.

Where:

I throw a popper in your traditional ambush spots but i also throw it over deep structure, pinch points, and open water in transitional areas. When I see any type of surface activity, I have confidence that pinch points, transitional areas and even open water areas with no characteristics will produce. But here's the weird part, I have had success with a popper when there was zero surface activity in the middle of a lake where most wouldn't throw a popper.

How I work it:

This can get a bit zen but I truly try to become the bass when I work a popper, especially around ambush spots. I always always assume that a bass is looking at my popper and considering it from the time it hits the water (or maybe even before it hits) until the time it gets back in the boat. Some of my retrieves can take as long as 20 minutes with pauses up to 2 minutes at a time and sometimes I pop it so violently and continually that my angling partners laugh...until I catch fish doing it that way. I suppose we all feel like this when we have confidence in what we are throwing but for me, this is the number one key to popper success, confidence. My buddy throws a popper when he sees me catching fish with one but he has zero confidence in it and therefore he doesn't work it with any patience. I believe that i can entice negative fish to bite with a popper, I just have to figure out what type of retrieve and action they want.

Color and brand:

Doesn't matter too much. I like any popper with a white or black belly and I do use translucent plastic poppers if the water is very clear. I have tried many popper brands but prefer to make my own. I always dress the back treble with buck-tail for a bit of extra enticing. I do like to put a split shot on the lure and tie directly to that. This seems to positively affect the action especially if I feel that walking the popper is needed.

Set up:

I keep this pretty simple. I use a medium rod with a moderate tip. The moderate tip helps load up the rod when the fish strikes. I usually use a 6'6" rod only because I split time between my kayak and my boat and the shorter rod is a bit easier from the yak. I use mono exclusively. I did try braid for a bit but I missed the stretch of mono when it came to hooking up the fish. I prefer the Daiwa Lexa 100H (6:3:1 I believe) but most any quality reel will work. I don't feel that a fast gear ratio is necessary here and can hinder my zen like approach. One other note, it's very important to wait until you feel the weight of the fish on the strike and simply start reeling (this is where the moderate bend of the rod helps). This works better if you keep your hooks sharp!

Why does popper fishing work for me? I think we tend to forget that the surface is another "edge" that fish use to ambush prey. If you think about it, it's the only edge that exists all over the lake. Yes, there are times that other techniques may work better but tell me it's not a kick in the pants to watch a bass hit a popper?

Ersteman reply :

Frog Freak, I'm going to challenge you (playfully of course). I feel like I'm also a decent topwater popper fisherman,

While I still have a lot to learn, I have learned from my mistakes and that has lead to me developing successful techniques that I have confidence in when Topwater Popper Fishing.

LOOP KNOT: I've learned how to accurately tie a loop knot which is the best knot for me in throwing poppers. The loop knot gives the bait free motion when popping the bait which helps with the action of the bait.

MONO LINE: I found mono to the be best line for me due to stretch on the hook sets(prevents me from ripping it out of their mouths) and toughness when bass take the popper around logs and stumps. I tend to use lighter line than the pros. 6lb and 8lb mono line. It helps reduce the visibility to the fish and allows me to cast it a country mile.

ROD: I like a parabolic, medium action rod that is not stiff. The softer tip allows me to walk the bait when necessary, but also just enough give to mesh with how I work the bait. A medium rod also aids me in my hook sets and does not allow me to set too hard of a hook set.

WORKING THE BAIT: To me, a popper is the definition of a finesse bait. I found that fast subtle rod twitches get the bait to dart and twitch a way that mimics a wounded bait fish. Also, the quick subtle twitches when worked at the right cadence, have the "swish, swish" sound the rattle chambers makes that emulates an erratic wounded bait fish.

CASTING ACCURACY: The structure in the lake I fish challenge me to have pin point casts by trees. I found out I have a 4-6 inch target and if I miss that target, I don't get bit. Hitting the center of a pocket, hitting a few inches away from a structure, and following the shore with a cast are all casts I use when topwater popper fishing.

LURE SIZE: I also found that the larger size poppers get bit as much as the smaller ones, and the larger ones are easier to throw, so I use the larger ones predominately.

LURE COLOR: Find out what bait you are emulating and find the color that best represents the forage. Also, use trial and error to see what works best. Then get a few confidence colors.

HOOKS: I learned the hard way about the importance of quality hooks. There's a huge difference between Owner/Gamakatsu hooks vs stock hooks on Rebel Pop R's. Even Bass that swipe at a good quality sharp hook will get hooked most of the time. When you use weak, dull hooks, you can lose a lot of fish and it can take your confidence away.

HOOK SETS: To me the key in hooking a topwater popper bass is to wait 1.5-2 seconds before setting the hook. I have a very quick reaction to the strike and I had to train myself to wait before setting the hook. The time you wait to set the hook allows the bass to fully mouth the bait and to head in a direction to allow a good hook set. Also, a very hard hook set has not proven to have good success. I set a quick hook set, but it's not really hard. It's not a jig hook set, it's milder in power, but still quick.

TOPWATER TECHNIQUES: I found a twitch twitch popper technique is my go-to technique, but sometimes dead-sticking, walking the dog or a single twitch is what works.

PATIENCE: My topwater techniques do not cover water quickly. They identify a target location and then effectively fish that particular location thoroughly. Patience has served me well. Don't overwork the bait by jerking it around and by hard pops. I found that does not work best. Finesse actions and fewer twitches have netted me most of my fish. Also, when the bait first hits the water, wait 5, 6, 7 seconds to let the ripples disperse. This creates a target ring for bass to locate the bait. A lot of times you throw the bait close to the bass, but bass can come from further distances, when you give them time to locate the lure from the ripples.

Topwater Popper fishing is my favorite and the sight of your lure being sucked under is second to none. Also, the bass that go airborne is a great sight to see. I'll take one topwater fish to 3 fish caught any other way. And when you get a big fish on a topwater, it can make your year!

-Mike

Lil Joe The Grinder reply :

Great info. Thanks. My strength is humility, honesty, and patience and as soon as I get back surgery, endurance will be back in action!

Shallow with a senko, spinner bait, and brush hog is where I survive.

Still working in the abyss....

bonzai22 reply :

Why I am a better swim jig fisherman than you. I have fished the swim jig a lot and have many patterns with it for different times of the year. Just like anything else it doesn't always catch them but I have figured out enough patterns to keep it tied on all year.

First off a usually throw it on a 6' 10" medium heavy action rod. I like this rod because the rod being a little shorter makes it easier to cast in hard to reach places. I use a 7 to 1 gear ratio reel because sometimes burning the bait can cause reaction strikes. Also sometimes the fish eat the bait and runs towards you so its easier to catch up and set the hook. I usually throw it on 15lb fluorocarbon line since its sort of a finesse technique. If the water is a little more stained you can get away with throwing it on 15lb braid.

Some of the seasonal patterns and colors I use. Usually the swim jig bite picks up when the water gets around 60 in the spring. That time of year I throw a crawdad colored swim jig since the craws are usually out and about. Then around spawn and especially post spawn I match it to a bluegill color. The fry guarders go crazy for it and it seems to get the bigger bites even when the females are still lethargic from the spawn. Then in the summer this year I started experimenting with deeper swim jigs like a 3/4 ounce. Around that time I change to a shad color and also throw the shad color in the fall but switch to a lighter jig. The swim jig bite usually goes pretty far into the fall.

Usually I throw a rage craw as a trailer but sometimes throw a bigger craw and rip off some of the back of it. Sometimes the bigger profile with more vibration works but usually the rage craw is the ticket since its very subtle and natural looking. In the summer and fall I sometimes switch to a 5 inch white swimbait for a trailer as well.

For retrieves usually you just reel at a moderate speed and fish it like you would fish a spinnerbait. Sometimes burning it can be good and sometimes letting it fall by cover gets a lot of bites. Just like anything else experiment with retrieves until you find what the fish want. Just hold on because some of the strikes are very violent.

I hope some of this helps I think the swim jig is overlooked a lot and fish dont see them as much as a spinnerbait or chatterbait. It has helped me catch a lot of fish even on tough bites when it seems like they wont hit anything else.

deep reply :

Why I *was* a better swimbait angler than you are!

Because I was dumb enough to throw big baits all day long, from sunrise to sunset, day after day, week after week, and not catch ****- while everyone around me were catching fish left and right.

I kid you not, I went five weeks in late March to early May in 2012 without catching a single d**n fish, and I fished a lot back then, three or four days a week, depending on work. Every single hour I was not working or sleeping I was on the water.

I did catch a new PB on the 9th of May though, another that was 3 ozs off on the 11th, and a third nice one on the 12th.

P.S. Understanding structure and all that deal helps, too.

Lil Joe The Grinder reply :

On 1/14/2016 at 2:34 AM, Bass_Fanatic said:

Over got a few things that I think set me apart from many bass fisherman. On the other hand, I've got plenty that kick my butt. But, just for fun...

Why I'm a better tournament angler than you. This one is simple, I work harder. Just this past weekend as I was prefishing for basschamps I fished daylight to dark thirty. There were hundreds of boats on Rayburn all day, but when a storm rolled through at 4 pm, everyone left, except me. I had the lake to myself and figured something out while everyone else was back at the hotels. I caught 2 over 5 during the storm. I also fish for 5 bites. I have two patterns going on right now on Rayburn. I caught 7 all day Friday, but had a few big ones, and caught 25 Saturday but most where smaller. Most people will go catch their 5 on pattern 2 then look for a kicker with pattern 1. I plan on staying with pattern 1 looking for 5 bites. Why catch 5 fish I need to cull anyway?

Why I am a better Arig fisherman than you. I throw it and I throw it often. There are many days hat I will not get many bites on the rig, but when I do, it's a giant. Other days I may catch over 100 on it. But I throw it because I know its potential. I'm also not scared to hang it up. If I'm fishing brushpiles in 35 ft, I'll let it hit the bottom and drag I through the pile. I'll get hunt plenty, but I also catch some studs doing this.

Why im a better deep water fisherman than you. Like Catt, I understand structure much better than most. Cover is an added bonus, but structure is the first thing I look for. Channel swings, humps, ridges, ect are what I key on. Then after finding the right structure I will begin to look for key cover on said structure. Also, when I find this sweet spot, I will fish it hard. Many people go down a break line for 100's of yards fishing. I fish specific spots on these structures that hold fish. I try to maximize my time by fishing high opportunity spots rather than cover an entire ridge.

Now my weakness, no doubt, is when the fish hit the banks...at that point, I'm screwed lol.

It payed off! Congrats!

Bass_Fanatic reply :

On 1/17/2016 at 11:45 AM, Little Fish.... said:

It payed off! Congrats!

Thanks man! I actually caught all my weight off of that spot I found in the storm last week. Just goes to show you that hard work does pay off!

9940

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