I think bass fishing is more of a trial and error to learn what works for you and what you have confidence in. Thats why there are so many differing opinions on how to fish, where to fish, etc. The pros can give you a good guidline for what they are doing but your application of that setup, technique, etc would vary due to many outstanding factors. If you are looking for step by step direction to mimic or apply on your own, the best option is to pay a guide.
I follow youtubers like Tactical, LakeForkGuy, Flukemaster etc. and watch the fishing shows. All you can really do is take the information that is given to you and then spend time on the water in your fisheries and apply those techniques or info you have obtained and see what works, and what doesn't.
David Dudley...SB...
2006 Ranger 188 VX with 150 E TEC and I EAT BASS!!!
This!^^^Finally, in the last few years have I felt this happened to me...Like you, Gone, I've tried to absorb every bit I could and I think Casslaw hit the nail on the head...and really, they were relatively simple things...I took my boat on it's first long voyage to Lake Lanier and fished a huge lake like it for the first time...MAJOR cold front came through in March...struggled mightily to find fish in some creek arms 48-51 degrees until FINALLY found an arm that had 53-54 degree water and sure enough the herring had found that warmer water and so did the SPOTS...my first ever catches of spotted bass! Now I had read many times about finding that warmer water, even if only a few degrees, in early Spring but now I had EXPERIENCED it first hand. Too bad I found it with only a hour of fishing left in the day :/ But the learning experience forever changed me as now, rather than just picking a favorite spot, I'll take the time to necessary to "find" the fish rather by trial and error of many, many wasted casts in futile water. Other experience was on the Mississippi River (body of water I'd never fished before) and found a stretch of river channel not more than 50yds long that I pulled 30+ fish from. Most amazing single day of fishing in YEARS! Using info I'd watched an Elite series guy give...Simple, right, lol? Not usually for me! But I believe this is the kind of thing Casslaw is pointing out. Continue to watch/absorb as much as you can (I sure still do) and put that info to test on your bodies of water. Hope it wasn't too much stating the obvious. Good fishin' to ya in '19 Gone!Originally Posted by Casslaw
I think you’re assumption is right thay no one will go THAT in depth, too many variables to do that. Even if they go into the detail you’re describing you could replicate their pattern to a T, in the exact same spot and likely not catch fish. How many times during a single day can the pattern change? I usually see 2-3 patterns during 1 day of fishing.
It sounds like you’re really in touch with the info that’s out there to be found. The fun, to me, is trying to apply all of the stuff we see & read to our particular circumstances on any particular day on the water. Those times when you really hit a pattern right on the head is an incredible day to have a rod in your hands!
2012 Stratos 189 VLO/150 Mercury Pro XS/MinnKota Terrova
Just a P.S. For my next "step" in addition to the anglers I'm finding I want to learn more about the bass themselves and doing research on "what makes them tick"...articles on things such as the lateral line, what "senses" they use to seek out natural food sources...how much to do they truly see colors, scents, certain times they feed more aggressively etc.
2012 Stratos 189 VLO/150 Mercury Pro XS/MinnKota Terrova
Tactical Bassin on YouTube is tops in my opinion.
Yes...a 3 part series with Tim Tucker in Bassmaster and a two part series in In-Fisherman with Paul Prorock. He also put out a publication in several small magazines that he published called Angler's Quest that included much of the same info.
"The man of system is apt to be very wise in his own conceit; and is often so enamored with the supposed beauty of his own ideal plan of government that he cannot suffer the smallest deviation from any part of it…He seems to imagine that he can arrange the different members of a great society with as much ease as the hand arranges the different pieces upon a chessboard.” Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments
If you truly want to be a better fisherman focus first on locating. Don’t get hung up on technique.focus on lessons that demonstrate why the fish were there. The hunt is hard. The catch is usually easier . Most of the you tube videos I’ve saw focus hard on technique. You asked for best pro info. I second Clunn again, and quoted a lesson by KVD that was posted. Check it out. It’s about where they should be and why. Then go to technique.
There are a lot of the pros that do a great job at teaching, but I am a BIG Gerald Swindle fan. Very down to earth guy.
+1. Dude is hilarious, even in person off screen.
Scott Martin
Thanks ToyotaKev, I’m blushing
Very few things I read really talk about fishing shallow, murky, Florida lakes, but I have tried to use the things I see online and apply them to my circumstances. It’s not the how, it’s the why! Why are they fishing in that spot? Why is that lure what they’re responding to? Why is that retrieve triggering strikes over another?
Recently they wouldn’t hit a jerkbait, but when I fished a squarebill with my jerkbait retrieve I was getting hit in the first 5-7 turns of the reel! I tried different colors, sizes...apparently the suspending aspect of the jerkbait wasn’t working that time, place, day. But the squarebill trying to rise up triggered them.
Its rare the I find something so subtle that makes a huge difference, but like ToyotaKev said, it felt great to finally figure it out, even at the last minute!
2006 Triton SP-185, 2006 Evinrude Etec 90, PowerTech NRS3, Garmin Echomap Plus 73CV & 93SV
Exactly. Finding them is the hard part. Catching them is the easy part.If you truly want to be a better fisherman focus first on locating. Don’t get hung up on technique.focus on lessons that demonstrate why the fish were there. The hunt is hard. The catch is usually easier . Most of the you tube videos I’ve saw focus hard on technique. You asked for best pro info. I second Clunn again, and quoted a lesson by KVD that was posted. Check it out. It’s about where they should be and why. Then go to technique.
I've got the referenced RC series, The Seasonal Advantage: The Concept, that he did with Tim Tucker.
I'll start another thread and share it there in jpeg format for those who would like to have it.
Here ya go... http://www.bbcboards.net/showthread....76#post9976676
Last edited by hatcreek; 01-23-2019 at 05:40 PM.
Who controls John Gill?
Big Fan of that guy too.....
For sure.
There just isn’t any set in stone things to follow.
Sure there is . Instinct.
MLF, you can see how they break down a lake and how they all have different choices and how they put it together or don't.
Bill Dance is great but he is fishing out of a pond. they other just gives general suggestions as to what they do. With MLF they are working a lake with their best chances and its funny to see them thinking one thing about who is catching fish when they are doing something complete different.
Biggest thing that has helped me , is to learn seasonal patterns of the bass, then seeing what types of lakes and bodies of water I have around me. Then applying those seasonal patterns along with spending time on the water. But I think there can be time wasted if you are not willing to try and get into the habit of paying attention to how the bite can change through the day and what the fish are telling you to do. Just because something works on a reservoir thousands of miles away for the same time of year that you are fishing doesn't mean it's what will work on your reservoir you are fishing. Too many people get hung up on colors and baits and not understanding that sound and action of a bait , and location of where to use that bait can be more important. And also, fishing in the moment. Never go out thinking the bite will be the same as it was a week ago or even a day ago. Conditions will change how bass relate to stuff sometimes even on an hourly basis. So always keeping an open mind to what to use and how to fish is really important.
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