I'm one of those newbies attempting to get back into bass fishing after an 8 year hiatus. To date, I've only caught 2 fish on lures: a panfish on a small jig and a bass on a crankbait. I've had plenty plenty of success with live bait (crawlers for bass) and stinker baits (catfish/carp) but I want to join this crazy world of bass fishing!
To top it all off, I'm in southern CA which I've read means we have huge bass that are finicky as hell. I'd love to visit the other parts of the country where it seems all you do is drop a jig and 10 bass clamp on.
Anyways, I tried your advice RW and although I did not catch a fish, I got my second bite ever on a lure (Senko). On the 5th/6th cast from the bank, I followed your strategy and had the Senko about halfway back to me. I looked down for a brief second and when I looked up, my line had changed immediately from slight slack to taut and moving away from me. I reeled in for a half second and set the hook--all I got was an empty line with no fish, no Senko and no Gamakatsu.
My best guess is that my 8 year old line was just not up to par and/or my knot tying skills need revisiting.
I didn't get another bite that day but I'm hoping this experience contributes to more progress. Thanks RW and everyone in this forum!
