What To Learn First?

[Pegwedge]

I got into fishing last year and have bought gear and tackle willy nilly. I haven't really devoted much time to any one technique. I want that to change starting this spring. The problem is is that I'm not real sure what to start with. I fish a lake in central WV primarily that I've been told quite a few times is "tough to fish". I'm also a bank fisher 98% of the time. Every once in a while have a friend that I get to go out on a boat with. He's a diehard crankbaiter and never lets off the trolling motor.

I've been watching videos left and right, especially Glenn's, which are great by the way. I'm intrigued with learning to fish a fluke. I've tried it before but never had much luck. I'm also kinda leaning towards the basic Texas or split-shot rig. Or spinnerbaits. Or lipless cranks. Dropshot? Somebody help me! Thanks!

 

Ben

[Nitrofreak]

Very first thing is patience !!!

 

You must be very patient when fishing for bass,  give yourself a chance to learn,  don't just give up on a bait in the first ten minutes,  experiment with one bait and grow from there,  my first suggestion would be the T-Rigged worm and or a creature bait like a lizard or a craw,  start small and get your confidence gathered up,  when you can go to that lake and know when the time is right to catch a few on each,   then it's time to try something new,  but don't let these 2 or 3  be your confidence baits,  you must have confidence in everything you fish with,  this includes your mentality,  so start small and grow,  everything will come to you much, much easier if you take your time.

[Tuckahoe Joe]

I agree that a T-rig would be a good place to start.  If the bite is tough, try a t-rigged or wacky rigged senko or senko style bait.  Once you feel like you have t-rigs down, maybe move onto some kind of moving bait like cranks or spinnerbaits.  Try and master a technique before moving on to something else.  If your watching Glenns videos, your on the right track so pay close attention.  And like Nitrofreak said, a very large part of fishing is building up your confidence.  So take your time, don't let yourself get overwhelmed and practice practice practice.  Try and make mental notes (or you could even keep actual written logs) on where you catch fish, what you caught them on, and what the water/weahter conditions were.  After a while, you can start to apply what you've learned from this everytime you go out.  Just take it slow, keep at it, and eventually it will all start to fall into place.

[slonezp]

When I started bass fishing, I threw spinnerbaits and t-rigged worms on spinning gear. Cheap and easy and universal. Color selection seems overwhelming but there are a few key colors which produce the bulk of the time. White, black, blue, chartruse, watermelon, pb&j, or any combination of these will be a good starting point.

[Jaiden]

Wacky rigged soft stick baits. Lift, drop, set hook.

[papajoe222]

You mention two things that I considered when answering. You are new to the sport and you do the majority of your fishing from shore.

My answer is also twofold.  First and foremost, learn to cast. Every cast you make be it for distance or accuracy should build your confidence in your ability to repeat the accomplishment.  Because you'll be fishing mostly from shore, you'll want to start with a technique that is both easy to learn and has the ability to cover the limited water available to you completely. By that I mean from top to bottom far left around to far right.  By process of elimination, crankbaits, worms, jigs and top-water are poor choices.  Notice I didn't say bad choices.  This leaves a couple of choices of which spinnerbaits would be my choice in your situation. 

You can cover the entire water column with one bait,count the bait down until it hits bottom and begin there occasionally stopping your retrieve to let the lure fall down.  You'll get a feel for how fast to reel this way. On the next cast, start reeling a couple of seconds sooner, etc. until you're beginning your retrieve when the lure hits the water.

 It's vairly weedless and doesn't hang up on timber easily.  A simple chuck and wind retrieve is easy to master and can be modified once you gain confidence. There is very little doubt about when a fish hits a spinnerbait vs. say a Texas rigged worm or a jig.  Oh yea, did I mention they're effective spring, summer, and  autumn?

[Fishes in trees]

To echo pappajoe222, spinnerbaits are a good choice for a bank bound newbie bass fisherman.  He is correct that they can be an effective all season bait.

 

One of the great things about bass fishing is that there is very seldom one right answer.   Back in the 70's, early 80's I was bank bound much of the time.   My primary lure was a jig & eel.  It has been a while since I've seen a split tail eel (a pork bait) in a store, although I am pretty certain that they are still made.  I haven't fished a jig & eel for years, because now I think that there are lots of better baits out there.

 

If I was in your shoes, given current technology,  I'd have a 6 1/2 or 7' spinning rod  Med or MH.  A decent mid range spinning reel that will throw a light braid - 14 or 20 lb and a fluorocarbon leader.  In most cases, when bank fishing, a longer rod is better but you need to be aware of your surroundings, you can snap a rod tip on bushes or what not if you aren't careful.   Let's face it, if you are bank fishing, sooner or later you will snap a rod tip on a bush or some other shoreline obstruction.

 

  For bait, I'd use a 3/16 or 1/4 oz Brewer Slider heads and Zoom trick worms or something similar.  I'd use a technique that Charlie Brewer called "polishing the rocks"  This means moving your bait slightly above whatever bottom you've got, as slow as possible, while only occasionally actually touching the bottom.  You'd learn how to count your bait down, you'd learn what different bottoms feel like, that bait is relatively snag free, and you'd learn what a strike feels like soon enough.

 

Jaiden's answer about a wacky rigged senko isn't a bad answer either, though.

[coak]

I too agree with the above mentioned spinnerbaits as I'm always either wading or fishing from a bank.  However I will warn you that if you do not have a long attention span spinnerbaits could be a hindrance for learning slower presentations like a worm.  I have the attention span of a gnat and started on spinners.  With that said and I know I will catch flak for this; I have NEVER taken the time to learn soft plastics simply because I got into spinners and eventually any other fishing style that required a steady retrieve.  Now I catch my fair share of fish, don't get me wrong; however at the same time I realize that I also miss out on many fish for not knowing how to or having the patience to fish a T-rigged worm/creature, wacky or any other slow presentation.  Just don't have the patience.  Like Nitrofreak stated, first thing would be to gain patience and avoid gaining a mindset like mine where you don't want to learn because your confident with just one 'method' of presentation.

[BassmanDan]

I would also vote for the T-rig, and since it will be pre-spawn soon in WV give the mag-lizard and trickworm a good soaking. If the bass are feeding they will eat the worm and if they are pi$$ed off then they will crush the lizard. Spinnerbaits are also a great option in pre-spawn...good luck! 

[Comfortably Numb]

I also reccomend a 4 or 5" Senko type bait. Fish it wacky and weightless. You will learn what the bite feels like and bass hold on so you have time to set the hook. Also a great spring technique when bass move shallow to the bank where you are fishing.

[Pegwedge]

Thanks for all the ideas guys. I was thinking I might take two rigs with me when I go out, one spinning for worms and a baitcaster for spinnerbaits, but I'm starting to think that might not be a good idea. I'm already kinda falling into coak's pattern and being impatient, throwing steady retrieve stuff all the time. So after half an hour of not getting bit on the worm/lizard/craw/creature, I'd probably just end up throwing a spinnerbait the rest of the day, which just ends up reinforcing the impatientness. It might be a good idea to leave the spinnerbaits at home, at least for a little while.

 

Also, I feel like an idiot asking this question, but hey, we gotta start somewhere. Are braid and fluorocarbon really necessary? Will they really improve my experience all that much? I guess it's just hard for me to justify spending $20 or more on 150 yards of line when I can just grab a spool of Big Game mono and fill all of my reels for the year. I can see their advantages, but are they that much of a game changer?

[Christian M]

When I started bass fishing I was shorebound also. My main lure was a T-Rigged Senko, it taught me how to cast with a lighter weight, how to work the water column, how to cast toward a target, how to get a feel for the bottom, & especially how to detect a bite & set the hook properly. I suggest you start with the senko.

Lures like spinnerbaits & chatterbaits & cranks are obviously great. I use them all the time, but if you start off with easy cast & retrieve lures, you wont learn the basics toward becoming well rounded angler.

For example, I have a friend that started fishing with spinners & chatterbaits. Now, when he goes fishing, if he can't catch anything powerfishing, he goes home or gwts frustrated because he has no patience for a worm, jig, or any slow bait for that matter.

[Tuckahoe Joe]

When I started bass fishing I was shorebound also. My main lure was a T-Rigged Senko, it taught me how to cast with a lighter weight, how to work the water column, how to cast toward a target, how to get a feel for the bottom, & especially how to detect a bite & set the hook properly. I suggest you start with the senko.

Lures like spinnerbaits & chatterbaits & cranks are obviously great. I use them all the time, but if you start off with easy cast & retrieve lures, you wont learn the basics toward becoming well rounded angler.

For example, I have a friend that started fishing with spinners & chatterbaits. Now, when he goes fishing, if he can't catch anything powerfishing, he goes home or gwts frustrated because he has no patience for a worm, jig, or any slow bait for that matter.

Im starting to get this way.  Planning on trying to slow down this year.  The fish don't always want a crankbait burned past them and I need to come to terms with that.

[Teal]

Yes and no. As you progress as a fisherman and understand the game more you can use the floro and braid. But right now, being new and still learning the simple basics, i wouldnt throw alot of money into those small advancements...yet. Be comforted with the fact that MILLIONS of fish are landed yearly with mono only. For now I WOULD STICK WITH MONO AND SLOWLY WORK YOU WAY INTO STUFF LIKE THAT.

Now ill tell you the pros and cons to floro and braid.

Fluoro will last must long than mono as it is UV resistant and does not absorb water. It is ALOT more sensitive than mono. It is also almost invisable under water. It has stretch, just not quite as much as mono. Fluoro also sinks.

Now the negatives, Fluoro can be hell on spinning reels if you buy certain stuff. It is not very managable and is kinda stiff. (Its a handful of baitcast stuff too) Fluoro seemed to kinky and get knicks in it. Knot strength can be an issue if you dont tie well or wet your knots as cinch. KVD line and Lure does help with managing the line. I would suggest buying PREMIUM or higher end fluoro if using as a mainline. The more expensive stuff is normally limper and easier to deal with

Braid has very small diameters, much smaller than the other two. Braid floats. Braid has near zero stretch. Braid is much more abrasion resistant than the others. Its doesnt take as much to set the hook because of the lack of stretch. Braid is super sensitive with bottom technique, you are not losing any of the "feel" because there is not stretch in the line to absorb it.

Braid is however, visable. the lack of stretch sometimes is undisireable depending on technique. Braid can dig into your spool (mainly the smaller diameters) youll need to ease off of your drag a little bit.

[Christian M]

To answer your question about braided line & flourocarbon, yes, they are game changers. The advantages/disadvantages are too much to post right now so ill just go over the basics.

Braided line has 0% stretch and no memory- braided line is super sensitive, making it much easier to detect a bite and set the hook, also the line diameter is very fine, allowing you to pack heavier lb test on your reel, but remember braided line tends to dig into the spool, so you MUST put mono backing on your spool to prevemt your spool from becoming warped

Flourocarbon has the same light refraction as water, making it virtually invisible underwater, which makes it a game changer in clear water. It also has very low stretch & it sinks, making it easier to maintain contact with sinking baits. Also, contrary to popular belief, flourocarbon is much more abrasion resistant than braid and most mono.

Monofilament has its place as well. It floats so it works great with topwaterbaits like poppers, jitterbugs & walk the dog baits especially.

There are tons of articles and posts about these lines, i definitelty reccomend reading up, but this is a quick review, hope it helps.

[TheKingFisher]

Wow, there are a lot of great suggestions here.  I got into fishing as an adult 2 or 3 seasons ago.  Started with jigs cause I was reading a lot of stuff online and everybody seemed to be pushing that.  I found out quickly I just don't have the patience for it and to this day have only caught a couple of fish on a jig.  I quickly switched over to t-rigged and wacky rigged plastics but still can't fish them very slow and am fairly certain that I'm probably pulling the lure away from fish all the time, but I'm catching so it's not that bad.

 

Then I got into crankbaits, both lipped and lipless and it's hard for me to slow things down now.  Learn to fish slow early and stick with it to the point of gaining confidence in it and I think you'll always have it.  For me it's going to be hard to adopt now, but I'm going to start working on it again this season.

[Dwight Hottle]

I would recommend you learn how to fish a jig. Once you wrap your head around that everything else will fall into place. Best way to start is with braid & a mono/floro leader. That way when you snag and you will the leader will break before the braid & all you will lose is the jig and leader.

[JoePhish]

When I started focusing on Bass fishing I felt I took a big leap forward when I learned the Texas Rig.

I took an even bigger leap when I learned jig fishing.

[Comfortably Numb]

^{I highly reccomend the braid with a flouro or mono leader. Pay the $5 shipping and get the free spool of 12# braid here for your spinning rod}

 

^{http://tuf-line.com/free-line.php}

 

^{Braid will last multiple seasons without needing replacement. It is strong and you will lose less lures fishing from the shore.}

^{Give it a try.}

[Pegwedge]

It's really hard to argue with free. I plan on putting it on a Lew's Speed Spin reel that came with a "braid ready" spool. I assume this means that it won't need mono backing? If so, do you use the same slip knot to attach the braid to the spool as the mono? And how much of a leader do you guys usually put on? A few feet? A few yards? And do you generally match the size of the fluoro leader to the size of the braid or does that even matter? Sorry for all the questions and thanks for taking the time to answer them.

[Jay Ell Gee]

Matching the size (diameter, not lb test) can make tying knots much easier.

I would highly recommend some serious quality time with a split shot rig if I was wanting to learn some techniques to gain confidence. Learning the Texas rig is great as well, much easier to manage in thicker cover. However, it's hard to argue the fish catching ability of a split shot rig