Help!

[Deeveezee]

Hey guys,

Sort of a newbie in bass fishing. I'm only 21 but I'm having a hard time with anything i use. My dad gave me some stuff to get started such as some top water lures and tons of crank baits. I don't know why but I seriously can say that I haven't caught one fish off a crank bait and I can say that I have been fishing at least 20 times this summer. I got frustrated and moved on. Discovered the Texas rigged and Carolina rigs for soft plastics and again I can honestly say that I haven't caught one fish on it at all my local lakes in a 20 mile radius. I know my description is vague but I am becoming frustrated spending money on plastics and what not and having nothing to show for it. I just want to be an ok bass fisherman. Any advice is desperately desired. As many people's input would also be helpful.

Thanks fellas

[GADawgs]

First off, welcome. You will hear this from some other guys but I would read the fishing articles links and also check out the bassresource videos on YouTube. Just keep at it and it will work. Spend time on the water and fish with others if you can and learn from them.

Also, try just sticking with one technique to start until you have some success. It may be a pain but you wil start to learn a lot. Good luck!

[Mccallister25]

As mentioned, just spend time on your body of water. Thats number one. Number two, do your homework. Read, study, subscribe, ask questions, watch videos. Check this site daily.

Summer is a tricky time for bass fishing. As hard as it may be sometimes, dont get discouraged. Getting skunked happens to everyone. Stick with it. The more you fish, the more you learn, the easier it can become. It gets better. Youll forget you ever said anything about being "an ok bass fisherman". Youll want to be the best you can be.

Also, if you have any buddies that love to fish, go with them as mutch as you can. Everytime I go out with my best friend, we teach each other a thing or two. Enjoy!! And welcome to the forum.

[ClackerBuzz]

#1 its summer so set down the fast moving reaction baits for now ie spinnerbaits, crankbaits, swimjigs etc. the power bite will turn back on in sept/oct. BUT the exception is dusk, dawn and night fishing.  experienced anglers can still get bite with them but for now focus on slower/finesse presentations  (soft plastics, drop shot, shaky head etc)

#2  you might be fishing soft plastics too fast.  bring a case of patience.  go weightless.  cast and dead stick them.  after 30 sec give a very light twitch (sometimes don't even use ur rod. just reeling in the slack twitches enough to initiate a bite).

#3 crankbaits are all about the deflection.  you gotta bounce them off a log, rock, stump etc.  MANY reactions lures are like this.  this does not make for good shore fishing b/c you will loose so many lures.  its much better from a kayak b/c you can cast and bounce off the nasty cover that lands you fish and still paddle over to free when snagged.

 

are you fishing from shore or boat?  what state ru in? fill out ur profile and you will get lots more responses.  are you fishing streams, ponds, small or med size lakes? private or heavily pressured public waters?

 

this is a great read.  don't worry so much about the exact soft plastic or rod/reel set up.  just slow drag with patience.... and relocate up stream often.

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/13845-guaranteed-to-catch-bass/

good luck and feel free to ask more questions/ update the thread

[bigbill]

When I watch the videos I watch how they handle the rod for different actions with the lure and how they crank the reel fast or slow besides what there saying. Watch the video 2 or 3 times till it sinks in.

Read all the articles here too.

Watch all the videos over and over hammer them.

Now go out and practice your presentations on the water. I would practice with each lure lure you have. I would try different presentations with each lure.

The more you learn here and on the water you can turn this around quickly.

One thing I tell everyone is to wash your hands before going fishing. This way your lures won't have any strange oders on them. Fish have a very keen sense of smell.

[WRB]

Is your dad still available to fish with?

We all started out as new anglers at some point in time and most have similar stories to tell about not catching bass. 2 things to remember about bass fishing; 1. it's easy to catch bass when the are active, difficult when they are not. 2. Location, you can't catch bass if they are where you are fishing.

Tell me something about your tackle; type of rod, reel and line you are using. Do you have a baot or shore fishing? Without disclosing where you are located, can you give us a regional area, like northeast or southwest?

Welcome to bass fishing, sounds like you have the interest to learn to bass fish, so lets get you back on the water and catching a few.

Tom

[Curved]

When I got into fishing the winter before last, here were my main issues:

 

1.) Fishing where the fish weren't going to be

2.) Using lures and tackle that were too big for my circumstances

3.) Not asking locals enough questions

 

After experimenting a lot, I found the lake I spent a long time initially skunking on was not a good place to bank fish. I now mainly wade fish rivers and creeks. In my area, the small mouths are very predictable on these shallow rivers; they're always in the deepest spots. Hope you find what's holding you back.

[martintheduck]

You picked the toughest time to start fishing! The summer bite can be REALLY slow. That's just the nature of the game. I know for me, I learned to fish with top water lures. I didn't catch anything for maybe 5 or 6 trips and then when I FINALLY caught something, I was SO excited! That's all my advice: Just hang in there man.... the bite is really slow right now.

[derekxec]

try this find some shady spots and put on a floating crank bait...i like the kvd cranks in 1.5 (not sure the color but has a green back) but really any shad or bluegill color will work...now cast to or passed the shade and let it sit a sec then jerk it and let it float back to the top of the water and let it sit for maybe a 2 count then repeat all the way in

 

this should work in most places...you can do this with any floating crank bait style bait but ive found the kvd cranks to work the best(they give a lot of action for not a lot of jerk)