Don't Believe The Hype

[Raul]

There are days when you fish with rope thick line and bass don´t care, there are days when you have to fish with hair thin line and even that is too thick, there are days that the commotion caused by a grain of polen falling on the water surface send them basses running away miles away at warp speed and there are days that the commotion created by a cow landing on the water after falling from a plane 10,000 ft above won´t even bother them and actually you can see ( in clear water ) the fish approaching to see what was the fuzz. Locations and conditions can change but it´s your powers of observation and your "feel" what tells you should do this or that.

 

I remember many moons ago, when someone asked how to fish cold water  I mentioned: burn the water ( reel as fast as you can ) with reaction baits ( lipless cranks and spinnerbaits ) all who replied said I was crazy wrong, well maybe I´m not the most adequate person to say so taking in consideration that 99% of the time the water in my neck of the woods is above freezing point but it has worked for me in lakes and ponds high in the sierra where temps do get very low and it even snows.

[bigbill]

Fishing if it was easy it wouldn't be called fishing. Just fish it and fish it harder...........

 

I never try to figure out my misses I just go with the flow day to day and the bass are no different.  Kidding but think about it.  My youngest son asked me questions about his girlfriend I told him if you  figure them out let me know. Godbless there little hearts.  My point is trying to figure out what the bass wants keeps us interested and returning to fish. More time on water...

 

Here comes the frying pan after this post for sure.......incoming..........ouch....

[TBendBassin]

I disagree with your only rule.   You can become a better angler by learning from the experiences of others, be it through any form of communication, printed, spoken, or video. 

 

If all one did was to fish, everything they learned would be through trial and error.  Why not learn from the experience of those who share their knowledge, and eliminate a lot of trial and error?

Sorry I cannot agree with that... Let me apologize if my last post came off as "forums don't help people" because that is not what I meant. Forums like this one help people out so much it's unreal!!! What I simply meant was they cannot teach the intricate details in bass behavior. The ONLY way that is learned is time on the water. I really push this because I know first hand how important it is. Since I was a kid I've wanted one thing and that was to make a living in the fishing industry. Now before you start thinking "here we go, another kid who thinks he is the next KVD" I am not a kid and I take this very seriously. I have made so many sacrifices in my life to stay focused on my goals that most people question my sanity. With that being said I fished every weekend in high school and when I went to college I had a Monday thru Thursday job so I could still fish every weekend. That is a lot of fishing growing up! But it wasn't until after college and moving to the lake to start guiding that I realized how big of a difference time on the water makes. Up until then I had pretty much fished every weekend and had pretty good knowledge. But when I started doing it 6-7 days a week... Wow!!! Time on the water gives you a sharper instinct and very keen decisions making skills. With that you will be able to adapt quicker, find the most productive patterns, and make better decisions. Those are just some of the things time on the water will teach you that reading books cannot.

[SirSnookalot]

I'm in the "time on water" camp.  Reading articles is ok but I believe they are more generic in nature than the waters I'm actually fishing on.  Forums are fine to get info the "hot" areas to fish, but IMO past experience tells me what kind of lures and techniques I need to employ to be successful. 

[Hooligan]

Anyone that says there are no rules in bass fishing is 100% wrong. There are a handful of rules, the first of which is that fish are dumb. Don't overthink the situation. The second rule is that they have to eat, if you put the right bait in front of them the right way, they're going to eat it. They are wired to do so, they cannot deny their instinct to feed.

Lastly, and possibly the most important rule is that you'll never catch a fish if your bait isn't in the water.

[aceman387]

This is really a great topic. It should be required reading for all the young people who are just getting into this sport. I wish i had read this a few years ago when i got back into bass fishing,i would have  a lot more money put away and i would be able to fit my truck in my garage...lol. (lets face it buying tackle is fun) I remember reading a quote from Catt years ago that stuck with me,it was something like catching bass has more to do with what's between your ears and less with what's between the folds of your wallet. 

[KyakR]

I learned more in one day with a guide than I did in a year by myself

[Hyrule Bass]

If you are fishing new water and don't know where the fish are, you need to locate them before you can catch them.  The purpose of search baits is to cover a lot of water quickly. Once you locate bass, you can slow down and spend your time fishing where they are instead of spending a lot of time fishing where they aren't.

 

ummmm no. it doesnt even matter which body of water you are on, thats irrelevant. there isnt a bait i know of that works to catch a fish every outing, every day, every time, in every condition possible, therefore, the concept of a search bait is something i dont believe in. you can run around trying to cover water quickly if you want with what you call a "search bait", but if the fish are more interested in biting a slow moving bait then you would never know if they were there or not because youre not offering up what they want at that time. so you could be fishing where the fish are with your "search bait", its just that they dont want it. if the fish are there but keying on craws and youre throwing a spinnerbait, you might not get bit. and vice versa.

 

if there was a true search bait, that never failed to locate fish, then no one would ever get skunked...

[Snakehead Whisperer]

I agree with both SirSnookalot and KyakR... time on the water and a good mentor will help more than any amount of tackle or reading.

 

But reading does help; the problem is that there are so many misleading articles about the subject of fishing, and so few that actually talk about relevant topics. I pretty much stop reading an article as soon as I see "throw the ___ on a __ foot __ weight ____rod with ____ reel." There are some exceptions to this, of course.

[Nice_Bass]

ummmm no. it doesnt even matter which body of water you are on, thats irrelevant. there isnt a bait i know of that works to catch a fish every outing, every day, every time, in every condition possible, therefore, the concept of a search bait is something i dont believe in. you can run around trying to cover water quickly if you want with what you call a "search bait", but if the fish are more interested in biting a slow moving bait then you would never know if they were there or not because youre not offering up what they want at that time. so you could be fishing where the fish are with your "search bait", its just that they dont want it. if the fish are there but keying on craws and youre throwing a spinnerbait, you might not get bit. and vice versa.

 

if there was a true search bait, that never failed to locate fish, then no one would ever get skunked...

I don't know- I think a plastic worm and jig do catch fish every outing in every condition...albeit, others may work better, or more efficiently at times.

[bigbill]

Trust me if you start fishing every single day back to back for over three months from every spring till you get burned out like I did for many years you will learn something. Plus I read everything here, watched every bass fishing video from every new and old pro every off season just to stay sharp. During the spring I live bass fishing, I eat bass fishing and sleep bass fishing. Ok I eat while watching bass fishing videos or shows on tv. Now go out and try everything we learned on the water plus be ready for in education on the water. Nothing beats the time on the water fishing.

The biggest thing I do when I'm bass fishing is I block out all my personal problems, my bills, my honey do list. It's me and the fish when I'm fully in the zone. Like don't even talk to me. This is why I fish alone. If your going fishing to talk stay home. If you need to solve a problem fishing isn't going to do it.

Now get in the zone, block everything out, watch and pay attention to what the fish are doing, how they react to your lures. Look behind your lures for short strikes all the time on every cast. Scan the water in your area with your polarized glasses. These bigger gals will appear like ghosts very quietly and leave. I believe they come by to see what the smaller bass are biting on as we're catching them. Don't harass them but remember the area they appeared at for the future trip in the dark. It's like putting an "X" on that spot. If I do cast at that spot, I throw a plastic bait far behind it and bring it in slowly near it not on top or at it. Do it quietly. But I'd rather not spook her.

Short Strikes,

I learned about this from watching a Bill Dance tv show about fly fishing for bass. The cameraman was away from Bill but closer to but parallel to his casts. We could see the fly from the full cast to the boat. They never mentioned the short strikes on the program but ever cast had flashes behind his fly from short strikes. This taught me to stay focused on watching behind the lure if we can see it on every cast. Using topwater and shallow running lures. If the water is gin clear we can get quite a show. Do not over react, stay calm and fish. Don't do any quick movements with the rod go slow not to spook them, make side casts.

I'm no pro nor claim to be I'm just a fisherman like you. I just watch what's going on more. I'm in no rush to fish I just go slow. Get in the zone and don't panic during the action.

I enjoy catching any size bass if a larger one strikes so be it. I learn on every trip. Just enjoy every fishing trip and take notes, where your fishing, at what date and time, how many bass were caught and what size. Also include the moon phases too you may see a month to month pattern with the full Moon phases I won't tell you so you can decide.

With fishing tv and videos listen to what they say but watch closely how they do it. You have all the free videos here to watch too these guys are the best.

It's skill in bass fishing not luck, God bless bigbill

[Hyrule Bass]

I don't know- I think a plastic worm and jig do catch fish every outing in every condition...albeit, others may work better, or more efficiently at times.

then explain skunks. i used to only fish with plastic worms btw, and ive been skunked on them more than once...ever read the threads here of people asking for help or "what theyre doing wrong"? usually involves them saying they threw everything in their tackle box and still didnt even get a bite, much less catch a fish. there is no such thing as a search bait...

 

like i said earlier, if you want to call the first bait you tie on or throw on a given day a search bait thats fine. but dont act like theres a certain few magic baits that are going to help you find fish.

[K_Mac]

There are many pros who have made a good living using "search baits" to find areas that are holding fish, and then picking those areas apart to get the maximum out of them. We can argue all day about  semantics, but search baits are by definition baits that enable you to cover (or search) a large amount of water. Now how you define "a large amount of water" is open to debate, but a plastic worm fished in the traditional way would not qualify. Search baits are targeting more aggressive, feeding fish. Of course they don't always work, but many times they serve a valuable place in bass fishing IMO.

 

When your search baits don't work is where skill, experience, and knowledge enter the game. Knowing the "rules" of seasonal patterns, feeding patterns and choices, water temperatures, depth and clarity, structure and cover, and a dozen other variables now come into play. I can, and have, spent hours unproductively doing what worked last time, or that time 3 years ago when "we caught a boat load on this spot"; or, I can make an informed decision based on the "rules" and go try something else. I am a big fan of creativity, but ignoring or dismissing time honored and proven "rules" is best done by those who know them well in my opinion.

[NathanW]

There are many pros who have made a good living using "search baits" to find areas that are holding fish, and then picking those areas apart to get the maximum out of them. We can argue all day about  semantics, but search baits are by definition baits that enable you to cover (or search) a large amount of water. Now how you define "a large amount of water" is open to debate, but a plastic worm fished in the traditional way would not qualify. Search baits are targeting more aggressive, feeding fish. Of course they don't always work, but many times they serve a valuable place in bass fishing IMO.

 

When your search baits don't work is where skill, experience, and knowledge enter the game. Knowing the "rules" of seasonal patterns, feeding patterns and choices, water temperatures, depth and clarity, structure and cover, and a dozen other variables now come into play. I can, and have, spent hours unproductively doing what worked last time, or that time 3 years ago when "we caught a boat load on this spot"; or, I can make an informed decision based on the "rules" and go try something else. I am a big fan of creativity, but ignoring or dismissing time honored and proven "rules" is best done by those who know them well in my opinion.

To add to this, most of these pros who talk about starting with search baits are looking at it from a perspective that they are fishing a 4 to 7 day tournament. 2/3 days of practice followed by 2/4 days of competition. On a giant body of water they have not been allowed to touch for a certain number of days prior to official practice. So yes, the concept of starting practice with a search bait is very real and very necessary.

[Scott F]

ummmm no. it doesnt even matter which body of water you are on, thats irrelevant. there isnt a bait i know of that works to catch a fish every outing, every day, every time, in every condition possible, therefore, the concept of a search bait is something i dont believe in. you can run around trying to cover water quickly if you want with what you call a "search bait", but if the fish are more interested in biting a slow moving bait then you would never know if they were there or not because youre not offering up what they want at that time. so you could be fishing where the fish are with your "search bait", its just that they dont want it. if the fish are there but keying on craws and youre throwing a spinnerbait, you might not get bit. and vice versa.

 

if there was a true search bait, that never failed to locate fish, then no one would ever get skunked...

 

Just because you don't believe it doesn't mean it doesn't work. No one ever claimed it works 100% of the time. Nothing ever does. It's worked for me more often than not for 30 years and I'll continue to search with search baits.

[SirSnookalot]

Nothing works 100% of the time and everything works some of the time.

 

I fish for fun and use only the types of lures that give me the most pleasure, I don't get into worms and jigs too much.

[bigbill]

To me it's the challenge of figuring out which lure size, lure shape and lure color will work at that moment. This is why I throw a variety of different lures, sizes and colors. Plus its fun.

[Nice_Bass]

then explain skunks. i used to only fish with plastic worms btw, and ive been skunked on them more than once...ever read the threads here of people asking for help or "what theyre doing wrong"? usually involves them saying they threw everything in their tackle box and still didnt even get a bite, much less catch a fish. there is no such thing as a search bait...

 

like i said earlier, if you want to call the first bait you tie on or throw on a given day a search bait thats fine. but dont act like theres a certain few magic baits that are going to help you find fish.

I think you are confusing the idea of a "magic bait" and eliminating non high percentage water with active feeding fish...a big difference...

Skunks happen because you fished the wrong place at the wrong time- much less to do with tackle choice than you give credit to.

[Lil'Gunner]

I was born up north, and now live in the south. Summer was always the best season up there; that and pre-spawn. Down here, summer is tough-tough-tough, though I caught my PB this year in the dead of summer. Fished 4 hours - one hit, one fish, 12 lbs. Fall down here is great, although it seems you have to file thru several patterns to find what works, and be ready to change out of it quickly and often. The difference is that our summers are so hot, day and night, that the dissolved oxygen drops and makes them sluggish; doesn't happen up nort'.

 

I follow generalities, but have no rules and use my impatience to advantage. I believe if I'm doing the right things, I'll get a hit right away. So, I might start with a topwater at daybreak, but think nothing of hitting an offshore hump 20 minutes later if I haven't caught anything. Today, I got 5 for 10lbs on a windy crisp cold front day, and missed several others. I got sick of trying to position in a blasting cold wind that I underdressed for, and pulled into a lee. I threw a senko right against the bank there and caught a 2-lb, and that put me on the pattern of the day.

[Catt]

When I first started bass fishing seriously during the 60s I believed I was really good, I seldom got skunked. But in the early 70s I attended a 5 day seminar at a little community college in Houston and the guest speaker was Elwood (Buck) Perry. What I learned in those 5 days totally changed my entire thought process. I now understood what years on the water never taught me!

Reading alone will only teach one so much but time on the water will only do so much. It takes a combination of both. Reading alone provides you with no experence, time on the water in all the wrong lures, locations, and timing gives you unusable experence.

A "search" bait is what you want it to be, no were is it written this lure is a search bait. I search structure with s Texas Rig or a Jig because there is no written law stating either must be fished slow!

Outside of the enviromental and biological needs of a bass there are no "rules".

[inrll]

Two things.

 

First if you don't start with some basic plan in anything your doing then your not doing it the best you can. These "rules" are just a basic starting point for a plan of action. Ever here the saying "If you fail to plan you plan to fail"? The same holds true for a day of fishing. That plan doesn't always work but at least its a start.

 

Second, if you want to identify the real "hype" then look no farther than all the lures out there right now. All this talk of what baits to throw and which ones work at which times... None of that matters if your fishing in the wrong places. Fishing the right area is 90% of it. After you figure that out you could throw any number of lures to catch bass. Yes there are some lures that are better to reach certain depths and cover but focusing soooo much on lure choice is totally missing the real challenge in bass fishing.

 

Find your niche in bass fishing whether thats finesse or power fishing or whatever and use THAT confidence presentation, when possible,  wherever the bass are that given day.

[Paul Roberts]

Hey guys, I have a question to pose for everyone: Are there any "rules" I guess you would call them of bass fishing that you just do not believe in? Wether it is a pattern, lure type etc. For example you hear many things about different colors or sounds, also it may be something like the weather is X so the fish are supposed to do Y. 

 

This year for example, the summer is supposed to be some of the toughest time to fish, while spring and fall and the best. I have had much better luck during the summer than spring and so far fall. I am not saying its not true, but as anglers hearing all of these "experts" spout off all of these different things that kind of stick into everyone's head, may cause us to do things that we are "supposed" to do. I know I myself am addicted to fishing and come here to try to learn everything I can, but the thing I wonder is that am I overcomplicating things? I think now to Mike Iaconelli's book where he talks about fishing in the moment. I really don't do this enough. I spend too much worrying about what the fish are supposed to be doing rather than fishing to what they are doing. Anyway, I just wanted to hear your thoughts on this. I am sorry if this rambling is too hard to follow.

“Are there any "rules"?”

 

Yes. But they are not as clear cut as “plug in A and get B”, or, maybe better, not that simple.

 

I knew a guy who fished one of the ponds I fished, appearing evenings after work. He fished one lure –a small black buzzbait parallel to the shorelines. He’d make a loop around the pond, then head off for home. His theory was simple: “Sometimes they bite, and sometimes they don’t”. He didn’t show up until mid spring, saying it was “too cold to catch ‘em” earlier. He fished through the spring and then disappeared until the following spring, missing maybe the best buzzbait period of the year in that area –fall. In summer, the shoreline bite tends to die out, as many of those bass move away from shorelines. And, by midsummer, most years the water gets too hot for midday action, but there is a first-light bite our guy apparently never saw. There are reasons for things that a small buzzbait fished along a shoreline in the evening just can’t get at. It’s too limited a sampling tool and methodology. And realize this was practiced on one pond. Imagine zooming out in satellite images from that pond, to surrounding ponds, to that watershed, to surrounding watersheds, out to the entire range largemouth bass occupy. Fathom that!

 

“Spring” and “fall” aren't supposed to be anything, don’t mean all that much, viewed across that range. But narrow things down in location, and timing comes more into focus. Ever heard, usually from experienced anglers, that “timing is everything”? Getting that nuanced is backed by a lot of knowledge and experience, and then, on any given day or hour on the water, a lot of “flying by the seat of your pants”. Scary? Get used to it.

 

 

“…try to learn everything I can, but the thing I wonder is that am I overcomplicating things?”

 

No you are not overcomplicating things. Not recognizing what’s most important in any given moment, maybe. But you are far from alone there. Nature is enormously complicated. If you want to understand it, you’ve got a lot of work ahead of you. Hopefully it’s fun work. If you really want to catch bass consistently, esp over a large geographic area, you not only have to understand largemouth bass (to choose one), and the other critters they interact with, but the nature of waters and the atmosphere. Overcomplicating things? Hardly.

 

We all want to simplify. In fact, we must simplify; it’s all too friggin’ big. And our brains are devised to do just that –to make/find sense in the immense complexity nature dishes out– to our detriment sometimes as much as to our benefit. But considering the enormity of it all, we do pretty darn well.

 

 

“I spend too much worrying about what the fish are supposed to be doing rather than fishing to what they are doing.”

 

Well, you gotta start somewhere. Every morning each one of us has “supposed’s” in our heads –best attempts at “prediction”. These tend to pan out better for more experienced and well edified anglers than for newbs. But no one can cover it all, and everyone gets thrown curves –has to adjust. This you can expect. How well you can adjust has everything to do with the knowledge, experience, decision making, and effort you can bring to bear on the problem.

 

“Fishing in the moment" is great. But that’s quite a leap. One has to have real stuff to draw on, and those are: knowledge and experience. Imagine someone who’s never bass fished before “fishing in the moment”.

[J Francho]

Good stuff, Paul!

[Paul Roberts]

Thanks, John.

Hey, that's a great avatar shot there. Barefoot? Even better.

[SirSnookalot]

For the passionate bass fishermen there is a lot of valuable information in this thread.  Like Paul's friend I've been more of the opportunist bass fisherman over the last 10 years.  Even still some local knowledge is required for me, times of year when I bass fish and times I don't.  Techniques and lures that give me the most enjoyment and success given the type of places I fish, I learned what I need to do by fishing over the years.