Beginner Bass Fisher

[djacks201]

Trying to learn how to bass fish and was just looking for some general advice. I live in upstate south carolina and will prodominatley be fishing from docks and banks. Any advice on bait, rigs, locations,etc would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

[Violinguy]

First thing - you said "fishing from docks" in your post.  I read a great post earlier today about fishing from shore and how you DO NOT want to actually set foot on any dock.  It spooks the fish big time.  Read it here -> http://www.bassresou...-9#entry1429765

 

As for getting started, you want a basic selection of baits; soft plastics (Senkos, Yum Dingers, tube baits, etc.), crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and jigs.  Good terminal tackle (hooks and weights etc.) is a must.  Don't go overboard on lures until you've fished a bit and have seen what shapes/sizes/colors work where you do your fishing.  Just make sure you have a few of everything to get started.

 

As for techniques, read the link I put up above.  You want to be stealthy, and that applies to your lure presentation as well.  Just hurling jigs or crankbaits into the lake and letting them splash obnoxiously will also spook fish.  The spooked fish go to deep water where it is tougher (for shore anglers sometimes impossible) to get to them. 

 

Also, read this -> Guaranteed to Catch Bass.  It's a great forum post and makes awesome sense.

 

Browse the  forums here and you'll never be without something to read that will help you.  Especially the "sticky" posts. 

 

Good luck!

[Big239Fish]

ViolinGuy pretty much covered it all. Can't stress the point about not stepping foot on the dock enough. Use the banks next to it and cast at it. My advice is a little different than his, but the same in a lot of aspects. Try soft plastics, spinner baits and some top waters first (warning- top water is the gateway to the obsession. You have been warned). Those three will cover all depths and situations for now. Learn and become proficient with those and then go from there. Try different presentations with each. Read these forums and the articles on the site (they are priceless when it comes to learning about the sport) and talk to other guys.

But most of all, there are as many baits, presentations, and "secrets" to catch a bass as there are trees in the forest. Learn from the articles and in talking to other fishermen, and then fine tune with what you learn in your experience.

Welcome to the obsession. Hope you slam 'em!

[Mccallister25]

ViolinGuy pretty much nailed it. Def. try out some senkos, and maybe a trick worm. Topwater is good. Maybe a smaller 5/16 oz jig along bank lines to see whats there. 1/4 oz rattle baits are good choices. Like mentioned above, dont worry about going overboard until you know whats in there, and what your dealing with.

[ThatZX14Fella]

Try some swimbaits I never fish in the river or lakes because I don't have a driver's license, but when I get the chance I'll throw on a swimbait. I never get hits on anything else from the bank and I've tried a good bit of stuff. Buzzbaits, Colorado spinners, willow leaf spinners, frogs, worms, crankbaits, etc.

[WVbassin87]

Trying to learn how to bass fish and was just looking for some general advice. I live in upstate south carolina and will prodominatley be fishing from docks and banks. Any advice on bait, rigs, locations,etc would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

This. Also, just a suggestion, but I've really taken to grubs as an all around bait to get started on. You'll catch all kinds of different fish on them and they're super easy to use. Just buy a pack of Mister Twisters and some 1/8oz. jigheads. It's simple, just cast and retrieve. They're also really easy to get out of most snags, usually a pop of the rod tip and they're loose. Good luck!

[donewiththis]

I am partial to swimbait and shad crankbaits. I do not have a great rod and reel (in fact it is just a really cheap combo from walmart lol) I just fish what I like and it seems to work for me.

[Shanes7614]

Sticking wth plastics is probably the easiest way to learn and start out. I started as a young kid riding my bike to a local lake with a fishing pole and a bag full of different plastics and hooks to start. Cast to any kind if cover and change the ways you retrieve you baits. Tubes Texas rigged are also a good bet. Stick with mostly dark colored worms and you should do just fine. Try with no weight at all and then sometimes with a weight when it is colder or a storm has just passed. You can learn a lot about a lake with a weighted work just reeled slowly along the bottom to learn what kin if cover you may not be able to see from the surface is around. Rockier and sandy bottoms tend to be better for smallmouth if they are present in your lake. Weedy and muddier bottoms ten to produce more largemouth IMO. The last recommendation I can give is don't skimp out when it comes to line. Cheap combos can work really well but if you have bad line it's doesn't matter if your fishing with a 500$ custom outfit your still gonna lose fish.

[blongfishing]

What lakes are you gonna be fishing? I'm from Greenville. I fish Hartwell and some local ponds. I have access to lots if info because I know guides and local fishermen for about every major SC lake. I could help with baits if you need any help let me know.

[fishva]

I fished from the banks all my life, until recently. 

 

This is by far the single most helpful thing I've learned: Find a local pond or lake you want to fish. Then, download Google Earth (the web app doesn't have the features you need), and use historical view. Look for some periods in the past where the water was really low. This will expose some structure (like brush piles, contours, or fallen trees) that may have taken you a long time to find without electronics. Then, get out there and throw some soft plastics, grubs, crankbaits, or spinnerbaits and see if you can catch anything around that structure you discovered.

[Backlash33]

That's smart Fishva. Never thought of using old photos in google!

[ThatZX14Fella]

Ignore my previous comment, I have been fishing the river a lot lately. So far I mostly throw a jig or a spinner, and if I'm not getting any hits on either of those I'll throw a T-rig and try to cover a good area. If that isn't working, I just start throwing everything in my arsenal to try to get a bite.

[mrgimpy]

Watch Bassresource videos. That's where I stated and I caught my first Bass this weekend using his advice.