New To Bass Fishing

[joeparish2418]

Started fishing about two years ago and fished ponds for those two years. i have saved up and bought myself a boat and am trying to start fishing lakes. I live in Mt pleasant, NC and have a few lakes closed by. I have gone out and fished and haven't been very successful. I am looking for someone to who is interested in answering my questions and really helping me get started. I have a passion for the sport like no other. And I would like to start getting into tournament fishing. I am 17 years old and am looking for some guidance. Thank  you 

[Mccallister25]

Welcome to BR from a fellow NC member. You've come to the right place for info. Tons and tons of it here. Read, and read some more. Do your homework, and most importantly implement what you learn on your own water and you'll be catching big 'ins in no time!

[via]

Welcome to bass resource. Since you're 17, I assume you're going to college correct? If you are, see if there's a fishing club or if there's a fishing team you can join. I live in California and am apart of my school's fishing team. The club will introduce you to new ideas for bass fishing. I just experience my first tournament and didn't do as well as I expected, but I learned a lot from it.

[WRB]

Welcome to bass fishing. If your goal is competitive tournament bass fishing there is a lot to learn....one step at a time. The best way is to find a mentor to fish with, local bass club may be a good place to start. Keep in mind that tournament anglers are very tight lipped and can be a difficult to learn from.

Would yo be willing to name one of the lakes you plan to fish? We can look at the lake map, you need to get a map to make notes on. Be glad to point out areas on your lake where bass should be located and the reasons why the bass should be there. Locating bass is essential to catching them. There are lots of ways to catch bass, start with high percentage presentations that work for bass between 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 lbs, these are your bread and butter tournament size bass and easiest to catch.

Tell us something about the tackle you have, rod & reel, line, so we can suggest lures and presentations suited for you.

Good luck.

Tom

[joeparish2418]

Thanks I am on a high school team and we have a tournament on Lake norman coming up in June any tips?

[CRANKENSTIEN]

Welcome to bass resource. And it is a big resource. Tom has made a nice offer. You should take him up on it

[joeparish2418]

I have a few different rods and reels. I abu garcia casting reel with 50lb sunline braid I typically keep a frog tied onto, thats on a 7ft medium heavy bass pro rod. I have 2 lews speed spool american heroes I have 20 fluorocarbon on. One I throw with a chatter bait and the other one varies. Usually a jerk bait or buzz bait. I have a bass pro brand casting rod I have set up for cranking, usually just throw a square bill. kind of intimidated to leave the bank.

I have a lowarance hds5 and a older lowrance unit on the front of the boat. I can tell when its marking fish but not sure what kind of fish they are. I have two spinning rods I have one set up for a shaky head and the other has a rebel pop-r on it. I dont have much tackle but I have the essentials I believe. I have been studying a lot but I cant seem to figure it out on my own. I have studied the maps of my lakes and fished points and constrictions. I fish Tuckertown, Badin, and High rock. these 3 lakes are all on a river system called the Yadkin river.

Thank yall for your help

Joe

[WRB]

Lake Norman is a massive reservoir with lots of islands, very difficult to pin point a specific area.

So let's break this lake down into 1/3 rds. Since I am unfamiliar with this lake my strategy would be seasonal and looking at highway 150 bridge upstream toward a state park area, looks like a good place to start. The river water will be cooler than the main lake and the major point where the main lake river chsnnel meets the state park area is where I would start. You have spawning coves inside the creek arm that should have bass moving out towards the main lake area and concentrated near this major point. I need to look at the map again to get a name for this area and a topo map to find specific structure breaks.

This lake has stripers which can be a problem. The lake also has spotted bass, easier to catch, but smaller than LMB. Focus on LMB.

I would add a 6" blue back herring color hollow-body swimbait fished on a 1/2-3/4 oz fish head jig to your tackle.

Fish the points by starting at the base near shore (inside out) and cast out into deep water, work back parelell to the points side. Work your way around the point and cast up and over the mid 15' depth area, work both sides.

Use the swimbait, drop shot worms and jerk baits. Before leaving meter the area with your sonar to get an idea what bait maybe there or if any bass are in the area. You can do this before fishing thecarea, just let it rest about 10-20 minutes before fishing there. You need to determine what depth the bait or bass are at, that is what you are looking for on the sonar. If you see fish close to the structure, stop and fish. By close I mean within a foot or two of the structure.

I will take a closer look at the map and maybe a local can give up to date info.

Tom

PS, this lake looks a A-rig would be a good choice, if the bait is schooled up.

[joeparish2418]

Thank you Tom I have written everything youve said down and im heading to the lake now. I will let you know how I did when I get back. Thanks again.

Joe

[baileyjs]

 We can look at the lake map, you need to get a map to make notes on. Be glad to point out areas on your lake where bass should be located and the reasons why the bass should be there. Locating bass is essential to catching them.

I've always thought this would be a good idea for it's own thread.....would any of the knowledgeable members be willing to give their input and help us newbies out?  If so I'd be willing to start it off

[joeparish2418]

I started fishing shoals in about 18-19 ft of water and started to catch them. I was throwing a sexy shad jerk bait on the drop offs and seemed to find a pattern. Caught about 10-15 dont recall exact number, not a lot of size biggest was about 3 1/4. Didnt fish the morning bite fished from about 11-6 so I should be able to to catch them better in the morning. I seemed to only catch them on one particular shoal. will they stay close to it? I hit it about 3 times throughout the day and the fish were there. 

Joe

[WRB]

You are fishing a big lake and the pattern may hold up for 2 weeks as long as bait stays there. No reason to wear out your bass, I would check on them, don't catch them and go looking for another pattern if possible or more similar locations.

Good luck.

Tom

[BassAddict'18]

Welcome man! I live in NC too and I tournament fish and the best advice I can give you is to go for it. There is nothing like hearing your number called as the sun rises above the lake and then blasting off to a spot and beginning a day of fishing with tons of other guys who share a passion for the sport. I have met so many great people and learned so much from it. You won't regret it. My best advice is its gonna be hard to get into a rhythm and consistently catching fish going from bank fishing out onto the main lake like i did. Just stick with it and dont give up and youll be glad you kept at it. 

     Also, in regards to fishing Norman. It can be a tough lake. I have fished it before and a lot of guys I know have had trouble there along with myself. The lake is mostly spotted bass but the largemouths you catch will help you out big time. I'd start getting ready for a lot of spotted bass fishing. They love those rocks and docks. 

[WRB]

2 worms that Spots eat everywhere are pumpkin punisher w/charteuse and morning dawns/charteuse, 6" straight tail Roboworm. If the bass are suspended try a 1/8 oz dart head jig, more active near structure a drop shot rig, nose hooked works good.

Tom

[FishHard247]

Welcome. I'm just up the road from you. Search BassResource on YouTube. They have helped me tons.

[quanjig]

Welcome and pay close attention to what WRB is is trying to enlighten you to! Don't ever be afraid to ask any question here, only stupid question is the one you don't ask!!

Don't put too much pressure on yourself when tournament fishing, it supposed to be fun, always remember that!

Often when you discover a bait and a particular area where you have some success, you can find other similar areas that have a lot of the same characteristics as the original spot! Put a couple areas together with active fish and you have your pattern like WRB said. Try to find as many areas like that and make yourself a little milk run!

Just remember as the seasons change you will have to adjust your plan of attack and probably have to look at other areas as the fish move and relate to others areas where they feel comfortable foraging for food.

Location, location, location!