Not Catching Enough Fish. Not Doing Something Right...

[Bass newb]

Well I ended a week long draught tonight! It was exciting to pull two 13 and a half inchers out of the river on a t rigged worm. I could have caught several more if I'd been a better fisher. The bites were on at about 6:30/7 pm. I was beginning to wonder if I was ever gonna catch another fish again!

I went back to the bank where I caught my first bass 3 weeks ago and threw worms to the edge of the bank and dragged them back to the board real nice and slow. I missed several bites and saw a fish try to hit my worm as i was fast reeling to make another cast but he missed it. I'm glad I bought a net last weekend because they were both hard to handle when I got them back to the board to take the hooks out. I didn't net my first, and looking back, it was amazing that I didn't lose him without a net.

[Turkey sandwich]

It's awesome that you're seeing some success. Staying motivated without it is very hard. I would stick to the more general advice listed, and not pay too much attention to anyone talking about specific lures,etc. Right now, you need to build patience and learn to take in what you're seeing on the water. Find fishing buddies, and pay attention to what they do when they're successful. There is no short cut. There is no magic lure. There are no secrets. Learn basic techniques like Texas rigging, Carolina rigging, and how to throw basics like spinnerbaits. You'll spend a lot of time obstruction free, and what you'll learn from fishing those types of rigs, you can apply to almost anything else.

[Neil McCauley]

It might be worth picking up a book on bass fishing basics to get the fundamentals down. Videos and advice might help you pick up a fish here or there but in the long run if you want to really be successful you should build a good foundation of the basic knowledge and reading is the best way to do that.

[Bass newb]

^believe it or not my girlfriends grand father was a legend in the fish and game world especially here in Alabama. ..he wrote books on it,they're in her library and I've been introduced to them...reading will be winter work for me. Cant be stuck inside reading during these summer months.

[JStevens]

This is a great topic with awesome replies.  I'm in a lull myself but these posts with different views and words of encouragement made me realize I need to work on my versatility.  I've tried swimbaits, crankbaits, drop-shotting, jigging, spinners; but only one at a time.  I need to be prepared to change it up on the fly versus using only one style each time I go out.

 

Congratulations on ending your dry spell Bass newb!  Don't get discouraged if you experience it again, just keep changing it up until you find something that works. 

[JStevens]

I had a rough day a few weeks ago.  I was out for several hours.  I was tired, hungry, and sweating my butt off and decided to call it.  As I was paddling in I would occasionally throw a spinner to the banks and it paid off.  I ended up catching this 9.5 lb snakehead; it made my day!

 

[Bass newb]

^ hey thanks JS! Yeah I came to some of those same realizations. I just frog fished my way to 3 fish that were 2+ lbs in tbe last two days! That was after several hours of worm fishing and not catching anything. That might not be anything to some, but for me, it's validation after many long days of learning how to bass fish in the last 5 weeks. I'm super excited at the thought of frogging some more bass soon.

[JStevens]

Hey Bass newb, I hope you're busy catching fish but in case you're not, you should try the "Ned Rig".  If you haven't tried it before, there is a plethora of information on how to rig one.  I used a 1/16th chartreuse jig jead and a senko worm cut in half.  I had to cut my time on the water short (I only spent about 25 minutes fishing), but I caught a 2-pounder right away.

[Bass newb]

ned rig

At first I thought this was a typo, until I saw the ad for it...

I just bought some last night.