Help I'm Retiring

[Ghostshad]

I'm getting ready to retire in a couple months,i'd love to learn how to fish.I have a boat,and all the tackle i need,and i fish,but i don't know where and how they move.I've worked since i was 17 & had to work way to much overtime.Ive never been able to put the time in on the water,even now i work a 12 hr sift & when i;m off i'm tired or even wore out.My plain is to work untill the last of Feb & then retire & start fishing prespawn .I'd love all the advice & information you can give me.  God Bless & Thank You

[5fishlimit]

Read the articles found on this site.

 

Rinse, and repeat.

[tander]

Congrats on retirement !!! If you are fishing a big body of water, don't try to fish every inch. Select a area and learn it well. Read articles and look at videos to learn where fish are that time of year and what you should be using to catch them. Learn to fish the Ned Rig, you will catch something.

[Darren.]

Definitely pore over the articles here.

 

Something I always do when I go to a

pond/lake that is unfamiliar is to look for

downed trees, docks, stumps, etc.

 

Always find fish in these locations.

 

Next, for simplicity, I stick to stuff I know

that works for me - soft plastics. I fish for

fun and sport, not for money, tourneys, etc.

So I try to maximize my time on the water

fishing what works for me.

 

There are times I experiment and try to learn

a new technique, or try a new style of bait...

[roadwarrior]

The very best thing to do is to hire a guide. Tell him that you want to catch some fish

of course, but more importantly, you would like him to show you things to look for when

you are on the water. 

 

 

 

[BrownBear]

Congrats on the retirement, your going to go crazy with all the extra time...lol.

Like the others said.

1. Read the articles.

2. Watch the videos for fishing techniques.

3. Find someone that knows the area or region that you are fishing (a guide, online people, local bait/tackle shop), they will be able to help you fish better. A good mentor will be their weight in bass gold.

4. Download Google Earth to go back in time to view your area when the water is low to find underwater structures (logs/trees, rocks, etc.) where the fish may be at.

5. Depending on your budget you can do a lot or a little and still be successful.

6. Have fun and enjoy your surroundings!

[WRB]

I agree with Road Warrior, in fact hire him!

Too much information can be frustrating and create overload to the point bass fishing stops being fun.

You have a boat and should learn how to use your sonar unit and maps if you are fishing TVA deep structure lakes.

Seasonal periods are fairly easy to understand if you break them down by starting with pre spawn, the period you plan to retire. What you will find is few bass anglers can agree on anything, this is why too much studying of differing opinion will confuse anyone.

We can agree that bass gather into groups prior to the spawn somewhere near where they move shallower to spawn. I made up a Cosmic Clock and Bass Behavior chart way back in 1971 that defines my belief in seasonal periods. You can search this site "Cosmic Clock" and read that information if interested.

Enjoy your time on the water and start with lures that you how to use, you have lots of time to learn how to use whatever presentation you prefer.

Glenn's vedio's are good and easy to understand, pick a few and get started having fun.

Good fishing,

Tom

PS, I retired last year at age 71, worked too long and I am too busy to find time to fish as much as I would like!

[kickerfish1]

Maybe you can find another guy on here in your area. Perhaps he could show the ropes on some of your area lakes. Offer to pay for food, gas, etc. If that doesn't work perhaps you could exchange PM or email messages with tips on your local waters for that time of year from another member. If that fails well it sounds like you should have plenty of extra time to figure it out for yourself through trial and error. Read material, watch videos and apply what you learned when you are out fishing.

[ClackerBuzz]

lotta great advice. Only thing I'll add is:

 

Always carry an ultra light rod. When the bass aren't biting, something else is.

And when all else fails, head for the weeds.

[senile1]

Help!  I am not retiring . . . . yet.

[A-Jay]

lotta great advice. Only thing I'll add is:

 

Always carry an ultra light rod. When the bass aren't biting, something else is.

And when all else fails, head for the weeds.

 

X2 ~

 

And don't be afraid to add a moderately priced Fly Rod to this as well.

 

Bass on a Fly is a TON of FUN !

 

A-Jay

[RAMBLER]

I'm getting ready to retire in a couple months,i'd love to learn how to fish.I have a boat,and all the tackle i need,and i fish,but i don't know where and how they move.I've worked since i was 17 & had to work way to much overtime.Ive never been able to put the time in on the water,even now i work a 12 hr sift & when i;m off i'm tired or even wore out.My plain is to work untill the last of Feb & then retire & start fishing prespawn .I'd love all the advice & information you can give me.  God Bless & Thank You

Uh, no, that's not possible.  When I retired I thought I would buy a second rod & reel.  Didn't even know I needed it until I got it.  Now, I've discovered that I need 16 rigs, along with more tackle boxes than will fit in the boat.  But, it's my only hobby and it's fun.  But, again no, you can never have more than you need, for something.

[Catt]

The very best thing to do is to hire a guide. Tell him that you want to catch some fish

of course, but more importantly, you would like him to show you things to look for when

you are on the water.

And we're done

[Columbia Craw]

Join a local club if one is available.  In most cases, anglers like to help other anglers learn. The social benefits are many. Congratulations on your retirement. 

[thirtysixit]

Navionics has a free web app that will help you plan your trips to the lake as well.  I use it every time I plan trip to find the depth and structure I want to target.

[bigbill]

I retired at 52yo just turned 65yo.

You need to read the articles here, Watch the videos. All winter to get ready for the pre spawn.

Be patient. Start with a livebait setup and a lure setup.

As you progress with your skills the lures will out fish the live bait.

We never stop learning.

We eat, fish, sleep, think fishing.

Night fishing will educate you on keeping your tackle box neat.

In the spring pre spawn, spawn the fish are in the most northern part of the body of water were it warms up first.

Fishing isn't luck, it's skill, get your skills on here.

Congrats on your retirement, enjoy the outdoors.

[Catt]

A guide will teach you what you need to know on your body of water!

[WRB]

Don't know how far away Road Warrior (Kent) is from the OP and he would teach (guide) him what he needs to get a good start. A guide is well worth the time and money for hands on lessons on the body of water you fish.

Catt and I are repeating our suggestion because it's good advice!

[thomas15]

Personally, if I were to judge my enjoyment of this pastime based on the amount of and size of the fish I catch then I would be forced to find another hobby. Yes, I want to be a good angler and yes I'm willing to put in the time. But getting outside and on the water is a reward in itself.

 

If you fish the same basic area often then you will make friends and this will most likely be of a great help. Also, your local tackle shop may be of help, they should be able to tell you where the fish are at a particular time of the year and what bait and presentation to use. An earlier poster mentioned live bait, this is a very good idea.

 

Speaking for myself, I have little trouble making friends. But I have to admit that I'm a bit intimidated at the thought of joining a club. I have fished a few tournaments and have enjoyed myself though.

 

My collection of books is quite large but one in particular is my go to when trying to decide on what to do on  a particular day. This is actually a 3 volume set, the In-Fisherman Critical Concepts (vol. 1-3) for largemount bass. It is up to date and cover a lot of different locations. You may be able to find a deal on Amazon. You might consider this set of books for your library.

 

I wish you the best in your retirement. I could retire myself at almost anytime but I really want to keep going for another 10 years. No more than 10 and when I do i plan to do as you are, fishing and pistol shooting/handloading ammo, working on my home and in the garage and generally trying to stay out of Mrs thomas15s hair.

[scaleface]

I dont know anything about Tellico reservoir which is listed as your favorite lake .A quick look on Google and its location  I imagine its a highland lake , deep and clear . i'm guessing you will have to do a lot of deep structure fishing to be consistent . The clearer the water the more I bump deep baits off the bottom .

[Looking for the big one]

Great Job bass friend. The best advice I can give you is to spend time on the water, along with this website. Most good fishermen all have one thing in common, and that's experience on the water. Read the articles (at the top) and good luck!

[bigbill]

Bty, working OT as much as you can three years before raises your social security. Your payment per month of social security is calculated from your last three years of employment.

[RoLo]

PS, I retired last year at age 71, worked too long and I am too busy to find time to fish as much as I would like!

 

Congratulations Tom on your recent retirement 

 

I always offer the same advise to new retirees (though it doesn't apply to a man with your active mind).

You are not retiring from life, you are simply retiring from being told what to do, which finally puts YOU at the helm. 

Though it flies in the face of conventional wisdom, retirement has been the most wholesome part of my life.

And yes, I know full-well that the gravy chain is subject to change without notice  LOL

 

Roger

[Rick Howard]

I like the guide idea.  A few days on the water with someone that can show you some things will jump start the learning curve.    

[.ghoti.]

I'll give you the easiest advice. Just go do it. Relax and enjoy yourself. Every day on the water you'll learn something new, if you're reasonably observant.

 

While you're experimenting try something different every day. Tell yourself, self, I'm going to learn how to fish a spinnerbait today. Then just fish it for a couple of hours. Learn what it feels like on the end of your line. Learn how to slow down and fish it deep, and how to burn it shallow without it turning over. Bump it into things in the water. experiment with different ways to make the bait more erratic. etc, etc, etc. Try a different bait the next time out. Over the course of a season, you'll learn how to manipulate these different baits, and slowly accumulate a database of knowledge about baits, conditions, and fish behavior.

 

Take a few breaks. Pour yourself a big mug of coffee, and putt around with your sonar on, looking at what's under you. Stick to one small area of the lake until you have good grasp of just what it is your fishing. Learn one area well before moving on to another. Again, over the course of a season, you're going to learn quite a bit about where your fishing.

 

It all slowly adds up. It takes time, but it's all no danged good if you don't have fun while you're at it. Relax and enjoy it.