Learning to fish

[Fishing Rhino]

Find a pond that produces a lot of fish, and fish it exclusively, for starters.

Use the good ol' reliable, easy to use, hard to fish wrong, baits.  Wacky worms, shaky head, drop shot, jigs, etc.  Doesn't matter if the body of water is a puddle or an ocean, though a puddle is better, for no other reason than you can learn about the structure and cover in a puddle easier than in an ocean.

Don't worry about size.  It's numbers that count (for now).  If you find one bait is working well, vary your retrieve.  It might work even better.  Then try another bait.

What you are doing is learning how to present the bait.  That is not something you can do until you begin catching fish.  Mix things up.  Have fun.  If you hear a little voice in the back of your head that tells you to try another bait, try another bait.  Your brain is a computer that takes information and processes it, and it does that without you having to think about it.

In a nutshell, keep it simple.  And have fun.

If you can find an experienced fisherman to join you, do not hesitate.  Read the how to articles, but do not have unrealistic expectations that you will get instant results.

Fishing is a puzzle, and as you learn, you begin to see the image forming.  You will never complete the puzzle, but that's not the goal.  The goal is to learn and improve, then learn and improve even more.

You cannot do that on waters where you cannot catch a fish.

 

[Catt]

Me like!

[HoosierHawgs]

Keep It Simple Stupid for sure. Learned to fish bouncing Beetle Spins off of sunken refrigerators in strip pits. Talk about fun!

[Bluebasser86]

To this day I still have my "practice lake". Anytime I'm trying to learn something new, I head to the local dink factory. I was there not to long doing exactly that in fact! For all the northern bassers that keep posting pics of their "buddy" bass, I finally caught a few!

[Bankbeater]

I would consider all of the lakes around my house training lakes.  Every fishing technique that I use, I learned at those lakes.

[massrob]

This is exactly right if I didn't find a little pond that was loaded with fish two years ago I probably wouldn't be fishing. This place taught me how to fish what a bite felt like all that stuff. I caught something like 150 fish in a few days when I was laid off for a week back then. I thought every place was like that until I started going to other spots and realized it was just that one pond. I caught everything from 2in  to my biggest fish ever. Too bad I didn't have a scale. And this past year I went back and it wasn't like that anymore I think the bad winter messed it up because it's very shallow. Anyway some great advice from the man that put me on my first smallmouth so I would listen to what he says. 

[mrmacwvu1]

I agree with this. There are some days that fish seem to be hitting everything. This happened to me on lake Erie years back. I was catching 3 and 4 punders every other cast. So I put on a spinner bait. I never used them on Erie before mainly because I was always fishing deeper water. Well I slung that thing out there and the next thing I knew I had a birdnest that a Condor would have been proud of. After finally getting it out I went to reel it in and it was stuck in this weed bed below me. So i ripped it out and the next thing I knew I had a 5 lb bass on the other end. So I did it again threw it out let it hit bottom and then rip and Yo Yo it back. It produced the biggest fish of the day. That is one of my go to methods to use now.

[WRB]

The one lesson I have learned over the years is you can't become a fisherman unless you want to. Trying to teach anyone who doesn't have a desire to learn is a fruitless effort.

Those who want to learn to catch fish will learn.

Tom

[tander]

First few years that I started fishing, I fished a 12 acre private lake. If you can't catch fish, it's hard to learn how to fish. Wish I could fish it now.

[Airman4754]

It must be nice for young kids learning to fish now with the internet. I grew up in a pretty awful area for bass fishing and no one in my family bass fished. I would beg my dad to take the boat out in the summer to bass fish and beg my mom to take me to ponds to fish. I just got the trout fisherman answers. Bass don't bite in the winter, summer is for water skiing, they only really bite early or late, and they aren't worth getting rained on to fish them in the spring. 

I had no idea how to do anything. I fished a rubber worm like a crank bait until some guy was nice enough stop laughing and show me how to use a T-rig properly. 

Type in "Bass fishing" on YouTube and you will have more available knowledge instantly that took the generations before them a decade to learn. 

The 17 rod combos, 21' boat, multiple finders, every bait imaginable in every color, and all the other gear is another story! You gotta separate yourself from the kid with a 7'MH and a GoPro somehow .

[geo g]

I will give you a few simple key points when starting out.

1). Start with your plastics and learn how to rig them correctly.

2).Be a line watcher, any changes or movement take up slack and set the hook.

3).Use the least amount of weight to get the job done.  More wind, deeper water more weight.

4).When things really get tough, down size and slow down.

5). Always ask yourself what were you doing when that fish hit?  Was the bait falling, was I retrieving the bait, was it sitting still, did I jerk it.  Just adjust your game plan from there.

[A fisher]

Read books and articles, if you get a chance to go fishing with someone better than you, take it, you can learn a lot by watching someone else and asking questions. A trick worm is a great bait to start out with and catches me my most pond fish by far

[Hurricane]

Spinnerbaits. Fun way to catch fish. . Especially for the beginner's. . It's the first lure I used 26 years ago and have been using it since..

[roadwarrior]

"Just Getting Started"
Guaranteed To Catch Bass
I just cant catch bass
Learning to fish on your own
 

 

[mrmacwvu1]

RW

i didn't take the time to read what you linked, but I assume it is what you have posted many times before.

I have taught many kids to fish with the fan casting the senko and ikka that you outlined

Just wanted to say thanks it has helped over a dozen new kids get their start.

[roadwarrior]

That's sweet!

I think my project this year will be adding a few more current threads to the "Best Of". When you or anyone have nominees, please point them out to me. I would appreciate the help and some other viewpoints as to what is important for our members. This would include any threads from every section.

-Kent

[grampa1114]

So if you're reading this for the first time and you're 'that person'......pay attention to the man who started this thread. Actually...if you are reading this thread then you're already head of the game. These guys know what they're talking about. It might not seem like it right now, but Bassfishing just ain't that hard. Pick a couple of different baits, not a lot...take them out and use them....and...If you ever get a chance to fish with someone like Rhino...from the forum....TAKE IT.

[Fishing Rhino]

Thank you for the kind words my friend.

I have fished many times with Grandpa1114 many, many times.  I'm disappointed that he did not put in a plug for his favorite bait, a three inch sluggo on a 1/16th ounce jig head with a #1 or a 1/0 hook.

If you ever get the chance to fish with him take it.......................at your own peril.  Be advised, when he breaks out the buggy whip with this tiny bait, you're in trouble.

We make each outing a tournament of sorts.  We don't keep count of numbers of fish caught nor do we weigh for the biggest fish.  Those are too complicated.

Our battles are to see who can catch the most species.  The winner of that day receives what we call the Al Lindner award.

When he breaks out the sluggo, you may as well wave the white flag of surrender.  I have threatened to get a couple of Mepps spinners in the number one size.  I have seen catfish, trout, bluegills, yellow perch red ear sunfish, white perch, crappie, pickerel, rock bass, salmon, pickerel, smallmouth bass and largemouth bass fall prey to his tiny sluggo.

As best I can recall, he holds the one day record with eight species caught.  They were not all tiny fish.  One day he caught two pickerel that weighed a total of eleven plus pounds, one nearly six pounds, the second over five pounds.  On successive casts.

[Robeng]

On 1/12/2016 at 6:22 PM, Fishing Rhino said:

Find a pond that produces a lot of fish, and fish it exclusively, for starters.

Use the good ol' reliable, easy to use, hard to fish wrong, baits.  Wacky worms, shaky head, drop shot, jigs, etc.  Doesn't matter if the body of water is a puddle or an ocean, though a puddle is better, for no other reason than you can learn about the structure and cover in a puddle easier than in an ocean.

Don't worry about size.  It's numbers that count (for now).  If you find one bait is working well, vary your retrieve.  It might work even better.  Then try another bait.

What you are doing is learning how to present the bait.  That is not something you can do until you begin catching fish.  Mix things up.  Have fun.  If you hear a little voice in the back of your head that tells you to try another bait, try another bait.  Your brain is a computer that takes information and processes it, and it does that without you having to think about it.

In a nutshell, keep it simple.  And have fun.

If you can find an experienced fisherman to join you, do not hesitate.  Read the how to articles, but do not have unrealistic expectations that you will get instant results.

Fishing is a puzzle, and as you learn, you begin to see the image forming.  You will never complete the puzzle, but that's not the goal.  The goal is to learn and improve, then learn and improve even more.

You cannot do that on waters where you cannot catch a fish.

 

Excellent.