Who was the most help teaching you how to fish for bass?

[Bluebasser86]

My dad taught me the fundamentals, like casting and tying a knot. We moved to the area I grew up in and found a semi-private lake that my dad bought the family memberships to when I was 9. When I was 12 or 13, I bought an old used 2 man from a dock owner for $50 with whatever money I could make doing odd jobs for anyone. Once I got that boat, I lived on the water every second I had. I learned everything through trial and error (mostly error for the first several years). I bought my first bass boat when I turned 16 and got smacked in the face with the realization that big lakes were way harder than my 30 acre lake I'd basically lived on. I started fishing in an adult club when I was 16 and learned a lot by watching the guys I was fishing with. I learned some from reading BASSMASTER and watching the few fishing shows that were on TV then. I learned some from the fishing buddies I made along the way. Mostly, I learned from hours and days and years on the water, just trying to learn what does and doesn't work. 

[CNYBassin]

My father is mainly a trout guy, but my uncle was a big time Pike and Bass angler, especially since he lived on a private lake loaded with medium sized pike and boat loads of good sized smallmouth. That being said, he is the one who got me started. Before I learned the nuances of bass fishing, I learned a lot about stream fishing for brown and rainbow trout mainly, as well as learned how to utilize a fly rod and even tie common flies like nymphs, etc. I loved fishing for trout, but I had incidentally caught bass on local ponds when pan fishing, and I loved the way they fought(much better than Trout I thought).. so I wanted to learn more about it. 

So one year I visited my uncles house, told him I wanted to learn how to bass fish, and he took me on the boat and gave me a top water lure. It was an old grey snag proof moss mouse. Teeth marks all over it. Told me to throw it out as far as I could and aim for the grass... then just wait. And that's when I saw my first top water explosion, and landed my first adult sized bass that was roughly 3 1/4 lbs, then I was hooked.

I ended up going on long hiatuses from bass fishing as I was growing up, especially with school and work. I ended up getting back into it in my mid 20s heavily, and that's where I really started focusing a lot on watching pros, reading forums, watching youtube videos about baits and techniques. In the past, all I had were fishing magazines that I would get at the grocery store. There was so much to learn. After a while I started setting goals for myself. I would find a new technique I wanted to try, and then I would devote myself to using that single technique until I gained some confidence in it, before I switched to anything else. So for example, if I wanted to learn how to jig fish, or texas rig soft plastics like senkos, I'd spend the whole day throwing them and nothing else and I wouldn't stop until I caught fish on it. Then I did the next thing with spinner baits, crank baits, and other moving baits... drop shot, shaky head, punching grass mats, etc. Then I started to learn WHAT baits worked best at what times. Moving baits or finesse baits. Hard baits or soft plastics. Etc. How to find fish. How to pattern fish.

So in summary: I would have to say my father is the one who put a pole in my hand, my uncle is the one who opened my eyes to how much fun bass fishing is, and got me started but it was the internet age, forums and communities like this one, as well as youtube(Glenn is one I follow regularly) that really expanded my knowledge well past just what lures you throw. It was within the last 2 or 3 years that I really started getting in-depth with the science behind bass fishing. I've lurked here for a number of years, and it was only recently(like within the past 2 months) that I made an account. Bass anglers in this day and age have it far easier than guys did prior to the internet and youtube age, that I know for certain. Back in the day all you had was magazines, and maybe Bill Dance on TV lol. Now there's a vast wealth of knowledge being shared on a daily basis all over youtube.

[Catt]

8 hours ago, papajoe222 said:

 

I'm gonna shot a cell phone 

9 hours ago, everythingthatswims said:

I have to say, you don't seem like the fairy wand type of fisherman

The deep south during 70s was definitely "Bubba" bass fishing!

By 74-75 I went from fishing 25# Original Stren, to 17#, to 15# Berkley Big Game. 15# & under back then was light line!

[visagelaid]

I pretty much taught myself bass fishing.  With the internet, and this website, you can learn a lot.  I grew up trout fishing with my grandfather, and he taught me most everything about general/trout fishing.  I have recently joined the North Alabama Bass Club, and hope to learn a lot from some of the older guys in the club.  With just having moved to Alabama, the learning curve with these lakes on the Tennessee River is steep.  I hope to figure this place out.  I'm really excited about the opportunity to catch some big Alabama bass.

[IgotWood]

I too am new to bass fishing. I started bass fishing this spring, and I owe huge thanks to the kind folks on this site for replying to many of my redundant threads that I've posted.

I also owe many thanks to Glenn for his videos on YouTube. It takes a lot of time and effort for those videos between the recording, and the editing...not to mention their decades of time and experience on the water. 

Having said that, my time on the water has been the biggest and most invaluable learning tool for me, and without the information from the videos and the advice I've gotten on this site, my confidence on the water has resulted in a fantastic season. I hope it only gets better from here. I hope I can give back and shed some of my experience with new anglers in the future. Thank you all!

[whitwolf]

My daddy started me on the fishing journey with a cane pole and cork. I have always loved to fish from that day forward. It was back in the late 70's that I really got Into bass fishing. There were two buddies that were heavily into bass fishing and I must have asked them a dozen times to take me out fishing but they were quite reluctant because they thought I would be like many others and get bored an hour into the trip. I finally got to go and "we" became best of friends and fishing buddies. I can never thank those two of those guys enough as they taught me everything I needed to know to get me started.  They were generous with Information and like me they simply loved to fish. They gave me 5 baits(I still have 4 them) to get started, taught me how to use a baitcaster, and were always "coaching" me. The biggest takeaway from those times was the art of staying positive, having fun, and to be persistent. 

It was after we went our separate ways that I dedicated myself to learn as much as I could; little did I know that the learning would never stop. I have had many folks on this forum teach me many things and share so much Information that I do my best to give back to this family! The single biggest lesson that I have learned and did my best to pass on Is this: While I have asked many questions, observed, read everything I could get my hands on,  the greatest single way that I learned to do something on the water was to get on the water and put all those questions and answers, observations, and what I have read, Into practice. There's no greater way to learn than to do! Also remember this: Information overload is as harmful as not going fishing. I think you need to relax, do what you need to do to master whatever technique you're trying to learn and be aware that you'll learn what you need to with time.  Lastly, have FUN!

[Fish the Mitt]

My father was the reason I began fishing. However, it was more perch and panfish and never anything else. My love for Bass fishing is completely self-taught up until finding this site. From there, it blossomed into what it is today. Fishing, like any thing else, must be passed on and passed around as to not lose it in a generation or two. Peers are invaluable in learning as much as you can but going out yourself and being on the water, is second to none. The most important part of that though, is to pass this on to others. - which ia what makes this site so wonderful.

[A-Jay]

Learned quite a bit from this Man.  Manual Salazar (and his brother Narlin) are two Big Bass Catching humans.

A-Jay

[Ratherbfishing]

The one fishing personality that lit my fuse was Virgil Ward-though it wasn't confined to bass fishing.

I have a couple of friends who were very instrumental in expanding my "repertoire" to include soft plastics.  Before I was mostly a "hard bait" fisherman but I've caught a lot more since I've added worms, "flukes", crawdads, and creature baits to the list.  

[thomas15]

I grew up literally at the Jersey Shore and we did a lot of fishing. But that is salt water. My Dad was a commercial fishermen and he also operated for the owners one or two party boats from the Shark River Marina from time to time. So we had boats and access to plenty of fishing. Also, the marina was there for after school fishing and it wasn't unusual for half of my class to be at the marina on any given day when certain fish were running.

My Grandfather would take my brother and me trout fishing In the spring. And once in a while he would take us to a pond to fish for panfish. Grandpop talked about LMB fishing from when he was a kid but I never caught one nor to my knowledge did any of my friends catch one when we were growing up. I was probably well into my 30s before I actually saw my first LMB in person.

When my kids were old enough to start fishing I decided to start them on fresh water for the convenience and when fishing from the bank I think it's just more pleasant fishing fresh water vs. salt water. So I actually had to ask around to find a pond that held fish and so we started on a pond and quickly found out that in south jersey an easy fish to catch are cats. And we caught a bunch of them.

Anyway, me being me, I decided to expand my horizons and started trying to catch LMB. I read a few articles and asked a few people for advice. But I have had to work exceptionally hard to get where I'm at now which is really nothing to brag about. I have a bunch of books and have watched a lot of vids but when I actually catch fish it's doing it in a way that I just learned to do trial and error. It is surprising just how many good bass lakes and ponds there are in NJ. I think because there are bigger fish to fry that these lakes get ignored. We lived in Tuckerton NJ for 20 years when my kids were little. Tuckerton is a destination for stripers. There is a little pond within spitting distance from a prime striper beach that is full of lunker LMB. You would drive past this thing and never imagine that there are bass in it.

Now I'm in NE PA and the fishing is in my opinion not easy. Have to learn all over again. As far as Bass go I have received some help but mainly I'm self taught.

[scaleface]

I also learned a lot from Harry and Charlie .  Who remember what Harrys favorite bait was ?

[stk44]

My Dad taught me the basics of fishing, but he is a trout guy. He fly fishes and is pretty good at it and so am I. 

I'm going to say that YouTube, Bassresource, and trial and error on the water made me a better bass fisherman. I'm probably twice as good this year as I was last year, and I hope to keep improving at that rate for quite a long time. If it weren't for being able to ask a million questions on BassResource, there would've been A LOT more error and a much harder learning curve.

[thomas15]

15 hours ago, scaleface said:

I also learned a lot from Harry and Charlie .  Who remember what Harrys favorite bait was ?

Wild guess, their special formula stink bait?

[blckshirt98]

My dad introduced me and my siblings to fishing from when we could first hold a pole.  Being an Asian family, fishing is kind of a cultural thing, and other sports not so much.  A little bit of freshwater fishing, but mostly pier fishing for perch/mackerel.  As for bass fishing specifically that's not a species my dad targeted, and one I dabbled with a little bit back in junior high with limited success.

About 4.5 years ago, after about a 20 year break, I started fishing again, but only from the pier/surf.  3.5 years ago I started focusing on bass.  A lot of my learning was trial and error based on time on the water.  I did try to read up on posts in a couple of online forums, and bought and read bass magazines whenever I could.  The availability of information on the internet has really sped up my learning curve, something that wouldn't have been possible 20 years ago when I was doing everything wrong and could only learn through word of mouth from friends or by watching "The Fishin' Hole" on ESPN.

I now try to go fishing with my nephews, and even my niece has said she wants to go fishing so I'll probably take her out next Spring when the pre-spawn/spawn bite in on fire.

[soflabasser]

Time on the water and applying what you learned well is the best teacher any bass fisherman can have.

[Torn Thumb]

My dad and Grandpa taught me how to fish for trout. Mostly just nightcrawler and bobber snoozefest style. I spent most of my early years just throwing whatever out there I imagined might work. Up until a few years ago my knot tying was atrocious, just knot on top of knot on top of knot... Couldn't figure out why I thought that was smart until I brought my dad fishing this summer. Same thing with the knots.

So, in more recent years I have learned a lot from my boss (topwater), co-workers(senkos), Nick the informative guy, and most recently Glenn. I still have to rewatch videos sometimes as I struggle to retain info if I don't use it right away.

So thanks to all of the above mentioned people. Honorable mention to alot of the frequent posters here. Thank you.

[BrianSnat]

My  family has had a small cabin at a northern NJ lake since I was 10(late 60's). My dad taught me to cast and how to bait a hook and tie a clinch knot, but he was more of a saltwater guy and knew little about bass fishing

I started taking out the boat fishing at about age 11 once I tired of catching sunnies off the dock.  I had no idea what I was doing.  There was an old man, Mr Reynolds, who had a house not far from ours.  He had a old wooden row boat.  He wasn't super friendly, but he was acknowledged to be the best angler on the lake.  

So I shadowed him for several years.  If I saw him go out, I'd go out.  I'd stay a respectful distance away, but paid attention to where and when he fished, watched what lures he was using, where he casted them and  how he retrieved them.

Old man Reynolds was a superb teacher even if he didn't know it (or perhaps he did).

 

[Reel Guy]

As a relatively newbie, I have learned a lot from You Tube, from the Bass Resource videos, Bass Resource website and time spent on the water. I am also learning from reading some of the threads here on the forum as well. Thanks for all the information!

[JT Bagwell]

My 3 biggest Bass fishing influences (that helped me learn the most) as a kid were my late Grandpa Arnie King, Hank Parker and Bassmaster (magazine & tv show).

[bigbill]

I have learned about bass fishing from Glenn here on this site and watching Bill Dance and Hank Parker tv shows. I applied everything on the water fishing. Listen to the bass they will tell you what they want too.

My first encounter with lures one night I was feeling in a night crawler and had a strike. I thought to myself the bass just told me they want something moving. I just purchased a Mepps bass assortment of #3 inlines. The feeding frenzy was on.  After a hour of catching doubles me and my son were hooked on bass fishing.

The pros contribute so much to bass fishing by giving tips. I say listen to hear what they say. But watch what they do with there hands. How they handle the rod setup and presentation. Bill Dance is the one I watch closely.