Biggest Different Levels Of Anglers

[soflabasser]

Lots of good responses.What has helped me the most is being extremely determined and persistent in improving my ability to find big bass and catch them on a consistent basis.I have caught double digit bass from land in local parks,which is extremely difficult to do since these bass get hit hard by hundreds of fishermen every year.I am one of those who has absolutely no interest in professional bass fishing and see bass fishing as a fun hobby.When bass fishing stops being fun is when I will stop, but I doubt it since I truly enjoy catching these fish!

[bigbill]

I never went looking for big bass they found me. I was content catching bass from drinks to 3 / 4lbers. Then the 6lber and the 10lber +over and bigger showed up. I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd catch a 10lber. I lost bigger bass and seen them swim by me like ghosts appear on the drop off.  It's not easy landing big bass from shore. Too many obstacles they can get us hung up on. I lose my topnocker and the fish.

[RAMBLER]

I think that practice and time spent honing your skills is of utmost importance.  Just as a ball (of any kind) player, you can't play just a few days a year to become very good at what you do.  I've read that some of you spend at least 250 days a year fishing.  I am lucky if I get 30-40 days a year.  I know I can not be as successful a bass fisherman as the rest of you.  But, I bet, since I got so few days on the water, I enjoy each and every day just a little bit more than you do.  You see, for me, just catching fish is not the only reason I am out on the water.  

I think that all of the points that are raised about how to be a better fisherman are important and the skill level of each point can best be improved by the time on the water.

[hawgenvy]

A big part is knowing when to move. So, maybe I've caught quite a few fish here but the bite has slowed. Should I stay, hoping the bite will turn back on, or run to the other side of the lake? The really good guys seem to have an instinct for knowing when to hang or gun it.  For me, it's often a hard decision.

[Ratherbfishing]

On 8/28/2016 at 8:53 PM, papajoe222 said:

The most important area of improvement, IMO, is in finding fish/ eliminating unproductive water.  Skill level, when it comes to presenting lures, or even determining which style lure to use in what conditions/under what circumstances is something that can be achieved with practice and time on the water.  I've fished with guys, and if I'm honest I'm one of them, that had what I consider have average skills yet consistently placed high in tournament standings.  What separates them from the others is how quickly they can find fish and determine their activity level.

Exactly this.  I can pretty much hold my own against some good fishermen IF the body of water is relatively small but once the lake gets over a certain size...the good ones will blow me away!!!!!!!!!

[WRB]

Have you ever watched MLF contests?

MLF usually fishes smaller lakes or smaller areas in larger lakes without any prior pre fishing.

What is interesting is how pro Elite anglers fish these events, each angler fishes very differently trying to use their preferred skill sets and usually making changes to survive the cut.

Tom

[Felix77]

To me ... to be truly elite at the sport you have to work hard at all aspects of the sport both on and off the water.

Off water research.   Things like lake study, tournament trends, technique trends etc.  Makes on the water time more efficient.

On the water time - Mindful practices is exhausting.   Practicing with a focus, a purpose, a plan.  Constantly thinking on what is going on around them.  Definitely not the same as a fun fishing day.  These guys needs to do this more often than not to get as good as they are,

Adaptability - Comes from mindfulness (sound so ZEN).   All that work translates into lessons.  Over time their ability to take those lessons and adjust better than others will set them apart.

Attitude - I swear fish can sense attitude right through my line.   The more positive I am the better I tend to be at catching them.  Maybe more focus   They have to do this better than most to be consistently earning their keep doing this.

[blckshirt98]

Three things that I think set the top guys apart:

1) Locating the fish - in these lakes with thousands of fishable acres the pro boats always clump in the same areas.  Not just on their home lake but any lake in the country at any time of the year.  They know where to find the fish.  Okay maybe tidal waters get an asterisk here.

2) Techniques - they can fish any technique to cover any depth and any speed.  They might excel in some but are proficient at all.

3) Efficiency - They can make more casts per hour, and, they can switch presentations faster when they know something isn't working.   They don't throw a senko for a half-hour or "a few more casts" before changing it up.  Basically they are able to make more casts of effective baits.

[frogflogger]

Time on the water while paying attention to details and loving the whole scene.

[jesse.seybold]

On 8/29/2016 at 11:13 PM, Catt said:

#1: Understand what structure is, how to truly identify it, interpret it, and then fish it effectively.

#2: Understand what the predominate prey species in your lake is and how that species relates to structure with each passing season...morning, noon, and night.

Y'all can spend all the time on the water you can but until you understand those 2 you're just fishing!

Spending time on the water at the wrong places doing the wrong things only teaches you how to cast.

im real good at casting  

[Further North]

On 8/29/2016 at 7:51 AM, 00 mod said:

I think the biggest difference in levels of fishermen are this:

Beginner: "I just wanna catch a fish"

Intermediate: "I just wanna catch a limit(5 fish)"

Advanced: "I just wanna catch a big limit"

Trophy Hunter: "I don't care about a limit, I wanna catch the biggest fish in here!"

It is all in the mindset!

Jeff

There's another stage, after that last one...it's a lot like the first stage...but includes relaxing and having a good time while catching fish.