One piece of advice for a newbie

[senile1]

16 hours ago, Active_Outdoors said:

Free your mind, and the fish will follow, be color blind and don't fish so shallow.

And the bass say, "Before you can read me you gotta learn how to see me."

[WRB]

Now that it is April 2nd my advice is master your casting skills to start with and focus on 1 presentation technique until you are confident using it. This site has lots of good instructional articles and vedio's to study, far more then you will ever have time to put into practice.

Good Luck.

Tom

[All about da bass]

Don't start fishing in the winter, that's when you will quit fishing. Gain your confidence in the spring and fall. I started liking fishing a lot around the winter.. I got tired of not catching fish and almost quit. Now I'm a little more educated about year round fishing and more confident. So I'm gonna say gain some confidence and that takes patience.

[Lucas Cooper]

Be confident with baits and build from there.

[InFishingWeTrust]

Be confident in your self. Keep a positive attitude. Dont be afraid to thibk outside the box.

[BassNJake]

On 4/1/2018 at 12:00 PM, Brett Stair said:

What is the one piece of advice you would give to someone just starting or getting back into bass fishing?

Seems like you have received some quality advice already.

 

I'll go a different route; When needed TP in a ziplock bag can be priceless

[Bassun]

My advice would be to focus on YOUR fishing, not what everyone else is saying, using, doing, etc.  Go fish, and pay attention to what happens when YOU'RE fishing.  You can cram your head full of what everyone one else is doing, and it does no good whatsoever if it isn't right for your situation.  Focus on yourself, your technique, your situations, your success and failure - learn from it all.  By focusing on your fishing, your fishing experience and knowledge will expand then you can start to implement techniques that fit YOUR situation.

[soflabasser]

Time on the water and learning from each fishing trip is worth far more than what you read online or on a book.

[AggieBassin10]

I recommend keeping a fishing log that tracks weather, gear used, location of fish etc. that way after a year or so you can readdress what did and did not work during the same seasons under similar conditions

[the reel ess]

Buy some Trick Worms and use them.

[snake95]

Many newbies will fish from the bank. My advice:

 

You will get snagged and it is frustrating.  You will lose lures, some of them quite expensive and plus your stocks will get depleted at the most inconvenient of times.  That is part of the cost of fishing. 

 

But it doesn't have to be unmanageable: learn to use the various types of soft plastic lures; they provide many advantages over hardbaits.  They can be rigged for fewer snags (usually by burying the hook) and when you lose them it hurts less.  If they are sold in large quantities (Zoom, Yamamoto, Yum, etc. etc.) in major stores, its because they work.  Learn to Texas-rig and texpose, with/without a weight.

 

When I started, I often wondered how to "work" plastic lures. 

 

The answer is: often you don't do much, you can just reel in, and very often, all it takes is the action of the lure fluttering down through the water after splashdown, especially with stickbaits, in order to attract a strike.  Often, less is more.

 

 

 

["hamma"]

I cant believe no one has said it yet,... rookies!

   SSShhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,...... (In my best elmer fudd voice),.. be berry, berry, quiet,... were hunting bass huh, huh, huh, huh, ha.

 bass cant just hear with ears, they can actually feel the vibrations noise makes as it travels easier under water, with a line of nerves running down their sides called a "lateral line". 

 

   Even if your shore fishing,  tread lightly!  Ive seen bass bedding close to shore, that have reacted to me walking by as I stepped on a branch and broke it,..he felt or heard that vibe!

 

 Boating? so many of us are used to all the electronics, motors, gadgets etc. Try just drifting along a shore line some day, without anything on or running. no finders on, just barely touching a trolling motor for safety's sake,... be silent, no dropping hatches shut, knocking over stuff, try to make but not a single sound.

 

 If a big fish is around, and she knows your there,....your 99.9 % already done. she's gunna back into a hole and shut down any activity til danger subsides. even baby bass have basic survival skills

 

[tander]

Go early, stay late.

[the reel ess]

7 hours ago, tander said:

Go early, stay late.

If your wife asks what time you'll be back, tell her when it's too dark to see. She'll eventually assume.

[SWVABass]

I would say pick two techniques to start with. When I got back into it I was trying it all at once and learned nothing. Once I picked two baits and committed to them I saw my productivity pick up. Then I started learning new ones and still trying to today!!! Good luck and have fun!!!

[MichaelCopeland]

On 4/1/2018 at 12:05 PM, Mike L said:

There's more than one..?

 

When you need to slow down and you think you did...You didn't. 

 

Let the fish tell you what they want...

 

When it gets tough, fish your strengths. 

 

Color and/or scent doesn't always matter. 

 

You dont need 500.00 rods and 300.00 reels to be successful. 

 

Read and listen to everything and everyone you can,

But always remember...

Nothing replaces time on the water.  

 

 

 

Mike

Amen to that! ?

[redux]

^^^Time on the water.^^^

[NHBull]

Fishing isn't always about catching fish and it's 

Cheaper than therapy 

[Gundog]

Enjoy it and share it. 

[soflabasser]

Its a good idea to carry a 2 piece rod in the back of your car along with a small tacklebox of lures. This way you can fish places you drive by that you might not want to make a full trip for.

On 4/1/2018 at 1:05 PM, Mike L said:

There's more than one..?

 

When you need to slow down and you think you did...You didn't. 

 

Let the fish tell you what they want...

 

When it gets tough, fish your strengths. 

 

Color and/or scent doesn't always matter. 

 

You dont need 500.00 rods and 300.00 reels to be successful. 

 

Read and listen to everything and everyone you can,

But always remember...

Nothing replaces time on the water.  

 

 

 

Mike

Well said.You don't need expensive gear to catch bass and you might even have a little fun if you fish in ways most people don't. This may make some people laugh but I have caught plenty of +6 pound bass on YoYo reels or 2 foot ice rods for fun...lol

[Happybeerbuzz]

Prepare your wife for what is to come with your new life style choice.

[N Florida Mike]

Just do it ! You'll learn !?

[Landin' Lunkers]

Don't buy into everything that you read on the internet or see on TV.  Experiment, try different thing, find out what works for you.

[Choporoz]

Wear sun screen. 

 

Someone from BR will get sunburned this weekend....maybe not my Badger brothers, but someone will....sounds extreme, but he will be one step closer to skin cancer.

[the reel ess]

Just before you jump in the car or truck, stop and take an inventory of your equipment. I don't know how many times I got to my destination and didn't have something I definitely needed (like a boat plug or battery or depth finder or kayak paddle rods or tackle box or...) I still do it