Your fishing style

[Mobasser]

I attended a sports show in Kansas City over 30 yrs ago. Larry Nixon was the guest speaker, and gave a seminar on structure fishing. He discussed defining and locating structure, good baits to use, seasonal patterns etc. It was a great seminar. After he finished , he took a few questions from the crowd. One guy asked him how he developed his fishing style. Here's what he said: I've been very lucky to fish with so many great fisherman in my life. Weekend fisherman, guide clients, and top tournament pros. Each has their own fishing style. Some cast sidearm, some fish with the rod held high, others prefer a low rod. Some modify their tackle to suit what works best for them. Many don't fish in the classic, textbook fashion, but do things which may seem unorthodox, or even wrong, but they catch a lot of fish. Another interesting thing from this seminar: two fisherman trolling slowly along a bank, both casting identical plastic worms, could never duplicate the exact retrieve of the other. Why- they each fish with their own style. It's impossible to duplicate.  He summed it up by saying that there is no right or wrong way. If your catching fish with consistency, your style is working for you! Personally, I agree 100% with all of this. Do you have a fishing style? Often, I think it's developed over years of fishing. What unique things do you do that define your fishing style? You may have to think on it, because after so much time your probably doing something subconsciously, and it's become automatic for you. There is no right or wrong, it's what works for you! What's your fishing style?

[Bluebasser86]

I'm a junk fisherman through and through. I like to put the trolling motor down with 12 rods out and fish what's in front of me.

[Deleted account]

Couldn't agree more. My fishing style is I'm going to do whatever it takes to catch fish. Everything else just evolved into place with time.  

[MN Fisher]

If crank baits aren't working, I'll go to Texas rigs. If frogs aren't doing it, time for the jigs. If the Ned-rig is coming up zero, let's try a wacky worm.

 

I may spend time changing tactics, but I never come home skunked.

[scaleface]

I fish a little differently than most anglers . I hold the rod in front of the reel with the line between my index finger and thumb . I cant remember  ever   doing it differently unless its a spinning  rod .  Its kind of a pain now days because most   rods dont have a fore-grip .

[BigAngus752]

Just within the past few years I've come back to bass fishing and I've been making a concerted effort to become as proficient as I can as a bass fisherman.  Trying to learn by watching and listening to the pros and experts has been frustrating because so many of them teach techniques that conflict with other pros and experts.  I feel your post is dead on.  My plan now is to Brett Favre my way into the spotlight.  My technicals are low but my intangibles are off the charts!

[TOXIC]

Style is something you cannot mimic.  It's something you develop.  Style can be different for every technique.  It is unique to every fisherman.  Sure, you get the fundamentals down but it's what you do with them after that which can refine your style. 

[scaleface]

Another trait of mine is to use medium size lures and gear . I dont like going small and I dont like going big . About the only time I go big is with deep  diving crankkbaits . Thankfully Berkely came up with the Dredger series . I can cast the 25.5 on a med hvy action rod and fish the 20 to 25 foot mark.

[Oregon Native]

Like above I use anything to catch em.  In the land of bait casters here down south I employ the ol spinning rod a lot and it has served me well.

[TnRiver46]

I'm not sure what my style is but I would guess finesse light line clear water suits my style best because winter is when I have the most success (and free time)

[soflabasser]

My style is to study the species of fish I am after, use the knowledge I have gained through decades of fishing experience, go fishing, and do my best to learn from each fishing trip. By doing this I have become very consistent at catching both quality and quantity of fish.

[Steveo-1969]

I guess my fishing style can be described as "low and slow". I love to slowly fish bottom contact baits, especially jigs.

[CrankFate]

I use the lightest rod, with the lightest braid, to throw the lightest bait as far as possible. It doesn’t matter if light is a few grams or 3 ounces. If i’m throwing 3, it’s supposed to be 8.

[A-Jay]

Great question ~ 

  I have a fairly diverse fishing history that spans over 5 decades.  It includes many years of small pond and big lake fresh water fishing as well as three decades of saltwater angling; both inshore & off shore.  And there's no doubt in my mind that all of this has contributed to how I fish today. 

  

But to break down my 'bass fishing style' specifically, I'd say that it has routinely revolved around my objective.   And over these many years my 'objective' has changed, which accordingly forced/required a change in my fishing style.

 

   Back in the day when everything was new, I simply wanted to catch bass.  Didn't really matter how many or how big, as long as I was catching - I was happy.  So 'my style' then, meant I was doing & trying anything, anywhere & everywhere in order to catch bass.  Looking back, that was a pretty helter-skelter approach and while I caught a few - there were many days I didn't.  I fished quite a bit of live bait back then too. 

 

  As time went on, my style evolved to meet my next/newest deal; I wanted to catch Big Bass.  That meant I was going to have to come up with an approach (or style) that enabled me to catch whatever the biggest bass around were.   This is where & when I cut my teeth on bass fishing at night.  Opened up a whole new world to me as well as made me a much better day time angler.

  

  The next 'style' was driven by the next gear change.  I wanted to catch bass, the way I wanted to catch bass, meaning if I wanted to crank, or jig fish, or go topwater, that was the way I wanted to catch them - perhaps not the most productive approach but it enabled me to learn quite a bit about how, where and when to fish many techniques & presentations, as well as when not to. 

 

 Most all of that time & experiences have come together to form my current 'style'.  And while I have no idea what to call it, it's still & will always be drive by my objective.  Which is currently back to hunting down big bass.  And while I will do anything & everything I need to, to accomplish this, there are certainly any number of specific techniques & presentations that I do enjoy more than others.   I have been most fortunate to have recorded fairly respectable bass utilizing a wide variety of  these approaches.  While I can admit to enjoy catching a 6 lb smallies on topwater, I've also caught them on a blade bait 35 feet deep and most everything in between.  

  So there is something to be said for being proficient with a somewhat wide variety of 'styles'. 

 

For me it boils down to results.  The result I'm searching for . . . .pleasure.   I love to fish, everything about it.  From the tackle, the preparation, to the map study and the boat driving, from the cold morning & evenings to the opportunity to struggle & endure; all of it.   

 

So that's my style. 

A-Jay

[813basstard]

^nice

pretty fitting. When I get butterflies the night before while getting the boat ready (and I fish a lot) that’s when I know I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing. 

 

Powerfully finessed I guess would be mine

[Catt]

I'm a bottom feeder! ?

 

Once the boat comes down off of plane the first thing I grab is a Texas Rig, Wacky Rig, Shaky Head Weightless T-rig, Carolina Rig, Jig-N-Craw, Mojo Rig, Rage Rig, Drop Shot or anything that takes me to the bottom.

 

I'm gonna be casting, flipping, pitching, punching, hopping, dragging, shaking, dead sticking, or skipping.

 

I don't care if its grass, brush, timber, rocks, docks, pads, lay downs, shore line or off shore. I don't care if its pre- spawn, spawn, post spawn, summer, dog days, fall, winter, morning, noon, or night.

 

Give me 2 rod-n-reels with any of the above techniques & I be happy, happy, happy!

[Oregon Native]

On a side note I LOVE LOVE LOVE the preparation and the getting ready for battle.  Oh....and Humble Pie is NOT a food source!!

 

[A-Jay]

4 minutes ago, Oregon Native said:

On a side note I LOVE LOVE LOVE the preparation and the getting ready for battle.  Oh....and Humble Pie is NOT a food source!!

 

And that's a good thing ~

Because if it were,  I'd be needing me, some new pants.

#rotund

A-Jay

 

[Oregon Native]

3 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

And that's a good thing ~

Because if it were,  I'd be needing me, some new pants.

#rotund

A-Jay

 

Thanks for the BIG GRIN

[ww2farmer]

I pride myself on being versatile.

 

My comfort zones are shallow largemouth with a flipping stick in hand, and deep largemouth with spinning gear. Two opposite ends of the spectrum, but that's what I like and am good at.

 

[WRB]

I fish casting jigs differently then anyone I have ever fished with, everything else is fairly normal.

My jig presentation evolved from using twin spins, a unique lure that helicopters vertically down to the bottom on semi control line watching the line flutter as the blades turn, strikes occur often on the fall indicated by the blades stop turning. I would make a long cast lift the rod to start the blades turning, then lower the rod and point the tip at the lure. When I switch over to a jig I just kept the same technique instead of working the jig with the rod, I used my reel to move it like the twin spin and used the same reel and rod sweep hook set. My big bass catches started to improve using this technique and never changed. I call it horizontal jigging.

Tom

[CrankFate]

I have been bass fishing for all fish my whole life, whether they were bass or not.

 

@WRB I found a drop off point last year and was doing something like what you say there, and twice, I felt my bait in a massive suction from a monster bass just as I began the lift, and set the hook right out of the suction field before it was sucked in mouth closed. I know there are a couple big bass there. I will get one. Someday.

[Rpratt]

My fishing style? To quote Gerald Swindle....

 

"First I throw the black jig. If that don't work, then I throw the brown jig. If that don't work, then I throw the black jig..."

 

 

[RB 77]

I do it all, but I'm a worm dragger at heart through and through.

[Spankey]

On 1/22/2019 at 8:58 PM, MN Fisher said:

If crank baits aren't working, I'll go to Texas rigs. If frogs aren't doing it, time for the jigs. If the Ned-rig is coming up zero, let's try a wacky worm.

 

I may spend time changing tactics, but I never come home skunked.

My approach also. I try to fish hard and never give up. There are off days, slow days quite often. Time when you question yourself but I fish to not get skunked. I have more than enough stuff with me and I just keep trying. Many, many times a Rat-L-Trap saves the day.