Most difficult techniques?

[Revival]

Jigs and drop shots.  Plan on working on it a lot more this year.

[Catt]

4 hours ago, blckshirt98 said:

Anything involving detecting bites on the fall.  I'm horrible when it comes to looking at my line.  I can't remember the last time, if ever, I've set a hook on a falling bait because I saw the line jump.

 

Ya gotta understand a bass can inhale your jig/t-rig & you will not see any line movement at all!

 

What I was taught & what I teach is count your lure down. 

 

If you cast, pitch, or flip into 10' of water & it stops at anything less than 10, two things has happened. Either there's a rise in the bottom or you've been bit! By the same token if you cast, pitch, or flip into 10' foot of water & it takes more than 10' to reach bottom one of two things has happened. Either there's a depression in the bottom contour or you've been bit!

 

In either situation I do not try to "feel" the fish...I set hook!

 

Is it always a fish, of course not, but it will amaze you how many times it is!

[wcjohnson]

Vibrating jigs for me - I tried them nearly every time I went out last year, and nadda. I also ended the year with zero of the four I bought. Constantly snagging or dragging in a boat load of gunk. I'll break one off, tie a lipless on or a shallow crank, perfectly fine. Don't get it.

[JLindsey]

I’m absolutely garbage at fishing soft plastics. I have a really hard time maintaining contact with them. One of my goals this year is to force myself to fish more T-rigged worms and start developing a “feel” for them. 

[Munkin]

8 hours ago, Catt said:

 

Ya gotta understand a bass can inhale your jig/t-rig & you will not see any line movement at all!

 

What I was taught & what I teach is count your lure down. 

 

If you cast, pitch, or flip into 10' of water & it stops at anything less than 10, two things has happened. Either there's a rise in the bottom or you've been bit! By the same token if you cast, pitch, or flip into 10' foot of water & it takes more than 10' to reach bottom one of two things has happened. Either there's a depression in the bottom contour or you've been bit!

 

In either situation I do not try to "feel" the fish...I set hook!

 

Is it always a fish, of course not, but it will amaze you how many times it is!

Some really great advice here!

 

The biggest fish I have caught on a jig I never felt them bite. A 12" bass will hit the jigs and make a run for it but a 6lber will just suck it in and not move. I watch my line and count down as well when jig fishing. My biggest problem is when they grab the lure and swim toward the boat.

 

Allen 

[BassThumb]

Deep cranking on weedy lakes gives me the most trouble. It's very difficult to consistently run the crank along a deep edge while avoiding outcropping clumps of weeds, especially on long casts. When I can get it right, the fish love them, especially the big ones. I think it's because they rarely see them because the presentation is so difficult.

[Heartland]

3 minutes ago, BassThumb said:

Deep cranking on weedy lakes gives me the most trouble. It's very difficult to consistantly run the crank along a deep edge while avoiding outcropping clumps of weeds, especially on long casts.

One thing you can try is removing the treble hooks and going to a single on your crankbait.  You will still collect some weeds once in a while but it will cut down on that, and the hooks tend to clear themselves with a couple of sharp jerks of the bait.

 

[michaelsrex]

On 3/24/2019 at 3:27 PM, roadwarrior said:

I spent two years learning to fish a jig, but now it is my favorite presentation.

 

What makes a jig fun after you learn it? 

[JoePhish]

I have trouble catching fish on a drop shot. Meanwhile, it's the go to rig for some guys I know.

 

When I fished from a boat (or a bank) I had no problem pitching a jig or T-Rig exactly where I wanted it. Now that I fish almost solely sitting on a kayak I am having problems with it. It's what I plan of working on/rectifying this year.  I need that back in my repertoire.

[greentrout]

On 3/25/2019 at 12:00 PM, JLindsey said:

I’m absolutely garbage at fishing soft plastics. I have a really hard time maintaining contact with them. One of my goals this year is to force myself to fish more T-rigged worms and start developing a “feel” for them. 

you're gonna put a lot of bass in the boat .... check out roland martin and larry nixon .... tops ...

 

good fishing .... 

 

lost a couple of nice ones last yr. .... poor hooksets .... shook their heads and smiled at me .... time to go to braid on bc's .... love the action with 12 lb. mono ..... but now older ....

 

good fishing ...

 

A man's got to know his limitations .... Dirty Harry Callahan ... 

[roadwarrior]

15 hours ago, michaelsrex said:

What makes a jig fun after you learn it? 

A subtle bite, the hook-up and then (sometimes) the fight with a MONSTER!

 

[N Florida Mike]

On 3/22/2019 at 4:01 PM, Harold Scoggins said:

I can flip, pitch, and make a lure dance like there's no tomorrow, but when it comes to skipping, you better have your Kevlar helmets on. That's one thing that I've never mastered. 

Im the exact opposite !

[Allaroundfishing]

On 3/23/2019 at 1:03 PM, scaleface said:

OK , I have it . Ricocheting squarebills off wood cover . I have not gotten  the hang of it and snag up constantly .

This is my new favorite technique and ive found it most effective to ram it into what ever cover and as soon as you feel it roll over the log, stop reeling for just second if not just a slight pause then go back to cranking. This is super effective especially in cooler water.

[J Francho]

16 hours ago, michaelsrex said:

What makes a jig fun after you learn it? 

Catching bigger fish.

[The Maestro]

17 hours ago, michaelsrex said:

What makes a jig fun after you learn it? 

 

1 hour ago, roadwarrior said:

A subtle bite, the hook-up and then (sometimes) the fight with a MONSTER!

 

Pretty much this. Heavy braid + heavy rod + heavy hookset + heavy fish = good times.

 

I'd use jig and Texas rig interchangeably in this scenario.

[thinkingredneck]

I cannot make a senko work.  I have only caught a couple with midwest finesse.  Maybe my water is too stained?  I generally do well with worms and ok with jigs.

[RPreeb]

At the risk of personal embarrassment, I have to confess that any experienced fisherman would probably fallout his boat laughing at most everything I do.  What little experience I have was self taught 55-60 years ago, plus what little I've learned here over the last couple of years.  As a result my technique with just about any bait is lacking in just about every aspect.  I have nobody else with whom to fish along side to learn anything more than just by doing.  I don't have a boat (a small canoe is my ride), I don't have electronics, I have 2 baitcasters and one spinning rig, and don't always take all 3 with me so as to cut down on my own confusion. 

The last time I went fishing for bass, I caught 2 walleyes and a crappie.  That should tell a lot. ?

[Hower08]

Flipping and pitching for me are my strong suit. Also fishing big worms I'm good at. 

 

Deep cranking I'm hoorible at like going to sell my big cranking rod if I don't figure it out bad 

On 3/26/2019 at 9:23 PM, michaelsrex said:

What makes a jig fun after you learn it? 

Hand to hand combat. Short line distances. And tunnel vision. When I get on that jig bite I get in a world of my own where I see feel and smell nothing else but the task at hand. 

 

Pick one or two jig colors and sizes and stick with them. You can completely change the way a jig acts feels and looks with your trailer 

[Hower08]

All jig fish from beginning of September last year in extremely hot water on a miserably hot day. When I talked to another boat that say he said he could not get a bite on anything it had me discouraged . I don't know how many fish I caught that day easily 20+. These were the 5 biggest with a 5.75# kicker. Learn the jig and become confident with it. You can catch quality fish 12 months a year 

[The Maestro]

1 hour ago, Hower08 said:

Flipping and pitching for me are my strong suit. Also fishing big worms I'm good at. 

 

And tunnel vision. When I get on that jig bite I get in a world of my own where I see feel and smell nothing else but the task at hand. 

 

This is sometimes referred to as "flow state".  It's when you're totally immersed in the moment.  Flipping and pitching is probably the only time I'm able to achieve it. Getting a bite and setting on a heavy one when you're in this state of mind is an experience that can't really be described with words.

[TOXIC]

1 hour ago, The Maestro said:

This is sometimes referred to as "flow state".  It's when you're totally immersed in the moment.  Flipping and pitching is probably the only time I'm able to achieve it. Getting a bite and setting on a heavy one when you're in this state of mind is an experience that can't really be described with words.

It's an amazing state of mind.  I get it when I Senko fish.  As soon as I make the cast everything around me goes blank and all I can see is the senko in my mind, how its moving, how its, falling.  My eyes lock on my line in 2 places and my hands get super sensitive.  I call it my happy place.

[The Maestro]

21 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

It's an amazing state of mind.  I get it when I Senko fish.  As soon as I make the cast everything around me goes blank and all I can see is the senko in my mind, how its moving, how its, falling.  My eyes lock on my line in 2 places and my hands get super sensitive.  I call it my happy place.

I'd say one of the biggest factors in being able to achieve flow state when you're fishing (or any activity for that matter) is to have the mechanics and technical aspects of whatever it is you're doing to a point where it just becomes automatic.  When you're really having to put a lot of mental energy into concentrating on your casting and retrieving it doesn't allow you to really blank out your mind and be totally present in the moment.  In other words it takes time and a lot of practice with whatever you're trying to do to get there.

[rickyg]

On 3/29/2019 at 11:22 AM, TOXIC said:

It's an amazing state of mind.  I get it when I Senko fish.  As soon as I make the cast everything around me goes blank and all I can see is the senko in my mind, how its moving, how its, falling.  My eyes lock on my line in 2 places and my hands get super sensitive.  I call it my happy place.

I also get that state Senko fishing.  I'm going to try jig fishing this year (been fishing for 55 yrs and only tried jigs a few times) and hope to get into that zone with the jig.  I can get into that state a lot when I'm fly fishing for trout.  Have had guys, including my father, walk right past me on the stream without even knowing they were there.

 

My most difficult technique is skipping, but I'm working on it.

[txchaser]

For me it is quiet water entry when pitching. Accuracy is good enough, but it lands like I chucked a rock up in the air. More time will probably fix it. And it is a priority for me since because of BR I've gained this love for getting into the nastiest snaggiest weediest spots that no one would ever want to fish. It literally never would have occurred to me 20 years ago to fish there.