What has helped you improve the most as an angler?

[newyorktoiowa57]

What steps have you taken to improve the most?

[jimmyjoe]

   I'll tell you what improved my fishing the most: Bass Resource.

   No kidding. I was a grumpy ol' river fisherman, with blinders on. This place opened my eyes to the possibilities of new techniques, new lures, and new venues (lakes). It's especially taught me that I need to understand the fish and how they live and why they are where they are. I never thought that way before. I've tried a lot of new things that I learned on here, and I'll try some more eventually. I feel absolutely no need to continue with something that doesn't work out for me, and I doubt that Glenn will kick me off the site because I don't use the same lures that he does.

   At least I hope not!

   I especially remember what Catt kinda said: the most important thing for catching fish is between your ears.     jj

[rtwvumtneer6]

YouTube is a good resource, but nothing beats time on the water.  

[MIbassyaker]

1. Studying up on bass seasonal behavior and location.

2. Trial and error on the water.

[Scott F]

My greatest improvement came after I got to fish with some very good fishermen. Nothing I ever read, saw on a TV show, or on the internet helped me as much as seeing first hand, another guy actually catching fish in the places where I had been fishing. It helped me look at spots differently, I saw how to work baits that were unfamiliar to me. And, I was able to use what I learned to teach myself new ways to fish baits I was already using. I’m fortunate to be a member of a fishing club that made it possible.

[Yumeya]

Going as much as possible.

 

Having a boat

[GreenPig]

My Minn Kota Terrova with I-pilot (Spot Lock, Cruise Control, and the Go-To feature used in conjunction with my Solix) has greatly improved my cast to catch ratio. It allows me to fish my light boat in winds that would've previously run me off the lake or kept me home. I can present lures properly without being blown around or constantly fighting to control the boat.The Go-To feature allows me to sneak into a waypoint without alerting the fish. 

[A-Jay]

What has helped you improve the most as an angler?

Learning how to successfully catch bass at night. 

" And so there began a journey into an aspect of angling I personally feel is so awesome and so beneficial to day time fishing, I can easily state that I would not be even half the angler I am, so many years later, had I never tried it."

 

A-Jay

 

 

[Catt]

Who and/or what made me the angler I am?

 

1965: Spend the entire summer working on my uncle's charter fishing boat in the Gulf of Mexico and learned how to locate deep water structure.

 

1972: Started bass fishing seriously on Toledo Bend at my father-in-law's camp on White's Point in the mouth of Lowe's Creek.

 

1974: Joined two bass clubs whose members included John Torian, John Hall, John Dean, Villis P "Bo" Dowden SR, Harold Allen, Larry Nixon, Tommy Martin, & Zell Roland all guides at Toledo Bend's Pendleton Harbor Marina. Ray Scott would latter come up with the "The Hemphill Gang" moniker arguably the most successful group of professional bass anglers to ever emerge from one small region of the nation.

 

1976: Attended a seminar in Houston Texas that totally changed my outlook on bass fishing. The man putting on that seminar was Elwood L. " Buck" Perry, not only did I buy his books but I became a devout student of his teachings. I took what Buck taught about deep structure fishing and applied it to Toledo Bend. Not only did the quantity of bass I caught go up but so did quality.

 

That's the who now for the what

 

I was introduce to night fishing in 1973 and have continued until the present. These years of having limited or no visibility has heightened my awareness of what is taking place below the surface. This heightened awareness has made me better at fishing deep water where feeling the bite is harder than finding structure.

[lo n slo]

[Dens228]

1.  The obvious time on the water

2.  Learning new techniques 

3.  Trusting what I learned 

[Bass Ninja]

Reading through these forums! They're an absolute gold mine! Watching youtube videos or reading articles were somewhat helpful, but even with the good ones, it's still just one man's opinion/experience. These forums showed me what works or doesn't work for the majority of fishermen, little things the great ones do that make them successful, and it has given me far more data to process and learn from than I could have ever gotten in my own little world. 

[Hook2Jaw]

I'm never entirely sure how good I am, but I know how I'm going to improve on it this year.  I consider myself a student of the game, but I have trouble trusting how educated I am on the subject of bassing.  I can certainly talk with certainty for hours.

 

This year I am going to spend more time focusing on seasonal patterns to eliminate dead water and scan them with my electronics.  I am done junk fishing for a while, it's time to see with my hands on a rod and trust that.

[MickD]

Lots of time on the water (experience), forums like this (first heard of Ned rig), logging every trip with water temp, clarity, winds, and what worked and what didn't.

2 minutes ago, Hook2Jaw said:

I consider myself a student of the game

Everyone is a student if they are smart because there is always something to learn and the conditions change year to year.

[Mobasser]

I have a lot of years fishing experience, but joining this site two yrs ago has helped me improve. It's easy to get in a rut, and being a member here keeps me wanting to try some new things and keep learning. 

I've especially learned from any and all threads on structure fishing, seasonal patterns, and similar topics.

[Michigander]

The Internet and tournaments.

I have spent tons of time on the water over my life but I wasn't ever that great at fishing. When I accomplished a life goal of entering a bass tournament, I liked it. But paying to fish forced me to research everything I could find so when I was practicing for or participating in the next event, I was learning. My skill level over the last three years has increased far more than it had over the previous thirty. 

[Siebert Outdoors]

In all honesty one of mine is scuba diving and observing fish in their natural habitat.  Learning how they relate to structure and move.

[Hook2Jaw]

3 minutes ago, Siebert Outdoors said:

In all honesty one of mine is scuba diving and observing fish in their natural habitat.  Learning how they relate to structure and move.

I wouldn't mind doing this at all.  I used to love freediving.

[soflabasser]

What has helped me the most in bass fishing is putting time on the water.

[BoatSquirrel]

My real improvement started when I became committed to learning new techniques.  2017 it was the senko.  2018 was dropshot.  2019 ned rig.  All of these are now confidence baits for me, and now the education never ceases.  

I was able to learn these by listening to my peers here on BR.  Many thanks yall! 

 

[813basstard]

Fishing more

Fishing with different people more

Not drinking while fishing

[Hawkeye21]

Time on the water is the number one thing.  After that it's putting the time into studying at home.  I read, watch videos, and go over maps.

[scaleface]

Putting time on the water and doing my own thing . I dont jump on the latest band wagon  unless I see a need for it .

[Fishes in trees]

I'm definitely a better fisherman than I used to be.  No one thing accounts for that, more likely it is several things

First - getting a bigger boat that allowed my to spend more time on the water.  The bigger boat gets me from here to there quicker than my last boat and I spend more time fishing and less time moving from here to there.  Secondly - hanging out with a better class of fishermen, fishing BFL tournaments, drawing pro & semi pro boaters, different folks on this site, etc, you just learn more when you hang out with folks who know more.   Hanging out with the local club, back in the early 90's, all anyone in that club did was ride around and throw spinnerbaits at the bank.  Third - just like your shop teacher told you back in high school, "Use the right tool for the job."   I think decent gear makes a difference.  As my employment life got a little more settled, I got to where I could afford to  get better gear.

One time I drew a pro at a BFL event and he took one look at my gear and told me to get my gear to match.  At the time, getting all my bait casting reels to match made a huge difference, I could lay down my worm rig, pick up the spinner bait rig, and the reels worked the same.  Before, the slight differences in weight & balances made my first few casts inaccurate when I switched rigs.  There are lots of other examples of the principle of using the right tool for the job.  There is always a catch, and as far as fishing gear goes, the catch is, "Use the right tool for the job - FOR YOU."

 

For another example, my idea of what is and what ain't a perfect worm rod isn't exactly the same as what several of my buds think a great worm rod is.  So I don't fish as well when I try to use their gear and visa versa.  That is part of the charm of fishing that you get to decide what is best for you.  A sad but true fact is that your wallet also has a say in that decision.

 

Edit - I frequently do band wagon thing and try a new technique soon after I hear about them.  A couple of reasons - 1 - if there is a chance a new method of fishing will catch me more fish, I want to find out about it and -2 - I'm pretty set in my regular fishing gear so new techniques = chance to acquire more gear.

 

For instance, I can recall when nearly everyone I knew and many national publications said that the senko would probably be a fad, and run its course, just like the sluggo previously did.

 

I got on the A-rig band wagon and while it doesn't work all the time, those times when the a-rig is working, if you ain't throwing the a-rig you're fishing for 10th or 12th place.   Chatter baits were supposed to be a fad, according to many local fishermen I knew, and it turned out that wasn't the case.  Same deal with the Ned rig (Although I find it humorous that the basic principles of  Ned Rig

fishing are VERY similar to Slider fishing popularized by Charlie Brewer in the 70's). And so it goes . .   

 

 

[Tizi]

Putting into practice what I have learned here, YouTube, reading, and fishing with better fishermen that I am.  It's one thing to read about it, another to actually do it.