Beginners tackle - not the ned rig!

[ABart61]

Texas rigged 7 in PowerWorm with a 3/16 bullet sinker is a great start. Another beginner choice would be a rebel minnow or floating rapala in a smaller size. It's a change of pace and is a good intro to hard baits. 

[Nibbles]

Gonna echo what some of the folks already mentioned in this thread.

 

It's a bit expensive but IMO there is almost no better way to learn how to feel for bites than with a 2" or 2.5" Keitech swimbait rigged on one of their 3/32 tungsten jig heads, either #3 or #2 hook (trust me, theyre sturdy enough, have caught several 26"+ pike on these things)

 

The tails are prone to getting bitten off by bluegill, but given the hook size it should still help your buddy detect different kinds of strikes, build up hooksetting reaction muscle memory, and build confidence since even setting the hook on sunnies/crappies with a jig is good practice for catching bass on jigs.

 

For a more cost effective option, the Strike King Crappie Slabalicious grubs on some 1/16 oz jigs w/ small hooks work almost as well as the 2" and 2.5" Keitechs. The colors tend to be funnier looking though.

 

Also on the topic of jerkbaits and senkos, I've found the SK Caffeine Shads to be pretty much an ideal hybrid. Might see if weightless T-rigging one of those would work for your buddy - he can hop it, jerk it, and also fish it just like a senko without having to swap out what's on his hook. Could be a good way for him to practice different ways of imparting action on his lure while still having a fighting chance at catching some fish.

[king fisher]

     I prefer to fish fast moving baits myself.  I'm sure a beginner would rather fish a moving bait than slowly crawl a bottom contact lure.  Especially if he has no past experience catching fish with slow presentations.  With the two rods he has he can fish almost anything.  I would encourage him to try many different  faster moving baits ( spinner baits, crank baits, poppers, wake baits, inline spinners, etc..).  While he is fishing those, you be fishing soft plastics, jigs etc.  He may luck on to a moving bait that is working great, or you may start catching them on your slower presentations.  When you start getting lots of bites, is the time I would encourage him to switch over.

       When I was young I would always try plastic worms when nothing else was working.  After a few casts I would give up and go back to my favorite plug.  Years later I went fishing with a friend who was hooking fish practically every cast, on Texas rigged creature baits.  I switched to what he was throwing and in a short time was catching as many as he was.  It is a lot easier to learn to feel the bite and get confidence fishing  a bottom contact lure, when you know you are going to get bit.  Very easy to get bored with a slow presentation, when the bite is slow.

[ww2farmer]

My 10 year old daughter catches fish just fine on the ned rig. There's no need to "feel" anything. She casts it out let's it sink, cranks a couple times, pauses, cranks a couple times, pauses, every time I look back there she's got a fish on and she doesn't do anything but keeps reeling, those little hooks with a little pressure set themselves. Now if I had her fishing it like a shakey head, with lots of slack in the line, or trying to "feel" for a bite, she'd probably struggle. 

[Cgolf]

4 minutes ago, ww2farmer said:

My 10 year old daughter catches fish just fine on the ned rig. There's no need to "feel" anything. She casts it out let's it sink, cranks a couple times, pauses, cranks a couple times, pauses, every time I look back there she's got a fish on and she doesn't do anything but keeps reeling, those little hooks with a little pressure set themselves. Now if I had her fishing it like a shakey head, with lots of slack in the line, or trying to "feel" for a bite, she'd probably struggle. 

Now that you mention it, with T Rigged plastics fishing vertical cover, most times by the time the bait sits on bottom and I close the bail, they have already grabbed it and it is game on. Only time I feel the bite is when I shake it in place, they very rarely hit it when reeling the bait in.

[BrianMDTX]

22 hours ago, cgolf said:

In this instance it was on a 1/16 ounce fireball jighead fishing on a river. So I had a lot going against me with the current where the fish were hitting the bait. Might be different on flat water too.

That could be it. In a current, you likely may not see line movement as easily as you can on flat water, and by the time you know a bass is on the line, it's had time to swallow it.

[JediAmoeba]

On 6/30/2020 at 1:52 AM, WRB said:

Taught a lot kids how to bass fish and several adults. Kids just want to catch fish so use high percentage presentations with minimal skill sets. Kids can cast spinning tackle easily and the split shot/slip shot rig is ideally suited for beginners where you know bass are located.

Adults want to use what your use and If the op is using a jerk bait then use asimilar lure with high % success with little skill. The Bomders I suggested fit that scenario. Lots of other choices depending on what the front seater is doing. The slip shot rig using 3/8 mojo weight and 6" to 7 1/2" worm works good with a bait casting outfit for example.

Tom 

 

On 6/29/2020 at 9:17 PM, BrianMDTX said:

I was talking to a fishing buddy about this today. Man, I am NO expert, but I bet in the past two months I have caught bass out of my local pond that most have no clue are there. Why? That’s easy. 
 

They bomb lures as far as they can cast without any true reason for doing so, other than they can. Most use crankbaits and reel them in fast and cast again, and again, and again, to the same spots. Once again, with no plan of attack. 15-30 minutes later, with no fish, and they’re done. I’ve only witnessed one angler catch several bass. Out of a yak, tossing a small floating Rapala and methodically casting to heavy cover. Almost all were dinks, but he caught 7-8 bass. 

 

On 6/29/2020 at 10:01 PM, Cdn Angler said:

I've taken beginners out and always rig them with small swimbaits, keitechs below 4, on exposed or screw lock weedless. They can chuck and wind on lighter braid that casts far even with a mediocre cast. 

I have taught a lot of older people and an even more kids.  Kids are easy because you can hook them up to catch panfish and they are happy.  Or give them a swimming grub and they have fun casting over and over, sometimes catching.  Also kids are a sponge and learn quickly!

 

Most adults I have taught were proficient as fisherman to some degree so they pick up on new techniques pretty quickly.  This is the first adult that has all the gumption and is very eager to learn but hasn't really fished.  And he never disclosed that until our last trip!  Lol.  We planned a trip to the river so we can catch a bunch of smallies and he can get the hang of it.  It was just a revelation that not all easier fish catching techniques are beginner friendly - at least to me.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions, I have him hooked up with a tex-posed worm and a weedless keitech for tonight as we agreed it would be best not to use a baitcaster today.

[galyonj]

1 minute ago, JediAmoeba said:

It was just a revelation that not all easier fish catching techniques are beginner friendly - at least to me.

I think, if he expects to feel the hit every time, he's in for a lot of frustration and disappointment.

 

Maybe it's to his benefit to stick to things that'll draw a reaction strike – plugs, swimbaits, swim jigs, grubs on ball heads. Stuff like that. Especially if he's bound and determined to fight a baitcaster at the same time.

 

None of these things are hard unto themselves, right? We all know that using a casting reel effectively without blowing it up every cast is just a question of settings and thumb control. And we all know that sometimes (often, even) a strike doesn't feel like a strike.

 

It gets hard in a hurry when you're brand-spanking-new and haven't developed the muscle memory to know what a given lure ought to feel like when there is and isn't something chewing on it.

[Cgolf]

19 minutes ago, JediAmoeba said:

 

 

I have taught a lot of older people and an even more kids.  Kids are easy because you can hook them up to catch panfish and they are happy.  Or give them a swimming grub and they have fun casting over and over, sometimes catching.  Also kids are a sponge and learn quickly!

 

Most adults I have taught were proficient as fisherman to some degree so they pick up on new techniques pretty quickly.  This is the first adult that has all the gumption and is very eager to learn but hasn't really fished.  And he never disclosed that until our last trip!  Lol.  We planned a trip to the river so we can catch a bunch of smallies and he can get the hang of it.  It was just a revelation that not all easier fish catching techniques are beginner friendly - at least to me.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions, I have him hooked up with a tex-posed worm and a weedless keitech for tonight as we agreed it would be best not to use a baitcaster today.

For River smallies depending on depth, a bandit 100 and yum crawbug are far and away my top 2 baits. While I of course fished the crawbug on a slider, I have also fished it on a plain jig head because weeds were rarely an issue, scent helps with this bait. The bandit was also used on a spinning rod as well, I just cranked carefully to limit the number of baits lost. There is a reason I probably have 40 spares bought on clearance. 

[bigbassin']

5 hours ago, Nibbles said:

 

 

For a more cost effective option, the Strike King Crappie Slabalicious grubs on some 1/16 oz jigs w/ small hooks work almost as well as the 2" and 2.5" Keitechs.

I tried these for the first time back in April and they have become my go to lure if I’m just messing around for whatever will bite.  Mostly fished them in little creeks, but I’ve caught 3 different species of black bass, speck, bluegill, and red ears with them.
 

I don’t think I’ve been skunked yet. I’ll never catch another fish on them because of that last sentence, but up until then they were great fish catchers.

[Angry John]

New guy to fishing use the same tricks you used to help kids catch fish.  A keitech with an owner weedless hook will let him cast and crank while not hanging up.  This hugely effective way is fun and active.  You can size him up or down to get more bites and can use them on casting or spinning gear.  Additionally you can teach lure modifications with underspins and depth control with adjustable weights and cranking speed.  Works for everyone I ever taught and is only expensive when the fish are active which at that point your trading money for fun....

[plawren53202]

20 minutes ago, bigbassin' said:

I don’t think I’ve been skunked yet. I’ll never catch another fish on them because of that last sentence, but up until then they were great fish catchers.

?? How true this is LOL. The fishing gods are very effective at avenging our pridefulness, I have learned that the hard way.