The Natural Progression of a Basshead ~ One Man’s Point of View

[Sphynx]

13 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

 

The part about the bear’s butt got me !!

Stage 6 is awesome! 

Anyone who has spent any time as an NCO in a line Infantry platoon has most likely got an overdeveloped reserve of humorous, crude and often insulting sayings, terms, and acronyms...perks of the job I suppose. 

[MGF]

For the past 30+ years most of my fishing has been with wife, kids and now the grandkids when I can.  Hunting trophies or numbers usually has to take a back seat because there's just more to it...but that's ok.

[WRB]

Growing up at a lake fishing was a major activity for kids that everyone did together....let’s go fishing. We hiked a lot and explored everything within our walking range but fishing met catching dinner. Crappie was the main goal, bluegill were too hard to clean and bass would occasional get caught, not intentionally but went on the stringer.

My brothers and I always wanted to go out with mom and dad trout fishing, that was a big deal. Trout were the big game on our lake and most sought after. Looking back mom and dad probably just wanted quite time together and trout fishing provided that.

I don’t recall my 1st bass but have clear memory of trying to catch a big bass named Mosses for 2 summers when I was around 8 or 9 years old. Lot of hours spend trying to get Mosses to bite a lure or night crawler, the big bass would slowly  swim away disappearing. Then one day I caught Mosses, ran all the way home to show the bass off...so excited. My grandmother simply said that is the biggest she has seen then told me to go clean it dinner. I was proud of the bass and broken hearted that I had to kill and clean the fish.

Mosses was a female full of eggs I discovered and felt even worse. This would be the last big bass I would kill for decades.

Mosses started me down the rabbit hole of big bass fishing, passing the stage of catching numbers of bass. 

The later stages of bass fishing were club and tournaments and staying under the radar, just doing my thing trying to catch the elusive world record bass. Lofty goal that was unattainable.

The final stage is sharing what experience that may help others.

Tom 

  

[whitwolf]

Tremendous write up @A-Jay!

 

I'm all over the place with regards to stages but I would say stage 5 is most prevalent when Tresa(wife) goes. I fun fish and fish the way I want when I'm by myself but when Tresa goes I rarely wet a line. 

 

There has been times when I over-teach and she lets me know that her goal is to catch some fish, have fun, laugh, and that we're spending time together. In other words it's not a fishing seminar. I'm good with that reminder. 

i have mentioned many times before that I grew up in the very rural South and the majority of my early fishing years were for table fare. It was what all outdoorsman I knew did. It was sometime in my teens that Bass took over and as with most I became obsessed. I tournament fished for a number of years; I dressed the part, talked the part, and it was a great time. 

 

As I have gotten older I simply decided to fun fish and have fun. I want to catch fish but if I don't I am content knowing I can still do something I love to do! 

 

My grandson has caught the bug and pleads with me to take him to the swamp. He's been before but not in the boat. Its time. So for those trips it's stage 5 and I can't wait!

 

Lastly. In reading many of the replies it's obvious that whatever stage we are in (it's fluid) the majority still have those youthful feelings about fishing. Please never lose that. 

 

 

 

[ABrugs]

This was a fantastic read. Thanks, @A-Jay!

 

2020 was my first year bass fishing. I’m 32 now and while I’ve always loved fishing, I was never serious about it. In 2019, we took a summer family vacation in northern Michigan and it was that trip that really lit the fire for me. I brought my rod to do some fishing w/ my boys (6 & 4), but honestly didn’t have any expectations and was planning on fishing off the dock when we weren’t doing anything else. When that first largemouth bass hit, it was nothing but pure adrenaline and excitement. I went on to catch several more that vacation and combined w/ my boys having a blast catching bluegills off the dock, there was nowhere else I wanted to be. This fueled my decision to invest myself into bass fishing going into 2020.

 

Stage 1 for me was trying to catch my first smallmouth bass last year. I was able to accomplish that last May on Lake St. Clair and it immediately moved me into Stage 2. With a pretty demanding job and a young family, my personal fishing time is pretty much limited to waking up early on Saturday mornings throughout the Michigan fishing season and getting a solid 4 hours in. I wouldn’t trade that for anything though because I’ll never put bass fishing ahead of my family.

 

I think I’m still in Stage 2 heading into my second year bass fishing and the 2021 season because as much as I’d like to hit my goals of a 4+ bronzeback and a 3+ largemouth, I’d ideally just like to catch bass every time out this year.

[the reel ess]

On 12/30/2020 at 2:14 PM, A-Jay said:

    As is sit and stare out at the frozen snow covered world outside, my mind began to wander back to some of my more memorable trips out onto Lake Menderchuck.  Knowing how nice it will be to get back on the water again always makes the day a little brighter.

Then I started thinking about how & where I was going to fish once the opportunity presented itself.  Always a trying decision given the many choices in both.  Getting even deeper into this train of thought, I started typing and this is what I ended up with.

 

The Natural Progression of a Basshead ~ One Man’s Point of View

 

Each and every one of us that chases these little green/brown fish has a special story about how we got started.  Many of them have been shared in this forum: including mine.  Regardless of how we got started, there seems to be a certain path, or a progression if you will, on how we each think of and go about catching bass.

  Certainly I can’t speak for everyone, so I’ll relay how it went for me.

After reading through it, see how it compares to your own path down Basshead Lane. 

Are there similarities or does it differ completely ?

 

  After catching my very first bass, to say I was pretty pumped would be a serious understatement.  Of course I didn’t exactly know it at the time (or maybe I did) it was a life changing perhaps even defining moment.  Either way, from that point on, bass fishing consumed me.  It was all I could think about and I could not wait to do it again.   Which brings me to the first stop in the progression of a Basshead.  

 

Stage 1 ~ I want to catch bass, any bass. 

Before catching my first bass, I was totally content on hanging a night crawler or a cricket under a bobber and staring at it for hours on end.

I would do it every chance I got.  But now it just seemed boring and regardless of  how many sunnies or hornpout I caught, the satisfaction just wasn’t the same.  I needed bass; felt like the meaning of life to me then.

 

   So Stage 1 for me routinely included bass in the 10 to perhaps 14 inch range.  As a pre-teen I was majorly excited each and every time it happened.  Sometimes I kept them and ate them.  I think the limit back then was 10 but I’m not totally certain. (circa 1970’s).  So keeping every bass I landed ‘limited’ the number I felt I could catch.  So then I started letting some of the just barely keeper sized bass go.  As time went on, this started to feel a whole lot better.  Soon ‘the release’ was almost as much fun as the catch.

(to this point I still hadn’t fallen in love with ‘the hunt' yet, but it was coming)

So it was the Catch & Release that led me straight into Stage 2.

 

Stage 2 ~ I want to catch as many Bass as I can.

   Starting out as a weekend, mid-day only angler, I had not yet been introduced to the wonder & bounty that an early/pre-dawn time frame at the lake could offer.  The high sun action was OK back then but by this point, I wanted more.  After reading an ‘article’ in “Boy’s Life” magazine, where it talked about fishing early & late in the day, and how the lower light levels could help get More Bass, it was on.  I began getting up ‘earlier & earlier’.  Riding my bike those first few times in the early summer morning grey light, seemed surreal.  Empty roads and what seems like a ghost town.  Just the paper boy, the trash man & me.  I was big eyed, skinny as a rail, and pedaling for all I was worth.  Looking back, I rarely took much to eat or drink in those days.  Had to be home before dark (street lights had better not be on) but I always cut that timing ‘very close’.  Dad knew the deal, so he usually cut me a little slack; just a little though. 

(When I did keep them, riding home with a stringer of bass spread out & hanging from the handle bars must have been a quite a sight)

 

 I used the same few baits to feed my now totally addicted infatuation with catching bass.  A black single silver hammered Colorado bladed Spinner bait, A Rebel Jointed Minnow, a Red & white Daredevil Imp spoon, A Crème Rubber worm Night Crawler rig with 2 hooks, a little red propeller and some beads, A small Hula Popper, a chartreuse Mr. Twister Curly Tail Grub and my favorite – a Glow in the Dark Jitterbug; which I thought was the coolest bait ever !  All of this was presented on a 6 ft light action Diawa Spinning rig and 8 or 10 lb blue Stren – can’t really remember which.  

I do remember the major line twist, vividly.  Just didn’t know any better.

 Still I had days were I caught a few, days where I got blanked and a few of those memorable days where they seemed to come every cast for a while.  Really loved those.  What did bother me quite a bit was that I was losing many of the better bass that stuck. 

This is what opened the door to Stage 3.

 

Stage 3 ~ I want to catch a Big Bass.

A Big Bass in those days for me was mostly determines by length.  While I did have one of those black metal ‘De-Liar’ scales, my Plano 777 tackle box was not exactly water tight.  So there was a good amount of rust on it and how anyone was supposed to get a decent size and flopping bass on that tiny little hook, I’ll never know.  Either way, I measured bass with it but never weighted anything on it.  Somehow 18 inches became my Big Bass standard.  Don’t remember how or why, just that when I got one over that magic mark, besides them looking ‘different & better’, I always felt very accomplished. 

 

   At this point I was driving, had my ‘permit’ and my old Ford burned almost as much oil as it did gas.  But it beat pedaling and seriously widened the big bass potential; although I was still fishing from shore.  I started hitting every northern New England lake I could get access to; mostly state parks. Time after time it seemed that the ‘rubber worms’ where accounting for most of the bigger bass I was catching.  Additionally they always seems to be ‘in the lily pads’.  Turned out my gear, wasn’t actually up to the challenge of the cover; surprise.

Saved some $$ and purchased my first casting gear; it was an off brand thing I got a local sporting goods.  There was a steep learning curve and in the beginning I struggled mightily to get baits off the bank.  Finally it came together (with the help of my first Texas Rig, needed the weight) and some of those ’18 inchers’ that I was losing, where ending up on my thumb.  I thought I was The Man.

 

    By now – I was fishing and Fishing was me.   My brother & mom thought I was crazy, so did most all of my friends.  Very few of them ever have any interest in ‘getting up so early’, pedaling 5 miles or more, fishing all day and then pedaling home.  So before I was driving, I mostly fished alone.  Once the hard part was gone, I had a few friends fish with me now & then, but they almost always wanted to ‘go home early’.  So I just stopped asking. This is also right about the time when I caught my first Brown Bass; pretty much a by catch.   That just added an entire Extra Level of gooey goodness to the whole thing.  This is also when I started to fall in love with ‘the hunt’.

 

    As the years past, I’ve bounced back & forth between Stage 2 & Stage 3.

Much of that had to do with where I was stationed & what was available as far as bass fishing was concerned.  By now I had joined the service and the vast majority of what happens in the US Coast Guard, happens on the Ocean.  So salt water angling had taken a solid hold of me.  But I still bass fished when I got the chance.  

 

    Fast forward thirty years, (I know right).   I’ve retired and am living in here in northern Michigan and it’s almost always the brown bass I’m fishing for. And there are some true trophy smallies here.  However it didn’t take long to realize that there just wasn’t much in the way of plus sized green bass locally.  I would need to travel a bit to scratch that itch.  Well, I did that & in a few more months I’m scheduled to take another trip south of the border.  Doesn’t guarantee anything but the place we fish has Stage 3 written all over it.

 

 Currently, I’ve pretty much come to like and settled into, a certain style of fishing.  Most all of it revolves around ‘the hunt’.  I enjoy first looking for potential big fish areas (usually holding bait) and fishing them.  Repeatedly visiting these spots until they either produce or I feel like I have exhausted every possible combination of seasonal periods, conditions, wind directions & times of the day, with no success.  I have spots that I believe in so strongly that I fish several times a season, that have not yet produced.  But they just look & feel right.  So I keep going back, for years now.

And this is what has had me venture into Stage 4.

 

Stage 4 ~  ~ I want to catch bass, the way I want to catch bass.

  Even though I’ll do it when I have to, soaking a drop shot, dead sticking a Senko, and flipping docks, are not at the top of my list.

I love to chunk & wind; moving baits.  Even if I’m just crawling something along the bottom, or sliding a walking bait across a big flat, I feel engaged.  Connected to what I’m doing. 

Success at this stage can have a very high satisfaction level for me; as if this stuff wasn't addicting enough !

Really makes me feel like a most accomplish Basshead; when I can actually pull it off.  

   Admittedly, staying locked in here has probably cost me more than just a few bass.  While adaptability can be a huge part of one’s success, staying true to stage 4, or being stubborn (call it what you want), can lead to the opposite at times.   Always been a fan of having my rigs all set up the night before a morning trip for instance.  But I can’t even count the number of times ‘something’ changed overnight, and most all of what I have rigged up, or what I wanted to throw, is somehow ‘wrong’ for the present deal.  Do I change it or try to force feed them ?  Sort of depends on how ‘off base’ I feel I am or even my current mood.  But there’s enough times where I tried the old force feed deal, where I crashed & burned, to warrant me mentioning it here. Really need to work on this.

 

Stage 5 ~ I want to help someone else catch bass ~

 I think at some point, we all get here.

It’s either a friend, a sibling, a spouse or even a co-worker we take an interest in, place under our wing and pass on some of this hard earned bass fishing knowledge. More often than not, it’s a child.  Take a kid fishing.

The pressure's on though.  Hopefully the bass will cooperate- and lucky for us – our willing participant usually starts out in Stage 1.

 I have quite a bit of fun now taking my wife out.  Mostly in the Old Town Canoe.  Being her guide, and if things work out, her net man for the day. 

Tying on baits, coaching her on her presentation, where to cast and offering words of encouragement when she ‘hooks up’ !  

And then there’s That Smile; you know the one.  What’s not to love about that ?

 

Let’s recap ~

 Stage 1 ~ I want to catch Bass – any Bass.

 Stage 2 ~ I want to catch as many Bass as I can.

 Stage 3 ~ I want to catch a Big Bass

 Stage 4 ~ I want to catch bass the way I want to catch Bass.

 Stage 5 ~ I want to help other folks catch Bass.

 

 So this is where I ask “Where do you did sit and how did you get there ? “

 

Stay Safe

A-Jay

 

I want to catch BIG bass the way I WANT to catch BIG bass. So I'm in the 3-4 range. I wanted to help my daughter catch bass, but she has declared she's out of the fishing business. My dad took me fishing early. But he did not attempt to let me outfish him, nor did he help me out a whole lot. He wanted me to learn it myself so he could be busy catching. I'm a bit selfish like that. I go fishing alone a lot because I like my own company and I won't want competition. Maybe I'll mature someday. Probably not.

[A-Jay]

2 minutes ago, the reel ess said:

I want to catch BIG bass the way I WANT to catch BIG bass. So I'm in the 3-4 range. I wanted to help my daughter catch bass, but she has declared she's out of the fishing business. My dad took me fishing early. But he did not attempt to let me outfish him, nor did he help me out a whole lot. He wanted me to learn it myself so he could be busy catching. I'm a bit selfish like that. I go fishing alone a lot because I like my own company and I won't want competition.

 

I hear Ya and I am very familiar with that stage my dern self !

And I deliberately omitted it because to be positioned in this one

(or to openly admit it) can be a very dangerous deal.  

One may need a laser focus and pin point accuracy on every last detail 

just to come remotely close to anything that resembles repeatable results.

Such a fine line. 

Tread lightly my friend

and carry a big flipping Stick ! 

A-Jay

[the reel ess]

31 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

 

I hear Ya and I am very familiar with that stage my dern self !

And I deliberately omitted it because to be positioned in this one

(or to openly admit it) can be a very dangerous deal.  

One may need a laser focus and pin point accuracy on every last detail 

just to come remotely close to anything that resembles repeatable results.

Such a fine line. 

Tread lightly my friend

and carry a big flipping Stick ! 

A-Jay

LOL. Fishing the way I want to sometimes yields poor results. I'm prepared to deal with that because I know it only takes one big fish to make my day and it will come along at some point. And, you're spot on about the flipping stick. I've caught more big bass on a jig in the last three years than all other techniques combined. But if I focused only on that technique I'd get skunked on the regular.

[BassNJake]

I'm stage 4 all the way

I have very little chance of breaking my personal best LMB or SMB on my home lake.

(Actually, I fish chickamauga a few times a year and have never broke 7lbs. I have caught 10 bass between 6 3/4 and 7 lbs though <crying jordan meme>)

 

However, with 880 shoreline miles on my home lake, I have no shortage of shallow water targets

Plus being here in TN, I can start catching topwater consistently as early as late Feb

Often I am in less than 5 feet of water, which leads to a lot of aerial acrobatics 

2 straight years my most memorable fish were ones that I never had hooked

They both came up and smashed the lure right at the boat just as I was pulling it out of the water

Those got my heart pumping!!

 

I used to fish a lot of tournaments - multiple trails per year + bfls as both boater and co angler + charity events and tuesday and thursday night dogfights.

Now I fish a handful of tournaments a year and I'm ok with that.

I realized it was always a competition against the fish and I dont need other anglers for that

 

 

[Fishlegs]

On 12/30/2020 at 3:14 PM, roadwarrior said:

#5  My best year was putting twelve guys on their Personal Best.

        On the last two trips I have spent half my time "guiding" and not

         fishing at all.

Generous things like that get noticed, and very much appreciated. ? It also encourages some of us want to be like that when we grow up. ?

 

I am a novice compared to most of the good folks on this site, but I had the privilege of helping several kids catch fish last year. The feeling you get when you see the smile on a kid's face when they catch a fish is just as rewarding as catching a big one for yourself. Stage 5 can be very addictive.

[GaryH]

Finally got around to reading this. First thanks AJ for the post. It was like walking down memory lane. It’s amazing how many of the BR family think alike. I guess that’s the bond along with fishing that bring us together. 
I guess I bounce back and forth between 3 and 5. The most fun is in the 5 mode when I’m fishing with the wife or grandson. The 3 when in tournament’s. But the 5 is by far the best. To spend a day with either one and seeing the excitement when they hook something is worth it’s weight in gold. And this may sound dumb but I still get enjoyment when I see the wife getting snagged and trying to free her lure.

on the lighter side the last time she got snagged I told her I was gonna trade her in for two 20 yr. olds she laugh and told me I wasn’t wired for 220. Again thanks for the great post.

[Aaron_H]

On 12/30/2020 at 2:14 PM, A-Jay said:

     Let’s recap ~

 Stage 1 ~ I want to catch Bass – any Bass.

 Stage 2 ~ I want to catch as many Bass as I can.

 Stage 3 ~ I want to catch a Big Bass

 Stage 4 ~ I want to catch bass the way I want to catch Bass.

 Stage 5 ~ I want to help other folks catch Bass.

 

 So this is where I ask “Where do you did sit and how did you get there ? “

 

This was a wonderful read, thank you for posting it. Interesting to see your journey and your perspective.

 

Myself, I've always had an interest in sharing my passions and teaching others, even at a young age. My time at university was always with the goal of a teaching career in mind (sadly, the state of teaching as a career in FL is...pretty bad, so I moved in a different direction). So for me, stage 5 has been a companion of sorts to my growth as a bass fisherman, that love of teaching has been a part of my fishing from the time I first started to consistently find fish. I would say that late last year is when I really hit "the moment" where I wanted to go out with other people specifically to teach them, not just taking them with me and teaching them while I fish, and I'm working towards that goal now.

 

I actually haven't been bass fishing for very long, only about 5 years now. I spent 20 years before that focused on bottom fishing offshore for big snapper and grouper. Since I'd already experienced that "big pull addiction" from saltwater, I went through stages 1-3 pretty quickly. I started bass fishing in May of 2016, spent that summer fishing nearly every day once I figured out how to get bit consistently, and in September of that year I got my first "big" bass at 7lb 5oz, which was a big jump from my then-current 4.5lb PB. Landing that fish really cemented me into that "I need to catch a big fish, even if I don't catch a lot of fish" mindset. I'd kind of slept on bass as a game species up to that point, considered them fun to catch but no real challenge. Remember here that I grew up fishing for 20lb+ red snapper and big grouper that would swallow a trophy bass whole. But that first 7lber I caught was like a whole different animal compared to the ones I'd caught before, the spectacle and fight that bass put up really made me love and appreciate them like I hadn't before. That fish is responsible for switching my addiction from primarily saltwater with freshwater as a fun side-gig, to the opposite.

 

Stage 4 made me laugh, it's a mindset I started having most of last year and into now. Like you, I fell in love with moving baits and while I still throw other techniques (and still love a jig bite), it just doesn't get me quite as excited as, say, a lipless crankbait. I've had days where I've said "I'm going to throw a crankbait and if they don't want it, I don't want them either!" ?

[Biglittle8]

I feel like I'm a combination of 3,4 and 5. I still am pursuing a D.D. fish but also, I have really been working on my technical skills. I used to rely on texas rigged  baits...I could catch fish on them in almost all situations, even when others weren't catching fish. I have forced myself to put that rig away and to use other technics such as jerkbaits, dropshot, shakey and jigs. I must say, it opened up a whole new world for me. Lastly, I have two young Grandsons that have really taken an interest in fishing. I get so much pleasure from watching them fish! I  even decided to purchase another boat so we could spend time on the water. Great post Ajay! Your description of your progression brought back memories! Rusted Zebco De-liar?

[Mobasser]

This is a great post A-Jay. One thing I've felt through the years with my own progression, is that at times I felt like I'd reached a peak, and that was as good as I was ever going to get. Of course this was wrong. Once you feel that way, it's time to start learning again. Learning is the key.

[DitchPanda]

3 hours ago, Mobasser said:

This is a great post A-Jay. One thing I've felt through the years with my own progression, is that at times I felt like I'd reached a peak, and that was as good as I was ever going to get. Of course this was wrong. Once you feel that way, it's time to start learning again. Learning is the key.

Ive been bass fishing 20 years and have experienced this a few times. Most recent time was probably 3 or 4 years ago I got to a point where I felt really good then kinda plateaued. Then last year came around and I started to get more technical with baits that alot of people consider straightforward namely lipless,spinnerbaits and jigs. I started to understand some of the finer points and nuances of how they work instead of just knowing when and where the why started to click. This made me take another big step up in ability even tho I thought I was stuck...and I continued to improve all the way til ice up. Two big factors are responsible for this change:1) no doubt being a very active member here has helped alot..lots of guys here that have different strong suits then me so I can pick there brain about that specialty. 2) no doubt building and tinkering with baits has helped. This can be as big as building jigs and spinnerbaits and as small as swapping trebles or even just using dipping dye. Really just gives you a real understanding of the components and allows you overtime to see patterns in what works for you modification wise so you can understand the true drawing mechanisms of different lures. This has been a big mindset change for me and has opened my eyes.

[Rpratt]

Great thread A-Jay! For me it's a constant obsession that I really have a hard time of getting on the water because of work and family, as much as I would like. 

 

However there is absolutely no doubt I am in that hunt stage. And not necessarily the bass, but where is that bass living at and why is what I am far more obsessed with these days. 

[TheBasslayer]

I would say that I am stage 3/4. I don't care which species I catch, but I am borderline obsessed with fishing. I can still survive a week or 2 without fishing, but I would be in a worse mood. Fishing is important!

[BBuck]

I'm probably a mix of 3, 4, and 5.

[RDB]

I’m probably stage 3, 5, and the unaccounted for stage 6.  I don’t really get excited about numbers but still get that overpowering rush when I hook a good fish.  I now find myself focusing more on lakes where I have limited history (my stage 6).  I enjoy the process as much as the result...studying the maps, putting the pieces together, developing a plan, adjusting on the fly.  The satisfaction I get when I have success is much greater for me than a great day on my home lake.  Thank God bass can be such confusing creatures.  

[Jaderose]

First I'll answer the question.....I'm in 3 and 4.  I want to catch big bass the way I want to.  For me, that's mostly with a frog.  I feel no real compulsion to teach but that's because I like to fish alone and I don't really have anyone to share it with.  Maybe a Grandchild eventually will change that.  Second....a story I feel compelled to share.  I fished some as a kid but never cared that much about it.  High school and college came and went then adulthood.  Never really thought about fishing.  One year for Christmas in my early 20's my old man got me a rod and reel and some tackle.  A baitcaster I had no idea how to use and some generic tackle.  I knew I couldn't use a baitcaster (no internet vids) so I traded the reel in on a Zebco at a local Mom and Pop.   I thought it was an odd gift and set it aside without much thought.  A year or 2 goes by without ever using the gift.  One day, my (now) ex-wife and I get into an argument and I decide to leave the house rather than fighting with her.  I was heading to a bar as I was a very heavy drinker then.  (Sober 20 years now).  I walked out on the porch and saw that tackle sitting in the corner.  I grabbed it.  I went and got some worms and went fishing.  No liquor.  I had a ball.  It changed me.  I was not bass fishing.  I was just pulling in bluegills and tossing them back.  I was "hooked!"  I won't say I quit drinking that day or anything but I found something ELSE I liked to do BESIDES that.  Fast forward a small stretch of time and I was walking to my (by then) usual fishing spot when I find a Mepps Comet Mino on the ground.  What the heck?  I tied it on and threw it.  And caught my first bass.  Would love to say it was a monster but in reality was probably a lb or maybe a little more but HOLY CRAP was THAT fun!  So I got some bass lures and started doing that!  It was WAY BETTER!  Fast forward another small stretch of time.....Walking with my stuff to my usual spot when I find ANOTHER lure on the ground.  A Scum Frog.  I had no idea what it was.  Did not know it floated.  I tied it on and tossed it around.  Nothing.  I ACCIDENTLY threw it in the middle of a scum mat that was near by that I was deliberately avoiding.  I cursed and started reeling...BOOM!  Blow up!  I did NOT catch that fish but that was the most exciting thing I have ever seen!  I threw it out there again and BOOOOM!  YAAAAAAAAHOOOOOOOO!  This was the best thing ever!  Problem was that I DID hook that fish but had NO idea how to fight it and was using a light line Zebco.  I broke the line almost immediately.  Obviously, this started an obsession that continues with me to today.  All because my Old Man had a little foresight that I might NEED to fish some day and I FOUND 2 lures.  I thanked him many times before he passed and he never could answer why he got me that gear.  He just thought I needed it.  He couldn't have been more right.  30 years later, I still thank him when I'm sitting on the water and chucking frogs and just loving life. 

[J Francho]

I think you can exist in any stage and still do stage 5. 

[A-Jay]

There's a little dust built up on this one 

but it is the 2nd week of January after all. 

 

 

  To review . . .

 Stage 1 ~ I want to catch Bass – any Bass.

 Stage 2 ~ I want to catch as many Bass as I can.

 Stage 3 ~ I want to catch a Big Bass

 Stage 4 ~ I want to catch bass the way I want to catch Bass.

 Stage 5 ~ I want to help other folks catch Bass.

 

Especially after this past season,

I am displaying all the classic signs of being smack dab in the middle of stages 3 & 4.

Anything change for you bassheads ?

A-Jay

 

 

[MN Fisher]

Pretty much waffling between #2 and #4 - with brief stops at #3.

[Tennessee Boy]

I would say my home is stage 4.  On a really tough day I might revert to stage 1.  I occasionally find myself in stage 2 but that gets old after a couple of hours.  I’m always ready to switch to stage 3.  I can’t say that stage 5 interest me very much.

[Jar11591]

Some days I’m #2, other days #3, and other times #4. But most days I think I’m some combination of 2, 3 & 4. 
 

I will add though, when I’m fishing with my father who is getting up there in age, I love to see him catch a fish. So #5 when fishin with Dad.