do you still consider yourself a rookie in fishing?

[Susky River Rat]

@Bankc it’s better to know nothing then think you know it all 

 

my motto is if I am not going to catch fish my equipment is going to look good while I don’t.

[Siebert Outdoors]

I'd say I'm in my in my enjoyment phase.  A couple years ago when I was younger? I was learning, then I started fishing a lot of tournaments, started a lure business, etc.  Now I fish a couple to few tournaments a year.  Nothing big, but I get the most enjoyment taking my kids out and teaching them and just having a good ol time.

[Bazoo]

I'm beginning intermediate probably. I've been fishing since I was a kid, but I have a lot left to learn in the way of lures and techniques. I also have a lot to learn about cover, structure, weather, and water conditions, and how they affect my favorite quarry. 

 

I've not seen lots of different water or conditions, but I'm always looking to change that. I've got one thing that many lack, tenacity; I will stand out there and fish all day with no bite, expecting the next cast to be the one that hooks a 10 pounder.

 

I read a lot of bassmaster magazine and other fishing magazines when I was younger, as well as watching a lot of fishing shows... not for entertainment though, to learn.

 

Fact is, I need all the help I can get to improve my bass fishing

I want to catch a 10 pounder, and I have eyes for the state record.. so.. yeah, I'm young and full of fishing dreams. 

 

I think the biggest thing I need to learn is how to fish over pressured waters. I can fish a pond without pressure and tear them up, but I cant fish my local lake (Freeman Lake) and get hardly anything. I do attempt it quite often though.

[padlin]

I’ve put in a lot of hours over a lot of years so I’m not a rookie. I know how to catch fish where and when I fish, I’d be lost elsewhere.

 

But then I wouldn’t go to a baby shower, I’d be fishing.

[WRB]

Big difference between a rookie and a novice. You can be highly skilled angler just starting off fishing tournaments or pro tournament and be a rookie.

Tom

[Big Hands]

Chronologically, not even close. Every other aspect is up for debate and the more I learn, the more I realize I that I don't know. And, just to add insult to injury, much of what I think I know is often proven to be at least debatable if not flawed. 

[Catt]

After close to 7 decades I've came to the understanding that about the time I think I have them figured out, they prove to me I don't. 

[J Francho]

I was about to post the same. The more I  learn, the less I know. Same holds true for almost everything - drums, art, home repair, programming, process, relationships, parenting, etc. 

[Mike L]

Yep

The more you do, you’d think the more you’d learn. 
 

But you learn that whatever you do there is much more to learn. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[Bankbeater]

My skill level depends on how the bass are biting on the day of the trip.

[NJBasstard]

I've fished since I was old enough to hold a rod but I didn't start specifically targeting bass until around 2008. I was really only throwing Texas rigged plastics until I found this site in 2011 and started absorbing as much information as I could. Even after 15 years chasing these fish I still have days where I get on the water and feel like a rookie. Their are times during the year where I'm able to fish 3 days a week and I get so dialed I feel confident . Then I get humbled real fast once I'm busy again and am lucky to get out 3 times a month. So I guess for me it depends on how often I get to spend time on the water.

[Woody B]

Bass fishing, or fishing in general can be humbling.   I really enjoy fishing though.   I don't rank myself, or anyone else.   I either catch a bunch of bass or learn something so it's all good.   

 

Regarding age, like @TnRiver46 I'm 39.  I've been 39 for 20 years now.   I don't have a picture of my 39th birthday cake.  I'll take one next year when I turn 39 again.  

[thediscochef]

Yes, almost entirely 

[Dwight Hottle]

I’m 75 and started fishing as a young kid with my dad & brother. Loved it from the first fish I hooked. The more my interest grew the more I was motivated to learn as much as I could. I have always considered myself as a student of the game. I am not a tactical caster or proficient fisherman like KVD.  I am an amateur. But my drive to succeed & compete with others better than myself has always spurred me on. I take great pride when my pb is bigger than someone like Al Linder. I well remember the days when I struggled before I caught a quality fish of each species I have targeted. 

[N Florida Mike]

Im pretty decent  at most kinds of fishing in the deep south, except offshore bill fishing , which I have no desire for.

Im not good at trout fishing (with lures anyway), and Id be a complete rookie at ice fishing or catching walleyes muskys etc…

 

[Spankey]

8 hours ago, Mobasser said:

After all my years, I consider myself intermediate level at fishing. Not good,  not bad. I'm always trying to improve, and I've learned some good stuff since I became a member of BR.

 

8 hours ago, volzfan59 said:

I'm 63, been fishing since I was six years old. Far from a rookie, maybe I'm to the advanced side of intermediate. There are a few techniques that I haven't mastered, some I'll never even try.

I fall right in there with you guys. I’m sure you’re about like I am and feel. That you are an accomplished fisherman on your local scale but don’t know how you’d be on a new and strange bodies of water. But most likely would do ok by just applying everything you know and pull off some fish. I feel the pro’s have fished so much that they excel in getting that extra couple of bites when things seem to totally turn off. I’m probably not saying that correctly but that’s what I see these guys doing. Pro’s have days where they struggle but it looks like at the next Tourney they flip it around. 
Almost impossible to compare yourself to a pro but don’t sell yourself short on your skill and ability. Fishing hard and not giving up and keep hanging in there will get you fish. I wish I would have had the resources to pursue fishing as a way of life. Or at least been able to try. 
I’d love to fish with Greg Hackney and Mark Zona. Have them give me the biggest humbling experience ever and call me anything they wanted to. 

[bp_fowler]

Yes.

I mean that literally, as in this is my first year bass fishing seriously.

 

 

[Pat Brown]

I'm a very determined rookie, but I've only been seriously bass fishing for 2 years now and I consider that very green.  I'm always learning constantly.

[A-Jay]

My rookie year happened during the Lyndon B. Johnson administration.

And while I have no problem admitting there's always more to learn,

especially in bass fishing, a neophyte designation is not applicable.

A-Jay

 

[Zcoker]

I started getting serious about bass fishing back in 2020 and do very well whenever I go out. Takes a lot of mental honing to get the knack of things but once figured out, it starts coming second nature. Before that, I was probably rookie of the year lol I went bass fishing on a wing and a prayer, never did well at all. I recall spending whole days out in the churning sunshine only to come up with a few dinky fish...along with a terrible sunburn! Finally gave it up and hit the saltwater side of life and went to the moon with that. Nowadays, it's a combination of both. We have so many neat situations down here in south Florida, hard to stick to one thing. Always nice to have that ace in a hole. When the swell is massive, I warm up the kayak hit the glades. When the tarpon or sharks are running, I'm right there along the beach running with them. Both aspects of both types of fishing keeps me in check with things and makes me a better fisherman all the way around. Everyone in every regard is a rookie at first light! 

[ironbjorn]

I'm career backup QB Chase Daniel. Not a rookie, good enough to be there, but not impressive enough to start.

[Scott F]

I’ve targeted almost every species of freshwater water there is. Arctic char, grayling, lake trout, pike, walleye, LM and SM bass, stripers, catfish and multiple kinds of panfish. I can use a fly rod a baitcaster or spinning gear in lakes, rivers or streams.  I don’t consider myself an expert at any of those, but tell me where we’re going and what swims there and I’ll go in my closet and pull out baits that I know I can throw and catch fish. 

[Fishlegs]

It depends on who I’m with. My friends who don’t fish see the fish I catch and think I’m an expert. The people who have actually fished with me…well, it’s probably safe to say that they don’t share that opinion. ?

[detroit1]

Depends. I fish natural lakes that are mostly under 500 acres, with maximum depths from 40 to 100 feet. I do okay with lm, sm, and pike, but i could never be a guide. I have never fished bridges/ rip-rap, dams, current besides wind, creek channels, old road beds, standing timber, submerged timber, bluff banks, cypress knees, a stand of reeds, so in the big picture, i am a decent angler for the lakes i fish- but would be like a rookie in the grand scheme of bass fishing.

[BFS-Angler75]

I don't really consider myself a rookie at this point, but some days lol... I feel like a rookie. I just consider myself a student of bass. Tracking them down has forced me to learn more about bass behavior than I thought I'd ever learn, and even then they'll still deviate from what I think they're doing. 

 

But as someone stated earlier, I'll go out and catch a bunch, or I'll catch one all day, or I'll learn something new. This weekend my little girl and I caught 2 each and missed a few. We learned she needs a new rod to put up with the bass fights and has more hook setting power, and I learned how to work with a free rig. 

 

Either way, we were out fishing and had fun doing it.