How would you rate yourself ????

[volzfan59]

In my mind I'm a solid ten, in reality I'm probably a five. Other than last week I rarely get skunked (probably shouldn't have said that), even though I'm pretty set in my ways, I'm fairly versatile and love finesse fishing. May not load the boat with big 'ens, I can a least have fun catching slicks. However, I'm one of those "It's about the journey, not the destination" kinda guys. My main joy just comes from time on the water, doing what I love.

[TnRiver46]

I can typically catch dinner but I’d be near last place in any tournament 

[Pat Brown]

I feel like some days I'm in tune with the water and the animals and can do no wrong and some days feel like I'm fishing in a puddle at a gas station.

 

Bass sure do keep things interesting!

[gim]

I've tried to really pattern several lakes and one river that I frequent regularly almost every season.  I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on what to use under what conditions are presented, at certain times of the year.

 

New water, I am quite lost.  And I know for a fact that I am not a jack of all trades either, because I have a specific way I like to target them.  On heavily pressured waters that have good clarity I would generally get my butt whipped because it requires ultra-finesse fishing in deeper water to catch fish.  Not my jam, and never will be.

[Darth-Baiter]

i'm a 4.  my friends think i am an 8.  

 

i'm comfy with my humility, and i like to CAST A LOT, and cover water for a kayak dude.  i do alright. 

[Bluebasser86]

Most days I range between 3 and 6.

[MIbassyaker]

How would I rate myself?  I wouldn't. 

[Tennessee Boy]

When I was 20 I would have rated myself a 10.   When this thread was created 18 years ago I would have said 7.   Now I would say about 5.   Aging is humiliating.  ?

[hunterPRO1]

I would call myself a 7 at times when I get to fish a lot and a 5 or 6 when I'm out of practice.

 

This year I definitely feel like a 7, I fished 5 small local tournaments for the first time and averaged in the top 25% and came within half an inch of winning one. I've started to fish offshore more and catch fish on deep brush and structure that I never would have found before. I've started paying attention to thermocline which is something I never thought about until this summer. I've fished paradise PFA about 15 times this year and have not been skunked once, which is hard to do on such a pressured place.

[Catt]

Been accused of being a Semi Pro, whatever that is?

 

Probably a 7 ?

 

 

[Bankc]

Oh, I'm an 11, for sure!

 

The lakes I fish are a -8, though.  Just terrible.  

 

So that averages out to a 3.  And that feels like safe number for me.  

[scaleface]

I say 5. Last  week I was a 2. Man I was slow on the trigger. 

[WRB]

Fishing skills are not as good as they once were. Still confident with whatever presentation is needed to catch bass consistently from light weight finesse to big swimbaits.

now if I could only into and out if a boat without stumbling, old and stiff.

Tom

PS 2005 I just bought a new bass boat and on top of my game. 2020 I sold the boat because my wife didn’t didn’t trust me to fish alone...time changes everything.

[rboat]

I would say a 4 to a 5. I grew up in the upper midwest, where bass are rare and fall behind walleye, Northern Pike, perch, trout and most panfish. I did learn to catch them in stock ponds and on summer trips into Minnesota. Now I am in Florida, where bass are king, but catching them is not as easy as you see on TV. I had to throw away my northern bass knowledge and learn all over. I fish for fun, catch and release, and fish closer to home now. I have a small bassboat, but do not have all of the fancy electronics. I no longer get skunked much, so I am improving. Hoping to get to a 6 as I slowly move toward retirement, and hoping more time on the water will help me learn. Bass fishing is a constant learning hobby. 

[bowhunter63]

6 can catch em most of the time 

[Frezzy]

I'm a solid 6 overall.  Some days are better than others, but I always catch my fair share.

 

I'm an 8 or 9 with a few techniques though.  I'll whoop KVD's ass with a jerkbait... ?

[crypt]

I can't.....sometimes I'm the windshield,other times I'm the bug....

[pdxfisher]

I think I am a pretty good fisherman (6 or 7) on the waters that I fish and know well. If the rating is meant for how I would score if dropped anywhere in the country I would score much, much lower.

 

I think the folks who fish a lot of tournaments and are constantly fishing new and different types of waters are the best fisherman because they have to be good on any kind of water under any kind of condition.

 

[Dwight Hottle]

I am not going to rate myself because I would probably tick myself off. 

[cheezyridr]

i'm gonna rate myself as a 4. 

there are lots of times when i go fishin, that i don't care if i catch a fish or not.  sometimes i throw a lure because i want to reel it in, not so much because i think that's what they're hittin on.  i used to be real serious.  there was a time when i would have had confidence to fish alongside anybody in less that 12 feet of water.  (we don't really have much  deep water here)

 i fish cause i like fishin, but i'm not always trying to catch fish. 

[MickD]

I am a 10.  When I don't catch, it's all the fishes' fault. Not mine.  I don't play golf.  Not big on accountability.  

[Woody B]

I believe humility is a good trait to have....however, when it comes to fishing I'm a 10.   Like Mick said, if I don't catch a BUNCH of BIG fish it's all the fishes fault.   

 

 

Seriously for a minute,  I don't rate myself or others.   I'll guarantee that no one has more fun fishing that I do.  That's why if I have to rate myself I'm a 10.   

[papajoe222]

I believe my peers would rate me higher, but I'd say somewhere between 5&6. A little better than average, but a lot more persistent than most.

[Swamp Girl]

On 9/27/2023 at 11:08 AM, Zcoker said:

I recall one night catching (3) 7lb bass back to back. Was I excited? Sure was! But I knew what it was: it was about me, sure it was, but it was about me being in the right place at the right time with Jupiter aligning with Mars, everything jived to make that happen.

 

I catch a lot of bass, but like Zccoker, I catch them because of when and where I'm fishing, i.e. the right time and right place. I rose this morning at 4:30 a.m., drove across pasture, and launched in the dark. No ramp. There's never a ramp. The temp was 42 degrees. Sometimes I portage through the woods and other times, I'm wheeling my canoe across a meadow. When and where I put myself is why I catch a lot of bass.

 

In the summer, I'm up at 3:15 a.m. Just this morning, I lost my way and used a flashlight on foot to find the path. That happened several times this summer. Not all fishers are willing to bumble about in the dark. This happened even though I drove the way yesterday afternoon and studied the way on Google Earth, but a fog at night changes the look of everything. 

 

If @Bluebasser86 is between a 3 and 6, then I'm at best a 4 because he's a better fisher than me.* 

 

However, when it comes to paddling, I'm a 7 and good paddling leads me to good fishing.

 

*I changed my 3 rating to a 4 when I checked and saw that 3 is bad. I'm not bad as I land some nice bass in tough, bog conditions. I'm not higher because I lose some nice bass in tough, bog conditions. 

[Zcoker]

3 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

 

I catch a lot of bass, but like Zccoker, I catch them because of when and where I'm fishing, i.e. the right time and right place. I rose this morning at 4:30 a.m., drove across pasture, and launched in the dark. No ramp. There's never a ramp. The temp was 42 degrees. Sometimes I portage through the woods and other times, I'm wheeling my canoe across a meadow. When and where I put myself is why I catch a lot of bass.

 

In the summer, I'm up at 3:15 a.m. Just this morning, I lost my way and used a flashlight on foot to find the path. That happened several times this summer. Not all fishers are willing to bumble about in the dark. This happened even though I drove the way yesterday afternoon and studied the way on Google Earth, but a fog at night changes the look of everything. 

 

If @Bluebasser86 is between a 3 and 6, then I'm at best a 3 because he's a better fisher than me.

 

However, when it comes to paddling, I'm a 7 and good paddling leads me to good fishing.

 

It can also be the exact opposite, meaning to be in the right place at the right time for those big bites and miss every darn one of them! Just the other day, three fish in the 7-8 pound class, one on a jig, two on a punch rig, all three of them won lol