Advice?

[anglerintraining]

Hello-

My son (14 yo) & I are relatively new to fishing. The more we learn, the more I realize we don't know. As we don't own a boat, we mostly bank-fish, but occasionally we rent a boat & troll. We'd really love to get good at this fishing thing, & we especially enjoy bass fishing. Mostly my son just loves to catch anything, though! At least now we've gotten to where we can tie knots efficiently, know when we're hung as opposed to having a fish on the line, etc. BUT, we're not knowledgeable about what type of lure to use when/where, how to change things up when not catching, etc.

So what do you experienced anglers recommend? Should we look for a club to join, or are those mainly for people w/boats? Should we just keep pluggin along as is & let experience hopefully impart some knowledge along the way?

Any/all suggestions appreciated.

~Angler in training

[Triton_Mike]

anglerintraining,  Honestly I would consider hiring a well respected guide for you and your son on the lake that you fish often.  This will give you the opportunity to see how he approaches the lake vs how you approach the lake and will open your eyes.  This will also give you the opportunity to ask specific questions that you need answered about anything fishing.  By hiring a guide for just one trip, will knock YEARS off your learning curve to become a better angler.  

T Mike

[slappy]

my advise is to start reading! everything you need to know is on this sight .Everyone here is really helpful but it helps to get some basic knowledge first.......welcome

[BassMaster_1]

How new are you, a year? a few months?  I would atleast get the fundamentals down before you get into a club.  Once you feel you have that a club is probably the best thing you can do to get knowledge to know what to use and when.  I have been fishing all my life so I have a pretty good knowledge base.  I do alot of reading and studying, and pick up alot from this site.  I look forward to when I  am able to join a club, because then you learn what other peoples strenghts/ go-to baits are.  

[Troutfisher]

 Ok, I personally would start off with some live bait, nightcrawlers perhaps, and fish a whole one off the bank for a while.  Once you have perfected that, move on to senkoes, or a senko like lure.  Basically, a senko is a cigar shaped lure thats main purpose is to sink, and catch fish, thus, sink=senko.  This is a relatively easy lure to fish, therefore, I would recommend it.  After you've done this for a while, start trying other lures, like poppers, crankbaits, and more.  Once you've done this, you'll rarely get skunked.  

 I too am a bank fisherman, and I still buy nightcrawlers when I get the chance, and I still use senkoes.  I am a younger fisherman, so usually I like to move around when I fish, therefore, I use the senko and cast around different places, around cover (ex. fallen trees, weeds, etc.)

 Hope you enjoy fishing, and hope you enjoy the forum!

-Troutfisher91

[senile1]

Great replies from everyone.  If you go to the fishing articles link on this site, you should find a slew of information regarding what lures to use at what times of the year and under specific weather and lake conditions.  This will help you with deciding on lures to switch to.  The forum is probably the best place to get specific info you need.  

[Cajun1977]

just look around on the site and keep plucking along as you said  i wouldnt go get a guide  to help you thats the best part for you and your son to learn together

[Dirk_Jig---Lure]

I will echo what T-Mike said.  Great advice right there.  Guides are also available for the 1/2 day and will usually accomodate you for whatever you want to do.  Be it a father/son learning trip, I would favor those days most if I were a guide.

[Hinkle2891]

i learned all my basics from three things.

1) fishing shows.

2) the bassmasters classic series.

3) experimentation.

this very website though has many of the GREAT things you need to get going. they can tell you what to use and where. i would recommend starting with crankbaits. they are fun, easy to use, look cool, and i have had GREAT luck with them. rapalas are grand!

[russ0101]

if you fish ponds like i do, and being on the bank - there are only 2 lures that i use 95% of the time

1 - 6-7.5" plastic worms with a ribbontail in 2 colors: junebug (lots of action for me right now) and green pumpkin; fish them parallel to the bank, and make sure to cast ahead of you, most bass are sitting on the edge and can see/hear you when you walk up

2 - spinnerbaits: mostly in the 1/8oz size for bank fishing; colors that are working for me right now, well its Strike King 1/8oz colorado blade with Chartreuse head with blue/chart/clear strands; the other color is completely chartreuse, and white

just my .02 but there are 2 bodies of water that i only bank fish and these are the presentations that work best for me

[Guest avid]

Welcome to the forum.

The best advice would depend on the age of your son.

If he's just a wee lad, then he will want to catch any fish, just so long as they keep coming.

A container of nightcrawlers hand dug or purchased at Wal-mart and cut down into bite sized peices for bream will make for one happy camper.

If he's a little older, say 10 or so and is getting tired of catching "little fish" and wants to catch some bass, then you can have fun with senko's, plastic worms, rapala twitch baits, and popr's.

Wal-mart sells all the most popular lures in colors that work.  buy some, post your questions here, and if they're their, you'll catch em.  

[KYbass1276]

I would agree with t mike about the guide good advice.   Also stay right here on this site and read and ask and you will learn much.     Welcome to the forum and the never ending learning experiance of fishing even the pros still learn something new they didn't know about fishing time to time

[mudcatwilly]

1.  Pay to go with a guide for a full day.  It will be worth it.

2.  Go fishing with an experienced bass angler, preferably one who has a boat.

3.  Pick a couple of different lures types in a few colors of each and learn how to fish those.  I recommend plastic worms (Gary Yamamoto Senkos or Yum worms, which is similar to the Senko) and spinner baits.  Worms and spinners can catch fish in almost all situations and they are not to difficult to learn how to fish.

4.  With the worms, experiment with Texas rigging and Carolina rigging using different weights.  Or you can fish a worm with no weight at all.

5.  Learn how to rig a worm on the hook so it's weedless and also try wacky style.  Make sure you get worm hooks.  They make it easier to rig the worm weedless.

6.  With the spinners, experiment with different plastic trailers.  That is where you place a plastic bait on the spinner bait hook.  I like to use single or twin curly tail worms for this.

7.  Read, read, read and ask a lot of questions.  Anglers love to give advice.

[anglerintraining]

Wow! I never expected to get so much feedback! Thanks a ton, & I have begun to read the articles. My son & I will continue to keep on keepin on, but I'm also considering the guide idea. Do guides always work by boat, because I'm thinking that to learn bank fishing, we should be trained that way. I'll have to see if I can swing that by fall.

Anyhow, I've taken note of the lure/bait suggestions & other ideas as well. I rarely watch TV, but I will try out some fishing shows. You know, I think I even have a video series on fishing that my brother once gave me. I'll hunt for that, because I think it was geared for beginners.

I will check back & let you know how the next fishing trip goes.

I appreciate the warm welcome!

[Madhouse27]

Prediction: Anglerintraining and his son will be shopping for a used boat by the end of 2006   One great thing about having a fishing partner is the ability to work together to figure out what is working. Each of you can start your outing with a different presentation. You throw a Senko or a jig and the boy goes to work with a spinnerbait or a crank. This will help you rule things in or out more efficiently. When one of you finds something that's clicking both can switch to that pattern and mop up. As you go along you may find that each of you ends up with different confidence baits. I'm sure you and your son are going to make some incredible memories on your bass fishing journey.

[larryrr]

what you need is a boat!!!You can move a lot better on a lake and get to the fish instead of the fish getting to you!! It dont have to be a $20.00.00 bass rig..just a little john boat will do.That way you can learn from a guide and use what he shows..My first boat was a 12' john boat with a paddle to move it with and I loved it.Just think about it..That's my advise for what it's worth

[mwhitworth25]

yea u can find some nice boats for really cheap prices on here

[Matt Fly]

Welcome to the forum, you have found one of the best ways to cheat the learning curve, the forum, the next would be Tritons advice, hire a guide.

Hookem

Matt