I just cant catch bass

[fisherman2014]

So ive been trying to get into bass fishing with lures off and on for the past 5 years and just get tired of not catching any fish...it seems when i use lures its like the fish just arent there.

The fish are usually there, they don't really have anywhere to go, except maybe in someone's boat. The best advice I can give you would to just keep at it and experiment with different lures and retrieves.

[gar-tracker]

You are in a normal situation as catching is much more than just throwing a line. There are so many variables in bass fishing that it is impossible to say here in a forum how to catch bass on any given day. The best advice I can give is to get in a club and fish with some good fishermen and learn.

If there is any advise I could give is to use plastics such as a fluke, slug-o, worm, or lizard and try to make it look sick or wounded which means slow with twitches and pauses. As for color, if the water has a green tint to it try a watermelon type color, if it has a brown color try a pumpkin colored lure. Another major mistake new anglers make is to wait for the smashing strike, this is rarely the case. It is much more normal to see a twitch in the line, the line move sideways, the lure feels heavy or light as the fish sucked the lure in and just sitting (heavy) or has the lure and heading in your direction (light), hooksets are free so if it feels different--set the hook. It is something like baseball batting practice to get the timing to feel the strike and set the hook so you will probably miss more fish than you hook until you get the timing and technique learned.

Another major consideration is to find the 10% of the lake that holds fish, again there is no way to tell this on the forum so read the how to articles on the different times of year and what the fish will be doing at that time such as spawning, ect. then apply what you read.

As for location it has been said that not all structure will have fish close but all fish will have structure close.

Fishing is like and other sport, the more you learn and practice the better you will become--keep learning and fishing. 8-)

This is it in a nutshell.

[DavidWH]

Anyone have a link to a good site that shows how to rig all the different lures? I also am looking for different knots and how to tie them. Prefer video's and/or pictures.

[jlew9999]

Wow this forum is exactly where I'm at in my bass fishing career lol. Thank for all the guidance old guys haha

[scaleface]

I didnt catch a lot of bass when I started but I liked bass fishing so much that I kept putting in those eight hour days . Eventually the fish started biting . 

[Big Kahuna Ranch]

This has been a very informative thread.

ive been out of fishing for quite a few years and so all this info is great.

 

As for the person that asked about how to do different rigs and set ups, I can say that 

YouTube has been great for providing just such info.

IMHO, Glenn provides some of the most concise info in a down to earth manner.

 

Thanks to all who have been willing to share their knowledge.

 

[brent245]

I find it's more important where you throw that lure as opposed to what lure you are throwing. If you look for spots where fish are hiding and congregating, you can darn near throw anything in the water and they will strike. Once you learn where the fish are and their habits in a particular pond/lake fishing becomes easier.

[earthworm77]

On 5/30/2007 at 1:18 AM, Nick982 said:

The only baits that i have caught bass on are spinnerbaits and carolina rigged worms.....

Thanks for the advice!  

Go an buy yourself "Finesse Fishing" by Doctor Michael Jones......read that book. You WILL catch fish.