Can anybody help a newbie?

[westsaxman]

Hi everybody, I hate to be a pest, but can somebody offer this newbie some advise?  

I've been a trout fisherman my whole life.  Just recently I was given a little bass master's 9 foot boat.  Well, I'm of course excited, and immediately fixed it up, put on a small trolling motor and sought out my nearest lake.  

Here's the problem, again, I'm a STREAM trout fisherman, and have no clue where a beginner like me should start.  

I actually caught a 13" large mouth on a night crawler yesterday, but I'm pretty sure that was dumb luck.  I have no idea where to start, what basic lures to buy, etc.  I have some old spinners and various lures and jigs from my dad, bought some purple worms, but that's about it.  I obviously don't want anything too difficult to start...

By the way, I live in South Central Pennsylvania.

Thanks everybody!

[move][/move]

[roadwarrior]

Welcome aboard!

Start by reading through the BassResource.com Library,

"Fishing Articles" and "Tacklebox" at the top of the page.

We have an extensive collection and additional links.

Here's something to help you get started:

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1158577137

Good luck!

8-)

[Hemi6677]

There is going to be a lot of really helpful people reply to this thread so I will just toss this out there before the real knowledge shows up.

One think I would suggest is to start out keeping it simple!! I had got to a point where I was trying so many different lures and techniques out I simply didn't catch any fish. One day I said screw it, grabbed three rods, one with a rubber worm, one with a chatterbait, and one with a rage tail frog and basically went back to the basics. Lo and behold I caught fish!

Good luck out there!

[senile1]

Welcome to Bass Resource!  Follow Roadwarrior's recommendations and read every article and forum topic that interests you here.  You'll pick up some techniques quickly.  

[D4u2s0t]

start by reading the "Fishing Articles" on the top left of the screen.  Tons of helpful info.  If you have more specific questions, let us know from there.  And welcome to the site!

[Lynx]

I think that your going to find everything thing you need to know if you read through all the forum posts on here. Being new to bass fishing a word of advice I can give to you is keep it slow, learn the area that your fishing (study your surroundings), & dont get discouraged if your not catching anything.

Bass are fish that takes a science to get the hang of, for everything plays factor in landing them.

Reading through these forums, well should give you alot of information you can take to find a place to start.

THE BEST ADVICE I can give you is to take your time in reading, soak the information up & ask questions about everything. There is just so much to know & learn. When you think that you know it all, you'll find theres more to learn.

[bilgerat]

Read up on and start out with the rubber worm. Learn how to rig it weedless with the proper size hooks and go out on your boat without anything else. Use it until you get comfortable with it, then go on to other baits.

I say this because a lot of newbies (I was guilty of this as well) get frustrated easy and start tying on every bait they have for 4 or 5 casts which accomplishes nothing.

I say start with the worm because it requires patience and discipline to learn (should be no problem if you chased trout for years) but is probably one of the most productive baits out there.

[Busy]

Welcome!

I'm by far better at stream trout fishing than bass fishing as well.  This site has taught me a lot.

Fishing Bass vs. Trout on lakes:

-Fish the opposite side, trout tend to feed on the windward side while bass tend to feed on the leeward side.  Both can be anywhere of course, but I find this generally holds true.

-Trolling at 60 ft probably won't do you much good.

I find that catching bass on flies is the most satisfying way to catch them, but far more rare than when you use bass tackle like spinnerbaits, rappalas, and artificial worms.  Artificial worms are all-around bass catchers when you give them some locomotion.

[WRB]

Trout verses bass;

Trout are cold water fish that using current to bring small size prey to them. Bass are warm water fish that hunts it's all sizes of prey, including trout.

If you have spinning tackle, then finesse bass fishing would be my suggestion. Finesse bass fishing is using smaller lures on lighter line than standard bass tackle.

Soft plastics like a plastic worm is a good choice. Smaller light weight floating diving lures like the original Rapala #13 is another good choice.

Bass like to hide in shadows where they can ambush prey. Any object that creates a shadow is a good place to start.

The simple split shot rig; #3 round split shot (no ears) pinched onto your 6 lbs mono line, then slide the shot up the line about 3 ' and cut off about 1'. Tie on a Gamakatsu weedless finesse wide gap hook, size 1. Nose hook the plastic worm and you are ready to bass fish.

To start with try Roboworms 5" curl tail; Oxblood with red flake.

You simply drag the split shot slowly along the bottom near shadow breaks. Bass engulf there prey, so you may not feel a strike, just pressure like a rubber band. Sweep the rod back hard and reel to set the hook.

Good luck

WRB

[flechero]

What's your approximate location?  The easiest way to learn is to find some one to go with.  You can learn more in a couple hours than in a full day of reading...  Not to discount the articles but having a little basic knowledge will help you comprehend more in them.

If you are near another member, I bet they would offer to hit the lake with you.

[Devins]

One of the first baits I learned how to fish with was a spinnerbait and its one that I have people who do not bass fish use when they come out with me. Its easy to fish, versitile, snag resistant, and simpler to hook fish on than many other baits.

Transitioning from trout fishing, you need to learn how to focus much more on fishing cover near the shoreline such as logs, weeds, and docks than you may be used to With a spinnerbait you can learn how to cast accurately into these tight spots and work the bait back without worrying too much about either getting hung up or working it wrong. Usually a bass will hook itself so you only need to keep tension on the line rather than use an exagerated hook set when one hits.

To begin with, I would take a 1/4 or 3/8 oz spinnerbait, pick a bank that has both a "medium" slope to it (not a cliff, and not so shallow that you can wade 20 yards out) and the most brush, weeds, or other cover that you can find and just work my way down it. Focus on throwing to every piece of cover you see.

Welcome to bass fishing and Good luck!

[Marshfisher]

I'm probably opening up here for a Bass Fishing lashing but here goes. With the exception of river smallmouth, I've probably caught more largemouth on nightcrawlers than artificial lures. I'm probably just not schooled enough with lure fishing. I have caught some on plastic worms, crankbaits, and 1 on a buzz bait. None the less, I just have dome better with nightcrawlers fish pretty much like you fish a plastic worm. Lures have the advantage of less hassle and repeated use, obviouisly. I have boxes of lures and probably don't catch much with them because I just don't use them much. River fishing is another story. There I pretty much use tubes and floating minnow lures. These are great lures near where I live.

In closing, Maybe I'm just one of those old do gs that can't learn new tricks.

[westsaxman]

Thanks Everybody!  This is all great info.  I've started reading as well, but I think experience is gonna be key with all of your tips.  I guess I'm just gonna have to spend more time on the lake... I'll tell my wife you guys said it was ok.    

I am fishing in Meadow Grounds Lake in McConnelsurg PA.  

[kms399]

go get a white spinnerbait and a pack of 5" senko's and some 4/0 ewg hooks. ask the guy at the counter in the fishing section how to rig them

watch this video

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1247326108

and read this

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1121527643

if you do this and cant catch bass well you might want to stick to trout fishing

[Bainza]

Welcomet to the forum! Never been on meadow grounds with a boat but I have shore fished it. I live about 5 min away from Cowans Gap to give ya an idea of where Im from. If ya need a fishin partner some weekend let me know. Nice to meet another local on here!

[westsaxman]

Good to meet ya!  Cowan's Gap is actually where I caught the bass...(and a lot of blue gills)

[angler1]

Keep it simple. A white spinnerbait will work all year long. The key is to vary the retrieve speed. A crankbait, I use one by Spro. Its the little john 1/2 oz. In citrus shad that dives 2-5 feet, black with blue flake GYCB 4" senko. I would start out like that. Look for areas of cover where bass hide to ambush pery. Good luck.

[Fishing Rhino]

Learn the bottom of the water you fish.

If it's in your budget, get a basic depth finder.  I bought a 99 dollar Eagle Cuda for my canoe last year.  It runs on 8 AA batteries which last for several hours.

Learn the shelves, and contours of the bottom.  Look for irregular (not a smooth, straight lineon the display) bottom, and also note any transitions, including secondary echoes beneath the first bottom line.

Do not use it as a "fish finder".  I catch fish where none show, and at times fail to catch fish where they do show.

You'll soon be able to distinguish hard rocky bottom from mud and sand, as well as submergent vegetation.  Where you know there is a rocky bottom, run over it to learn what it looks like.  Ditto for vegetation.

If possible, get a chart of the pond/lake you fish.  While there are electronics (GPS) that can do the job, in the long run, it will benefit you to be able to read the display on your sounder.

Keep it simple.  Learn the basics.  While the high tech electronic stuff is great, it is no substitute for that computer between your ears.

The more you know, the more the toys will help you.

[NasTMcfingas]

Keep it simple, spinner bait, crankbait, soft plastics, topwater frog.  Each bait has it's own bite and characteristcs.  These are IMO the foundation for fishing artificail lures for bass.  There are many different versions of each bait on the market, but for example once your learn how to fish with one soft plastic bait, then usually the same principles will apply to the others.  Then you can start learning different rigs, Texas rig, Carolina rigs, drop shot rigs.  The more techniques you can learn with a single bait, the better off you will be. Once you've gotten one bait under your belt, move on to the next.

[Grey Wolf]

Don't you love responding to a question and the person hasn't been on line for two months to see your advice.

[done]

      Well even if they aren't the rest of us get the benefit of hearing the info put out here.

[Fishbone]

I'm a stream fisherman too, who has started bass fishing in a boat this summer. On my last 3 outings for bass I caught perch, pickerel, catfish and a musky.....no bass. LOL

I'm learning, but I don't know what.

[retiredbosn]

I think one of the most important things to remember when switching from streams (trout in particularly) to lakes and LMB, is to remember that it is almost impossible to go to big.  I've caught several 7-10 inch bass on 10" worms!!!!  IMO one of the easiest techniques to learn is the texas rigged worm, throw it out let it fall and slowly bring back imparting some action as the worm drags the bottom.  Rattl Traps and Spinnerbaits are fairly easy to at least start catching fish with, cast and reel.  Good Luck.