Learning to fish on your own

[NCthompson]

Has anyone here basically had to teach themselves how to fish? I have been on my friends boat a few times and my grandpa lives on the sound but my dad never liked fishing much. He was more of a sports guy, which also has helped me tremendously, but I never had any guidance on bass fishing or really any kind. I tried out fishing when i was in middle school and loved it and still do it now and im 17. I try to read a lot into bass fishing on here but the success never comes. Has anyone here ever basically had to teach themselves and gather information here and there rather than someone actually teach you?

I think me trying to teach myself is why I never catch anything.

[mdgreco191]

I taught myself, and it was hard.  I just read everything i could, asked questions, and fished a lot!

[rdneckhntr]

Well to start with READ everything you can then go out and try it. It really helps if you find some people around your age that likes to fish as much as you do and fish with them.

Im 16 and my best friend is 18(weve known eachother since we were 11 or 12) and hes pretty much the only person I fish with anymore. He's taught me a lot and Im sure I have taught him a lot of things I knew too.   I had fished since i was little but it was him who really got me into bass fishing...ive caught my PB with him there too.

[Raul]

I taught myself how to fish, my dad was most certainly not the "outdoorsy" kind of guy, my grandfather was a rancher but knew squat about fishing ( even though I learn from him how to saddle a horse & milk a cow ) my maternal grandfather was an asphalt rat ( city guy ) and the closest he had ever been to a fish was when he ate fish bought in the market.

Thankfully, thanks to the Internet and people like Glenn we have places like this one where you can find everything that has to do with bass fishing in the home section ( tons of articles ) and if you need help then there 's the forums. Read first there, then come and ask questions here, somebody always has the answer.

[bubbler]

the story of my life.

my dad dosn,t like fishing no one will teach me so im left to teach my self.

I read every thin i could find and have little success. however i found a friend that loved fishing and his whole family loved it.

so I went with them and cought 12 my first time out with them.

my advice to uo is to find someone on this site or at school that likes fishing and basicaly pick their brain for every thing they know.

go fishing with them and study the sport well and you will soon be successful.

if you dodn't have a boat find someon who has one. Im only 13 and same with my friend. FIND A FISHING PALL

hope this helps. it helped me

[wagn]

I have the same problem. I started fishing a little over a year ago, and unfortunately none of my friends fish and the few who have gone fishing with me, know less then I do. I end up being the one doing the teaching.  So i've basically had to teach myself. What's hard is that some techniques I pick up on quickly, like Senko fishing, or walking the dog with stickbaits, and I know i'm doing them right (cause I'm catching fish of course).

However for me fishing a jig seems impossible, and no matter how much i'm reading on the forum hear I don't actually know if i'm choosing the right jig or doing the right thing with it, cause I have no one to critique me and help me learn more.

I tried joining a local bass club, and I go out and fish tournaments with a partner. Unfortunately this so far has only been somewhat helpful. I do get to see other techniques and other anglers styles, but because of the pressure of a tournament there really isn't time to try new things and pick the other anglers brain. Instead because i'm trying to compete, i still fish the same techniques that i do on my own, because I have confidence in them

[NCthompson]

The difference between you guys and me is you dont know what your doing or didnt, but you still catch bass here and there. Ive caught 3 bass. 2 on bobber and worm and a 1 pounder on spinner bait.

[AlanM85]

There is no other way to learn really, than to fish. No one else is going to hold the rod for you, and retrieve for you. One piece of advice is to not try to learn too much too fast, when you're reading about a particular technique go out and try it, learn it. When you're comfortable with it, learn another one. Also, pick a good spot to learn. A smaller, out of the way type of place where you're not having to not only learn technique, but learn where the fish are going to be.. Pond or creek, something like that where you don't lose confidence thinking there aren't any fish here or something like that.

Get a good lure, one that's simple to learn to build confidence. I'll not try to give advice on lure selection as it would just be an opinion, but if you're hearing of a lure that is super productive in your area, give it a shot. Ask a lot of questions, etc.  Good luck... and don't get discouraged.

[Gatorbassman]

I taught myself untill I found this website. I caught fish but only because a picked one lure or rig at a time and spent days, weeks, and months fishing with it. I asked questions where I could but I didn't have a whole lot of people I knew who fished. I was very good at trout fishing but bass fishing was a whole different world. I wish I could remember how long it took me to catch my first bass on my own knoledge I was probably at Scout Camp and throwing a spinnerbait. That was the first lure I used. You are very lucky to have the internet at your disposal. This website is the best there is for learning the art and skills needed to catch bass. Read the articles a little at a time and ask as many questions as come to your mind. We don't mind answering as many as you can throw at us. And most importantly you have to just be patient and go fishing as much as you can. It will come.

[John J.]

I taught myself. My dad and mom use to bass fish, but that was way back then. I am 18. I searched information online and luckily joined a bass fishing club in my school. My very first tournament (first time ever fishing!!) I caught 1 bass and 3 warmouths and I came in 4th place. Which wasn't bad for a first time!!

Since then I've been getting tons of 4ths a couple of 3rds and 1 second. But I just couldn't make it to 1st for some reason...

Oh well, I taught myself and I am still learning every day!  ;D

[BoroBass]

I've always had a general idea of how to fish since I learned as a kid, but I didnt do much fishing up through high school. My first year of college I got back into bass fishing with a buddy of mine who isn't exactly an expert but pointed me in the right direction.

Then I found this site, read it for a while, eventually registered, and even later started posting. I've learned TONS from BassResource and I think I've caught a lot of fish I wouldn't have if I hadn't found this site and learned what I have.

Nowhere to go but up.

[Red]

dont sweat it man, it will come, take all these guys advice....i have fished for years, but not for largemouth bass....i moved to texas and found this site....and thanks to all the great info and people here(especially avid ;D) i catch bass almost everytime i wet a hook..like they said, read, ask questions, and before you know it you will be posting a thread called "my personel best"

good luck

Cliff

[roadwarrior]

Great advice already, but I know you NEED to catch a bass.

So...

Buy a pack of 5" Senko (not knock offs) and some 4/0 EWG Gamakatsu Offset Worm Hooks. Rig them weightless and weedless (look it up). Make a long cast parallel to the bank, out from the shoreline 5-15 yards. Let the bait settle to the bottom and sit for 1 minute. Move the bait 6-12" and let it settle again for another 10 seconds. Continue moving the bait EXACTLY as I have described until you are out of the "zone." Move up ten steps and repeat. If the water you are fishing holds any bass in the general area (around the shoreline) you will catch a fish...GUARANTEED!

If the store you shop has Fat Ika, buy a bag of them, too. AFTER you have lost 5 Senkos, fish the Fat Ika on the same hooks EXACTLY the same way. After you fish 5 of the Fat Ika switch back to the Senko, but do NOT change lures in between. I want you to FOCUS on the bait you are fishing.

YOU WILL CATCH FISH if you follow my instructions explicitly...GUARANTEED!

[NCthompson]

thanks roadwarrior. I already have some fat ikas but not sure what kind of hooks to use and how to rig them. ive used them like once

[Fishing Buds]

did it myself also,  

I still mostly fish by myself, my son has been going with me more this year,

since I started fishing by myself it has been hard to fish with others now. I'm use to doing it my way. Being easy to get along with helps. I've fished with some big headed fisherman that would've turned me off to fishing if I met them first. >

But, the biggest teacher has been the wide world of the Internet ;D

Challenge yourself! You are your best competitor

[grimlin]

If it wasn't for boards and sites like this one,i'd still be fishing with live worms and bobbers catching nothing but dinks.Probably falling asleep out there on the lake as well.

[wvwask]

Im in the same boat... when I was about 15 I wanted to get into bass fishing, but had no idea how.

Who do I credit for helping me? Jimmy Houston and Hank Parker.  I watched their shows and read every bass fishing magazine I could get my hands on.

Check around ebay and places and pick up back issues of Bassmaster and bassin and you will learn tons..

This season, concetrate on the senko/ fat ika fishing advice above.  If you can master those this season, you won't run out of fish to catch, guaranteed.

[J_Young]

I also had to teach myself to fish. I had virtually no friends that fished, and by the time I got interested in bass fishing, my Dad had lost interest so he never offered to help me learn and I didnt ask for much advice. I just spent a lot of time in small ponds around my folks house with an old beat up Zebco 33 and a no name rod just trying to figure out what the heck I was trying to accomplish.

I still think that I have no idea what I am doing, I am by no means an "expert" at all. I thought that I had a good idea about what I was doing until I found sites like this. With so many people who know their stuff, reading what they say I realized that there is a whole world outside of what I thought I knew. I learn something new every time I visit these boards.

[MendotaBassMaster]

I have learned to fish on my own as well. I started out using a cheap six dollar pole with a bunch of pre-rigged worms. I read every magazine and book I could find and then one day I was fishing at this pond and threw in a pre-rigged pumpkin seed worm and my pole seemed to bend in half and I knew there was no way no how I could bring whatever it was on my line in so I turned and ran from the pond and drug that sucker out of the water and onto the bank. It was a really big bass and it was one of the coolest things I ever saw but since then I have tried to become a better angler. Thanks to this board and the good people here, I have learned to use a spinning rod and actually spool it myself. I am in the process of learning my baitcaster and can side arm cast it pretty good. I can now fish texas rigged worms, senkos, lizards and flukes. I have a personal best that I just caught last week of two pounds. I know it is not a giant but we have a lot of dinks in the local lake I fish at and the big fish I drug ashore years ago doesn't count as I don't consider that I caught it since I drug it onshore. lol. It has been a long road to get to this point and I have probably nagged a lot of guys on the board but not a one has conplained or failed to explain or help me and for that I am truly grateful. My wife who it my best friend goes fishing with me and is becoming a better angler as well. I know with the knowledge that I am obtaining and the patience that I have that that big ole hawg will come and I cannot wait for the day I post that picture to my friends here on the board. Thanks from the bottom of my heart.

[Cephkiller]

Just keep fishing and don't give up.  you are living in the "golden age", buddy.  When I started learning how to bass fish, all I had was magazines.  You have a nearly endless supply of info here and elsewhere on the internet.  BTW, listen to rw.

[rbrick]

What Roadwarrior said.However if you are like me and not patient enough to fish that slowly,get yourself some zoom superflukes in baby bass color.Cast them and steady twitch them back.If they dart back and forth your fishing it right and will catch fish.

[Other.]

My dad got me into the sport of fishing. But I practically taught myself from fishing every time I had a chance. Then I came across this site and I learned even more!

The first baits I started using were crank baits since they made there own action and I did not have to do much work to catch fish. Then I started using soft plastics and such. I am glad I had such success of crank baits that got me into this sport.

[jeremyt]

I think I sent you a message on a different saltwater related board. I am just starting to bass fish myself. I have a boat if you want to get out to some lakes and the new river give me a call. Maybe the learning curve will shorten between the both of us.

Jeremy

[Zonked]

When I was a wee little lad my grandpa taught me to trout fish in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, I then taught my dad.

I moved to Kentucky a couple years back and take up bass fishing for the first time. I quickly realize that this is a whole new ball game and start scouring google for tips...I find a few articles on this website called bass resource that shed some light on the subject. I went out to the river after learning a few things and wound up catching my very first LMB. Needless to say I was hooked and proceeded to spent hours just reading any and all information I could find on this site.

Within a couple of weeks I was catching bass consistently, and I hadn't even discovered the forums section yet! Thanks to BR I now find myself teaching a buddy of mine who's been fishing these waters all his life...all because the only website he concerns himself with is his my-space page, lol.

Act like a sponge on this site, absorb as much as you can and it will happen for you. Testimonial over :

[jomatty]

the internet is a great place.  its hard for me to even say that ive taught myself as ive had so much assistance right here on these boards.

take RW advice.  That is exactly what gave me the confidence to start catching bass.  once you know they are there and that you can catch them on artificial lures, learning new lures is that much easier.

if i were you i would read the seasonal articles and learn the basic patterns that fish follow at different times of the year.  then start with the senko and gradually increase your arsenal as your confidence increases with various baits.  before long you will know what to do in the variety of situation you are likely to face on the water.

one caveat is that your interest has just broke the budget.  you will find yourself owning more rods and spending more money on fishing than you ever thought possible.  overall it is worth it though