kllrbee Posted July 30, 2010 Posted July 30, 2010 Hey all, Wanted to introduce myself to the forum and say thanks to all of you who have made this site so informative. I will be spending plenty of time reading thru the "Best of" section. Looks like lots of good stuff in there. Anyways, a little about me. I am 35 and was born and raised in the inner city of Chicago. So not much to fish where I was from. Of course, there was lake michigan, but none of my friends were into fishing and the lake was kind of far. I fished once on a camping trip to Wisconsin when I was 8 but dont remember anything. I moved out of the city and up to the IL-WI border about a year ago. Plenty of fishing here, so I wanted to start taking advantage of all the water and see what Ive been missing my whole life. Went to Bass Pro and got one of their 6'6" med-fast extreme rods, a Pflueger presidential reel, 4" soft plastic worms, 8lb. mono, split shot, clip on bobbers and some hooks and off I went. I actually thought casting would be tough the first time, but it came real natural. No birds nest or hooking myself. LOL. As it turns out, I was out there for about 10 minutes, just casting and reeling, getting familiar with the equipment, when BAM!!!, bobber goes under and I got a bite. Ill be honest, I didnt really know what to do, so I just reeled in a little while pulling up, then lowered the tip and let the fish run a little, then reeled and pulled up. After I did that a few times, the fish was pretty tired out. Came to find out later that I used a pretty good technique there instead of just reeling in like a madman. So I guess that came kinda natural too. Turns out I hooked a 3 lb largemouth on my first day, in 10 minutes, without even trying. Well, I was hooked. I figured "Wow, this is easy!!". Man, was I mistaken. I must have had beginners luck or something. That was about 3 months ago. Since then, I have inherited alot of tackle from my uncle. Lots of lures (rapala crankbaits and plugs, hula poppers, jitterbugs, spoons, spinners, more soft plastics, and a bunch of sinkers, swivels, snaps and hooks). I also picked up 2 more rods. A 6'6" med-light and 5'6" light. Both have 6lb. mono at the moment. If that wasnt enough, I got a Perception Caster fishing kayak that I got in trade for some machine work I did for a guy. I outfitted it with some rod holders, anchor, anchor trolley, and an Eagle Cuda 300 fishfinder. So it seems like I should have all the gear and I would be bringing home coolers full of fish, right? Wrong. :-? The problem is that I still dont know what Im doing. Ive gone out the last 3 days on the yak for 4-5 hours a day and Im lucky if I get any bites at all. I try to go into weedy, shrubby areas, channel openings, and dropoffs. Just places where I would think fish would hide. I know they are there, cuz I can see them sometimes. Also, I have tried soft plastics, cranks, spinners, and poppers. All different colors. Nothing seems to work. I know a bad day fishing is better than a good day at work, but Im starting to get a little frustrated with myself now. I feel like Im doing everything that Ive read, but getting no results. Is that just the way it goes sometimes? BTW, Im not just going for bass. Ill go for some panfish too. I wouldnt mind something to throw in the frying pan. I just want to catch some fish. Can you guys give me some advice? maybe just the basics, so I can re-evaluate what Im doing right and wrong. Sorry for the long post. Wanted to just introduce myself and it turned into a rant. LOL. Thanks in advance for helping out a newcomer to the fishing world. Quote
Super User bassfisherjk Posted July 30, 2010 Super User Posted July 30, 2010 Welcome to the site. Quote
grayAG Posted July 30, 2010 Posted July 30, 2010 Welcome to the site! Ask around your area for any bass clubs to help you out with local lakes. Quote
kllrbee Posted July 31, 2010 Author Posted July 31, 2010 Thanks for the warm welcome guys!! Was out today and got a few. Little guys, maybe 16-18 inches. Not sure, I dont have a tape measure on my yak. Reeled one up to the yak and was just about to grab the net from behind me when he jumped up and almost cracked me in the face. LOL. Tried a bunch of different things today, but basically caught the fish with 4" dark speckled plastic worm with med light rod with 6lb mono. Sat in about 5ft of weedy area and cast out to deeper area and slowly reeled in trying to bounce off teh bottom. Read that on here from someone. Not sure if I did it right, but it worked. Lots to learn. Never knew this was so complicated. LOL. ;D Thanks guys. Look forward to learning and sharing with you all. Quote
BassResource.com Administrator Keri Posted July 31, 2010 BassResource.com Administrator Posted July 31, 2010 Welcome to BR. Quote
BassResource.com Administrator Glenn Posted August 10, 2010 BassResource.com Administrator Posted August 10, 2010 Welcome home! You might want to read the Beginner's section for some tips. Also, feel free to ask as many questions as you want here. We like to help! Quote
Super User roadwarrior Posted August 10, 2010 Super User Posted August 10, 2010 Welcome aboard! 8-) Quote
farmpond1 Posted December 13, 2010 Posted December 13, 2010 Hey Kllrbee, I'm a little farther South than you (Champaign/Urbana area) and I know it's been some time since you introduced yourself but wanted to know how your season turned out? Fishing can be a blessing and a curse sometimes. There are always big old bass under each lilly pad until you cast for them. Then they disappear. At least that's how it seems sometimes. Anyhow, I hope you hung in there and found some agreeable fish to feed your new found addiction. Quote
Brent1 Posted December 15, 2010 Posted December 15, 2010 Welcome, this place is great! You'll find everything you need here. Quote
ChiCityBasser Posted December 21, 2010 Posted December 21, 2010 Welcome to BR and hope ur season turned out well for you and that you were able to get a couple more in the boat... Quote
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