Leave It All At Home

[Globadoc]

My son loves crankbaits. But if they're not working, he's ready to go within the first 45 minutes or so. I'm still trying to pull something new out of the bag - worm, jig, spinnerbait, yum craw, something. Now, he's not so interested in fishing unless the conditions favor his crankbait skills. Honestly, they fit his temperament best anyway, because he hate to fish slow. Boring to him.

So, if I tried to get him to leave the cranks at home and fish with a T-rig and worm all day, he may never go back. Sometimes, temperament and skills are everything.

[Traveler2586]

Yes, you have to consider the student before the instruction. Suggest Spinnerbaits; depending on where you fish, try different color and blade combos. And you can run a Spinnerbait where you can't run a crank.

[BassBoy10]

I went out yesterday and "left it all at home" well, since im a beginning angler, my knot slipped on my jig and the next thing i know its 40ft out and gone! Any recommendations on knots?

[Catt]

Palomar

[eyedabassman]

A San Diego Jam Knot.

[eyedabassman]

look up fishing knots .com ( fishingknots.com ) it will show you all the knots and how to tie them.

[Traveler2586]

Palomar

X2... And check your line (about 3 - 4 ft out) and knot often.

[TommyBass]

_{I agree... I think it is entirely angler oriented. Here is how I feel about it.}

_{If you are basically new to fishing, then take everything with you and learn whatever you can. Get a feel for it, learn where fish tend to locate and how to approach them. Get all of your basics down well.}

_{Once you get past the beginner stage and you start becoming a 'serious' angler, then it changes. Take only one or two lures / techniques out with you and learn them if you struggle with them. You do this KNOWING that your likely to fail. If you are serious enough about bass fishing to want to learn techniques that bad, then you won't "walk away" from the sport because of it.}

_{If you get burnt out on it, do it with a different technique and give yourself a break. You just need to realized your doing that for a specific reason and that reason only, to become a better angler. Not to go out and have a heck of a good time. Its not for the light of heart, but definately well worth it.}

_{PS... you don't actually have to 'clear your boat out'... you just need the will power to tell yourself that you are going to practice on this technique, and not revert to fishing your worm or whatever when times get tough.}

[redboat]

Good thread.

Before you discount the "leave it all at home" teaching technique consider how frustrating it is to be a new angler trolling the aisles at the local Big Bass discount store (I'll skip the names; there are a couple in my area). See all the pretty lures; that rattlin' triple jointed hard bait in lime green and flourescent bright red with double string trailers than emits secret scent GURANTEED to catch a limit of bass, and all the other "sure fire" things they sell that just flat out don't work. So you load up with a couple thousand dollars of that crap, zero for a year or two - now that's frustrating!

I learned by trying things that work, not necessarily catching the biggest fish on the lake at first, but catching something. I worked up from beating the banks with Senkos and T-rigs to Carolina rigs, spinners, cranks, jigs, topwaters, always experimenting primarily with one technique at a time. Not a bad way to learn. Not necessarily "leave it all at home" but rather "learn one thing at a time".

[tnbassfisher]

So what are the exact things that you want to do if you follow the leave it all at home plan?

[Traveler2586]

The "leave it all at home" is just a metaphor for a practice of concentrating on one bait/lure at a time until you learn the in's and out's of that bait. You can, if you want, take it all with you, but most people loose their focus because they think about what's in the tackle box, and start switching baits. If you only take one bait, you force yourself to stay focused. DON'T worry about catching a fish - worry about learning the feel of the bait, the cast, how to un-snag the bait, the little things. If you catch a fish in the process - all the better.

[FD.]

I would never recommend this to a newbie but I do it to myself all the time. Only 1 rod and 1 type of bait on the deck at a time. Everything else is put away. I will work on 1 technique for an hour or two and then switch it out for something else.

I learned the value of this when I dislocated my right shoulder and was forced learn to cast left handed or not fish. There is not a cast or pitch I can't make from any angle because of it. Same thing happens with the single technique. Everyday I do that I come away with much more confidence in that bait, whether I caught fish or not.

[Traveler2586]

I would never recommend this to a newbie but I do it to myself all the time. Only 1 rod and 1 type of bait on the deck at a time. Everything else is put away. I will work on 1 technique for an hour or two and then switch it out for something else.

I learned the value of this when I dislocated my right shoulder and was forced learn to cast left handed or not fish. There is not a cast or pitch I can't make from any angle because of it. Same thing happens with the single technique. Everyday I do that I come away with much more confidence in that bait, whether I caught fish or not.

Your right this isn't for a newbie, it's intended for an experienced angler who wants to advance their repertoire of casting techniques.

[Deadeye-1]

I'll admit that this would probably be the best to do if you are wanting to learn a new lure or style. Just the other day I was trying out a lure that I always have tied on and rarely use (a fluke). After awhile of not getting any hits, I put it down and went back to my worm rod that I have confidence in. Ended up with a decent catch day.

Now If I left the worms at home, I probably wouldn't catch as many. I usually get to fish 1 day a week, due to my work. So for me it comes down to: do I want to learn and possibly not catch fish OR fish what I know works for me and catch fish. Hard choice, but I can see where in the end it would make you a better and more diverse angle.

[Dakota wendt]

This year I would like to get confident with hard baits as well I went to a lake last Friday and threw some rattle traps and a 3xd cought nothing so I threw a jig and Texas rig caught fish. I think it is important to catch fish anywhere you go just to boost confidence and keep you going strong.

[Jim_M]

Still new at this but I land squarely in "where and when to fish" as THE primary area to help new anglers.

There are thousands of lures, literally. What good are any of them if the guy is fishing the 90% of the

lake that contains...no fish? Hands down IMO, where when, and a few good lures.

[tnbassfisher]

The "leave it all at home" is just a metaphor for a practice of concentrating on one bait/lure at a time until you learn the in's and out's of that bait. You can, if you want, take it all with you, but most people loose their focus because they think about what's in the tackle box, and start switching baits. If you only take one bait, you force yourself to stay focused. DON'T worry about catching a fish - worry about learning the feel of the bait, the cast, how to un-snag the bait, the little things. If you catch a fish in the process - all the better.

I understand the principle, but what exactly are you looking for when you do this?

[eyedabassman]

I think it comes down to how much time you spend on the water! If a guy can fish 2 days a week to 5 days he can do this leave it at home. But the guy that only can fish one time a week or less, that would be a hard thing to do to learn some new tech. or lure!