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So I have started fishing about a year ago and loved it. During fishing season I have gone about an average of once every week in the summer and in fall (because of school) maybe once every 2 to 3 weeks. I go with my brother-in-law who has a boat and even though he has a ton more experience has not had great success either. I have fished almost every lake within an 3 hour drive and have had a great time. Recently I have started having trouble catching fish. In the beginning I would always go for trout because I knew how. I have recently however starting going for bigger more exciting fish such as small mouth. I have tried muskie fishing with no success what so ever. I know that bass are a thousand times smarter than trout so that explains alot, but I am just not having any success. I would say that I am getting skunked every other trip. It is getting bad. I am starting to get into more complex fishing that just an occasional trip and I don't feel like my skill is catching up with my love for fishing. So I need some basic info on small mouth bass. I have looked it up but sometimes just websites are confusing. I would like to hear stuff from an actual fisherman talking to me. Also I don't know what kind of rod and reel to have. maybe a combination of maybe 3 different poles that I always have. any suggestions for what type of combo of 2 to 3 poles i should get. I currently have a light action ugly stick and a cross fire 2500-3ib reel. I NEED SUGGESTIONS ANYTHING WOULD HELP
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I have caught bass on all but my ugly stick light but i haven't really tried it is a small river pole 4ft5in. I have a 7 ft berkly amp with a okuma cimeron it is used mainly for smaller jigs and worms but have caught many bass with it, have a 7ft daiwa strikforce with a pflueger trion real that is used for larger jigs and medium crank bait and have caught a few bass with it but it is still somewhat new it is replacing my old rod, also have a 6ft 6in fenwick eagle gt baitcaster with a pflueger criterion real, this set up is new to me not overly familiar with baitcasters but have caught a couple bass with it and lost a few muskie with it. I have also caught bass with my wifes shakespear lady fish. I don't think it is so much the rod and real as much as technique and having the right bait at the right time as i have managed to get them pretty consistently and i am far from a bass fisherman, just lots of practice and patience. I do know small mouth seem to go after smaller bait than largemouth will, I have caught them on anything from drifting worms to small crappie jigs have never caught one on a larger crank bait (doesn't mean they won't hit em) overall i have had the best luck with smaller jigs.
good luck[fishon]
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At this point in the game your rod really does not have a whole heck of a lot to do with it. True, the better your rod, the more bites you'll feel. And to be completely honest, an uglystik is not the most sensitive rod out there. If you want to catch bass, the best thing you can do to began with is learn to fish plastics. Stick with lighter lines and finesse presentation like dropshot or shaky heads and you will get bit.
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"So I have started fishing about a year ago and loved it."
[cool][#0000ff]So...I started fishing over 60 years ago. And I loved it so much that it has become a lifelong passion. And I continue to learn something new on every fishing trip. It is a long journey but the journey is its own reward.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The good news is that all fishing can be enjoyable. The bad news is that to become consistently successful requires more than just enjoyment. And it is MUCH more than simply a choice in rods. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]After one year you have fished several waters for several species. No doubt you are forming preferences as to your favorites. But you are also looking to add new species to your growing angling resume. That is good. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]However, at some point you should step back, analyze your situation and focus on what you REALLY want to do well. Pick a lake or pick a species...or both. Go with someone who can REALLY teach you something USEFUL...not just how to put a worm on a hook. Read reports and hang out at the local tackle shops to soak up more info by osmosis. Spend time online researching as much as you can about your target topic. Much of it will not be very useful but there will be bits and pieces you can plug into your growing mental database.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]It is your choice how far you take each new quest. Do you adopt a multi water, multi tackle and multi species outlook? Or will you narrow it down to chucking big lures for tiger muskies? At this point you do not know enough to make an informed decision.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Getting skunked? It happens. Deal with it. Any angler who claims to catch fish on every trip will lie about other things too. But, with time and experience your success ratio will increase...as will your enjoyment.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Skunkings do not happen to me very often. That is mostly because I plan most of my trips around waters and species during periods when I have the greatest expectation of success. Very little "chuck and chance it" on most of my fishing trips. I have accumulated many years of experience on the waters I fish most often...during entire years...under a wide range of conditions. And, I keep fishing logs to consult on future trips. That takes time. Not gonna happen during your first year as a fisherman.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]As you have the opportunity to fish and learn different waters...and add different species to your LIST...you will learn the factors that improve or lessen your chances of success. You will have a good selection of lures or baits for the conditions you anticipate finding when you get there. You will have Plan A, B & C...just in case. Much better than just driving up to a lake you don't know, with tackle you are unfamiliar with, with unproven lures that the guy at Walmart sold you...and fishing for a species about which you know very little.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]No magic formulas. No pills or shots you can take. And the "learning curve" is different for everybody. Start by learning to use the tackle you have efficiently, so that you can focus on the fishing and not on fighting with unfamiliar gear. Then practice different casting and retrieving techniques, with different lures. All of that should be automatic.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The real biggie is learning the ecology of the lakes or rivers you fish. In Utah there are constant changes throughout the year...in water levels, water temperatures, visibility, chemistry, food availability, etc. Factor in the spawning cycles and the movement patterns for searching out food resources or more comfortable temperature conditions and there are a lot of variables. Just because you caught a fish on a lure at a particular spot last week is no guarantee that it will work again this week...or ever again.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Spring and fall are "transitional" times in Utah. When water levels and temperatures are changing drastically...over short periods of time...the fish usually go deeper and become less active. They are harder to find and harder to catch...for everybody. But, if you can find them you can sometimes finesse them into biting...something...if you at least know the options.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Again, all those things take TIME. There are thousands of books and websites available that have been generously put together by seasoned anglers willing to share their accumulated knowledge with serious students of angling. I can't stress too highly that these resources are going to be a great place to build your knowledge of basic fishing...and to conduct advance studies in your areas of special focus.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The rest of it must be acquired on the water and by keeping records of your successes and failures. And when you DO have a blank day, don't beat yourself up. Instead, turn it into a learning experience. What did you do right as well as what you might need to do differently?[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]It is said that Thomas Edison conducted over 1000 experiments before finally discovering the light bulb. When asked how it felt to fail 1000 times, he was heard to say "I do not look at it as failing 1000 times. I merely found 1000 ways it would not work before finding one that would work."[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Good luck and enjoy your education. And when you have learned enough to help others, pay it forward.[/#0000ff]
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[quote FishHunterSmoot]I know that bass are a thousand times smarter than trout so that explains alot, but I am just not having any success.[/quote]
LOL!!! Have ya fished for smallies at FG?? Its tuffer catching the ling there and their like fishing in a fish bowl.
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RE" I know that bass are a thousand times smarter than trout so that explains alot, but I am just not having any success."
Not so. They don't destroy themselves on power goo, but they are relatively easy to catch.
A few things to consider;
1. This isn't the best time of year to fish for smallies in a lot of our lakes up North. The experienced anglers can get a few, but you may want to wait.until next spring to really get after them. It will be easier and more enjoyable for you then.
2. Beerman mentioned plastics, and I agree. Tossing a tube jig, grub or a senko will give you some success on most days. It will also teach you what a bite feels like. That is a genuine challenge for some trout guys learning to fish for bass. They cannot recognize the bites, and they are quite a bit different. Once you learn what the bite is like, your will success will go up a lot.
3. Don't worry about the rod and reel at this time. If you really get into it, then you will want to get the fancy stuff, but I used to run up a pretty high fish count on my basic trout rods, back in the day.
4. Just go out, try new stuff and have fun with it. You may find something that works well for you that the hot shots don't use and would scoff at.
Good luck.
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If you want to be better at bass, or trout or blue gill only time with some one who fishes for the type you want will put you on the fast track...
And even in bass fishing there is many ways to fish and how to fish for them...
One great way is join a bass club, by the way you said you was in school?? how old are you??
We have bass clubs for Kids and adults as well, and fishing with the right poles will help out in a big way...
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FHS,
You have been given a LOT of good, very good, information here. In five years from now, come back to this post and re-read all of that advice and it will "start" to make sense. Until then, buddy up with someone who is successful at this fishing gig, fish along side them, then find someone else different that is good too and fish with them too.
I am totaly convinced that the best way to become sussfull at fishing a particular species is to learn from the experts.
I think you would be absolutely surprised just how many guys here on the board would be willing to take you and get you catching fish.
Don't be afraid to ask here on the board for someone to take you out and show you how. That's the best advice I could ever give you.
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fishing is all about trial and error you might be knocking the bass dead on one lake with a crank bait but you go to the next lake and all of a suden they dont take the same crank they were taking just an hour away on another lake different habbitat different presintation different bait needed stick to one spot. and get familiar with it.. go get a wide variety of different baits and work them all tell you start seeing results on one then start using different techniques with all the baits and make a results pile and a no results pile and keep working them all tell you get very comfortable with them and stick to the one lake for the time while you get use to the bait.... and a good all rounded rod and reel set up is a medium action spinning rod set up.. it can do it all i have used one of my spinnig rod set ups for carp fishing steelhead fishing trout fishing bluegill pearch catfish all of that and it performs fo it all great.. just choose wisley on your selection on makes.. alot of people put down uglysticks because they outperform there 200 doller rod allday long just have to know how to use it.. so keep fishing and you will pick up on the luck side just dont give up...[fishin]
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Try this link it helped me for Powell, Mead and Mohave.
[url "http://www.wayneswords.com/tips.htm"][/url]http://www.wayneswords.com/tips.htm[/url]
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[#502800][size 2]If TubeDude has a password for his historical data base, do everything you can to get it ......... Then read it, and do what it says in chronological sequence, according to dates, times, bodies of water, temperatures, baits etc.[/size][/#502800]
[#502800][size 2][/size][/#502800]
[#502800][size 2]As long as you have his password, take a look at some of the stuff he makes, that you hang on the end of your line, and get some that matches.[/size][/#502800]
[#502800][size 2][/size][/#502800]
[#502800][size 2]This would be like obtaining the holy scriptures of fishing. [/size][/#502800]
[#502800][size 2][/size][/#502800]
[#502800][size 2]Now you are ready to go fishing ........ I'm not saying you will catch anything, but you are ready to go.[/size][/#502800]
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FHS,
There's some absolute sage advice in the replies to your post. I feel your pain.... I started fishing here five years ago after growing up fishing saltwater. While there is some crossover between the two, I found out that the learning curve was much steeper than I expected. About two years ago things started to make more sense for me, and I had a great year. This year was even better! Its all about time on the water. It can't be replaced, faked, or accelerated. You just have to learn from every trip, even if you do get skunked. Keep putting your time in and it will all start to make sense. Good luck! Fred K.
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There is alot of good advise coming from this post and wish i would have known about this site a couple years ago. I am just starting to see results this year as far as less of the skunk though it still happens from time to time, I went out last thursday and and got nothing not even a bite. It is all trial and error, there is no easy way out. You say you have fished trout so my advice would be to use the technique you may have learned using jigs for trout and apply them for bass and keep modifying it till you figure out what works and what doesn't. Many people say to keep a log which should include water temp(use feel if you don't know) what jig combo you were using, and what line you use which I have learned does make a difference Braid vs mono etc., also think of the time of day and season.
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[cool] [font "Comic Sans MS"][#0000ff] One thing that I am quite suppised at is , no-one said to check your hook's to make sure they are sharp !! [:p] I know I have missed many hook set's , because of this . [pirate] Invst in a good hook file & check your hook's before your trip or before they hit the water . [ ] Above all have fun , enjoy the outdoor's , Family & friend's . [fishin][/#0000ff][/font]
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thank you so much for the advice. I will definatly start trying harder to learn from my mistakes and success.
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I am 17 and started last summer of 2009. Do you know of any bass clubs around the salt lake area??
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I am in a club, some clubs are not taking any more in it and others you must pass coming out to so many meetings and tournaments to get in...
But in the one I am in just come out and in most cases you are in, send me a PM and I will give you more...
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