Need help

[Bassinsince98]

When is your Dale Hollow tourney, what ramp is it out of?

state dock next saturday

[Bassinsince98]

Read, read, read. I'm assuming being in high school you dont have a boat and cant put in much time on the water. Read every article on the internet you can get your eyes on. Learn why bass do what they do during the different seasons. Learn why they go shallow in the spring and deep in the summer. Understand at what water temps fish move to different areas. Just like elnut said, keeping yourself around the fish is the best way to become a better fisherman. Understand why theyll chase a spinnerbait or crankbait in cooler water but wont be as likely to chase it in the dead of winter or the heat of summer. If you have access to a pond spend as much time as possible trying to hone your skills while trying different techniques. Everybody on here has given you good advice and i promise none of us that tournament fish were successful when we first started. Fishing is just like any sport, youll most likely take some knocks until it starts to click

thanks for the help i dont have a boat personally but my grandfather allows us to use his on occasion and for the tournaments but i do fish ponds at least once every two weeks or more.

[elnutsmalljaws]

State Dock next Saturday. A good portion of your Black Bass Tourneys are won up the Wolfe River, past Wolfe River Marina. You should hit it at a pretty good time to catch a lot of Bass. Water temps should be mid to lower 60's and they will be feeding up for winter. Either run past the Wolfe River Marina or up into Illwill and fish shallow, less than 10'. Clear water, try a crankbait with no rattle natural shad color around any cover or a jig and trailer flipped around the cover. Maybe even a Jerkbait but don't pause between jerks because they are in chase mode and not let them get a good look at it in the clear water. If I was fairly new to the game and knew what I know today, which is just enough to get me in trouble, these are the 3 baits I would tie on and fish all day. Focus on a specific area and fish it thoroughly as to not get over whelmed with the size of the lake. Ps, if overcast and windy then abandon the above 3 baits for a Spinnerbait and throw it all day long

[Fishin is life]

state dock next saturday

I was there this weekend and can provide you with good info. PM sent

[hairball]

If you have a taste for science and the "geekier" aspects of fishing, pick up a book called "Knowing Bass" by Dr. Keith Jones. He is a fisheries biologist and head of research at Berkeley. It will give you a lot of insight into things like how a bass's senses work and what determines their seasonal movements.

[fishin-fool]

If you have a taste for science and the "geekier" aspects of fishing, pick up a book called "Knowing Bass" by Dr. Keith Jones. He is a fisheries biologist and head of research at Berkeley. It will give you a lot of insight into things like how a bass's senses work and what determines their seasonal movements.

I looked up this book on Amazon. It appears to be out of print. It also appears to be highly valuable if you have a copy. The cheapest used paperback version on Amazon is nearly $100!

[GeoFisher]

Firstly I'd like to say thank you for the advice it really means a lot to me. I've fished tournaments at big places like barren and cumberland and small places like woods creek and lake linville. I guess my main issues are the "tournament mentality" and probably changing baits too often. I do love fishing and won't be giving it up altogether but the tournaments for my team are surprisingly competitive and can leave me a bit disappointed. My next tournament is at Dale Hollow and I'm hoping to catch my first smallie there but I know there are somethings different about how to catch them any advice would be much appreciated. I am very thankful to be a part of the community and the forum. Thank you very much for your help,I'll be using your advice soon.

All the advice so far is SPOT ON.......

And I especially like the advice about sticking to a few specific types of baits at first, and become really comfortable with them. If you gain confidence in them, you WILL catch fish.

I will share a story from a past trip. I have a buddy that fishes with me all the time. On past trips, even though he was fishing the same water as me and the same amount of time, I'd tell him he was fishing about 50% of the time I was fishing. I figured this based on the fact that he would tie on about 10 baits to my one bait. He would literally tie on every bait he had, trying to find that Magic Bait.

Take 4-5 poles, tie a different type bait on each one, AND then FISH, and FISH HARD. Only change if you know they are not working. If you catch fish on a bait, it will CATCH FISH. Don't waste time trying something else. Obviously, take this with a grain of salt, but the next bait in your tackle box may not work any better than what you already have tied on, and if you dig in your box, and tie something else on, that takes time. Do that a hundred times in the day and you've wasted maybe a few hours of time. In a 10 hr day, that may be 20% of the time.

I told my buddy a few trips ago that I had EXCLUSIVE VETO power over any bait he wanted to tie on. He'd show it to me and I vetoed 90% of the baits, which kept him in the water much longer, which also meant he caught more fish. MORE fish on this trip than the previous 10..........

It makes a difference.

I hope this helps.

Later,

Geo

[GeoFisher]

State Dock next Saturday. A good portion of your Black Bass Tourneys are won up the Wolfe River, past Wolfe River Marina. You should hit it at a pretty good time to catch a lot of Bass. Water temps should be mid to lower 60's and they will be feeding up for winter. Either run past the Wolfe River Marina or up into Illwill and fish shallow, less than 10'. Clear water, try a crankbait with no rattle natural shad color around any cover or a jig and trailer flipped around the cover. Maybe even a Jerkbait but don't pause between jerks because they are in chase mode and not let them get a good look at it in the clear water. If I was fairly new to the game and knew what I know today, which is just enough to get me in trouble, these are the 3 baits I would tie on and fish all day. Focus on a specific area and fish it thoroughly as to not get over whelmed with the size of the lake. Ps, if overcast and windy then abandon the above 3 baits for a Spinnerbait and throw it all day long

Excellent, EXCELLENT advice.

With the water getting cooler, the silver buddy and spoons could be your friend.

AND as Elwood stated.....the wolf and ilwill will be your friend. I especially love how "rivery" Ilwill gets above wisdom, and have caught a TON of quality greenfish up there. Spots count too, and I have stuck some serious spots up there, especially where the river turns and heads across to the other side, on BLUFFY spots. That generally works all year long, but it especially works this time of year.

[fishin-fool]

He would literally tie on every bait he had, trying to find that Magic Bait.

I'm guilty of this now that I think about it.

I try too hard to throw everything I've got at them. Guess I better work on being wiser when it comes to lure selection. And if something is not working then change up my presentation before getting fed up and changing lures.

[GeoFisher]

I'm guilty of this now that I think about it.

I try too hard to throw everything I've got at them. Guess I better work on being wiser when it comes to lure selection. And if something is not working then change up my presentation before getting fed up and changing lures.

When I start out on any new body or a new trip, I try to throw something different than everyone else in the boat. If there are 3 people, then I want all 3 fishing something differently if possible.

Once someone hooks up..........and then hooks up again, I try to switch. The only time I don't switch is if I'm specifically trying to catch something different, but in most cases, the person that hooked up has found something that catches fish. I'm not saying that other baits will not work, but by this time you know that at least one of the 3 baits are working because fish are actively eating it.

Now if two of the 3 people are catching fish, and they are similar baits, and yours is not quite similar, I'd switch to one of the two baits working.

If all 3 are working, cast like hell and fill the boat.............you're on a MAGICAL day .

Later,

Geo

[hairball]

I looked up this book on Amazon. It appears to be out of print. It also appears to be highly valuable if you have a copy. The cheapest used paperback version on Amazon is nearly $100!

No need to buy it anymore! The e-book can be found here:http://books.google.com/books?id=uKB...page&q&f=false

[roadrunner]

When I start out on any new body or a new trip, I try to throw something different than everyone else in the boat. If there are 3 people, then I want all 3 fishing something differently if possible.

Once someone hooks up..........and then hooks up again, I try to switch. The only time I don't switch is if I'm specifically trying to catch something different, but in most cases, the person that hooked up has found something that catches fish. I'm not saying that other baits will not work, but by this time you know that at least one of the 3 baits are working because fish are actively eating it.

Now if two of the 3 people are catching fish, and they are similar baits, and yours is not quite similar, I'd switch to one of the two baits working.

If all 3 are working, cast like hell and fill the boat.............you're on a MAGICAL day .

Later,

Geo

I can't agree more i never throw the same bait as someone else in the boat until they prove that is what the fish want.