Need help

[JUSTINHALL]

Bass fishing can be very discouraging but can also be very rewarding and when you throw in the tournament factor that multiplies by 10 plus. Until you are a pro and have to make a living at catching that big fish and it makes a difference whether you can feed your family or make it to the next tournament you have to get out of the tournament mind set. You fish because it is fun not because you can win a tournament. So just focus on fishing for fun even when you are in a tournament. Getting all stressed out because you have not caught a fish for the live well only makes it harder to catch the next fish to put in there. Just relax and fish as if it was fun and you may be surprised at how many more keepers you do catch.
Outside of that it really helps if you fish with someone that is willing to show you the ropes so to say. Many different guys will be more than willing to show you everything since you are in high school and wanting to learn. Stop in your local bait stores and talk to people and ask around. If not, just keep fishing and you will stumble upon the right person that will teach you a lot. The days you learn the most may not be the day you caught the most fish though. Just because you didn't catch a fish doesn't mean you weren't doing the right thing, some days are tough and can get aggravating, just keep at it and I promise you it gets more fun.
I am in the Cumberland area and more than willing to show you everything, I mostly striper fish on Cumberland but I have bass fished all my life. I will even make a drive and take you fishing if you want just PM me if interested.

[elnutsmalljaws]

Study and learn about the BAIT, not the fish. The more you learn about the BAIT and the seasonal patterns of the bait the easier it will be to eliminate non-productive water. Dave Stewart once asked me had I rather fish where 85% of the fish are or 15%? The 85% will be following the bait. Remember the KISS theory, Keep It Simple Stupid. Don't get caught up in trying to learn to fish every new bait or technique that comes out. Maybe pick a few and learn them first. Jig, Crankbait, Spinnerbait, Carolina Rig and Texas Rig you could probably get away with 90% of the time. Learn these inside and out fishing around the 85% and guarantee you will catch more keepers. Determine what type of lake you are fishing, deep clear like Cumberland, Laurel, Dale; shallow more stained river system lakes like, Ky, Barkley, Rough, Nolin or somewhere in the middle like Green or Barren. Then determine main source of Bait for that lake. Eliminate water based on the seasonal pattern of the bait. Fish where the 85% with a technique that you have confidence in and weigh in limits. Good Luck

[Moveon]

The only problem is that it's hard to find good information about the bait and it's life cycles on the lakes we fish.

Bait like Gizzard Shad are easy to located on KY lake with a good Depth Finder like a Lorrance or Humminbird Side Scanning device but they cost thousands of dollars and are not in the budget of most high school kids.

But you can do google searches on Gizzard Shad or Threadfin Shad or Crayfish and get an idea of their life cycles.

Bas will follow the big schools of Gizzard Shad but there are a lot of gizzard shad in most big lakes like KY lake. So you also should learn about how the lakes topography affects the bait fish and their lives. Also currents can have a huge affect on the small micro organisams that the bait fish feed on.

Light levels (day vs night and overcasts conditions vs clear sky) also have a profound affect on the microorganisams that the bait fish feed on. Most light sensitive microscopic creatures tend to swim down deeper with a bright sky condition and little waves to break up the light entering into the water. Overcast skys and windy conditions that produce the waves at the surface of the water keep light out of the water better. More light is reflected back to the sky by waves and dirty or cloudy water. Light penetration is the key to how high or how low in the water column (depth) microscopic animals inhabit in a lake.

Early morning and late evening with the sun low in the sky tends to start the migration of these microscopic animals towards the surface and high noon and clear skies in a clear water lake make these creatures dive deeper to avoid the sunlight.

The minnows and Shad will follow their food source and so will the bass follow the shad.

But bass will eat practically anything that they can get in their mouth. So they don't all just feed on Shad. They feed on small frogs, snakes, tadpoles, mayflies and a lot of other creatures.

Small mouth bass really like crayfish. Figure out where the crayfish are hanging out in big numbers and you may find some small mouth bass hanging around.


Other than having someone take you fishing with them and teaching you how to catch bass you can read a lot to learn how to large mouth bass.

In-Fisherman has many books and magazines that are devoted to how to catch various type of fish.

Don't give up and don't think that just because you entered into a few bass fishing tournaments and didn't catch a fish that fishing is too hard. Fishing should be done for fun.

If you find that you don't enjoy fishing then don't fish. You need to figure that out for yourself. I was lucky in that my father took me fishing and mentored me in the art of bass fishing at an early age. The rest I learned myself because I wanted to learn more. I developed an interest in the sport of fishing at a very early age.

Study and learn about the BAIT, not the fish. The more you learn about the BAIT and the seasonal patterns of the bait the easier it will be to eliminate non-productive water. Dave Stewart once asked me had I rather fish where 85% of the fish are or 15%? The 85% will be following the bait. Remember the KISS theory, Keep It Simple Stupid. Don't get caught up in trying to learn to fish every new bait or technique that comes out. Maybe pick a few and learn them first. Jig, Crankbait, Spinnerbait, Carolina Rig and Texas Rig you could probably get away with 90% of the time. Learn these inside and out fishing around the 85% and guarantee you will catch more keepers. Determine what type of lake you are fishing, deep clear like Cumberland, Laurel, Dale; shallow more stained river system lakes like, Ky, Barkley, Rough, Nolin or somewhere in the middle like Green or Barren. Then determine main source of Bait for that lake. Eliminate water based on the seasonal pattern of the bait. Fish where the 85% with a technique that you have confidence in and weigh in limits. Good Luck

[GeoFisher]

The only problem is that it's hard to find good information about the bait and it's life cycles on the lakes we fish.

Bait like Gizzard Shad are easy to located on KY lake with a good Depth Finder like a Lorrance or Humminbird Side Scanning device but they cost thousands of dollars and are not in the budget of most high school kids.

But you can do google searches on Gizzard Shad or Threadfin Shad or Crayfish and get an idea of their life cycles.

Bas will follow the big schools of Gizzard Shad but there are a lot of gizzard shad in most big lakes like KY lake. So you also should learn about how the lakes topography affects the bait fish and their lives. Also currents can have a huge affect on the small micro organisams that the bait fish feed on.

Light levels (day vs night and overcasts conditions vs clear sky) also have a profound affect on the microorganisams that the bait fish feed on. Most light sensitive microscopic creatures tend to swim down deeper with a bright sky condition and little waves to break up the light entering into the water. Overcast skys and windy conditions that produce the waves at the surface of the water keep light out of the water better. More light is reflected back to the sky by waves and dirty or cloudy water. Light penetration is the key to how high or how low in the water column (depth) microscopic animals inhabit in a lake.

Early morning and late evening with the sun low in the sky tends to start the migration of these microscopic animals towards the surface and high noon and clear skies in a clear water lake make these creatures dive deeper to avoid the sunlight.

The minnows and Shad will follow their food source and so will the bass follow the shad.

But bass will eat practically anything that they can get in their mouth. So they don't all just feed on Shad. They feed on small frogs, snakes, tadpoles, mayflies and a lot of other creatures.

Small mouth bass really like crayfish. Figure out where the crayfish are hanging out in big numbers and you may find some small mouth bass hanging around.


Other than having someone take you fishing with them and teaching you how to catch bass you can read a lot to learn how to large mouth bass.

In-Fisherman has many books and magazines that are devoted to how to catch various type of fish.

Don't give up and don't think that just because you entered into a few bass fishing tournaments and didn't catch a fish that fishing is too hard. Fishing should be done for fun.

If you find that you don't enjoy fishing then don't fish. You need to figure that out for yourself. I was lucky in that my father took me fishing and mentored me in the art of bass fishing at an early age. The rest I learned myself because I wanted to learn more. I developed an interest in the sport of fishing at a very early age.

A 50 dollar USED 320c is plenty enough to find and see schools of baitfish. I used this unit for YEARS and still use it up in Canada when fishing for lakers.

Multiple thousand dollar side scan and down imaging units are not necessary.

Later,

Geo

[Bassinsince98]

thanks again for the advice, but i have been wondering what are some good low budget rod and reel options more towards a baitcaster unless a spinning reel is just fantastic

[hairball]

thanks again for the advice, but i have been wondering what are some good low budget rod and reel options more towards a baitcaster unless a spinning reel is just fantastic

You would be hard pressed to find more bang for your buck than an Abu Garcia 5500C3. They are inexpensive, simple to use and maintain, and very reliable because they're built like a tank. For me, their only downfall is they don't cast very well with really light baits. If you ask ten different guys their opinions, you could very easily get ten different answers. In the end, it comes down to personal preference - just like the ages-old Ford versus Chevy debate.

[zx150]

You may have said in another post but what school are you with? If there is anyway you can hook up with Dave Stewart by all means do it. He will help you more in a day than you will know.

[hairball]

NEVER stop asking questions. It's entirely possible that you could go fishing 10 times and catch them on 10 different patterns. If someone told you each time what bait to use, what color, where to fish, how deep and how to work the baits, you might catch fish every time but what do you know? Absolutely nothing! As with so many other things, the most important question is WHY. Until you understand WHY that bass hit your crankbait as it sped along the edge of that coontail or WHY you couldn't get bit on that jerkbait until you slowed it down and paused it longer, you don't really know anything. When you understand why you're doing what you're doing, then you have something to work with - something you can use to start putting patterns together for yourself.

[roadrunner]

The hard part is not catching the fish but finding the fish, just like elnutsmalljaw said find the bait and you will find the fish. I would start fishing shallow as the are the easiest fish to catch if not successful then start going deeper. One of the hardest things to do when you are fishing especially if your partner is catching fish is to slow down it is easy to fish to fast. when I am having trouble catching fish I switch to smaller baits and slow down the bait especially on water that sees a lot of fishing pressure.

Also look for visible cover to fish such as trees in the water weeds boat docks. If you find a few fish try and find the same water depth and cover in other parts of the lake and try those spots. For instance if you find some fish shallow on wood cover look for other wood cover that is shallow. when you catch a fish try and figure out why was this fish here was he in weeds, stumps, brush was i fishing on bottom with little bait movement or was I off the bottom with bait moving at a slow, moderate or fast retrieve.

good luck and use your head think what you are doing.

[Bassinsince98]

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.

[elnutsmalljaws]

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

[Bassinsince98]

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

state dock next saturday