Its Offical, I Suck at Fishing....:)

[TPD211]

Went fishing Friday( 20 anniversary). Had grass shrimp, and some medium-large minnows. Wife and I hit our favorite spot/s. <br />We caught 1 small speck.<br /><br />Saturday I went out. Went to a canal leading to a retirement mobile home subdivision. The canal was dredged out years ago. 1 spot has a hole 36 feet deep. I dropped anchors. Set out 3 lines with grass shrimp and minnows. I sat for hours. Nada.... <br />Guys in the bass boats by the shore were pulling up bass left and right. Well, at least 1 or 2 that I saw.<br /><br />Like they say, practice makes perfect.

 

[Bassy]

Re: Its Offical, I Suck at Fishing....

Don't feel bad. We went out yesterday and didn't even get a bite. How come we catch fish when the conditions are not right and can't catch them when the conditions are perfect? Must be the fishing gods don't like me. <br />Bassy

 

[ebbtide176]

Re: Its Offical, I Suck at Fishing....

its gotta be getting hot down there in FL. not catching much on the banks up here but yearlings. i think you should be looking up the shellcrackers now, or going out to the main lakes channels and trying the weedlines at night, or during daytime -same places but throwing in the slop(spoons on top of floating mats). or large shiners on balloons early & late, spoons in midday. JMHO<br /><br />btw, when i last fished toho, we did great during the quick afternoon showers with buzzbaits, and blue worms in the heat also. but i've had plenty of days like you did, for sure.

 

[ebbtide176]

Re: Its Offical, I Suck at Fishing....

ok, i'm gonna tell a story that i hate to tell, just because its the sad truth. <br /><br />i must've fished the S GA mill pond (that i loved) all the time, before i got married. i worked construction, and every guy in the crew talked about huntin/fishin 24/7. we fished til well after midnight and then hit the wall with hammers at daybreak- on and on. i went with the guys, i went by myself, i went back after guys quit, i slept in the canoe, i slept in the truck then went back before daylight - you get the picture... <br /><br />i never had but a handful of really killer days fishing and it killed me to think i could not figure those fish out. i would see those few, the proud, the doggone masters of that swamp come back with 5gal buckets of humongous black bream, or 4 10lb bass. they very seldom struck out. i would see them from time to time, no pattern i could tell.<br /><br />i finally made friends with 2 of the masters, and got to be towed or paddled/skulled the canoe to keep up with them. it was just a very very simple method they both used. i could not duplicate it of course, but i learned that to catch those fish in that swamp, all you needed was about 3 lures and had to be really stealthy when approaching the locations. the locations weren't that special, they changed over the seasons.<br /><br />i guess i just mean that it was no secret where they fished, just how they fished. i never did catch a wallhanger, but at least i shared enough of the technique that my beloved pop did. and we still talk about that beautiful swamp often. and we haven't fished it in 10yrs i guess.<br /><br />BTW, he caught that 8.75 LGMbass with a black spoon with yellow skirt on the slop

 

[TPD211]

Re: Its Offical, I Suck at Fishing....

I went out yesterday and caught a couple of fish.<br />I was trolling across Lake Harris from the Dead River Canal with a plug and took a good size hit.<br />I put the boat in reverse and had a decent fight with a 26" or so Gar. This was fun on the light tackle I was using.<br />I anchored up under the Howey Bridge and set 3 lines with minnows. Another good hit and I reeled in a good size Speck. I released him/her and called it a day. <br />

 

[JB]

Re: Its Offical, I Suck at Fishing....

Sounds to me like you are fine with the fishing, Trigerr.<br /><br />It'd the catching that you need to work on.

 

[TPD211]

Re: Its Offical, I Suck at Fishing....

Hehe JB, <br /><br />You're correct, the fishing is great, its the catching I need work on.....

 

[bartborchardt]

Re: Its Offical, I Suck at Fishing....

Trigger, <br /><br />You don't suck at fishing, you just don't have the proper knowledge. I was in your shoes years ago until I talked to a spoonplugger. I used to tournament fish. I had all the gadgets, boats, gps, and every fishing lure in every color that actually caught fishermen and not fish. It wasn't until I ordered a book that a lot of people call "The Green Book" that I realized I had been doing everything wrong. Next week call Buck's Baits 828-322-2157 and order the Green Book. I think with shipping it comes to around $20. It will be the best investment you ever made. Think about it, how many times do you go fishing and spend $20 on gas, food, and lures? Trust me, you won't be disapointed. Here is a web site that will give you an overview of what it's all about.<br /><br />www.americaoutdoors.com/spoonplugger<br /><br />I had only wished I had this kind of information when I first started fishing. Good Fishing<br /><br />Plugger

 

[Capn Mike]

Re: Its Offical, I Suck at Fishing....

Interesting site....that info would probably not apply to andromous fish going up the Columbia, but certainly could apply to the non-migrating fish. <br />NC is a little far away for me to attend a fishing class....just don't see me making that sale to the Admiral...

 

[bartborchardt]

Re: Its Offical, I Suck at Fishing....

What you may not realize is that all fish migrate just maybe not to the point in the Columbia River. You don't have to attend the classes to learn how to find fish. It's like anything else in life, you must put forth the effort if you expect to be any good at it.

 

[LubeDude]

Re: Its Offical, I Suck at Fishing....

You dont "suck at fishing" you just havent paid your dues yet.<br /><br />I have had a strange love of fishing sence I was old enough to hold a pole. We lived by a small creek that has lots of what I called "shinners", they were about 3-6" long, I would cut a willow branch and have about 5' of leader on it with a gold egg hook attached. I learned that you didnt even need bait to catch them as they would strike at anything that hit the water. I watched them all the time. I saw how they fed, and how to be quiet. I saw how they liked the shade and not in the direct sunlight. I noticed that they were more active in the early mornings and late evenings. I new all there was about the feeding habbits of fish before I was even old enough to by a fishing lisence. I always outfished everyone I ever went fishing with all my life. I joined a Bass club and the first year I was bass angler of the year in the club and almost every year I fished.<br /><br />Read everything you can about all the fish you fish for. Probably the best information I can give is the smaller is better most times. Not always though. You will eventually become a good fisherman. Hanging around people that know what they are doing is probably the best thing.