What is the Second easiest Technique to Use in Bass Fishing?

[Mumpy]

So, as some of you know, I’ve taken on a Challenge to turn an old friend of mine into a Bass Fisherman. He has the will and drive just not the skill. Until this past Saturday he swore he was Jinxed because he had been going out on the water by himself every weekend since March and had yet to catch the Elusive Largemouth Bass. I told him that I would take it in stages and work him up slowly, each stage would be a different Technique.

This past Saturday I took him out and gave him a Rod & Reel that was rigged with 12LB Flurocarbon Line and a Devils Horse. So to make a long story short, this coming Saturday I’m going to take him back out again and we’re going to start off just as we did last Saturday and do some Topwater Fishing. After the Topwater bait falls off though, I want to introduce another technique to him but I don’t want it to be something that will be too hard on him to learn.

I would think that Topwater Bass Fishing is probably the easiest to learn, what would you think is the second easiest technique to learn that we could teach him. I’m thinking that Wacky Worm Rig and go around throwing it into Docks. This would or could be a Stepping Stone into Flipping Jigs later down the road.

What ya think?

[WaffleJaw]

Spinnerbait....Too easy to fail and always a producer.

Give him a spook,spinnerbait,and a t-rigged curly tail worm.....Then leave him alone for a bit.
Hopefully he'll stay at it and wont get too discouraged....With all the techniques available,definitely keep it slow and simple in the start.imo

[MIbasser]

+1 on the spinnerbait. It can be fished fast, slow, in the weeds, next to docks, and so on. Chuck and reel.....

[Captmikestarrett]

Rattletrap is the bait of non-fishermen.. unless they use it as a searchbait.

Capt Mike

[Jrob78]

I'll say spinnerbait too.

[Mumpy]

I don't know about this Spinner Bait being the Second Easiest. I'm not sold. You have too many different styles of Blades and Colors that could take a new Fisherman and throw him off.

Wacky Rigged worm, one of two colors, one way to fish it, That's what I'm thinking....

[keithdog]

I also recommend a spinnerbait. Just get a 3/8 oz white or white/chartruese spinnerbait with gold or silver blades and have at it. Don't wory about blade style at first. A simple double colorado or colorado/willow model will work great. Heck, thats 90% of my spinnerbait needs. Cast and retrieve. Don't get much simpler than that. Plus, you can cover a LOT more water with a spinnerbait than you can with a wacky worm. Not that wacky worms arn't a great technique. They are. But for a beginner, a spinnerbait I think allows him a better chance of connecting. When it comes to worming, it takes time to get the "feel" down. Also a trained eye to detect a soft bite. Not so with a spinnerbait. They usually wack it.

[Embrey]

and id say dont use flouro on a topwater also for a beginner. i do sometimes,but only when im fishing something that stays movin,like a buzzbait,or spook worked fast. something that moves then sits,doesnt work real well after about 5 or 10 seconds

[cassidyta]

Originally Posted by Mumpy

I don't know about this Spinner Bait being the Second Easiest. I'm not sold. You have too many different styles of Blades and Colors that could take a new Fisherman and throw him off.

Wacky Rigged worm, one of two colors, one way to fish it, That's what I'm thinking....

While I agree, that there are a lot of blade and color choices, I don't think it makes it a difficult bait. I would agree that any moving reaction bait is a good bait.
I know that a lot of folks don't like something finesse when starting out. If they are not biting, then a wacky rigged worm can be rather boring. Plus, trying to figure out the right time to set a hook can add to frustration.

[Fish30114]

Well, I actually think that slow bumping a soft plastic along the bottom, texas rigged, or otherwise is THE easiest technique to learn, and usually the most productive. Every beginner I ever have worked with, I start them with a worm, lizzard, craw etc. and have them slow bump it along the bottom. This is also usually a technique that often yields results in bright conditions where there isn't much cover, when others just won't. A spinnerbait is a notch up in needed skill and productivity IMO, and certainly requires more casting skill. I'd be giving your man a few soft baits, showing him how to T-rig and even shaky head rig and bump em around and see what happens!

[Jrob78]

Fishing soft baits is easy. It's the bite detection, patience and hook setting that's hard.

[Fish30114]

Originally Posted by Jrob78

Fishing soft baits is easy. It's the bite detection, patience and hook setting that's hard.

True that Jrob, true that!

[Garry2rs]

Wacky worm is dead easy...Cast to rocks, docks, boats etc. Do nothing, and just let it sink.
Spinner baits are easy too
But you have to be able to hit the target!
There's a huge difference between 6 inches from the stump etc. and six feet.
Solid body toads/frogs are very easy to use...Think of them as Buzzbaits.
Rigged Texas style with a 4/0 hook you can cast them into any kind of cover and never get snagged.

[Tavery5]

I usually start people new to the sport off with a weightless t-rigged senko. They catch fish, and you truely cannot fish them wrong. It will teach him how to properly rig baits using an EWG hook, something he will need to know if he plans on fishing long. Easy technique that catches fish.

[Bassboss]

Originally Posted by Mumpy

So, as some of you know, I’ve taken on a Challenge to turn an old friend of mine into a Bass Fisherman. He has the will and drive just not the skill. Until this past Saturday he swore he was Jinxed because he had been going out on the water by himself every weekend since March and had yet to catch the Elusive Largemouth Bass. I told him that I would take it in stages and work him up slowly, each stage would be a different Technique.

This past Saturday I took him out and gave him a Rod & Reel that was rigged with 12LB Flurocarbon Line and a Devils Horse. So to make a long story short, this coming Saturday I’m going to take him back out again and we’re going to start off just as we did last Saturday and do some Topwater Fishing. After the Topwater bait falls off though, I want to introduce another technique to him but I don’t want it to be something that will be too hard on him to learn.

I would think that Topwater Bass Fishing is probably the easiest to learn, what would you think is the second easiest technique to learn that we could teach him. I’m thinking that Wacky Worm Rig and go around throwing it into Docks. This would or could be a Stepping Stone into Flipping Jigs later down the road.

What ya think?

I was thinking wacky rig too, but a pain to fish cause it's so slow, and know when to set the hook is really kinda tricky.

I say try establishing a good pattern if you can, try different things, but try to keep it simple. A shaky head can be easy to fish, and very productive as well.
Usually the easiest thing to fish is the thing they're biting, find that, and you'll have fun.

Nothing in bass fishing is terribly hard to fish. I'd try to keep away from jigs, and drop shotting though.

[Mac2]

Open faced rod and reel combo with 6 lb mono. Texpose a zoom speedworm in watermelon/red with a 2/0 O'shaughnessy Offset Shank Worm Hook. Cut off the tail.
Cast to likely cover/structure and let fall to bottom watching line at all times.....let set on bottom for 15 seconds then take one s l o w turn on reel and let rest another 15 seconds....repeat this presentation until the lure has travelled ten to fifteen feet, then reel in at a moderate speed and cast to another likely spot. This combination of slow fall and deadsticking is an exceptional method for fishing. It was developed by my wife, who also, by the way, usually outfishes me. She also uses the same presentation on the surface when using a number 9 floating silver Rapala minnow. She uses a Zebco 33 reel so if you are using a faster reel, you may wish to use half turns on the reel and go very slow.

The effect her presentation has perfected is as though you've cast out an expensive lure and are sneaking it back trying to keep it in absolutely "new" condition without getting it bit and torn up.

Good Fishing, Mac

[mrmuskie5]

If you are working up to pitching and flipping jigs why not use a swimjig or vibrating jig? that way he is already getting the feel of the bait he will be using in the future. swimming a jig is just like a spinnerbait as far as strike detection only more weedless.
Either way i hope you get him hooked.

[CamG]

Originally Posted by Tavery5

I usually start people new to the sport off with a weightless t-rigged senko. They catch fish, and you truely cannot fish them wrong. It will teach him how to properly rig baits using an EWG hook, something he will need to know if he plans on fishing long. Easy technique that catches fish.

This is my recommendation as well. I started both of my girls out on this bait - there is simply nothing easier to learn.

[aikenyounggun]

The guy obvious has patience, so a WACKY WORM is the obvious choice. When I teach people to bass fish ( heck I taught someone just to plain fish) I always start with a wacky worm cause its so dang easy to catch fish on. Take him to a pond first so he can catch some fish and get confidence first. Just use a finesse worm or French fry, senkos are overrated.

A rattletrap is easy too, it's also a great search bait. That's what I use it for at least, and it will catch fish from 6 inches to 15 lbs.... Well my biggest was a little below 8 lbs on a rattletrap.

[Mumpy]

All Great replies! Thank you for giving me such a wide range to help teach him with.

I can't wait until Saturday!

[Raul]

Originally Posted by Mumpy

I don't know about this Spinner Bait being the Second Easiest. I'm not sold. You have too many different styles of Blades and Colors that could take a new Fisherman and throw him off.

Wacky Rigged worm, one of two colors, one way to fish it, That's what I'm thinking....

That´s cuz you are doing it too complicated, I too have a ton of spinnerbaits in a gazillion colors and blade combinations, however the three I use to fish the most are ( 95% of the time ):

Single Tennessee blade
Single Willowleaf blade
Double Willow blade

And two colors: White & chartreuse, black.

Of course, it´s fun to have a big bunch of everything, I admit it, I suffer from that syndrome but I do recognize that you don´t need a big bunch of stuff to catch fish.

[IowaBasser]

Add my vote to T-rigged soft plastics... worms, senkos, creatures, etc.

Once every year I take my niece and nephew fishing around July 4th. They're 10 and 13. Last year they fished with plastic worms and did OK. This year I tried frogs with them... they just didn't have the casting distance & accuracy (yes, casting distance & accuracy is important with plastics too... but not as important as frogs in cover.) ...and when they did get a strike on a frog, it was difficult for them to wait that short moment before setting the hook. When they did set the hook it was never hard enough. We went back to plastic worms and creature baits and caught them a couple fish.

We tried spinnerbaits - but they kids seemed to have more confidence in the plastic worms. After all, they've caught bass fishng with worms and bobbers - casting a plastic worm is similar in their minds. Spinnerbaits however are just foreign looking to beginners; not something a fish would eat.

[Backwater Charlie]

Devilhorse's are not going to be the easiest.. Give Buzzbaits & Spinnerbaits a try for him.

[islandbass]

Crankbaits and Spinnerbaits are my choice. You can let him chuck and wind for a bit, and THEN chime in on how to develop retrieves, bump cover. No brainer.

If you go to plastics, as one who is self taught from knowing nothing, detecting the strike was perhaps my greatest challenge to learn on my own.

However, what I did learn is the variety of takes that can occur. One key for me is that if I receive feedback from the line/bait, and I know I didn't influence it, it is quite probable that I just received a strike. That indicates that I had better set the hook.

If you can help him discern strikes from snags, the learning of plastics will be much easier and enjoyable. Then he'll start outfishing you.

[Ebbetsguy]

The best way to introduce someone to fishing artificials, are the senko type lures, t rigged by far. Our club's mission is to get fellas interested in Bass Fishing. I have found that on any given day, there is some kind of bite going on with a wacky rigged senko type bait. I use Alluring Baits and BPS Sticko's 5 to 5 3/8 inches, on a 1/0 octupus hook. In Green, black or brown shades. This has been our most sucessful teaching tool, for a while now.
If the weeds are thick then as you asked for the 2nd favorite ould be same bait t rigged
I would tend to use 10# mono with it also