Heard it from a friend, or learn about it on tv?

[JB]

I am pretty sure just about all the basic stuff I learned from bassfishing, I learned from several well seasoned anglers..i.e. techniques, depth and lure selection. The rest I think I learned from time on the water..i.e. feeding and migration throughout the year..
So this got me wondering about our many discussions about line. When I started brand meant nothing to me, probably was only concerned about test and how much it cost..then my bass buddies all told me to fish with stren, which i stuck with for years until i got a big spool of trilene and switched..then lucky for me, I joined this forum and was informed about all the better types and brands of line to get.
Word of mouth seems to fit right in with most anglers...sure you can see them peddling wares on tv and brands, but a fellow angler endorcement after seeing their success ratio on landing bass, is hard to beat.
The same goes for lures, ya see a guy using a lure, you have to go out and buy one, then 9 times out of 10 the pattern has changed and it takes weeks to finally get the "new lure" to produce..but again its word of mouth.

Some brands that come to mind were the berkely power baits, everyone was comparing notes after they came out, I listened to guys talk about what color worked well at dif lakes, keep in mind that this was a "new look" and smell to us anglers, we all were used to oily manns worms or culrpits, or the salt Zooms..
No matter how much I see a guy like bill dance catching one after another on his new lure, I'll always stick to co anglers advise on what to use, over a guy on tv!
case in point this year. the paca craws and zoom vibra craw..i hard heard of neither because I was never a trend sitter in tackle, plus to cheap to buy anything new till a few years ago, but a great recommendation by zooker, and lizards made me buy some, and the last two "big uns" of the season were caught on these plastics, site fishing in april.
I say "keep your ears open', and read whats working on the forum posts~

[ToPwAt'R GuY]

I'm with you JB. I will take a fellow angler's adice over some guy under endorsements.

[JB]

Plus ya get to see the guy working the lure and getting fish, that makes you wanna try it! first time I saw a guy with the zara spook and then I tried it..its was what the h@ll

[Rebbasser]

I agree, JB-I'll take the recommendations I find here over an "endorsement" every time. I've only actually met a couple of guys here due to being in different parts of the country, but when I see a recomendation from the regulars on this site I know I can trust what they are telling me. The Paca Craw is a good example-I'd never heard of them but due to the glowing recommendations I've seen here I got some-I haven't thrown them that much, but I know they work due to the reports I read on them. In a nutshell, this site is a great resource!

[bassfisher02]

Yea almost all of what i've learned has come from my stepdad, fellow anglers here on the site, and at times from my cousins [even though they were more times then none full of bullsh*t haha] But i do watch fishing shows and do try to get a feel for things when i cant be out on the water. But i would always go with a co-anglers advice over an endorsed fisherman on TV.

[dampeoples]

I run a club, and try to talk to each of the guys at least once every few weeks, and some all the time, that gains me more information than I know what to do with at times!

I also don't subscribe to cable TV, wouldn't watch it if I had it, so I don't have that venue to learn from at all! The intarweb takes the place of that for sure. Like the P-craw that's been mentioned, I learned about that from a site, and now I like them so well, I make my own

[flbassman]

I got my base from my dad, and I still learn tidbits from him, but he's not as big into bassing as me, so I know more of the new stuff. He's still got plenty of tricks up his sleeve that I've never seen though.... Since I got into Bass Fishing about four years ago, I've learned from friends, Tv and magazines, but mainly from this sight. It's incredible how much I've learned, and how much I still have to learn. That's one of the great things about bassin.

[crankybait]

decided to try fishing once... I liked it. Had no idea what i was doing but i liked it. Everything i have ever learned about fishing came from here, which i am very grateful for. Without you guys i would have never caught a bass, and probably quit fishing. Tackle reccomendations, lurs, methods... Jeez had i not come here, i would just let the lure sit there. I even learned about bass saturdays from here. The forums is where i get all my info.
You guys rock!

[bassintom]

i've been fishing just about my entire life but back about '83 or so my barber insisted i try bass fishing with him.we fished a very small lake(i remember it like it happened yesterday)from the bank.he had me catching bass in no time.we probably got 30+ bass in a couple of hours.i was hooked so to speak.we caught every one of them on a 4"red shad powerworm.....i learn about new ideas and techniques mostly from my friends here and guys i fish with.i'm stubborn when it comes to trying new baits ,etc.
it is probably a shame that i don't apply more of the things i have learned to my fishing.maybe i'm getting complacent since i took a sabbath from tournament fishing.
as far as infomercials...you all know it,say it together..."NEVER BUY ANYTHING FROM AN INFO-MERCIAL"
after all is said and done,it boils down to "time on the water".there is no easy way to learn bass fishing.it developes over time.the important part is paying attention to what you were doing when you caught fish AND what you were doing when you weren't catching.be aware of your surroundings,meaning weather,water levels,temps,etc.and keep a log book.a log book is priceless.i can go back over 15 years or so and see patterns at different times of year and conditions.if you choose not to keep a log book,years from now you will kick yourself in the a** and say bassintom was right,i shoulda kept a logbook.
now go fish

[DEbass'n]

Also, on all the TV shows where they catch a monster on every cast (yeah right) the show is actually filmed over a span of a couple of days. I have never been fishing when i caught a fish on every cast (although some days it can feel like it, but very rare).

[Vabass22]

On basspro.com, there is a video of KVD fishing a spinnerbait. That video was filmed over 1 day, and he catches many fish on consecutive casts. I have been fishing some days, where they have come 8 in a row, with not one under 10 inches. Pros know what to throw when, and how to throw it. Thats why they catch fish after fish.

[skeeter944]

here is that video,its a great video
http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catal...10_20_06-_-167

[Vabass22]

Thats the one Skeeter!
I love that video!

[zooker]

skeeter
i seen this video before. nothing new on using a blade for me to be honest.

but having fished cayuga i seen that all woo caught were large mouth cayuga is not excatly known for it's largemouth.. smallies rule in that lake..

zooker

[B-ASSMASTER83]

I've taken what I have learned over the the years, reading magazines and such, combined with great info from great forums such as this, combine with personal expeirience. Broke it all down, analyzed it, got rid of all the B.S., and now I basically have a Bucket mouth fishing encyclopedia with daily journal entries that is broken down by months of the year and different lunar phases.