New Angler in town! (Newb story inside) :)

[giantsunfish]

Grew up in Colorado crick (not creek!) fishing and some lakes. Rainbow trout and pink salmon is about all that I knew. Joined the military in 1995 and hopped around abit to a few places and hadn't had a chance to fish since.....until moving to Louisianna this past year. Friend of mine talked me into goin fishin with him a couple weeks ago, wow what an adventure lolz.

I get to his house about 5 am. We get the ole aluminum boat out and throw it in the back of the truck, drive a ways and put it down into the bayou canal near his house.

He helped me rig up a couple of his extra rods, one with a spinner the other with a buzzbait. Until 2 weeks ago I didn't know what either was hehe. Showed me some knot called a paloram or something was quite interesting from the ole square knots I was used to using. Since I have never thrown an open face I chose the good ole zebco. (would soon learn of my mistake)

Anyway we get in the boat and push off. Ok I have never been in a small boat and I was almost sure we were gonna tip over, he assured me as long as I kept somewhat in the center and no sudden movements too drastically in one way or the other that we would be ok. Took a lil gettin used to but I got comfortable fast.

I ask Rob "so what are we gonna be catching in here?" He says, "bra, (he is deep south cajun boy) we don't fish for nothing but bass round here, but you may catch some junk fish along the way."

Daylight starts coming through and we troll up to spot that he says never hits. He tells me "early in the morn, use that buzzbait, them bass love the topwaters." So we work it for abit and as usual for him nothing hit. Bout an hour and a half into it I am gettin used to keeping the buzzbait on top, and omg with that old 1.1 ratio reel it wasn't easy and he was throwing a 6.1 reel I saw how easy of a time he was having but it was quite funny anyhow.

Things are about to seem really really slow for me when Rob says "Incoming." He is fighting a fish so I pull mine in incase he needs a hand. He pulls it in and is a beautiful 12" smallmouth bass. (I understand this is small to most vets, but it dwarved the trout i used to catch lol.) So that got my blood going abit. Best part about this was the hook did very lil damage to his mouth so was about as clean as catch and release as would be possible I think.

A lil further up he says "bra, hit that grass right there." So i throw my lure out and no BS as soon as it hit it was gone. As if I was fly fishing. So now my heart is racing and I am pulling this hog in. Well when i got it in the boat, it measured a whopping 8" and we laughed abit and talked bout how it hit so fast etc... I promptly got him off the hook and set him back free.


So 5 hours later, bout 6 catches to my belt, 8 to Rob's and a few misses by each, we called it a day. I had such a great time, I am officially "hooked " and we have been out a couple times since.

I have been reading websites, books, everything and now lookin to buy my own setup. Not sure where to start, but would really like an easy reel lol. Birthday (29th) coming up and my wife already knows I want "fishing crap." lol

I am tryin to understand all the lingo, and dif lures, rigs, etc... so that reading these forums isn't so greek to me. Reading stories on these forums is alot of fun too!

But anyway, that is my newb story, and hope I didn't bore yall. I am Dan, and I will be around here asking stupid questions once in awhile, and lurking to read every post here.

[Rich]

Welcome to the forum and to the wonderful world of bass fishing!

It gets addictive, that is for sure. I you haven't already seen it, here is a great site for someone just getting started:

http://www.bassresource.com/beginner/beginner.html

When it comes to questions, ask away! The only dumb questions are the ones that aren't asked. There is a lot of fishing knowlege on this site. Being trout fisherman you will find there is quite a bit of crossover, just different terms and tactics. Most of us would rather be out fishing but if we can't we'd just as soon be talking about it.

One last thing-being a trout fisherman I'm sure you have some waders-you might keep them handy. It gets a little deep in here sometimes ;D

[Rob Mak]

hope ya kept the belly boat cause it gets real thick and smelly in here at times..

zooker

[randerson52]

Welcome to the site. Bunch of great guys on here, though as you been told, it gets deep in here sometimes. Also, good story, must have been really fun!!! You also said you were looking for a new setup, Well, I could reccomend 2 nice spinning setups. For 50 or so dollars at walmart, You can pick up a Berkley Lightnin Rod with a Mitchell Avocet reel and some 8 pound test Stren, Trilene, Spiderline or whatever you want, just make sure it is mono, becuase it is eaier for newbies to learn on, plus everytime I try braid, I end up goin back to mono. Then, I would look into some basic lures. Look at this for help with the tackle selection---

http://www.bassfishin.com/cgi-bin/ya...num=1119715554


and for lure technique help-- http://www.bassfishin.com/cgi-bin/ya...num=1119790198


I hope I help a little bit.

[LilDreamer]

FreshlyHooked where at in Louisiana are you?
Ken

[jglassguy]

Welcome to the jungle, its all fun n games

[giantsunfish]

Bossier City LA is where I am at. Lots of lakes around here that I need to hit up. Thanks for the words all.


Dan

[keeb]

welcome.

[Bin]

WELCOME ;D

[sabass]

sounds like fun, I'd like to do some fishing deep in the bayou one day. I love getting way back in the thick of things where most others can't get to, or don't want to put the effort in getting there. keep us updated on the catches.

[bearpaw]

Was it a small mouth or a large mouth. Used to live in L.A. and there were no small mouth bass down there. At least when I was there.

[coolman]

Man two words for your new rod ugly stik

and you can never have too many worms i prefer tikis but whatever floats your boat!!

[randerson52]

I agree, for the money an Ugly Stik, but for the best quality, You cannot beat a Fenwick!!! I cant stress their quality enough!!

[Mossman]

Freshlyhooked, great stroy, it's hard not to get hooked on fishing, welcome to the site. As far as equipment goes I picked up a new spinning reel this season that I absolutely love it's the mitchell 300x it'll run you about 40 bucks for the reel, it has a quick release spool it come with an 8lb spool and a 10 lb spool, the drag is completely sealed so you dont have to worry about getting a bunch of dirt in it, it casts better than any spinng reel I've ever used including ones that cost 3 times as much, personally I use braided 8lb line but you have to use certian knots with it as some tend to slip when you set your hook, I use a uni knot, I've never had it slip it retains 90% of its breaking strain and you can even tie it with your eyes closed after a little practice, heres a link that shows you how to tie it
http://www.marinews.com/fishing/Knot.../fk_uniknt.htm as far as baits go pick up some 4" worms I perfer gary yamamoto senkos in watermelon and pumpkin color #2 and #3 offset shank worm hooks, super flukes work great white and watermelon color, definately grab a few buzz baits and also I have been having alot of luck with the yamamoto twin tail grub with skirt they work in just about any color, and another thing thats a must have in your takle box is a few old school spinner baits and Rat-LTraps, oh yea you cant forget a good rod grab an ugly stick 6'6 medium light action for the money you cant beat em, there are a million different baits out there pick up a few different things and experiment find what works on what days and conditions, and I strongly recommned keeping a detailed log of your trip, water color, water temp, air temp, time of day, and most importantly what the fish are biting! Good luck, and FISH ON!

[Stan]

welcome to the board fresh...its always good to see fellow bayou boys join up...personally i have never caught a smallie but then again i havent fished in bossier...anyways you should learn a lot on here i know i sure did..and im gonna put it to good use as soon as i go on leave... ;D