help! been a long time gone!! everything's changed....

[fishin' preacher]

I use to bass fish long ago. Now, tryin' to get back in it, and WOW, everything has changed! what's good? what to stay away from? any advice appreciated......

[Fish On]

Hey...
I think it would be easier to know what you use to fish and then we can tell you how its changed and you can modify your presentation. But fish still are hitting the old baits trust me.
Fish On

[zooker]

putting down you location is an important thing. we all fish differant water across the country.. every one of us utilize differant methods of doing so...

zooker

[Rebbasser]

Welcome to the forum!

Like Zooker said, if you put down where you are located it'll help. The second thing I'd suggest is let us know what you have used in the past. On the plus side, the more things change the more they stay the same. The baits you used back when you did fish will still work, and it's kind of like riding a bike-it'll come back to you pretty quick.

Meantime, jump right in and make yourself at home!

[fishin' preacher]

thank ya'll for the input. I am in mississippi, don't know if that means anything as far as bass fishin' goes......i use to use worms pretty regular. rat'l trap occasionally. now, all these soft body baits. they look good. is that the newest thing goin' now days?

[zooker]

there is a differance newest always don't mean best..

if you can find your favorite bait. that is..




zooker

[flbassman]

Welcome!
If by worms, you mean plastic worms, they're still catching fish. If you mean nightcrawlers, they're catching 'em too. Bass are still bass, it's just that they've seen a few more baits now than they had before. Just browse the site a little, check out http://www.basspro.com and you should be bass fishin again in no time at all.

[Rebbasser]

FP, worms and traps are still staples. Probably the biggest development in the past few years are weightless soft plastics. The two most popular are a fluke type bait like a Zoom Super Fluke:



And a soft plastic stickbait:



Both are rigged like a Texas rig only with no weight and fished slow with gentle twitches of the rod tip. the stickbait is also real productive rigged wacky:


Fished the same way. I've found for rigging them like a Texas rig an extra wide gap (EWG) hook works best:


There have been a lot of different techniques, new styles and colors, but crankbaits, spinnerbaits, jigs, and all the rest of the baits you used to use are still around going strong.

[carolina-rig-01]

it's still as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. if you want it to just be fun and don't get caught up in success then it's simple. but if you are after success and have a competitive streak in ya then it gets a little more complicated. but these things will stay the same always...

1. the same things will always position fish for you.
a:water clarity
b:water temp
c:current if there is any
d:fishing pressure ect...

2.location is key.
a:structure
b:depth ect...

just like flbass said, bass are still bass, there are just more baits out there. some will catch fish and some will catch fisherman, just find ones that you feel good about and build confidence with them. you can look at previous post here about certain baits for opinions. just learn as you go and don't be afraid to ask questions, here or anywhere.

[fishin' preacher]

I appreciate all the info. I guess my thing is that I saw all this new stuff, and it blew me away! I have been goin' to wal-mart and trying to get me 1-2 new lures each time, just trying to upgrade my stuff. never been one to try new stuff, always stayed with the tried- and -true stuff. But now, i am tryin' to e-x-p-a-n-d!!!

[fishin' preacher]

is spiderwire anygood? i bought some of that not long ago. haven't heard anyone say anything about that type of line. (spiderwire--super mono) thanks.

[CMorg]

I would say spiderwire is no good. I too bought some about a month and half ago.. Spiderwire Stealth , it sticks to my line guides , so I tore it off and threw away the rest of the spool... I no longer want to use braids , I do however would like to find a strong , sensitive , low stretch mono., or Flouro , I want something with no MEMORY !!

[CMorg]

Also alot of people dont like them , but I do , its the Chatterbait lure. Just cast it out and bring it in with occasional rod tip twitches , it works especially well if you can see bass feeding on other fish.. They'll snatch it right up...

[fishin' preacher]

what is a good line to use, that isn't real visible?

[flbassman]

Originally Posted by fishin' preacher

what is a good line to use, that isn't real visible?

Ask 20 guys and you'll get 20 answers. I personally like Ande, beccause it's strong, it holds knots and it's not real expensive. If you're looking for totally invisible line, flourocarbon is the way to go. However, in most situations, clear mono will work just fine.

[zooker]

fl is on it like a pro.. -can ya belive the kid can't drive yet- but he is right.. do NOT buy the $2 spool of mono at walmart..


preacher hope you willing to build an addition to your house just to put tackle in.....

zooker

[Rebbasser]

FP, if you want to use mono I use green Trilene XL. Fluorocarbon is the new kid on the block. It has the same specific gravity(I think that's it) as water, so it is invisible. I use it for those flukes and stickbaits I posted.

Braid I use for heavy cover. I used to use Spiderwire but changed to Powerpro. SW is flat and digs into the spool where PP is round.

As FL said, ask 20 fishermen and get 20 answers. I will recommend two lines to stay away from: Berkley Iron Silk-breaks if you look at it wrong, and Berkley Vanish, their fluorocarbon line-real stiff and brittle. Surprising, too, since Berkley also makes Trilene XL, which I love.

[lizardsrule]

Preacher,

My reccomendation to you is to use what you always used to catch bass with in the past, I'll bet money it still works. Then start trying out new things one at a time. You will never get good at all the different techniques/baits/products at once, just pick one and work it out till you feel you can consistantly catch bass with it, then move on to the next one. You will get overloaded, and not fish the bait/technique/product well enough if you are trying 15 things at once. Just my opinion of course. It will take awhile, I still learn something everytime out.(if I ever say anything different, then I might as well quit fishing) Sometimes, it's what's not working LOL.

Lizards

[jooleyen]

Jeez. I needed that post lizards. Thanks!

[fishin' preacher]

Originally Posted by lizardsrule

Preacher,

My reccomendation to you is to use what you always used to catch bass with in the past, I'll bet money it still works. Then start trying out new things one at a time. You will never get good at all the different techniques/baits/products at once, just pick one and work it out till you feel you can consistantly catch bass with it, then move on to the next one. You will get overloaded, and not fish the bait/technique/product well enough if you are trying 15 things at once. Just my opinion of course. It will take awhile, I still learn something everytime out.(if I ever say anything different, then I might as well quit fishing) Sometimes, it's what's not working LOL.

Lizards

i appreciate your input. anything ya'll can tell me, helps. thanks alot.

[zooker]

yes the ability to spend $100 in seconds in a tackle shop is caused by the bait monkey..


zooker

[skeeter944]

oh yes zook! sometimes much more lol.

[1FASTLASER]

Hmmmmmmmmmm a light just went off in my head. Yes there is power up there. Always has and always will bewilder me why is this NEW technique or this NEW bait better than the good ole tried and true baits that we USED to fish. I cant count how many times I saw a bait or a line or whatever and run out to the store and when I start looking at whatever it is I think "I dont need this shoot that good ole texas rig, or that rebel wee r in crawdad looks just like it or whatever. AHHHHHHHH I know what it is "THAT DANG BAIT MONKEY"