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Hello all. My name is Manny and I am new to Bass fishing. I am stationed in Del Rio Tx which is home to beautiful lake Amistad. I used to always fish for catfish but just recently I was introduced to Bass fishing. I was wondering if you all had any advise for someone fishing from the shoreline or docks. I currently use alot of T-Rig senkos and an occasional spinner bait. I have noticed that I have a hard time feeling the diffrence between a bite and weeds or trees. I really dont know if I am using the right baits or if I am using them correctly. I read alot on topwaters, cranks, popers, jigs etc... but how do I know which to use and what they are/do. Well I guess thats it for now any help would be appreciated. I am sorry for the long read it just that I have so many questions. My wife gets mad because lately I am all about fishing. I try and record all the fishing shows on TV to see what I can pick up but most of the time I cant understand what the heck they are talking about. Once again thanks guys/gals.


Manny

Hi Manny,

Welcome to the boards (and bass fishing). There is certainly a lot to learn and at first glance, it can appear to be a bit overwhelming. Trying to understand how bass move, feed and how to trigger them to strike all comes with time on the water. I know that's probably not the response you are looking for, but it is a reality. So, how should you begin this process and what can you do today to help you catch more fish, more consistently?

I'm sitting here thinking about what I did when I started the learning process. For me, it seemed easier if I selected one type of lure and focused on learning how to use that particular bait. Soft plastics can be a great starter. There are many sizes shapes and colors to choose from, but the basic techniques are all the same. You mentioned throwing a Texas rigged senko (good choice). You also mentioned that you are having some difficulty telling the difference between a fish and the structure or cover you are fishing (trees, weeds, rocks, etc.) Here a good thing to remember: The structure won't swim away with your lure... A bass will pick up a senko and if you leave slack in your line and they will swim away with it. If you leave slack in your line watch your line for movement. A strike will usually make your line twitch or even jump. I like to focus on the point where the line enters the water. That seems to be the most noticeable place to notice a strike. One thing to keep in mind is that the senko is so soft that bass often swallow the entire bait and often they end up getting hooked deep. It is important to set the hook quickly when you notice a strike or when the line begins to move away without your intervention.

Your equipment can make a world of difference in what you feel. Using a rod with good sensitivity will dramatically increase your ability to differentiate a strike from contact with objects in the water. Not everyone has a "Donald Trump" budget, so another suggestion I will make is when you are thinking of purchasing your next rod or rods, if you have the choice to either purchase 2 cheaper rods -vs.- one rod that may be better quality, spend the extra money on "one quality rod". I have a garage full of cheaper rods that I purchased over the years, only to find that I needed to replace them later because they either broke, or I could not feel as well as I did with the better quality rods.

Locating bass:

Locating bass consistently can be difficult and even more so when you are limited to shoreline access and boat docks. Even though you are fishing from shore, I would recommend that you purchase a contour map of the lake (if you can find one). Here are a couple of nice resources I found for you: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/fi ... s/amistad/ http://www.texassportfishing.com/Region ... mistad.htm
They have some decent info about Lake Amistad. You can also check www.mytopo.com to try and get a contour map.

So back to locating bass… the more you are around the sport of bass fishing, the more you will hear this statement: “Find shallow water cover, next to deep water, with an abundance of bait fish/forage and you will find bass”. This is perhaps the best sentence I have ever read. These types of areas are the preferred holding places of bass. They have everything they need in close proximity. At first it may sound a bit oversimplified, but I assure you it is really that simple. I will expand on that sentence a bit more to try and clear up some uncertainties you may have. What constitutes shallow and deep? The most important element of shallow and deep is how they relate to each other and the surrounding area. Let’s use some examples: Fishing on a flat (a flat being a long expansive area of water where the lake bottom is approximately the same depth) you want to find a depth change, and any depth change. It can be 6” to 12”, 1’ to 2’, 5’ to 8’, 8’ to 20’ etc. If you are fishing from docks and you have 3 docks to choose from (let’s assume they all have similar weeds around them), choose the one with the greatest depth change.

How do you know if there are bait fish/forage present? Polarized sunglasses and a little time starring into the water. You can also find out by running your lure quickly through an area… bait fish will scatter when an object is approaching at high speed because it usually means they are about to get eaten!

What about cover? Cover is easy, weeds, rocks docks, wood, etc. again, polarized sunglasses will help you pick out these areas, but if provided with a choice, choose the areas with a combination of cover. Weeds are great, but areas with weeds and rock are better. Same goes for areas with weeds and wood and other combinations.

The last tip I will share with you is pay attention to the details when you catch a fish or get a strike. Where did you cast? How deep was the fish when it hit? Was it near a specific type of cover (rock or wood or weed, etc.)? How aggressive was the strike? And so on… these details will help you establish a pattern that you may be able to duplicate, if you are paying attention to the details.

Well, this turned out to be a bit longer than I anticipated, but that’s fine with me assuming you found some of the information helpful.

Best of luck,

Brendan

First off let me say Welcome to the board!

Second since you stated that you were "Stationed in Del Rio" I assume you are in the Air Force? Thank you for serving our great nation!

Excellent information from Brendan! Read all you can about bass fishing. Lots of good info right here on this site if you take the time to read through all of it.

I have never been to Amistad but have always wanted to go. My Brother has fished it several times. We have had several conversations about the fishing there. Based on his info this is what I would do if it were me.

Rig up a Carolina Rig. The basic Carolina rig (maybe Brendan has a picture of it somewhere)

On your main line put on a 1/2 to 1oz weight and a glass bead. Then tie on a swivel, then a leader of line, then hook. It should look something like this
http://www.lakecountybass.com/carolinarig.html

You can rig any kind of soft plastic bait you want on it. I like this bait because it is weed less and you can cover allot of water with it. Basically you throw it out let the weight sink to the bottom and drag (crank) it back in. The weight needs to stay in contact with the bottom. The weight drags along kicking up silt and mud and gets the fish attention then here comes the worm right in front of him and he hits it. (hopefully)

I agree with Brendan on the equipment! Get the best that you can afford. You might also look into getting you some type of tube to fish out of that way you can get off the bank and do some fishing. I know that being in the military its hard to drag a boat around with you everywhere you have to go and a tube would be something that’s easy to pack up and take with you anywhere you get stationed. Something like these
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... oat%20tube

With the clear water that Amistad has it would help you catch more fish getting away from the bank. I probably caught more fish out of my tube than I ever have out of my bass boat.

There is a web site you can sign up for here http://takeasoldierfishing.com/board/default.asp

This will help hook you up with someone in your area that can be a big benefit to your learning. Hopefully there is someone down that way that would take you out fishing on Amistad and be able to teach you what we can’t here.

Matter of fact that would be a good web site for all of us to look at and see if there is a soldier in our area that we could take fishing. I know it means a lot to them!

Manny if I ever make it down that way while you are there I will try and contact you and maybe we can go share a day on the water. I know that next year we are planning a trip down that way. I will keep you informed and maybe we can hook up and go one day!

Brendan hope you dont mind me posting the links but I'm not sure about the pictures if we can still post them. The link for the take a soldier fishing I should have posted on here a long time ago!

Conley nice post... and I certainly do not mind you posting links to other sites, especially when their purpose it to help others and even more so when it involves soldiers.

God bless America and the men and women who fight to keep us free!

BC

Here's a good carolina rig photo I found on In-Fishermen:

Manny here's a simple way to judge the waters depth. Throw your bait into the water and due a 1000 count. See how far your bait drops for about one or two feet. Different weights will drop at different speeds. Once you determine the fall rate just count it down to the bottom and you will get an approx. depth. The guys are right about rods. I would suggest medium heavy rods in the mid price range, Falcons or Basspro rods.Good luck, Carl

PS. You can buy prerigged carolina rigs.

Hello all and thanks for the warm welcome and excellent advise. I went out the other day and was using a topwater at night didnt know if they worked or not but I must say when that fish struck it was the most exciting thing ever. I was shaking as I was reeling him in.It must have been luck to catch it on a top water because I am sure I was not presenting the bait properly. I am still using alot of worms 6" T-rig mostly motor oil and watermelon colored but still get hung up alot. Alright I have a stupid confession to make and I know I am 25 and shouldnt let things like this get to me but I am afraid of picking up a Bass by the mouth. I tried it and felt some teeth and it scared the heck out of me. When I was younger I got bit by a catfish and also stung by one and ever since then I have been afraid. Is there a trick to picking these things up?

I recently purchaced a new rod cheap but its medium action baitcast reel/rod combo(Rhino RBC300). My question is how do I use this it seems to get tangled up alot.

Here at Amistad Lake I hear of people catching alot of catfish but not me I have tried worms, minnows, and stinkbait but no luck. Any thoughts on what may help out with this? Also there are alot of Gar and I hear people catch these on rod and reel. Is there a bait for this and if I happen to catch one are they dangerous?

Well sorry for the long post I just have so much to learn and well I just want to catch loads of fish.


Thank you all again.

Manny

Manny, since you caught a fish with the top water I'd say you were do'in it right. Those top water hits are so much fun! Top waters are an excellent way to go at night. Couple of tips, throw your bait out and let it sit until the ripples die out, give it a twitch, waite, and move it a couple of feet, and repeat the prosses, when you feel a fish wait for a few seconds before setting the hook. With pactice you'll know when it's on. If you have a blade bait like a buzz bait then you run the bait over the top of the water. It's always a good idea to put on a trailer hook. You can buy these hooks which have a large eye, so they will fit over the hook on the bait. There are different ways to rig it, but I like Larry Nixon's method. Slip on the hook, point up, and use the rubber tubing to just keep the hook from coming off. As far as teeth, bass have a rough lip, but I don't think they would be called teeth. You'll have no problem by just lipping the fish. What you want to avoid is hooking yourself, which will happen when you get into treble hooks. We've all done it. Something to look forward to is a raw thumb from lipping so many bass in one outing. What a blast, doesn't happen very often. As far as baitcasting, that's a whole book. There are numerous posts on this web site devoted to baitcasting, you'll just have to do a little digging. I had noone to teach me, so I ordered two intructional videos at www.Bonadon.com/ Two tapes or dvds @ 20 bucks a pop. Well worth the money. From one old vet to one young one, good luck. Carl

Lots of questions are good Manny...

Bass have tiny teeth and the most they can ever do is put some scrapes in your hand. The trick to hold a bass by the mouth or "lipping" a bass (as some people call it) is to make sure that you get a firm grip, push your fingers into the soft area under their bottom jaw (this is all done with one hand by the way) and flex their mouth open. You can also perfom what is called "cradling" which is simply placing your hand under the belly of the bass, they tend to stay motionless when held this way.

Not much of a cat fisherman, so I won't be much help there. Gar can be caught, but they have nasty teeth.

I'll leave some of the other questions for the other guys...