Need some direction/tips

[Th3Answer]

First thread on this forum. I was just looking for some advice.

I am from NJ, just recently moved down here to SC and I am having a little bit of trouble. Ive always done a lot of cat and trout fishing on shore in smaller lakes. I am wanting to get into bass or other game fishing. I am tired of letting my line sit in the water. I want the challenge of actually fishing. Mostly aimed toward largemouth. And I am not having much luck.

I've probably gone fishing about 10-12 times since I've been down here and have only landed a fish or two. I have tried various lures from soft plastics, jigs, crankbaits, swimmers and spinners. I've thrown in various colors and used a variety of retrieving techniques. I've have been trying to pay attention to my surroundings and learn the lake but I haven't had much luck. Starting to get a little discouraged.

I was just looking for a little starting advice from some experienced anglers. Are there any specific forums pages you would suggest so maybe I can read up on my own? Do you have any advice for newer anglers that you think I have missed? I understand it is all about learning the lake/fish but I am just looking for a little nudge I guess.

I previously used a spinning reel with various kinds of spider wire. I recently got the Power Pro 20lb test red line. When I get some money I am going to invest in a baitcaster. When I use fast retrieval lures I really don't use a rigging setup. From what I've assumed, throwing a fast retrieval lure on your main line without anything else should work fine. When I am using soft plastics I have tried a few different setups from sliding sinkers to different leaders. I guess I should also add I usually cast bout 15 or so times before moving to a different spot.

Any specific setups you guys would recommend?

So far I have tried to fish Dreher Island on Lake Murray, the Dam on Lake Murray and a few spots near the state park side of Lake Wateree. Lake Wateree looks like it should be great for shore fishing since it has a bunch of little still water "leg" areas with great cover.

I'll shut up for now. Im sure this has already been posdted so if you don't feel like going into a deep response for me then I would appreciate you pointing me in the right direction with a link.
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[gdn443]

If you want to get serios for bass fishing. A good start is to get Bass Master magazine for a year. All kinds of good tips and advice.
Like anything new, go with an easy bait that will get most fish. A senco like worm fished weightless will work most of the time of year and weather conditions. Watermelon is a good all around color to start with along with Black. Go down to an 8-10 pd. braid or copolymer, not the 20lb red. I use Fireline.
You can goggle how to setup a weightless worm for details.
Perfect that method then go on to another way of fishing for them.
Fish a spinnerbait in white for clear days and black for overcast days.

Look for structure or flats if you have a boat. Weed edges are also good. Tough to fish bass without one.

Good luck and the only dumb question is one not asked.
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[Th3Answer]

Thanks for the advice gdn. I will check out Bass Master. And I will go back to the senco worms. I tried them a bit but not enough to fully test them. Maybe the type of line matters a little more than I assumed. I know for trout, catfish, crappie..etc the type of line is very important, but I assumed when you are doing a fast retrieve, the fish could care less about the line. I've used Fireine before, I will go back to the 8lb braided.

I have a few friends/contacts that have a boat but not one of my own. Maybe sometime in the future, I am only 20 by the way so have some time to learn and experiment.

Your philosophy makes perfect sense in the sense of mastering one thing at a time. Maybe I am over thinking my tactics which can be bad if I don't have a whole lot of knowledge in the first place.

In terms of water temperature. It got hot a little early down in SC. Since a lot of my fishing is done in shallow waters, should I be going early morning, mid day or at night for this weather? From what I have read, bass will hit anytime of the day as long as you use the right kind of presentation for that time of the day.

But like I said I will take your advice into effect.
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[aluminumkanman]

I was in the same boat always wanted to catch Bass but never any luck until lately.
i live in southern california so fishing here is probably a little different but the same concept.

i wen out a few weeks ago and a lot of the anglers were using soft plastics the watermelon color with red metal flakes but i was getting hit on a power bait plastic worm black with a purple ish color.

tha braided line is fine but you need to set up a fluorocarbon leader about 6 to ten feet. i had mine about 8 ft. i use a 7' foot pole with a bait caster. got a good deal at the bass pro shop a 100 dollar real for 80 bucks.

try using a Carolina rig or a Texas rig these seem to work well. how ever i found a new rigging set up well new to me cant wait to try it. it is called a push dart setup.

good luck.
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[gdn443]

Let the sencos work for you. Let them settle to the bottom. Give it a flick after a short while, then retrieve and start over.
If you can't get one on a senco, their just not that hungry.
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[Th3Answer]

Went out and got my new reel and rod today. Got a 7'0" medium heavy Garcia rod with a Pflueger Echelon baitcast reel. Came to about 120$ish for both. Guy at the reel desk was super helpful showed how to use it...etc. Also picked up a brownish black senko, a yellow speckled shenko and a greenish senko. He told me just to use cheap 10lb line til I get the hang of everything.

Thanks for the advice guys. Can't wait to get out to the lake and try a few things including what you've been telling. I'll post here with my results lol.
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[aluminumkanman]

practice a lot with that bait caster it has a different feel to it than a spinning reel i made the jump and i almost wanted to go back to the spinning but i would practice casting and setting the tension and the braking system to minimize the backlash on the reel no matter how hard i tried to cast.

here is a link to a video that shows a way to get rid of the backlash or birds nest if it happens to you.

http://www.bassfishin.com/fishing-videos...-backlash/

good luck with your caster.

also as a rule of thumb use dark plastics for cloudy day and lighter plastics on clear days.

also if the water has low visibility stay with the darker plastics even if you can only see about a couple of feet.

keep us posted on how your new gear works out for you.
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[Th3Answer]

I actually went out this morning at about 6:30am. The baitcaster isn't extremely difficult to use. I have had some advice of course but for the most part I only got backlashed if I stopped paying attention to my casts. And even when it happened they were all easily pulled back out. I actually got to a point where I had the setting on 7or so and the knob pretty loose. I was able to cast very light plastics a good distance without a weight. I am already seeing a million upsides compared to a spinning reel. The cast accuracy, control and distance with light lures being the main advantages.

90% of the time I used Senkos like you guys suggested. Got a hit as soon as I put the brown paddle-worm in the water. I missed my hook-set but about 10 casts or so later I finally landed one. My first bass in SC. Probably about 2lbs or so. It was about 7-8inches.

After that catch it was dry for a while with the soft plastics so I switched to a small spinner with a tiny plastic on it so I could cast it in grass. Got a good size crappie and a small largemouth on that and then I went dry for about and some jerks in a boat came into my little corner of the 14 mile long lake and started being loud..etc. So I left.

I think the baitcaster helped a bit with the catches since I was able to put the line exactly where I wanted it. And the paddle tail senkos move so well in the water. I really like the movement on them.
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