What's the #1 thing we bass fisherman overthink?

Line, color, weights, specific soft plastics? I know for me, it's line. I always struggle with which type of line, do I use fluoro, or mono, or braid etc. it can get confusing. I'd like to hear your thoughts. Thanks

For most techniques I think color is hands down the most over thought aspect in bass fishing.

Lots of stuff! I overthink what fish think- they don't THINK.... at least I hope not!

Color

+1 on the color

Def color is the most over thought thing, in my opinion.

Not just lure color but also weight color

Having to have the most expensive equipment to catch fish.

Color. The other big one is I think people over think what or where the fish will be when planning a trip and then have a pretty conceived pattern in their head so they spend most of the day trying so hard to prove that pattern that by the time they figure out what the deal is the day is over. I've done it so many times and what's bad is I know I'm doing it and still struggle with it.

Agree, lure color

Fishing in a relaxed, comfortable but focused state of mind and body is by far the most important factor to me
Of course, the more prep/the more practice and analyzing, the easier it is to get that feeling.

Fish will eat in colder water then most think,45deg and less water temps. Cold water scares a lot of people.

This is a really bad habit I have. I will go so far as pre-rigging my arsenal and for some reason try to force feed them. Most of the time it goes back to color choice as others have mentioned.

Color

Weather and color... 15ft and more, I don't think color makes any difference personally... not in Texas.

Line size... If bass will an A-Rig then braid is ok

Yep, me too. I like to force feed them what I want to catch them on. Reminds me of the song below. I think Sinatra wrote this song after getting skunked bass fishing.

[video:youtube]6E2hYDIFDIU[/video]

This is definitely something many of us over-think, also on the opposite end of the spectrum I used to find myself over-thinking the lack of success in a certain spot too soon. I didn't give a spot or technique enough time and before I've given it a solid chance to prove itself I am already thinking of what to do next and when the day is over I realize I've spent more time moving around, grabbing other rods and tying on everything in the boat than I actually spent with a line in the water.

I agree, color is another good one. Reason I didn't put it for me, I try and keep it simple from a base color standpoint. Only 4 colors. greens, reds, blacks, and junebug.

greens = watermelon and green pumpkins and it's derivatives like water/red flake etc
blacks = black/blues or solid blacks or variations etc
reds= red bug, and morning dawn etc
junebug = well, junebug

Not sure why, but this clicked very early on for me and it stuck.

Color for me as well

Off shore bass

I would say "Bass Fishing"...we have all seen this guy or been this guy at one time or another...ya pre-rigged 20+ rods in the boat the night before, and have a small tackle shop under deck, and the day starts and ya go to thrashing the water with this that and the other thing of every size shape and color because something worked the day before but it's not now and when all that fails, ya usually end up with your favorite jig or worm rod in hand and slow way down....and wallah what do ya know there are fish still in the lake... LOL

All of what has been mentioned is very true for most.

Biggest thing I might tend to overthink is locations on lakes. I usually try to start my day shallow and target fish cover. Then I tend to migrate deeper and start looking at structure.....when I really need to slow down and use the expensive TVs on my boat. Lol. They would narrow down my guessing if I let them.

C-rig leader length and size of the weight you choose depending on what depth you are fishing.
It doesn't need to be that complicated at all.

Agree with KCFISH'N. I think it's 'needing' a different setup for each type of fishing. A specific rod/reel/line setup for square bills vs other (round bill) crankbaits...(Really???)

Line visibility.

Where to start

Lure color #1, deciding when to fish fast / slow / stay / go #2.

Placing seasonal/historical limitations on baits. I can't can't the number of times I have read on here or heard in person someone say "Do you think they will hit whatever bait at whatever lake".....why not just chunk it and find out. You will know pretty quick. I think swimbaits and jigs really get underused for this very reason. Guys think you always need clear water for swimbaits and colder water for jigs. There are a lot more. Topwater gets underused, hollow belly frogs in open water etc...some guys are afraid to step outside the box or just follow that gut feeling they have when it comes to using baits in situations other may not use that same bait.

Another example I like to refer to is lets use early spring at Fork as the lake. Go into Tiffany's or Oak Ridge restaurant at lunch and see all the long faces. Guys talking about how they are struggling bad. You ask them where they are fishing and what they are throwing and I bet the majority will say Birch with a trap. Well we all know a trap is deadly out there that time of year but at some point when boat after boat is pounding the same areas with the same bait its worth it to change it up. But guys struggle with that because they say its Fork and its early spring and this is the bait I am supposed to throw rather than change it up.

Weather. Always told when I was young it was a waste of time to fish when winds were out of the north.

I would say lure size. I've listened to many pros say it doesn't matter the color as long as you have the right size. After lure size, I would say water temperature.

If the Cows are up and eating the fish will be too!!

+1 and also who spot to fish first.

1. Color
A close second is the weight of rod & reels

Color. Many people go after colors that look good to them, and not necessarily what looks natural and good to the fish. They like all of the fancy colors when watermelon red, green pumpkin and black/blue will get it done 99% of the time. But, I totally understand the confidence thing, and that matters a lot also.

Color

Designer sun glasses!

Color, example Gerald Swindle throws a brown jig, or a black jig. And he is your AOY. Some basic natural colors will pretty much always deliver like Green Pumpkin or Watermelon red flake worms.

"When is my next chance to get on the water?"

Or the blade color. ...or the lip color....or the peg color...line color (magic marker/felt tip the 1st 10' of line)...color of our shirts/hats/jackets/top caps of the boat/hull color. ....etc.etc....

I struggle with determining if the fish are "active " and willing to chase a reaction bait , are they feeding
and willing to eat , or are they completely shut down . From my perspective , that determines how I fish .
Shallow , deep , transition area's .
I keep my colors basic , locating fish and determining the mood their in is key for me .

There are lots of things that I over think. For me one of the things has always been weather. Mainly water temp and barometric pressure. Things can get tough on bluebird sky days. I have access to a private lake that is about 150 acres or so and usually go a couple of times per week. It's a shallow lake so the water temp can fluctuate pretty good. Before this cold spell the water temp was 55 - 58 and I was catching lots of good fish running a red trap through the grass in 5-7 fow. My son and I went Saturday afternoon about 1:00. Wind out of the north, 35 degrees, high blue skies and the water temp had fallen to 44-45 degrees. We fished in the same area I had been going to and the fish were still there and still biting. We caught 25-30 in about 3 hours. Guess nobody told the fish they shouldn't have been biting under those conditions.

The only time I think color is a factor is with matching crawfish, red color in winter or spring. Trying to match the main forage of the lake, shad color.

When to stay and when to leave an area!!!

Lure color and depth to fish at.

Color makes a difference at lake Fork. Several colors will work on most days, but there are times when one color will catch more fish on a given day than the others.
Water clarity, cloudy day vs sunny all can make a difference.

If you are AOY using brown and black, then why do you need green pumpkin or watermelon/red? Could it be that colors other than black and brown work well also??
I catch a lot of fish using chartruce on a c-rig. I also have good luck with redbug and blue fleck and none of those colors are natural looking.

Seems like lots of fisherman are too concerned with what everyone else is doing and what's working for other fishermen and where everyone else is fishing rather than focusing on their selves.

This way of thinking might work for crank baits but not so well for soft plastics.

Do you never throw any bream or fire tiger colored crank baits or only red or shad colored baits. You are missing the opportunity to catch more fish if you limit yourself to fishing with only two colors.

I have overcome the "color" thing after 20+ years. I have come to the conclusion that 90% of the bass, when given the opportunity, will commit to just about anything if they are hungry and the bait is presented properly. The one thing that still perplexes me is depth. No matter the time of year.

I think we overthink everything. A bass will eat just about anything you put in front of them.

fishing

For me it has to be line, been playing the bass fishing game for over 30 years, every year seems to bring more line choices wich equals more confusion. Not to mention all the knots necessary for the new lines and joining the different lines.

everything!

Line is a no brainer...pure braid. So for me its also color.

I'd say for me it's weather and then color.

Underwear selection always

I was going to read this whole thread until I came across this post!

YES!

Lures don't catch fish...they catch fisherman. (In other words, lures catch the eye of the fisherman customers, more than they do the fish!)

Also, ABSOLUTELY!!! We make a "plan"....and expect the fish to follow it!

Don't despair though, fish have very small unrefined brains, and they need to eat to survive. So, they'll always be a few that are stupid enough to subscribe to the incorrect approach for the day, and provide encouragement to for ANY misguided approach.

It's called fishing. HOWEVER, if you REALLY want to catch fish.....keep changing up until you are catching on nearly every cast, and ditch the "pre-game plan!"

I definitely feel like we over-think our equipment. $75k rigs, 540 rod and reel combos, and needing every bait ever known to man-kind. Meanwhile, ole Joe is out there in his 17 foot 1983 thunder bolt (with 1 flasher), 2 combos, both rigged with lead sinkers, a semi rusted 3/0 hook, and an expired Crème worm dangling on the end of 5 year old 14 pound SilverThread, is putting yet another 5 pounder in the box.

Preconceived notions...

color

for me...which way did they go

Jersey's and flat bills...

Quality of boat, line, rods, lure color...oh you said #1 thing we overthink? Everything!

leaving fish to go hunt fish.

I believe Color is the issue we mostly overthink. Most of the elite pros only carry 4 colors- Black/blue, Green Pumpkin, Watermelon, and June bug. They know there maybe a HOT color on a given lake, but most of the time I believe they focus more on the presentation and know it is more important.

I think the second most overthought issue is in mistaking that fish can reason. They don't look at a bait and say, "Nope. Don't like black/blue I am going to wait for Green Pumpkin"; They don't say, "This water is too muddy, I'll just swim to the clear water 4 miles downstream". They adapt to their situation by evolution instincts.

Bass are predators and thru evolution they have learned to conserve energy and be optimistic feeders. For me to become a better fisherman I believe I should focus more on finding on how they are feeding and matching that; than the color they are feeding on. Color is important sometimes, like when bass are feeding on bluegill or crappie. But I think I need to do a better job of analyzing the water situation and focus on how the bass want to see the bait.

we over think the "BOOK". by that I mean we over analyze what we have been taught instead of trying new things. if its sunny we think shade and if its cloudy we think fish move more, but there are times when on the cloudiest days, the bass are under the thickest cover and on bright sunny 105' days we catch them in a foot of water on rock! Sometimes fish don't know what we expect them to do so they just do what they want!

There is a lot of truth in this post.

How about the # of graphs on a boat. Its getting crazy out there. I saw a boat that had three 10 or 12 inch screens side by side on the console and two of the same size mounted at the bow and in the video the angler just ran the bank throwing a crank bait and he commented that he does not like fishing deeper than 10 feet deep. Five graphs on the boat and only fish 10ft and shallower...that is insane, unless he is a gadget nut. LOL Always wanting the latest and greatest in electronics.

+1 This gets me every time.