Well put Kelly. I agree 100%.

KL

I will agree that luck is involved in fishing, period. End of statement. In my opinion it has nothing to do with live bait versus artificial lures. And regarding skill while fishing, in my personal opinion, there is as much skill required in bait fishing as there is in using artificials. Depth, location, water temp, type of bait (shad, minnows, perch, crawfish, earthworms, etc.) all play a role. The same factors as in using artificials. With that said, I am not partial to either lures or live bait. It just depends upon the time of year, and the species I am targetting, I use either live bait or artificials. I don't strictly bass fish, in fact, I don't bass fish at all. If I target stripers in the spring I will use live bait. In the summer months I will more than likely use artificials. Crappie I will use minnows and small jigs depending upon the circumstances. Catfish I'll use bait. But whatever I'm doing, luck will always be there, whether I'm downrigging for stripers, or whatever. When I end the day my statement is usually, "I had no luck today", or "I had a little luck today and caught a few".

No flames intended here. I'm just stating one guys opinions and personal experiences.
Diversity is what makes the world go round.

The main thing is that we have the freedom to pursue our interests and hobbies while enjoying the great outdoors.



------------------
Ed Utley

I_catch_tree_bass,

I agree with you. Another thing to consider is the difference in line size the average crappie fisherman uses vs. the average bass angler.

ED...Now that is a statement I can stand behind 100%. Well said!

Back to the original post...another thing I recall hearing on a video segment I saw with the guys doing the electro-shocking surveys on Fork was that "it takes 10,000 man hours of fishing to catch a 10 lb. or bigger bass". I still need a job with that much vacation time so I can finally get a double digit bass!

Mo...you asked for stories...I was at Fork one day and the old owner of Lunker Lodge came in with a 13 lb. bass he caught while crappie fishing. The bass nearly spooled him 3 times he said. Ended up he caught the fish with the crappie jig right above the fish's tail! The fish couldn't shake it loose like he would had it been hooked in the tail or mouth. Luck or skill, that was a huge fish!

Kelly

[This message has been edited by Kelly Denham (edited 02-07-2003).]

I have always been of the opinion that fishing success relys 95% upon being at the right place at the right time. You have to be fishing where the fish are at. Location selection seems to be the most important part of fishing. What water depth, water clarity, temperature, structure. Todays fishing shows only talk about lures and presentation, I want to know more about location and finding productive water. To me everything else is easy.

Jt

Luck is not limited to live bait by
any means , and skill is not limited to
artificial baits.
I had a fishing buddy in college in
western OK. We fished as much as we studied.
During our last semester He borrowed my
float tube to take his wife fishing. After
a couple of hours of changing her baits,
untangling her line, Fishing her baits out
of the trees, He put her on a plastic worm.
He took her to the middle of the pond,
cast out the worm to the deepest part. He
told her to not reel it in, dont move it,
just let it sit. He went back over to the
bank to resume his fishing in peace and
quiet. This lasted about 5 minutes, His
wife was screaming , He turns to see a bass jumping on the end of her line, bigger than
anything we had caught in the past 3 summers.
Good Luck MO

From Webster.com

Luck:
a force that brings good fortune or adversity b : the events or circumstances that operate for or against an individual
(or)
favoring chance

I'll have to say there is luck in fishing, good or bad. But there is also skill. You need the skills to catch bass, but you also need "good" luck to be in the right place at the right time. I'm still a youngster, compared to some TFF'rs, but I've fished hard for years now and only have a couple bass over 9 pounds. I have yet to reach that 10 pound mark. Whether it's catching a record bass or just catching any size bass, you need both skill and luck. I just haven't had enough luck to catch a 10+ pound fish yet.

Jason Hanson
Athens Bass Club http://www.athensbassclub.com

Here is a link to Share Lunker archives.
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fish/infish/hatchery/tffc/shararchive.htm

I looked at last year's tally and 16 fish were entered. Of the 16, 11 were caught on artficials. I do not know if the one listed caught on a centipede is artificial or not.
That is 68.75% for artificial.

I only use live bait when fishing for whites at night under lights or for walleye in Canada. I never have used live baits for largemouths. Too boring.

I have caught a nice crappie using a 12" worm. I always wondered what he was going to do with that worm. I have also caught a perch on a 12" worm and he had another 8' lizard in its stomach with half still protruding from its mouth. Gluttonous little tyke.

JT -- Until it starts raining out west, you
are Scr*w*d 95% of the time.
I agree about location. That is # 1. If you are on the fish, many baits and presentations will work, some just better than others. I would rate presentation next.
Speed, pace and depth of retrieve are many
times more critical than the actual bait used. Size color and type of bait, although some times critical to success, only can make a difference if location and presentation are correct.
Good luck MO