bambam266 Loc: Texas

Hello everyone! Hope you’re all well and still catching the big ones!!

I’m not gonna bs here. I’m as green as it could get to bass fishing. I barley know how to tie a knot.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

We’ve recently fished Guntersville with a guide. That was eye opening. Learned a ton there.

The wife and I wanted to get serious about it and be fishing tournaments by next season. So we bought a 21’ ranger with Lowrance active targeting. Trying it out tomorrow on Rayburn. That’s the closest major lake to us.

Fredfish Loc: Prospect CT.

Welcome to the Stage Bambam. Judging by your avatar, you're not that green. Good luck with your new boat, and getting into tournament fishing.

Robert J Samples Loc: Round Rock, Texas

Hello BamBam: You have taken the right course by hiring a guide. That gets you up to speed faster than anything else you can do. Ask a lot of questions, take notes, and follow their suggestions, on baits, locations, times of day to fish, etc. Just Sayin....RJS

Mitch fish Loc: Frankston TX

Holy cow when you decide to do something man you jump in with all your feet I came from Shasta Lake near Redding California and a 40 fish day is nothing I've been in Texas for three or four months I've caught eight but I don't fish the brush as well as I used to and they're in the grass in the brush here I fish for relaxation I don't want the stress of a tournament to do fishing

jboulw Loc: Garland Texas

Find and join a bass club around you thy have a lot of info to share

Chuck56 Loc: Texas

Wow. From your picture with the 2 bass you already know something....lol...first thing you need to do is learn your boat. Make sure you get the lake maps download for your fish finders for Rayburn / Toledo bend. They will tell you valuable information about the lakes like creek channels, water depth, etc...... Remember to wear jackets while you are running and have your kill switch attached. There are stumps in Rayburn that can rip your lower unit off your motor or tear your transom out. So caution is recommended until you learn the lake . Learn your livewell system. That s really important. You need to keep your livewell fish as healthy as possible. .... There are numerous good launches at Rayburn. Public is one of them . Sandy creek is a good launch. Many more , you will find on your own. I would suggest you get the download map and learn some of the coves / areas. You can buy a water proof physical map too,. ....Honestly, sandy creek cove is a good place to learn to fish. There is the creek channel close to the launch, a bunch of bank to fish, a flat area, shallow area , cover, structure. All there in sandy creek cove. It’s a pretty big area that you can learn your boat , learn your trolling motor , etc. and learn to catch bass. I like that cove , and always catch bass there.....if I were you, I would learn one pattern at a time. Like worm fishing. It’s cheap, teaches patience, focus , and how to learn to use your trolling motor while fishing without getting treble hooks stuck in your hands..lol . In other words you learn multi -tasking. The quicker you learn to multi task, the quicker you can move on to other patterns. Stuff you learn on your own.... Something else that is important . If you do enter a tournament, don’t ask anybody what they caught their bass with or where they caught them during or when the tournament is over. You will get dirty looks and lied to....lol..folks are serious about their tournament fishing there. Just listen, watch and learn at weigh- in . And please practice catch and release , even when you aren’t in a tournament. I used to fish the oilman’s tournament , chevron tournament, Valero tournament, and the Reel United tournament ( United Way) there. Never did the MacDonalds tournament. Too many crazies on the water then.... If you are trying to get into tournaments , Rayburn is the place to be. Toledo Bend is very close to Rayburn, and there are the same if not more tournaments on that lake. And Toledo bend is actually a bigger reservoir than Rayburn . Both reservoirs are enormous . I would bet money there are a bunch of fish in either one of those reservoirs that have never seen a fishing lure...lol. But in my opinion Toledo is a little more dangerous lake to navigate than Rayburn......So , you are in the right area.....My 2cents.......