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[Oldfart9999]

I've mentioned this a fair amount and I guess I'm going to do it again, just under it's own thread.
How do we learn; good question, I'm talking about catching green fish, the answers are varied but tend to follow certain trends.
1. We learn from a friend or expert, we ask questions, we start using suggestions or by doing  the one thing a pro says.
2. As far as I see the least used, we learn by experimenting. I used a combination of the 2.
I learned early on that docks and moored boats were great places to try, by experimenting I learned that and internal weight from BPS or Lindy made a tube a skipping machine and an excellent fish catcher.
When it came to dropshot I watched everything from Aaron Martins I could find, he is the best with it but then I started experimenting with what would work best for me as far as equipment and baits and where along with leader length and using it with a cheap 3 inch bait took lunker in 3 tournaments and was in the money. One day I had a thought about using with a baitcaster and larger baits like 4-6 inch Senkos in grass with heavy line, It wasn't till many months later that I saw the first of several articles about it, I was already catching fish with it.
By experimenting, and being willing to get hung up a bit I learned how to drag a Norman Little Deep N through laydown trees. If you read or listen to the pros you'll learn they do a lot of experimenting to get the most out of their baits, if they aren't catching they aren't cashing checks, so they need to learn how to make each bait they use more affective.
This is something I've always enjoyed doing, it means some fishless days but also some very satisfying days, it was a big help when I started to fish tournaments, it also helped me learn areas that aren't overrun with boats.
Take a several baits with you and try learning more ways to make them productive then try several more, so on and so on, you'll be surprised how soon you become a more versatile fisherman and to be honest how much more you enjoy going out on a tough day and loading the boat with a limit or a Personal Best.
Rodney   

[Pferox]

Back in the days when we learned how to fish, the information didn't flow like it does today.

There were a few fishing shows on TV, and some magazines, but they were few and far between, so we had to improvise, experiment, and adapt.

I remember when I was a kid, the only bait we had was a worm, that we harvested from the garden.

We added action to them, tried different presentations, and replaced them after a cast or two.

As we got older and got a means of income, then came the artificial baits.  We were still just catching bluegills and catfish with them, because bass were scarce in the local lakes,  but we learned and expanded.

I learned how to throw a baitcaster by buying a few dozen spools of K-Mart mono fishing line, and practicing with a lead weight in the yard, after watching a few Bill Dance TV shows.  I got real good at picking out over runs.

[Dink Dawg]

I'm almost 67 and can look back quite a ways.  There has been a 180 degree shift in learning from when I started until the present. Information in the 70's and 80's came from 4 TV shows and two magazines and a few books.  Relationships with other anglers willing to share their knowledge was paramount.

The key issue was and still is, can you apply that information and make it personal and practical?  I found trial and error and EVALUATION were the best teachers. You can read about what a jig bite feels like but feeling it for yourself is the only true way to personally know and then file that away.

I chose to learn one bait at a time per seasonal pattern. I got that from print media.  I attempted to master that bait and technique so I was at least proficient with it.  I still do that as new baits and techniques evolve.

I still apply that commitment.  My club partner and I fished a our favorite lake on a mancation and we committed so many hours to fishing a wobble head.  I did the same thing with the Dark Sleeper. I really feel I have a grasp for how to use both of those baits now and where to apply them.  That develops confidence.  Ask a young person what the Dewy Decimal System is and you'll get it.