No one wants to be considered as a Klutz, Rookie, Beginner, Schmuck, or even termed a novice. When you go bass fishing and you want to be seen by your peers as a knowledgable fisherperson- read on- this article will help you to disguise yourself as a bass fishing professional.

Shoes- does not sound important. The shoes a person puts on their feet prior to entering a bass boat can be a big clue. Combat boots, hunting boots, any footwear that will hold dirt, sand, mud, rocks in the soles is taboo. These parts of the earth that cling to the bottom of land footwear do amazing things in a boat. First if you step on the painted parts of a boat with these shoes you scratch the paint. If you step on the carpet some of the stuff comes off and when the boat accellerates the stuff gets in your eyes and smarts as it hits your skin. So, the kind of footwear to wear is usually deck shoes or tennis shoes.

Bass boats are built with painted areas and carpeted areas. Some boats have step pads on the painted areas indicating where it is safe to step. Keeping your feet where the feet go is important. A bass pro takes care of his boat. So part of your disguise is to keep your feet on the carpet or step pads. Seats are for sitting. The best way to ruin seats is to use them as steps. Remember you would not step on the couch in your living room.

Pants, not really a big deal here. Pants or shorts are worn with the idea of the environment. Comfortable and mobile. Office pants like suit pants are probably not appropriate.

Shirt, much goes into this. A bass pro has patches on his shirt that he is paid to display. If no one paid him those patches would not be on there. Again, the shirt needs to be comfortable and suitable for the environment.

Facial covering, some pros, in fact a bunch, have beards. This is for protection from the sun. ALL bass pros wear a good pair of polarized glasses. ALWAYS, rain, shine, or freezing cold the good polarized glasses are on. Glasses provide protection from the sun and allow the pro to see important fishing information like targets in the water, line movement and much, much more. All pros started with Roland Martin or Bill Dance signature polarized glasses and graduated to some really good pairs. To disguise yourself as a bass pro the wearing of some sort of polarized glasses is extremely important.

Hat, the purpose of a hat is to protect the top of the head and the eyes from the sun. Some hats extend coverage to the ears and back of the neck. The important factor here is to disguise yourself as a bass pro the hat should be covering your head and have a firm bill in the front to protect your eyes from the sun. For a bass pro the front of the hat is an opportunity to sell advertising. Never ever does a bass pro wear hat with a stuffed fish on the top of it.

Skin coverings are important. Clothes we have discussed. Now it is important to note that sunscreen is extremely important. A bass pro is in the sun for many hours and many days at a time. Skin protection is essential. Sunscreen is essential. An SPF of 45 is the best way to disguise yourself as a bass pro.

Lips, extremely important to cover up the novice lips with sunscreen lip covering. The sun beating on your lower lip for several hours will do damage. Sunscreen lip covering will disguise even the most obvious novice as a bass pro.

There has been lots said and advertised about rods and reels. The type or brand of rods and reels is not extremely important. There are some important factors regarding rods and reels that will help the novice disguise himself as a bass pro.

When the rod and reel is carried it should be carried by an area near the reel, not by the tip. When the lure is attached to the rod it should be attached to a bar on the reel, a hook holder or a bar on a guide. Not on the guide ring. AND give away number one that the angler is a novice is that the rod is bent when the lure is stored. The rod should be straight.

When fishing or landing fish the rod has places where the hands are supposed to go. Trying to land fish by grabbing the rod in any other place is a big time give away of a novice. Hand over hand action to the rod tip is like putting up a sign. Rods are made as one unit with places to put your hand covered with handles.

One of my favorite sayings as a guide is "No matter how hard you reel that fish will not go through the hole at the end of that rod!" Take the time to learn how to hold the rod handle with one hand and lip the bass with the other. Then learn how a pro boats a bass by lifting it into the boat. The idea is to use the rod to your advantage. Learning to do these things will improve your disguise 100 percent.

Rod guides are made of two kinds of materials. There is a metal brace that holds the eye of the guide off the rod and holds the eye on the rod. The eye is smooth and designed to allow line to flow. Putting a hook on the eye is liable to scratch the eye. Putting a lure, a sinker, or a hook all the way into the rod tip is liable to ruin the most important guide on the rod. Always keep the at least one inch of line between the rod tip and what ever is attached to the end of the line. Practicing this will imporve your disguise emensley.

Once you have this disguise perfected you will find that you are one step closer to being at the skill level of a bass pro. You, with you disguise, are more than ready for any Pro-Am tournament or guide trip. Lots of luck to you.

God Bless You, Hugh Crumpler III.