Roland Martin's 101 Bass-Catching Secrets

I began fishing when I was a teenager, then other activities dominated the next 50 years of my life. Now that I'm retired, I'm beginning to get back to fishing. Since I never knew a lot about fishing to begin with and so many years have flown by, I'm returning to fishing with the attitude that I'm a beginner and can learn something from almost anyone (whether it's to learn something I should do or something I shouldn't do).Roland Martin is one of three names I remember of men who were considered to be premier fishermen 50 years ago. When I saw this book of his, I learned what I could about it, and decided to buy it. I'm glad I did because there is much to be gleaned from Martin's experiences on streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, and reservoirs. I like the arrangement of the material and found it very easy to follow his thinking. Much of the book are stories of some of his fishing experiences. Martin is a good story teller and incorporates many helpful lessons in the stories. He doesn't come out and explicitly state, "This is a tip you need to remember and follow," but the lessons are there for the reader to see and learn from.One lesson I learned in my work many years ago is that I don't have time to make all the mistakes myself. I need to learn from the mistakes of others. That will save a lot of time and frustration on my part, as well as make me more productive. That lesson also applies to most every area of life, including fishing. As I continued to read Martin's book, memories of a few of my earlier fishing experiences came to mind and the lessons I was learning from reading Martin's book either confirmed what I had learned decades earlier or challenged previous beliefs, showed me where my thinking was faulty, and pointed me in the right direction.I have enjoyed very much reading Martin's book and have benefitted from it. It's book that I'll reread in the years to come. I've learned not to buy a book unless I'm going to read it more than once. Otherwise, I'll check it out from a library or borrow a friend's copy. This is a book I'll read over and over again, not only to learn more about fishing with each reading but also to enjoy the stories of a man who loves fishing. Then, I can pass it along to my grandsons to enjoy.

The bible. The techniques and lures may seem dated, but they are not. Roland doesn't just explain the "how", but gives the "why". For instance, I will take a single bait or lure to the bass ponds and try different presentations suggested in the book and one of them will invariably work. Some of the other guys I see will say that I'm "working that bait weird", but after a few fish you'll notice they have switched to what you're doing. You don't have to spend lots of dollars on the newest and shiniest, just work what you've got with skill at the right time. I bought this book many years ago in hard cover.

At over 400 pages stuffed with information, this book is an essential treasure trove for anyone trying to improve their take of freshwater bass. Mr. Martin has a nice, easy writing style, and his love for fishing comes through over and over again. Even the photos of his hooksets, though a little redundant, are fun to look at, and he holds nice heavy stringers of bass that punctuate his expertise.The book doesn't have an index or a glossary, and that would have been a nice addition. One mistake common to so many "how-to" books appears here too, which is not defining words that, while familiar to Mr. Martin and some seasoned readers, might be new to others. Even in the sections on tackle, he writes about a specific item but doesn't show what it looks like, so I was left Googling things to see what he was talking about.That said, I learned a lot from this book and would recommend it, especially at about $10-- that's an absolute steal. Thanks, Mr. Martin, for writing this book.

Roland Martin is one of the pioneers in the world of bass fishing and everything related.

This is THE bass fisherman's Bible. Roland Martin is arguably the greatest bass angler ever and he tells everything he's learned from a lifetime of catching big bass, while throwing in entertaining stories and personal asides to make this a great read. I bought three copies: one for me and one each for my daughters.

Like Bill Dance the guy is old school. He taught high school algebra and enjoys teaching. His ideas are timeless and like some students who don't get it in math class the first time, another teachers perspective may seal the deal of learning.

As you would expect, this book is full of great tips & tricks to help you catch more bass. It taught me some new things about different lures and techniques I haven't tried, and also confirmed many things that I am doing right. I always have a highlighter with me when I sit down with this book in case I ever need to go back and double check anything new I've learned.The only complaints I have are: 1) I wish there were more pictures of some of the different types of lures Roland talks about, and 2) Many of the pictures are so dark they look like they were printed on a bad Xerox machine (all b&w pictures by the way).Overall, you won't be disappointed with this book whether you're new to fishing or an old pro. Roland Martin seems like a genuinely nice guy and the stories he tells here along with his fishing tips are quite entertaining, too.

I found the information imparted by Roland Martin in this book to be quite informative and relevant (although maybe a bit repetitive at times.) However, where I have an issue is in the quality of the presentation. I purchased the paperback version and the quality of the paper used is quite poor in color and has an extremely rough texture/feel. Also, the pictures used appear to be quite old and all are monochromatic (which when coupled with poor color and texture make many indiscernible.) Apparently this 2008 edition was more of a reissue than a revision. For most books with these quality issues, I would normally leave a ranking of 2 or 3 stars. However, due to the stong content, it gets a 4.

Great book just got to catch them

not a new book, but it is clear and detailed. one of the best books of its kind.