patience grasshopper patience .......best advice I can give ya . these fish are tricky devils and its a big bag of tricks that gets them in the hand . there are so many ways to ketch them its not funny and in some spots you have to use methods you may not be familiar with.
I am no pro but I get bored easily and this particular fish never seems to bore me and I have chased a lot of fish .
find a lake you like and hit it often and ask tons of questions on that lake , then rinse repeat and filter . this will get you off to a good start for sure .
good luck to you and be patient for sure , sometimes slow gets it done .