Beardie bonding and personality

I got my dragon about 2 months ago and he is about 6 months old. I've read a lot about bonding and understand it takes time, but I feel like no progress has been made. Starting to think his personality is just not unto being held. He has a 55 gallon tank with sufficient light and basking, a nice hide and hammock. He eats his greens and veggies very well and has a good appetite for crickets. I even made him an outdoor playpen. Yet everytime I pick him up he puffs up and opens his mouth. He has biten me, but he's too small for it to be an issue. I was told by picking him up at night when he's sleepy can help form the bond and I've been doing it and he falls asleep on me just fine but seems to forget very quickly the next day. Any advice or answers would be appreciated.

If he puffs up when you pick him up, you've moving too quickly. Some beardies are more defensive than others, especially when they're young. Things you can try:
- Cover 3 sides of the terrarium with black construction paper so s/he feels more secure in their environment.
- Place a dirty shirt (worn at least 2x without washing, or a shirt you wore while exercising) inside the enclosure so s/he can get used to your scent.
- Rest your hand inside the enclosure and let it sit there for 5-10 minutes at a time. (Get a book, this can be boring.) Do not attempt to hold the dragon until it regularly walks across your hand.
- Start with short handling sessions (3-5 minutes at most), but don't return the dragon to its terrarium until it is calm.
- Gradually increase the length of handling sessions up to 30 minutes.

https://www.reptifiles.com/bearded-dragon-care-packet/bearded-dragon-body-language-taming-handling/

Thank you very much for the help. I'll will start immediately with the scent technique.