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T Rig presentation question
#11204369
11/04/15 02:56 AM
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Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 683
Resh
OP
Pro Angler
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OP
Pro Angler
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 683 |
Hiya, quick question that I figured someone better than me could answer. T rig is a go to for me big time, feels like I can catch quality fish with it in a variety of cover, on a variety of bodies of water, whatever the situation. I would say 90% of my bites come either on the initial drop or within the first couple pulls. This holds true even when covering flats or weedlines, not just pitching to isolated cover where I would expect that.
On par for what I should expect as far as a bite pattern? I can cover a lot more water if I only fished the first 10 feet and reeled in and pitched again. Or could I get this result by fishing the bait too quickly? The better fish seem to hit it on the first twitch after the fall. I'm thinking maybe I move the bait too fast and that's why I'm not getting the mid retrieve hits.
dunno, thanks for the input in advance
There are no fish in sonic pond EDIT: Except 1 20lb catfish
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Re: T Rig presentation question
[Re: Resh]
#11204662
11/04/15 12:04 PM
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 845
Rickmb
Pro Angler
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Pro Angler
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 845 |
It depends. I usually let it fall then twitch it a few times. If I'm not getting bit then I will slow down and let it rest on the bottom a few seconds then start my retrieve. There are times when I have to slow way down where it may take me 30 seconds to get a retrieve done. What you are fishing makes a difference too. If fishing a drop off I like to start shallow and hop or walk the bait down. If fish are holding tight to cover I strip off a few feet of line when the bait hits the water to make sure it falls straight down against the cover. Have a couple of different baits rigged up and see which one they like best that day.
2018 Skeeter ZX250 2018 Yamaha 250 SHO
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Re: T Rig presentation question
[Re: Resh]
#11204667
11/04/15 12:18 PM
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 38,822
KingwoodCat
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 38,822 |
Fish any lure ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE BOAT. Oftentimes a fish will follow a bait out of cover and a subtle change in action will entice the fish to hit. The best advice I ever got was from a guy that was the best fisherman I ever fished with, who, by the way, had a Masters in Fisheries Biology and used to be a Biologist for the TPWD....If you think you are fishing a worm too slow, slow it down...
"Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the government take care of him had better take a look at the American Indian".
Henry Ford
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Re: T Rig presentation question
[Re: Resh]
#11204682
11/04/15 12:32 PM
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Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 2,120
Brad R
Extreme Angler
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Extreme Angler
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 2,120 |
Good info here.
The only distinction I'd add is whether you are fishing from a boat, or casting out from a bank.
I'd think in a boat you'd fish it all the way back to the boat; from the bank, you'd likely catch more fish by working the T-Rig out and near where it first drops, then reel it back up through the shallower water.
Now, if you know they are really shallow, then you'd work that zone, too.
When I bank fish, I rarely catch a bass in really shallow water toward the end of reeling in a T-Rig. More bang for the buck re-casting and spending more time a bit farther out.
Brad
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Re: T Rig presentation question
[Re: Resh]
#11204748
11/04/15 01:16 PM
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Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 2,634
Nutman
Extreme Angler
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Extreme Angler
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 2,634 |
"SLOW" is never slow enough. this is the biggest thing I have had to learn about fishing for bass. My biggest Lake Athens bass came while I was talking on the phone to my son and the worm had just been sitting there for quite some time. The guides I have fished with have told me --- SLOW DOWN. now that is not to say a fast retrieve will not catch fish,,,, but more often than not----- SLOW DOWN. since I am ADD, that is hard for me to do, but I force myself and catch a lot more fish.
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Re: T Rig presentation question
[Re: Resh]
#11204792
11/04/15 01:46 PM
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 19,814
Donald Harper
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 19,814 |
The splash down of the bait next to cover represents a couple of things to a Bass that causes them to strike on the fall. - You have targeted the spot where the ambush point is. - The splash down might represent a feeding pattern going on and cause a quick reaction bite. - It may represent a critter entering the water or falling in the water from a bush or out of a tree into the water. - The fall of the bait represents the most natural part of the cast and is the most realistic part of the casting sequence. - Sometimes it seems you throw it right in the Bass's mouth and they see it actually before it hits the water. - Splash down excites the bass, brings out the curiosity and then the strike. Being patient during this phase letting it sit then making ever so slight a movement with the bait will trigger the strike. - A lure being worked back to the boat or the bank seems to get ignored many times as it leaves the strike zone. It just becomes another aquatic fish or creature swimming which the lake is full of. The most effective for this is the drop shot using long pauses. - When you find schooling bass that are roaming and following bait then your moving baits become much more effective like the Crank Bait.
Last edited by Donald Harper; 11/04/15 01:49 PM.
Each person you work with holds some promise to your future success. Websiite Sponsors: www.eletewater.com - Staying Hydrated www.lakeoviachic.com - Booking Mexico Trips 20 Hot Spot Mapping - GPS Contour Chips - Custom Spinner Baits - Jigs -Spooks Pure Extracts - Minnow-Night Crawler-Crayfish-Craylic
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Re: T Rig presentation question
[Re: Resh]
#11204956
11/04/15 03:05 PM
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Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 8,106
Rudy Lackey
TFF Celebrity
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TFF Celebrity
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 8,106 |
Then you the reaction strike= Mark Pack
Rudy
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Re: T Rig presentation question
[Re: Resh]
#11204987
11/04/15 03:16 PM
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Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 15,651
bogey♂
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 15,651 |
Reshelman, I agree to fish it slow and bring it mostly back to the boat. One other thing that I'd like to add... when you are "quitting" a cast and reeling it back in to make your next cast, kill it about 5' from the boat, just out of your sight. You'll be surprised how often a bass will follow and hit the bait if it stops in front of them. Just don't bring it in close enough for the fish to see you or they won't hit it.
you know, nothing wrong with seven men who met on the internet going for a swim together
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Re: T Rig presentation question
[Re: Resh]
#11205056
11/04/15 03:50 PM
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Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 2,157
Fishingking
Extreme Angler
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Extreme Angler
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 2,157 |
I do not know how many times I have pitched to some cover, let it soak, not get bit, start retrieving the bait at a fast wind in and have a fish come out of nowhere at attack the bait literately 1 foot from the boat. I will bet anybody who has fished for bass has had this happen on numerous occasions. I always wait for that bite because it is usually vicious and makes your heart pound something awful.
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Re: T Rig presentation question
[Re: Resh]
#11205092
11/04/15 04:08 PM
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,207
barryfish
Extreme Angler
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Extreme Angler
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,207 |
I know this is off subject kinda, but this is why i am not scared to fish behind someone during a tournament. Most people pull up to a spot and think, "well someone has already fished this they aren't gonna bite". To me it's no different then fishing at the back of the boat and the person on the front casting into the same spot as you. Everyone fishes different, the bass might have been following the bait and then you cast it and they hit yours.
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Re: T Rig presentation question
[Re: Resh]
#11205094
11/04/15 04:09 PM
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Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,509
Slade
Extreme Angler
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Extreme Angler
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,509 |
Have you ever heard of stitching? I read about it in Bill Murphy's book, Pursuit of Giant Bass. I have caught some pretty good size fish doing this, or my modified version of it. The thing is that it would never work if you are fishing a tournament, it is a very time consuming process. And if you aren't anchored (which I rarely do because I'm too lazy) or if it is real windy then forget about it.
The main thing I took from it was to fish soft plastics in deep water especially, very slow. When I can settle myself down and feel the bait touching the bottom, you just move it as slow as possible, and I do this all the way until I am no longer in contact with the bottom or what I think at the time and place is good structure.
Just my 2 cents
PB 10.58 Joe Pool
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Re: T Rig presentation question
[Re: Resh]
#11205561
11/04/15 08:37 PM
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Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 683
Resh
OP
Pro Angler
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OP
Pro Angler
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 683 |
Thanks all, I've had the bite at the boat more times than I can count up north with pike, just hasn't happened down here with bass yet I guess!
There are no fish in sonic pond EDIT: Except 1 20lb catfish
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Re: T Rig presentation question
[Re: Slade]
#11206025
11/05/15 01:00 AM
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 12,182
Mike Keenan
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 12,182 |
Have you ever heard of stitching? I read about it in Bill Murphy's book, Pursuit of Giant Bass. I have caught some pretty good size fish doing this, or my modified version of it. The thing is that it would never work if you are fishing a tournament, it is a very time consuming process. And if you aren't anchored (which I rarely do because I'm too lazy) or if it is real windy then forget about it.
The main thing I took from it was to fish soft plastics in deep water especially, very slow. When I can settle myself down and feel the bait touching the bottom, you just move it as slow as possible, and I do this all the way until I am no longer in contact with the bottom or what I think at the time and place is good structure.
Just my 2 cents Don't mention stiching... I've been known to do that with reapers...
R.I.P. Mike "pappy" "broken rod" Green born 07-16-62 on to better fishing 06-10-08. www.basscat.com
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Re: T Rig presentation question
[Re: Resh]
#11206142
11/05/15 02:06 AM
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Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 1,503
jbcarroll3000
Extreme Angler
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Extreme Angler
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 1,503 |
I guess I'll be the first dissenting opinion--to some degree.
I have sped up the way I fish jigs and plastics significantly over the past couple of years, and it's basically by subscribing to the strike zone theory. I try to break down every cast in terms of where I think I'm most likely to get bit, where there might be a chance I'll get bit, and where I really don't think I'll get bit. I want my bait to spend the most time in that high probability zone, some time in the mid range zone, and little to no time in the low probability zone.
So, if I make a cast to a specific piece of cover, like an isolated stump, the high probability zone will be a 3 or 4 feet radius around that stump. As some of the guys have mentioned, I feel like I get most bites in this scenario on the fall or first couple of hops (that 3-4 feet radius), so I'm going to going to fish that methodically. But once I'm out of that 3 or 4 feet radius, I'm likely to zoom it back to the boat. Might I have caught a fish 6 feet from that stump? Maybe, but I believe the odds are lower than either casting back on the same stump or moving to the next high probability zone, so those are the places I want to spend more time on.
Now if I'm fishing a grass line, that high probability zone could be all the way back to the boat if I'm paralleling it, and so I'm going to work a bait much more thoroughly in that scenario, possibly all the way back to the boat because the entire cast puts the bait in the "strike zone."
For me the best approach is to spend as much time out of the day as I can in what I'm considering the high percentage strike zone, and sometimes that means only working a soft plastic the first 5 or 6 feet on a 50 foot cast. I'll admit, just like the other guys, I've had a fish strike right at the boat and I've also caught fish while my bait lay still on the bottom as I was picking out a backlash. But I've caught a lot more fish right under the dock, on the fall by a stump, or right at the edge of the grass line, so that's where I'd rather spend more time.
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Re: T Rig presentation question
[Re: Resh]
#11206165
11/05/15 02:18 AM
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Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 683
Resh
OP
Pro Angler
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OP
Pro Angler
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 683 |
Those were exactly my thoughts to begin with jbcarroll. Was trying to figure out if I THINK I just catch more fish it that high percentage area or if I spent more time on the rest of the cast would I actually catch more fish that I am missing now. It's all theory so the experience helps
There are no fish in sonic pond EDIT: Except 1 20lb catfish
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