texasfishingforum.com logo
Main Menu
Advertisement
Affiliates
Advertisement
Newest Members
Kschamp198, jvonglahn, Jpeddy1997, Trevor_galleyfishing, sgeorge95
119420 Registered Users
Top Posters(All Time)
TexDawg 122,345
hopalong 121,182
Bigbob_FTW 100,624
Bob Davis 89,721
John175☮ 86,096
Pilothawk 83,640
Mark Perry 73,508
Derek 🐝 68,435
JDavis7873 67,416
Forum Statistics
Forums59
Topics1,049,164
Posts14,136,372
Members144,420
Most Online39,925
Dec 30th, 2023
Print Thread
Page 2 of 2 1 2
Re: Bait discussion [Re: BassPontoon] #13774034 11/17/20 05:36 PM
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 9,266
T
the skipper Online Content
TFF Celebrity
Online Content
TFF Celebrity
T
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 9,266
You know, I tried to come up with some good answer but I have no reason for why I change. I just go with whatever I think will catch them where I'm fishing. I guess depth is what I consider first because I want the bait in the zone I think the fish are in. Then action, you put a bait in front of a bass and move it right, they will eat it. I dont get to worried about color. I just kind of go with what matches the water color or forage I want to match. I used to over think it until I watched all those elite events won on crankbaits that were basic colors, regular color worms, just the same ole stuff we can buy. The thing was those guys found fish. That's the hardest part. So instead of worrying so much about my baits, I just want to know I'm around fish. When I know I'm around fish I know I can catch them

Moritz Chevrolet - 9101 Camp Bowie W Blvd, Fort Worth, TX - Monte Coon (817) 696-2003
Re: Bait discussion [Re: BassPontoon] #13774293 11/17/20 08:25 PM
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 171
T
TxSwimbaiter Offline
Outdoorsman
Offline
Outdoorsman
T
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 171
From my log Circa 1998 Cedar Bluff Res Ks.
April 14
Air temp 47
Water temp 52 4-6 ft
Overcast 50%
Wind N/NW 10 mph
Water clarity 2'

Fished: 4" GP/black flake tube, single glass rattle, 1/4" dipped in chart dye, 1/4 oz bullet shallow rocks after sun up for 1 hour caught 3, moved out to standing wood 12-18' caught 3 more rotated to the shade side after noon caught 3 more.
1:00 T-rigged GP Power Craw dipped claws 1/2 oz. pitched on the hard wood lay downs 4-6' couple of bites and misses.
3-5:00 Fished a Mojo Rapala jerkbait combo on road bed caught 3 around 3 lbs ea.
My logs & topo maps are my valued treasures of experiences... what's old becomes new over time. Last weekend the same tube caught fish at Falcon same scenarios rocks and trees.

Re: Bait discussion [Re: BassPontoon] #13774557 11/17/20 11:34 PM
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 119
B
BassPontoon Offline OP
Outdoorsman
OP Offline
Outdoorsman
B
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 119
There has been some really good advice and engagement here! I’m glad to see it, keep it coming! Shall we transition into opinions on soft baits vs. hard baits as your go to? I can tell you that until recently, I was always a rattletrap(or something in that realm) to start and now, as I think I mentioned earlier, I am donking around with Texas rigged curly tails lol.


GR

SunTracker 24XP3 Fishin Barge, 150 Merc, Toon Troll mounted MK trolling motor.
Re: Bait discussion [Re: BassPontoon] #13774658 11/18/20 12:32 AM
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 25,427
S
SteezMacQueen Online Happy
TFF Guru
Online Happy
TFF Guru
S
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 25,427
Originally Posted by BassPontoon
There has been some really good advice and engagement here! I’m glad to see it, keep it coming! Shall we transition into opinions on soft baits vs. hard baits as your go to? I can tell you that until recently, I was always a rattletrap(or something in that realm) to start and now, as I think I mentioned earlier, I am donking around with Texas rigged curly tails lol.

I think, as your confidence level begins to increase, most will start with a soft plastic fished next to cover. It is a more predictable way to catch fish, and very effective. It’s when the lipless and billed cranks come out that the mind starts to drift from confidence to “maybe they need a reaction bite”. It’s after the “reaction bite” fails to produce that I get lost. I start “graphing” and staring at a screen with a drop shot trying to convince myself that the fish “just don’t wanna eat”.

Truth is, I likely should have just kept working the soft plastic around cover. Haha


Eat. Sleep. Fish.
Re: Bait discussion [Re: SteezMacQueen] #13775073 11/18/20 11:33 AM
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 119
B
BassPontoon Offline OP
Outdoorsman
OP Offline
Outdoorsman
B
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 119
[/quote]
I think, as your confidence level begins to increase, most will start with a soft plastic fished next to cover. It is a more predictable way to catch fish, and very effective. It’s when the lipless and billed cranks come out that the mind starts to drift from confidence to “maybe they need a reaction bite”. It’s after the “reaction bite” fails to produce that I get lost. I start “graphing” and staring at a screen with a drop shot trying to convince myself that the fish “just don’t wanna eat”.

Truth is, I likely should have just kept working the soft plastic around cover. Haha[/quote]

I’ve been through this same scenario many times also...


GR

SunTracker 24XP3 Fishin Barge, 150 Merc, Toon Troll mounted MK trolling motor.
Re: Bait discussion [Re: SteezMacQueen] #13775129 11/18/20 12:50 PM
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 9,266
T
the skipper Online Content
TFF Celebrity
Online Content
TFF Celebrity
T
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 9,266
Originally Posted by SteezMacQueen
Originally Posted by BassPontoon
There has been some really good advice and engagement here! I’m glad to see it, keep it coming! Shall we transition into opinions on soft baits vs. hard baits as your go to? I can tell you that until recently, I was always a rattletrap(or something in that realm) to start and now, as I think I mentioned earlier, I am donking around with Texas rigged curly tails lol.

I think, as your confidence level begins to increase, most will start with a soft plastic fished next to cover. It is a more predictable way to catch fish, and very effective. It’s when the lipless and billed cranks come out that the mind starts to drift from confidence to “maybe they need a reaction bite”. It’s after the “reaction bite” fails to produce that I get lost. I start “graphing” and staring at a screen with a drop shot trying to convince myself that the fish “just don’t wanna eat”.

Truth is, I likely should have just kept working the soft plastic around cover. Haha

I'm opposite, I'm starting with reaction baits and then will go to plastics. I will spend half a day trying to force feed them some moving bait before I slow down.

Re: Bait discussion [Re: BassPontoon] #13775282 11/18/20 02:26 PM
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 3,825
fivebites Offline
TFF Team Angler
Offline
TFF Team Angler
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 3,825
The biggest questions/factors to me are always in this order:

1) Am I in an area that is holding fish (with new equipment now many times I can see them)
2) Are the fish feeding actively in that area (that one usually gets answered pretty quickly)
3) Right bait? (If they're choking a bait, I'm pretty confident I've got all the factors (bait, color, and speed correct. Especially if I'm catching good numbers.)
4) Right speed? The first time I ever caught a bass swimming a jig was an accident. Fishing from the back of my buddy's boat and he's got trolling motor on high to get to the next dock on Cedar Creek. I just let my jig/pig trail along the edge of the dock we were leaving and caught a 4 pounder. Hmmm. Maybe speed has something to do with it.
5) Right color? Same friend fishing a hump on Fork. We were Carolina rigging Zoom french fries in water melon green when that color first came out. He was catching 3 to 1. When he pulled in a fish I noticed a little "red" sparkle on his bait. WTH??? First time I ever saw watermelon red.

The biggest problem for me is ALWAYS deciding which factor am I missing on the equation if I'm not getting bit. Move or change one of 3,4, or 5.


2019 Chevy Tahoe
2018 Basscat Eyra 250 Proxs
PB Wife of 32 years!
PB Largemouth 9.56 Ray Roberts
Page 2 of 2 1 2
Previous Thread
Index
Next Thread

© 1998-2022 OUTDOOR SITES NETWORK all rights reserved USA and Worldwide
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.3