Learning, Always Learning

[lunker-lander]

Hey guys, just thought of a fun idea for us. Name and describe a lure, that in your opinion, is a lure that you fish/work best. Then, name a lure that you don't know too good and would like to learn to fish.

Just thought this would be a good way to learn new lure techniques for a more well-rounded angling society. I'll start:

Well, the lure I think I work best would be spinnerbaits. My all-time favs. would be Booyah's!, Strike King's, and my grandpa's old ones he gave me. Many of my biggest bass have come off spinnerbaits, and when I need a fish in a desperate situation, the spinnerbait matched up w/ my Falcon 6'7'' Medium Bass Spinner always seems to pull through.

The lure I would like to learn to use would be jigs and PNJ's. I have the rod/reel set-up, I just need to better learn the techniques and finesse of working them.

-LL-

[leroy]

One of my favorite and best lures is the Spook. I can walk the dog like a circus trainer and I almost always catch a fish or have a huge blowup on one.

A lure I could prolly use some instruction on and tips is the Plastic Tube. Never really played with them but have heard they are awesome for deep water applications and finicky fish.

[cdubya]

Well I'm by no means any pro at using them but I enjoy using them and would be either the Pop-R or Tiny Torpedo. I guess I just really like the rush of top water strikes and fights. I'd love to learn about all the lures really. Guess I just don't feel like I'm using them right due to lack of a consistant hit. I've had some lucky catches but I don't think they had anything to do with my skill lol more like the lack there of.

[kennsandy]

i dont know about mastery, but i absolutely love to fish pop-r's. the rush from the explosion on top is gr8. i actually was catching so many fish on these, my best friend, who used to be a die hard bass stopper worm fisher has changed his ways, lol. he got his hands a few top waters and he was hooked. also learning to love the senkos, wacky or texas rigged, have caught quite a few this year with them.

i think i would like to learn a lil more about jigs, and drop shotting. tourney fishing friend of mine says drop shotting has caught him alot this year, i just dont think i have the patience.

ken

[lunker-lander]

Good point Ken, I could also use some instruction on drop-shotting...

[kennsandy]

hey lunker, where do you fish in southern michigan. me and my friend fish mostly oakland county. lil bit in genesee, lapeer, surrounding areas. any lakes i should know that are great.

ken

[otto]

A Texas-rigged worm is my best confidence bait in almost any situation. I throw spinnerbaits a lot too, caught my personal best on one.
I'd like to learn more about drop-shotting.

What is a PNJ, lunker?

[bassfisher02]

Otto, PNJ is pig and jig, bassically a jig with a pork trailer on it.. now-a-days people dont use the pork as much and any trailer can be classified as PNJ. all in all, a jig with a trailer.

[keithdog]

I am torn between a spinnerbait or a medium depth diving crankbait. Both work very well for me. As for a lure I have trouble with I I would guess a jiggin spoon or tube type bait. Havn't done much with either. Just took my first bass off a tube bait this past weekend rigged t style and weightless, slowly twitched along in shallow weeds.

[otto]

I like that, jig and pigs are now PNJs...
Excuse me, I'm off to eat a PBJ sandwich in my BVDs and watch HBO.

[cdubya]

now that we're sharing our "go to" baits and baits that we struggle with maybe share our methods with those baits.. I'll go first. With the Pop-R I'll either see a fish pop the top and then cast just beyond that point if possible or I'll work fallen or over hanging trees, or the banks right at the drop off. As for working the bait I'll cast out a firetiger or green shad and when it hit the water I'll let it sit for 15 sec then I'll "pop it" with a slight jerk on the line with a line that is between loose and tight. I'll do a slow retrieve first then I'll try a fast and then a varied. First with one pop retrieve, then I'll try pop once, pause, pop pop, pause repeat. The single pop retrieve usually works best for me.

For the Tiny Torpedo it's almost the same method however it's jerk, jerk pause for 5-10sec jerk, jerk, jerk, repeat pause length and then repeat rythem.

Biggest thing is to cast beyond the fish and cast as far away from them and be as far away as possible so not to spook the fish. If they're on top and they see you then they will usually get spooked easier.

[jasonfish320]

weightless Texas Rig W/Superflukes bubblegum/watermelon..caught an 8lb lgmouth on the bubblegum last summer..biggest bass I've ever caught.

[damian2b]

Wacky rigged senko....reel reel bounce bounce reel reel then let it fall.

Spinners...for some reason one of the most popular and wide used lures gives me the most trouble....

[BigBassin144]

My Confidence and go-to bait has to be a crankbait.

I'd like to learn more about using tubes and drop shotting.

[islandbass]

Crankbaits and the Drop Shot seem to be what produce the best for me. I've got the touch with jigging spoons for salmon too. Just this season, the drop shot has caught nearly all of my fish; 100% of all smallies caught. The crankbait caught the biggest to date. The jigging spoon yielded a salmon from the docks and at the time was the only fish caught at that time. Shore anglers had sacked 15 salmon from the shore and I had the lone dock caught salmon. hee hee!

However, I need instruction and help with Jigs and Spinnerbaits. I couldn't even buy a strike with these lures, and I call myself a bass angler.

Working topwater baits like the skitter walk, a sammie or skitter pop is pure fun at its best.

[hackattack]

stickbait by far...almost always gets bit I love it.

5" green pumpkin for LM
3" green pumpkin for SM

[Mac10]

My favorite is a zoom speedworm with the tail cut off. I cut off the tail of the original speedworm at the narrow spot, and on the newer ultra vibe models, a half inch up on the body from the flat hooktail is where to cut. I texas rig with a 2/0 Gammy worm hook (offset shaft) and fish it weightless. Cast out near likely cover/structure and let fall to bottom, watching line at all times. Let set on bottom 30 seconds, then lift slowly about 2 feet off bottom to feel for fish.....if nothing is on, twitch with a quick but short twitch just once and let re-fall to bottom.....let rest 20 seconds, then lift once again slowly for two feet.....if nothing on, reel in at a moderate pace and cast to another likely spot.
Use a skipping cast with the zoom speedworm when casting, and for whatever reason, the watermelon/red ( green with red glitter} works the best of speedworm colors offered. I don't know why, it just does.

I'd like to learn more about fishing tubes and jigs. Good fishing, Mac

[Mac10]

I've had limited experience with tubes in that I've only fished them one way, and that's dragging them slowly across the bottom bubby rigged. I inserted a rattle inside the tube and used a wide gap hook to texpose the hook, holding the rattle inside. I then clamped a medium sized splitshot on the bottom of the hook even with the middle of the tube body. I tore out every third tentacle of the tube skirt, (something I'd read) to give the skirt more freedom of movement....it works well.

Then, I'd cast to the edge of a weedbed and slowly drag the tube toward me by raising the rod slowly, then moving the rod down and taking in the slack when doing so. The splitshot on the bottom of the hook does several things.....it clicks when hitting a pebble or rock on the bottom, it "catches" and releases when on a sandy or silt bottom and at the time it catches and releases, it rocks the tube, making the rattle shake and the tail to flail....a shake rattle and roll effect. I caught a few fish doing this, but as to how to rig and work it otherwise I don't know much about.

I make the rattles by cutting a fat drinking straw into one inch pieces.....then taking the side cutters on a pair of needle nose pliars, I squeeze the end of the straw together and melt with a candle. I let the straw stick out on the flat side of the cutters a sixteenth inch and simply use the candle melt them together, holding the melted seam in the pliars a few seconds to cool.

I now put in two glass E Beads from Wal Mart Crafts section and seal the other end of the straw. When done, I buckle each end of the rattle with my thumbnail about in the middle of the seam, making 4 pointed legs, two at each end. When inserting the rattle, press it into position and then gently squeeze the back end of the buckled rattle....the two points will move outward and lock into the sides of the internal tube. Really not necessary if rigging with a wide gap hook, as the hook holds the rattle inside anyhow.

Just be sure the label on the E beads says Glass....plastic E beads, and they are mixed in the display, don't rattle nearly as well. Buckling the rattle creates a verticle wall at each end for the beads to hit, and prevents the beads from getting wedged in the rattle.....you also get a nice light tick when the beads collide with themselves. As for making the seams, any side or diagonal cutters will do. I prefer the glass over the ones that use buckshot, not only for environmental reasons, but also for the effect of the final rattle.....it's awesome!

If you're using tubes to emulate swimming minnows or small fish, use red straws for making your rattles, then, before putting in the rattles, use a paper hole punch to put a hole straight through the tube near the front end, making two holes opposite each other with one punch. This lets the rattle show through on each side making red eyes. Once in place, use a black Sharpie marker to make the pupils in each eye. It not only makes eyes, but lets a little more sound out of the tube as you impart action.

[airskank]

Wow that's some awesome tube work there Mac. I just recently got a package of 3 inch zoom tubes but have yet to tie them on. Im definately going to mcdonalds and getting a ton of straws lol.

As for my go to bait. I dont have one. I don't think i could catch a cold in the winter. IDK what my problem is but i have no confidence in the lake i fish. The water is so freaking clear so i switched back to f-carbon 12lb and 10lb but still have no luck. i've just been using soft plastics pretty much though. maybe im using the wrong colors or just not being patient enough. but it's been really really frustrating.

I did find some local bassclubs i'm going to try to get into though. it's just so late in the season it's tough to fish i guess. idk.

[lunker-lander]

Well guys, it seems that we all could use some help on drop-shotting according to our answers, could we not? I think a good person who could describe this method for us would be island bass, with all his drop-shot reports and what not. Yay for yes and Nay for no on a vote for island bass to explain drop-shot to the forum. I'll go first:

Yay...

-LL-

[bassfisher02]

Here ya go:

http://www.bassfishin.com/bassfishin...t=13300&page=2

[WallStreetAmigo]

The ultimate confidence bait for me is a wacky rigged Senko. When all else fails and the bite is off, I rig one of these up and seem to start getting bites right away. I believe it has more to do with the fact that I KNOW I will catch fish on it than any other reason. I put a small split ring around the senko and put the hook under it. This way, I can use the same senko for many bass without ripping or tearing it off. I also have heard that a piece of surgical tubing around the senko works well too in place of the split ring. I have also had tremendous success using a drop shot with various plastics. A close second to the senko.

I am pretty useless with crankbaits, although to be fair to myself, I have very rarely even tried them and have spent no time trying to improve.

The funnest bait to catch bass with is a weedless frog bait, hands down. I can cast it into the worst slop and get the crap scared out of me when it gets hammered by a big bass. I never get tired of that rush!

[twigass]

how do u pick colors for crank baits and how do u pick the baits for drop shots

[Charles E. White]

I guess I am the most confident with a plastic worm but my favorite thing to fish is very thick lily pads with a scum frog. I don't quite use it like most people I see, I fish it extremely slow. I throw out and let it sit. Then I barely twitch the end of my rod and it will move to the right or left. I try to keep it in the same place and twitch my rod tip again still trying to keep it in the same spot but it will move in the oppostie direction. Then after it sits for a few seconds, I barely move it so you can hardly see it move and that is when I get the most strikes. While I haven't fished a lot this year due to health reasons, a couple of years ago I caught over 50 bass over 5 pounds. Everyone at the lake would watch me fish and this year I noticed most of them had scum frogs

Anyway, try this technique in thick lily pads. I just move the frog to where I see even a drop of water through the pads and work that spot like mentioned above. It takes patience but it works.

[bassnman30]

A Carolina rig will or should get fish while other baits won't. Use dark colors, preferably "ring worms" or "tooth picks". (granted this in my opinion).
Had trouble with this rig due the fact that it's slow or it can be. In rocks or stumps hop the bait to keep from hanging up and with a clean bottum you may drag the bait. Strikes may be a slight pickup or may be a sudden pick up. Whatch your line, if you get a slight pick up it "may" move sideways or up or towards you. I have confidence with alot of different baits but when conditions get tough, I go with a C-rig.