Went all plastics and Jig Heads: BYE BYE CRANKS

[Ebbetsguy]

Made some long overdue changes this season

Hey Fellas;After trying to do this a few times, and just not getting around to it, I gave all my cranks, minnows and jerk baits to my fishing partner
I finally went to all plastics and jig heads, SHARKBITE is now sitting on a ton of crank baits and minnow plugs, because I am done with throwing them. They work, but I found I love fishing plastics too much to bother with them
I don't fish competition and I am not looking for the biggest fish in the lake, so if they are hitting swim baits or they are suspended, well I just don't care.
I have it down to 4 rods and reels, well 4 of the same rods and reels, ABU 5500 C-3, the newer version with the six pin brake and 4 6'6" MH/F rods
all with 12 # Mono, as I did not get along with braid.
Less to lug around and my time on the water now has been a lot more fun for me, I am not pushing this for others to do, just to where I am at.

PS; OOPPSSS, I did keep my Jitterbugs and Jitterstix, as they are way too much fun to ever give up

[jjjbluray]

I'm glad you've gone a direction that helps you enjoy fishing more. And btw, I've been trying to catch something on a Jitterbug for over a year now and have never had a bite.

[Ebbetsguy]

You have to get them to retrieve at a cadence where you get a good tight wiggle and a very noticeable glub,glub, glub kind of sound
So play with your speed of retrieve, most of the time the desired action and sound will be at a slower retrieve than you would think, so you have to get a feel for it
You may also have to press the lip in a bit on each side to get the bait to sit right in the water

I use a 5/8 size, also in Jointed and the big Musky XL size
BLACK is the only color I throw, I fish a lot at night, this may be why
switch the hooks out, stock hooks are horrible and add a split ring onto each hook holder
Use a good grip pliers to cut the old hooks off, as those hangers don't do well if unscrewed and screwed back in. If you must unscrew, put a bit of crazy glue on each screw, so it wont back out

A good idea; If you are throwing the Jitterbug, have another rod with a weightless t rigged worm ready. If you get an aggressive strike on the Bug, but it's short or you pulled the bait too fast, throw the worm in the exact same spot a lot of time you can nail that very same fish

[Marty]

Originally Posted by jjjbluray

I'm glad you've gone a direction that helps you enjoy fishing more. And btw, I've been trying to catch something on a Jitterbug for over a year now and have never had a bite.

I can't imagine a reason for that other than not fishing it in the right time and place. When you arrive at a spot you think is good and the conditions seem right for a topwater bite, is the Jitterbug the first lure you use?

For what it's worth I use Jitterbugs more than any other lure and it has caught many fish and many large ones, including my 2nd and 3rd best bass.

[bamabassman]

good for oyu ebbits. if that is what you perfer, by all means pal, go for it. good luck buddy.

[Bassboss]

lol! That's a bummer! Sounds like you found what ya like there pal, hope it all works out for ya!

[keithdog]

Ebbits, there is a LOT to be said about simplifying our fishing approach the way you did. I've done that from time to time. Just 3-4 rods. It makes things easier and often provides a more pleasurable experience. Most of the time I still carry 8-9 rods and it does sometimes seem more like a job than a fun time on the lake. I'm glad to see someone followed their heart the way you did. Way to go pal.

[bassinbob]

If the weather permitted here in Pa all I'd use is horny toads and buzz baits. Just love that top water bite. Glad you found your love ebbits.

[islandbass]

That is so refreshing to see! At first glance of the title I thought it was going to be about giving up on cranks because they didn't work so I was pleasantly surprised. You did it for good reason. Thanks for sharing. Just wish I was on the receiving end.

[Bender]

I really like the idea of doing this. There are a a few baits that I really don't enjoy using so I'm not sure why I keep them around. It makes a lot of sense to stop doing something that you don't like, or if you like something else to focus on that.

[IowaBasser]

Ebbets, you're a better man than I!

I tried to down-size my small-mouth gear this spring - I was MISERABLY unsuccessful. I was looking through some boxes in the back of one of storage closets at my dad's lake house for a couple of those small plano boxes that I knew were in there... I found 6 of those plano boxes AND a bunch of small mouth lures. I filled all 6 boxes and doubled my small-mouth gear. Luckily it all still fits in my fanny-pack. I'm going to try to down-size again in the next year.

[3dkicker]

It's funny that I now throw crankbaits and traps more than ever and have given up on some plastic baits that I used to fish all the time. Less plastic and more JnP and chatterbait also.

But I'm not giving my plastics up.......

[Raul]

I´m a crank/spinnerbait aficionado, to tell you the truth I really don´t like soft plastics ( and I´m really good at fishing them ), but honestly, all my cranks and spinnerbaits are less than half of versatile than the simplest soft plastic, if somebody came and said to me: "you can only choose one bait for the rest of your life " I would choose a 5" curlytail grub, IMHO, the closest thing to an all around lure is a grub, there´s a big bunch of terminal tackle ( hooks, sinkers, jigheads, underspins, n´stuff ) you can use to rig a grubs and fish from the surface all the way to the bottom. Bottom bouncing a soft plastic is just one of the many ways you can work a soft plastic.

[nofearengineer]

That's odd, as when I got seriously back into fishing a couple years ago, I had been using primarily plastics for many years prior. Now, I'm a crankbait junkie. One of these day's I'll have to "rediscover" plastic worms again.

Good for you, Dom. Whatever makes the day less stressful and more enjoyable.

[fish4942]

I’ve started throwing mostly plastic worms and creatures since last summer. I hardly ever throw crankbaits anymore. Once I became a believer in flipping and pitching into dense cover I haven’t turned back.

[Bassman96]

Same here fish4942. I cant put my flippin stick down :P

[boloson]

Originally Posted by fish4942

I’ve started throwing mostly plastic worms and creatures since last summer. I hardly ever throw crankbaits anymore. Once I became a believer in flipping and pitching into dense cover I haven’t turned back.

me too. just recently started using plastics & really love it

[sdesi2010]

I fish from the shore, so if it doesn't fit in my pockets it doesn't usually come along. Plastics are great

[docirv]

Soft plastics rule.... and they are very versatile....