Bass Fishing HomeBass Fishing Forums

Go Back   BassFishin.Com Forums > Serious Conversation Only > Techniques, Strategy & Presentations

Reply
 
Thread Tools Rate Thread Display Modes
Old 01-10-12, 06:58 PM   #1
islandbass
BassFishin.Com Super Veteran
 
islandbass's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: WA State
Posts: 1,783
Default Is your most effective technique...

Is your most effective bass fishing technique the most effective for you because it is truly that, OR because you use it with greater frequency than other techniques?

Just a question I thought I would pose.

During the "winter" lull, I don't have much else to think about anyway () This thought comes to mind to me when the winter blues roll around.

For example, in my case, I would have to say that using the drop shot is perhaps my most effective technique I employ to catch fish.

Is it the most of effective because it catches fish, or because I use it too much?

I could say that I have never ever caught a bass on a spinnerbait or a buzzbait, and this is still true today. This might be hard to believe, but neither lure has ever landed me a bass. But if I look at this from the other side, you can't catch a bass or fish with a lure you don't use.

Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that these two lure types don't or won't work. It is more likely that they have not worked for me because I have yet to put in the time using them and I can honestly say that I have probably thrown a spinnerbait no more than 3 times total last season.

So is there a correlation between what you deem your most productive technique vs. the amount of time you use it?

Let's hear it all.

IB's

Most Effective - Drop Shot and Crank/Hard Jerkbaits

Least effective - Jigs

Never effective - Buzz and Spinnerbaits
__________________
ARX "If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles." Doug Larson (Shimano 2005 Reel Catalog)
islandbass is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-10-12, 07:30 PM   #2
kennethdaysale
BassFishin.Com Super Veteran
 
kennethdaysale's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: rock hill, sc
Posts: 2,315
Default

The most effective lure is the one you prefer to use and have confidence in. I truthfully cannot remember how many years it has been since I didn't have a spinnerbait or buzzbait (or both) on deck. I will seek out conditions that call for them sometimes just for fun. On the other hand while I do own and sometimes use drop-shots, rarely do I have one tied on and on deck and would almost never change locations so I could throw one. I'm sure every fisherman here has confidence baits even though they may say they always use the most appropiate tool for the conditions. It's a personal thing I think.
__________________
Sometimes you gotta risk it to get the biscuit.
kennethdaysale is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-10-12, 08:44 PM   #3
Marty
BassFishin.Com Super Veteran
 
Marty's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 1,580
Default

Certainly good numbers of bass can be caught on a wide variety of lures, from topwaters to bottom crawlers and everything in between. I catch most of my bass on topwaters, undoubtedly due, at least in part, to the fact that I throw them a disproportionate amount of the time.

A closely related question could be asked about a lure such as the Senko. When this lure rose to prominence about 10 years ago it generated a buzz far greater than for any product I've seen in 40+ years of fishing.

Do Senkos catch a lot of fish because lots of people use them or do lots of people use them because they catch lots of fish?
__________________
Meeting expenses is easy...they're EVERYWHERE

The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits

Rochester, NY
Marty is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-10-12, 11:14 PM   #4
IowaBasser
BassFishin.Com Active Member
 
IowaBasser's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Ames, Iowa
Posts: 360
Default

Great question... I think about it often myself. It usually only takes one fish for me to have the confidence in a nwe lure to keep it on the end of my line, but it's difficult to fish a new lure for more than 30 minutes without catching anything. It's not really giving a new lure a fair chance, but it's often the truth.

P.S. My #1 confidence bait is a texas rigged worm - last year that changed to a texas rigged Yum Wooly Hawg Craw.
IowaBasser is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-10-12, 11:32 PM   #5
WatterBoy
BassFishin.Com Super Veteran
 
WatterBoy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Owatonna, MN
Posts: 2,280
Default

Most Effective - Zoomie, dropshot, wacky-rigged senkos, jig & pig (even though I just started fishing jigs late last season), frogs...absolutely love to fish DS, senkos and zoomies...all of them any time, any location!

Least effective - Crankbaits, only because I don't have enough confidence in them and actually enjoy "slower" fishing more

Never effective - Jitterbug, still haven't caught a single fish on this lure, although I do use it several times a year...definitely not hard-core usage though
WatterBoy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-10-12, 11:57 PM   #6
Gbassman
BassFishin.Com Active Member
 
Gbassman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: scottsboro Al
Posts: 155
Default

most effective- strike king red eye shad
least effective- jigs
never effective- swimbaits
__________________
when god created Lake Guntersville, he created perfection(mark zona)
Gbassman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-11-12, 12:20 AM   #7
ETXbassassassin
BassFishin.Com Member
 
ETXbassassassin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: East Texas
Posts: 38
Default

Most effective- Red eye shad, Zoom horny toads, Spro Bronzeye and Popper, Shadalicious hollow body swimbaits, Lake Fork Live Magic Shad, KVD 2.5
Least effective- Deep cranks, spinner baits, and buzzbaits
Never effective- Spoons
__________________
- Holy $*&T I'm hung up AGAIN!!!
ETXbassassassin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-11-12, 08:58 AM   #8
jdw174
BassFishin.Com Member
 
jdw174's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Paris, TN
Posts: 84
Default

Mine is probably shallow cranking. I've just about given up on spinnerbaits, preferring to toss lures like a Bomber Shallow A, Bandit Footloose, or a SK 1XS around shallow cover. That's followed closely by squarebills.
__________________
If a smallmouth weighed 100 pounds, a bass boat would be just another buzzbait!
jdw174 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-12-12, 07:30 PM   #9
merc1997
BassFishin.Com Active Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 204
Default

i would have to say that i fish with a jig quite well. however, when fishing tournaments you have to be versatile and be able to equally fish a number of techniques.
merc1997 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-12-12, 08:11 PM   #10
Tavery5
BassFishin.Com Super Veteran
 
Tavery5's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Wichita, KS
Posts: 2,427
Default

most effective, jigs, and t-rigged plastics
least effective , buzzbaits
never effective, staying at home
__________________
They call me Ishmael
Tavery5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-12-12, 08:12 PM   #11
keithdog
BassFishin.Com Premier Elite
 
keithdog's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: IN
Posts: 8,308
Default

This is a tough one to narrow down because I have so many confidence lures depending on the situation I am faced with. It varies based on time of year, time of day, weather conditions, water conditions, and so forth.
Top water- One Knocker Spook & Super Spook Jr., Buzzbaits, Baby Torpedo, 3" Excaliber Popper, Jitterbug, Buzz Frogs in and around weedbeds, and floating jerkbaits.
Heavy weeds- Hollow body frogs, T Rigged Beavers, Jigs, Weedless spoons.
The rest in no particular order, spinnerbaits, crankbaits of various makes and diving depths, suspending jerkbaits, jigs, soft jerk baits especially Strike King Caffeen shads, t- rigged soft plastics of various types, 5" soft swim baits. It just depends on what I am faced with. They all work equally well in the right situation.
My least successful bait is no doubt a lipless crankbait. But I expect that to change this year as I have decided to make it work. Last year I put more effort into buzzbaits as they had never produced for me. But they are now one of my go to baits. I might give drop shots a chance, but honestly, I don't know if I have the patience to fish that way.
__________________
Just one more cast, and then some!
keithdog is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-12-12, 09:58 PM   #12
LittleBigBass
BassFishin.Com Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 70
Default

I agree with keithdog about the time of year. If it is winter, im less confident in things like top water baits.
Most effective: Absolute favorite is spinner baits, then swim baits(especially for winter)
Least effective: Grubs, Tube baits, and any shorter soft plastic, i don't know why i am not confident in them...
Never effective: so far, i have not had luck with jigs, and the drop shot ( even though I fish these baits until the point of exhaustion ) I will keep trying them to master these baits!
LittleBigBass is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-12-12, 11:06 PM   #13
Jrob78
BassFishin.Com Super Veteran
 
Jrob78's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Dallas, TX
Posts: 4,671
Default

Most Effective - jigs, lipless cranks, square bill cranks, t-rigged plastics
Least Effective - chatterbaits, hollow body frogs
Never Effective - buzzbaits
__________________
There are 3 kinds of people in the world…those who can count and those who can’t. HRN4L
Jrob78 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-12-12, 11:09 PM   #14
Scott the fishman
BassFishin.Com Active Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Central, New Jersey
Posts: 221
Default

I got 3 i can use anywhere and will most likely get a nice fish. A 3/8 oz green pumpkin brush hog. weightless senko. or a Rapala Perch colored jerkbait any kind doesn't matter i am most confident with those
__________________
MA CAN I GO FISHING!!!!
Scott the fishman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-13-12, 03:05 PM   #15
islandbass
BassFishin.Com Super Veteran
 
islandbass's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: WA State
Posts: 1,783
Default

These are great responses! The mind runs with crazy thoughts during the winter blues.

Another thing I have always wondered about since I read Homer Circle's book, "Circle on Bass" was a comment he made in the book about (paraphrased) bass in the south being more inclined to bite a soft plastic vs northern bass being more inclined to bite a crankbait (I think - I read the book quite a long time ago so don't quote me)

I think it would be an interested thing to explore to see if there is a correlation to the lures/techniques we find most effective and our geographical location in the country.

It is a given that bass all over the country will strike everything we throw at them at any given time. So the key here is not to find absolutes because we won't find any.

We just might observe certain tendencies/trends. On the other side of the coin, we might not find anything.

I see posts from Alabama (South) Texas (South), New Jersey (East - East Coast) , South Carolina (South - East Coast), New York (East - Coast), Indiana, Kansas, Iowa (Mid-West), Tennessee (South? - I'm a Pacific Northwesterner who has long since forgotten 2nd grade geography lol), and WA (West - West Coast)

Some of you don't have your location under your avatar, so please let me know.
__________________
ARX "If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles." Doug Larson (Shimano 2005 Reel Catalog)
islandbass is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-13-12, 05:06 PM   #16
kennethdaysale
BassFishin.Com Super Veteran
 
kennethdaysale's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: rock hill, sc
Posts: 2,315
Default

I think it would be great if City-State or at least general geographic location was mandatory.........................Here in SC the bass have read and adhere to the "book" soft plastics-jigs-frogs-topwater-cranks-spinnerbaits etc etc
__________________
Sometimes you gotta risk it to get the biscuit.
kennethdaysale is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-13-12, 05:12 PM   #17
islandbass
BassFishin.Com Super Veteran
 
islandbass's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: WA State
Posts: 1,783
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by kennethdaysale View Post
I think it would be great if City-State or at least general geographic location was mandatory.........................Here in SC the bass have read and adhere to the "book" soft plastics-jigs-frogs-topwater-cranks-spinnerbaits etc etc
Just as Homer observed -- Bass in South - Plastics/Jigs in the mouth.

Hmm.....And note how the crank is in the back of the pack. Very interesting.
__________________
ARX "If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles." Doug Larson (Shimano 2005 Reel Catalog)
islandbass is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-13-12, 05:42 PM   #18
AUFred
BassFishin.Com Veteran Member
 
AUFred's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Prattville, Alabama
Posts: 801
Default

I was raised pond fishing. Topwater usually a popper and a plastic worm are my main baits. I like throwing a crankbait or a spinnerbait if the fish are cooperating.
AUFred is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-13-12, 05:49 PM   #19
bassinbob
BassFishin.Com Super Veteran
 
bassinbob's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Pitts. Pa.
Posts: 3,801
Default

Tough question to answer because one method isn't applicable in every situation. Having said that Horny Toad tossin is my go to in pads and slop. Shallow crankin is second.
__________________
you can have my fishin rod when ya take it from my cold dead hands
bassinbob is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-13-12, 06:00 PM   #20
WatterBoy
BassFishin.Com Super Veteran
 
WatterBoy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Owatonna, MN
Posts: 2,280
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by islandbass View Post
...

I see posts from Alabama (South) Texas (South), New Jersey (East - East Coast) , South Carolina (South - East Coast), New York (East - Coast), Indiana, Kansas, Iowa (Mid-West), Tennessee (South? - I'm a Pacific Northwesterner who has long since forgotten 2nd grade geography lol), and WA (West - West Coast)

Some of you don't have your location under your avatar, so please let me know.
Don't forget MN!
WatterBoy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-13-12, 07:50 PM   #21
lilmule
BassFishin.Com Super Veteran
 
lilmule's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Buchanan,Tn
Posts: 2,685
Default

Frogging,cold water or not if the pads are up and green they will bust top in 50 f water,but only around the pads.Only two months havnt caught a frog fish thats jan and feb just missed marking feb off last year as just nicked it,not hooked it.First of march it took a very large 1 oz spro king frog.
Paris landing state park pads are the earliest to come up around here in a westerly bay first of march.

Thought this year would take the jan record but the ice kept messing up my retrieve.

Ive never seen it regrow then stay for a bit like it did this year,did get a late dec fish off of it.
lilmule is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-13-12, 08:27 PM   #22
islandbass
BassFishin.Com Super Veteran
 
islandbass's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: WA State
Posts: 1,783
Default

Sorry for the Omission, WB!!!! MN is represented!
__________________
ARX "If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles." Doug Larson (Shimano 2005 Reel Catalog)
islandbass is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-13-12, 09:44 PM   #23
kennethdaysale
BassFishin.Com Super Veteran
 
kennethdaysale's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: rock hill, sc
Posts: 2,315
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by islandbass View Post
Just as Homer observed -- Bass in South - Plastics/Jigs in the mouth.

Hmm.....And note how the crank is in the back of the pack. Very interesting.
List was in no particular order, as a matter of fact is I was given an ultimatum along the lines of...if you come back to the ramp without a keeper I'm goona kill you....I'd be throwin a Silver Shad Rap with great confidence that I'd live.
__________________
Sometimes you gotta risk it to get the biscuit.
kennethdaysale is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-13-12, 09:56 PM   #24
MallenManson
BassFishin.Com Premier Elite
 
MallenManson's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Beulah, Michigan
Posts: 6,431
Send a message via Yahoo to MallenManson
Default

Is your most effective bass fishing technique the most effective for you because it is truly that, OR because you use it with greater frequency than other techniques?

I'd say the two go hand in hand.
If I had to pick 2 baits that I throw more than any other, it'd be spinnerbaits and lipless cranks.
I catch more fish on them, due to the fact that I throw them so much....but....I throw them so much, because I catch more fish on them.
There was a time when I didn't own either. Once I started throwing them, I saw how much they produced. Over time, i gained more confidence in them, so they are now go-to baits
__________________
Bass fear me.
Women pepperspray me.....
MallenManson is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-16-12, 08:59 PM   #25
finessefishin
BassFishin.Com Member
 
finessefishin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: SW Michigan
Posts: 49
Default

My confidence baits are jigs and all finesse baits. I think your most effective bait and your confidence bait go hand-in-hand. I have been in tournaments where 1st place used spinnerbaits, 2nd place used drop shots, and 3rd used topwater. You catch fish on what you believe in.
finessefishin is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Disclosure / Disclaimer
Before acting on the content posted, you should know that BassFishin.Com may benefit financially and otherwise from content, advertising, links or otherwise from anything you click on, read, or look at on our website. Click here to read our Disclosure Policy and Disclaimer.


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 04:57 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
© 2013 BassFishin.Com LLC