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Old 11-26-05, 09:56 PM   #1
Rodman_Rob
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Default When do YOU switch baits?

Yesterday I went out during a cold front, figured it would be a slow day and the fish would be somewhat lathargic. My game plan was flukes weightless and also jigs, both tight to cover in or near deeper water. I started fishing flukes first and started catching fish instantly of all sizes. I caught over 20 fish in less than 3 hours. Many of the fish were small, but there was definately some nice ones in the mix (check my Nov. Tourny results). So here's my question, at what ratio of small to large fish would you change your bait even though its being productive? Like I said, my plan that day was to throw flukes and jigs, however the fluke bite was so good I never got the chance to tie on a jig.
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Old 11-26-05, 10:53 PM   #2
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I really don't have a set amount of time. Obviously if something is working I'll keep using it, but I don't hesitate to pick up something different from time to time just to see if something else would work.
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Old 11-26-05, 10:59 PM   #3
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Gotta preface this by saying I'm no expert when it comes to big bass - but for me if I have a bait that is producing great numbers with a little size here and there I normally don't change it. The way I see it if you maximize your bites with a hot lure chances are good a few of thosebites will be from bigger fish.

Now when I have a lure thats hot but I catch 30 bass on it with not one measuring, then yea, I change to something else. But as long as I'm getting some quality mixed in with the dinks I wont change.
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Old 11-26-05, 11:10 PM   #4
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If I am catching small bass on the same lure I tend to fish dif. depths of water looking for bigger fish. But once the bite dies off I usually start changing baits about every 15 minutes till something hits what ever I have on at that moment.....lol.....some strategy heh
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Old 11-27-05, 02:24 AM   #5
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some where on this site the great kevin wrote an article about this topic, it helped alot.im with reb,there usually isnt a set amount of time and everyone has different instincts.now(thanks to p-n-j)i switch baits according to his gripper teeth theory.wich basicily says that if the fishes teeth are sharp,then the main forage is baitfish,if the are dull,then fish are mostly feeding on bottom-dwellers like crayfish ect.also, like jb,if i keep catching small, non productive fish i will either go deeper,or if that doesnt work,upsize my baits.when i am catching nothing,i will downsize,or simpily change color or use a completley different lure,if all else fails then,you might as well go huntin
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Old 11-27-05, 07:38 AM   #6
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if i am getting more bites on a fluke but as you said dinks mixed in i would move up one size with the flukes. this will cut down on the short fish a bit.

i normally have 6 diferant lures rigged. ones i have coinfidence in. baits i know work. even if i am fishing some crazy pattern and catching fish on a certain lure. i will try a differant lure about and hour or so.. but if it is a hot bite on a given lure i aint puttin it down.....

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Old 11-27-05, 07:56 AM   #7
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Let me know if you find the answer.I try to switch colors of the same bait speed up or slow down the lure presentation to see how it effects the bite cycle.It might be worth a try to move out of that small fish area , but stay nearby and find another location that looks simular to what you were fishing and see if the fish size changes.P N J
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Old 11-27-05, 08:49 AM   #8
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I too am not an expert on patterns. I have 7 poles rigged at all times, starting out with a "Wake up bait". If something starts working consistantly fo me, if it's catching small fish, I will stay in that area for a short while and get another pole and go deeper with a worm, fluke working structure or something looking for a bigger fish, but still keeping the bite on the small fish. If that dosen't work then I'm off to another one of my honey holes. Back to the orig question. I will change over and use every one of those baits during the day and then some more.
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Old 11-27-05, 10:16 AM   #9
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Basically when I fish I never fish for size or try to. I let it happen. Usually if I don't get hit in 10 minutes on a bait I put it down and try something else. If I can't get bit in 10 minutes on a certain lure I figure I am wasting my time fishing with it. One thing I like to do is go to spots that have fish on them I know for sure and figure them out. Usually I get a hunch to throw a certain bait at a certain time and it pays off. I really don't think a crap load about it.
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Old 11-27-05, 11:33 AM   #10
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bass,and most fish feed and they want to get the most food possible without
moving to much.thats why they wont bite,if that 5 pound bass is sittin on a bed of rocks,and you are throwin a small lure,then it better be reall close to the fish.if the bait was somewhat bigger,he might be more willing to get it.
get the picture???
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Old 11-27-05, 11:37 AM   #11
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kh, if that was the case, swim baits would produce a lot more fish. there are times when that theory is correct but not always.
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Old 11-27-05, 11:46 AM   #12
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well,i cant catch a dang thing on swimbaits,i just cant get anything on it,but for somepeople,they can catch them all-day.ummmmmmm.......are you talkin about p-n-j"s theory
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Old 11-27-05, 12:11 PM   #13
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A couple of you mentioned changing lures after 10-15 minutes if you don't get bites. Really? If I have confidence in a certain lure I can be willing to give it an hour without a bite, as long as I keep changing my presentation to see if it really is the bait that is the problem. I can understand that philosophy if you are short on time, or are in a tournamnet, but I've had days where I have thrown something for a long time with little or no action, and then something changes (presentation, wind, weather) and then I suddenly start killing them. Am I approaching this wrong? Do most of you change your lures/style quickly?
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Old 11-27-05, 12:17 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hawgin'
A couple of you mentioned changing lures after 10-15 minutes if you don't get bites. Really? If I have confidence in a certain lure I can be willing to give it an hour without a bite, as long as I keep changing my presentation to see if it really is the bait that is the problem. I can understand that philosophy if you are short on time, or are in a tournamnet, but I've had days where I have thrown something for a long time with little or no action, and then something changes (presentation, wind, weather) and then I suddenly start killing them. Am I approaching this wrong? Do most of you change your lures/style quickly?
I agree with you hawgin, it often takes longer than 10-15 minutes to find where the fish are in regards to depth, open water, cover, structure etc.
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Old 11-27-05, 12:50 PM   #15
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Often times I rig my baits up ref. to what has been successful in the past on a particular lake. However, if I'm fishing waters that I've never fished before, I always have a lipless crankbait tied on. A tx rigged worm type bait, a spinnerbait,some crankbaits , shallow, medium, and deep.
The only exception of this rule is the lipless crankbait, it stays on.
Otherwise, any of these can be changed according to the conditions at hand.
I.E. wind,water color,temp of the water,and of course confidence.
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Old 11-27-05, 12:54 PM   #16
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http://www.bassfishin.com/article64.htm


thers the article i was talkin about
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Old 11-27-05, 01:29 PM   #17
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Yeah if I don't get hit I am going to be changing pretty quickly not waiting for conditions to be right for my bait. I fish according to what the fish want. If I wait and slay them in the end so what I rather be catching fish all day instead of waiting for conditions to change.
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Old 11-27-05, 02:06 PM   #18
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If something is working im usually not gonna change it but if im using a bait that hasnt had a hit in about 3 casts and i know theres fish around i usually change it or change colors then.
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Old 11-27-05, 02:36 PM   #19
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Yeah don't take too much time if you know fish are in the area.
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Old 11-30-05, 10:14 PM   #20
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In your situation you described if I had caught 10 small fish to one keeper I would just switch to a larger size bait of the same style/brand. like fishing a 4 inch tube would go to a 5 or 6 inch tube. Same color and just use a bigger hook and maybe a smaller weight if the weight of the bigger soft plastic is much more at all than the smaller soft plastic.
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Old 12-01-05, 10:37 AM   #21
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Well, I normally will..... oh, I just switched baits. Well it may not be that bad, but if the fish aren't hitting, it's pretty freakin quick.

Patience is a virtue...



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Old 12-01-05, 11:04 AM   #22
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I don't just switch and stick with a certain bait,
Most of the areas I fish have some kind of cover on the structure, so I will throw 3 od 4 different lures in that area, for example, since we have pike here and I'm fishing a point I throw a spinnerbait across it a few times first, see if I can get rid of it and if nothing hits I'll then slow roll around, then switch to a jig in the same spot, and if still nothing switch to a finess worm of some sort, then if still nothing on to the next spot.
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Old 12-08-05, 09:01 PM   #23
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so, when deer season rolls around what does every one hunt with?
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Old 12-08-05, 11:00 PM   #24
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I hunt with a 7' flippin stick and a black/blue jig.
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Old 12-11-05, 05:47 AM   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rodman_Rob
Yesterday I went out during a cold front, figured it would be a slow day and the fish would be somewhat lathargic. My game plan was flukes weightless and also jigs, both tight to cover in or near deeper water. I started fishing flukes first and started catching fish instantly of all sizes. I caught over 20 fish in less than 3 hours. Many of the fish were small, but there was definately some nice ones in the mix (check my Nov. Tourny results). So here's my question, at what ratio of small to large fish would you change your bait even though its being productive? Like I said, my plan that day was to throw flukes and jigs, however the fluke bite was so good I never got the chance to tie on a jig.
For the most part i try to target larger sized fish. So when the fish are feeding aggresively enough that im catching numerous smaller sized ones then i will tie on a considerably larger sized bait. For the most part this seems to discourage the smaller fish from coming in and nailing it before the larger (and fewer in numbers) fish have a chance to zero in on it.
I usually try several smaller sized baits in order to determine what color(s) is working the best and then go to a much larger bait of the same color.
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