Lure/bait decisions

[Learnin2FWFish]

I have another question.. What determines your lure/artificial choice? Is it conditional, seasonal, luck? Or do you just look at the spot your fishing and say, "Ok grass just under the surface... 82 degrees.. winds out of the north northeast... Bass will want a tiki stick on a wacky rig..." I just had 3 poles, 1 carolina rig with a worm, one with a fluke, one with a rat-l-trap and I switched the fluke for a t-rig worm or the frog, and every 10 or so casts id alternate a bit.

Just trying to figure out what to use and when, right now I just go with what the bait monkey says.

I will get some pics of what im fihsing in and you can give me some more pointers thanks all , b-fast is ready

(this is basically a continuation of my first thread, I think I need my own forums for just the sheer volume of questions i have :P )

btw is there anyway for me to change my name? When I first posted here you never know if its still active or what but you all have really welcomed me and and I plan on staying but hopefully I wont be "Learnin" for the rest of my time here :P

[JB]

You can create a new account and get a new name, or pm. kevin for details.
On what to use, I think its safe to say that most plastics (worms, craws jigs) will work day in and day out.
However its mostly driven by seaonal migrations and weather.
Now for instance, is a prespawn period, a plastic will work, a ratLtrap will, and a fluke/jerkbait will work too..
another thing to consider is location....most anglers beat the banks, and this time of year bigger fish are found in shallows and flats, however after the spawn next month, some of the bigger fish move off to deeper water to feed on schooling shad or other forage.
You mentioned rigs in your post, most would work in todays conditions IMO

[nb1226]

A variety of things determine my lure selection. Water temp, water clarity, season, structure/cover, current weather, and observations. What you are using should get you on some fish, but you may have to make some changes down the road. One thing to remember when youre fishing is to learn something everytime you fish, you dont have to catch fish to learn something.

[Rebbasser]

Learnin, an awful lot of it is trial and error. This time of year I usually start with 3 baits: A soft plastic, usually a Tiki Stick rigged wacky, a spinnerbait, and depending on where I'm fishing a crankbait. Look for cover-weeds, flooded timber, rock, etc. and throw in and around it. One of the lakes I fish does not have any grass or weeds in it, but it does have a lot of rock and some flooded timber. If I'm fishing a rock bank I I throw a crankbait that will dive deep enough to dig into the bottom-one of those baits with a longer lip and a wacky rig. In timber I throw a spinnerbait, a wacky rig, and a square billed crankbait that will deflect off timber.

One thing that will help is to fish according to the conditions. For example, if it is sunny, I fish a little deeper and tighter to cover. Like us, bass like to be comfortable so they like to get out of the sun like we do. If it is cloudy they will usually move out from cover and move shallower.

If you are fishing weeds I take the same approach except I will throw a lipless crankbait rather than a lipped crankbait that won't pick up weeds the way a lipped bait will. Once you get some time on the water you will get to where you can look at the area you are fishing and get a good idea of what to throw, but you sound like you are on the right track.

[Sluggo]

I pretty much go to the same place; so I use the lures that always performed for me. I always use those and in a rare instance I will try a new lure it worked out a few years ago I caught my biggest bass at that place. It was a Spence Scout. I bought it because I "thought" it might work and it did. I guess I beleive in luck.

[Marty]

Determining lures is not easy. Of course, the conditions may make the decision for you to a large extent. For example, in thick weeds, you're pretty much limited to Texas-rigged soft plastics or maybe weedless topwaters.

Other conditions aren't so cut and dried. Suppose you're over weedbeds whose tops come up to three feet below the surface. You could use shallow cranks, spinnerbaits, soft or hard jerkbaits, worms, tubes, Senkos, lizards, creatures, inline spinners and topwaters. Always keep in mind that whenever you catch a fish, it's highly probable that that fish could have been caught on a number of other lures. Put four good fishermen on the same spot and there may be four different lure types being used.

Weather and seasons play a role. Topwater wouldn't be my first choice when the water is in the 40s, but in warm water and low light, they're usually my starting bait.

Thus, when you have these choices, start with the baits you enjoy fishing and/or have a lot of confidence in, and change if they're not working. You can't predict in advance what the fish might hit at any given time. So I guess it boils down, to a large extent, on personal preferences and your own experiences.

If I had any better answers, I'd be using that system myself.

[bassnman30]

Sluggo, you said that you go to the same places, maybe if you explore more you'll find other great areas as well. Thats what I do.

[bassinbob]

Marty with advice like that you should be catching a limit every time. lol. Sluggo before i go I figure out a game plan of what I am going to use for each spot i will be fishing and rig a rod or two for that spot. That is if the weather permits. I usually have about 8 rods rigged and ready so if the weather changes chances are I am ready to change without too much trouble. if I am fishing pads grass or weeds I have about half of my fishing covered for the day. The other half is for flippin and cranks. I also have one rigged up for C-riggin. I don't drop shot or finesse that much. I also can throw cranks and spinnerbaits on the grass and pad edges.

Bob