Are There Some Baits You Just Won't Use?

[PAbassin77]

Any swimbaits, I hate throwing them. I just don't have the patients for them at all. 

[upnorthbassin]

Blasphemy! (just kidding). If they were 1/2 the price I would buy more of them. The problem is that even a fairly small smallmouth hitting a t-rigged senko once will just about wreck it a lot of the time. I've tried using hooks that hold the plastics and other tricks but they still tear easy no matter what. They go for around $6.50 up to almost $7 per pack and I go through them in no time. On the other hand, I can buy 5" Yum dingers from wally world for $3.00 per pack and they last twice as long for less than half the price. The action and weight isn't 100% identical but it's very close and I've had just as good results with the Yum overall. I will still buy senkos if they are a good deal but I'm not paying full price for them again.

[Lip 'em!]

Generally theres nothing that i WONT use because i enjoy experimenting so much, but one technique i dont have much confidence in yet is a drop shot. I fished it several times and just cant seem to get them to bite. Im gonna work on it this year though to hopefully change that around!

[K_Mac]

If a guy limited himself to only the baits listed in this thread he would be a very well equipped bass fisherman. I do not currently own any high-end baits, including swimbaits only because they do not fit my budget. I also do not have an A-rig-just haven't had the need. I try to use whatever works though. If big fish are biting on $25 swimbaits, or the A-rig, I will probably find something else in my boat that will work instead. If not I will break a piggy bank and buy one or two.

[BassmanDan]

Used to hate spoons until I tried the flutterspoon and got some of the most arm-wrenching bites I've ever felt. Never messed with swimbaits until the Money Minnow came out and my PB ate one. The A -rig is probably the only technique I really don't care for...yet.

[SGT Rico]

People who are hating on the "senko" calling it a newb bait completely missed the boat. For starters, senko type lures not always catch fish, and there are many other baits that I would consider deadlier than a senko. If you don't fish cigars baits because it requires no skill, than you are one hell of a fisherman. I have fished many tourney's where the senko won mad money, so do we call these anglers newbs? Cigar type baits are amazing fish catchers, if you choose not to throw them because they catch to much fish than you have a blank check with your name on it. Join the FLW or the Elites and start cashing in.

[Teal]

Used to hate spoons until I tried the flutterspoon and got some of the most arm-wrenching bites I've ever felt. Never messed with swimbaits until the Money Minnow came out and my PB ate one. The A -rig is probably the only technique I really don't care for...yet.

The first time you double up on an A-rig, you will be hooked.

[0119]

Agreed on the Senko baits SGT.   Yesterday after not throwing a Senko for over a year, I pitched  Exude Cormida's around the pads to net a 4# and 2 near 6# in a little over an hour.  Nothing else garnered a glance.  Im a topwater snob but for anyone to flat out refuse to use a lure and be willingly to go home instead...thats nuts

 

Aint nothin' wrong with bait either.   Why have a fishless day just to have clean hands?  Buck up be a redneck

[slonezp]

I stay away from buzzbaits because, for me, a musky is more likely to hit it than a bass. It's like throwing away money. Toothy critters also have a fondness for Jitterbugs. 

Jigs are my goto bait. I've had muskies follow but never commit. Have caught pike and big walleye on them.

[SENKOSAM]

Let me condense The Roosters reasons:

Too expensive/ don't look worth the cost.

Because they're ugly/ unnatural looking / can't stand the looks of that pink color or red crankbaits

except : red based plastic worms. I'll throw those all day

 I'm a bait bigot of sorts.

 

Funny though, I share many of those same reasons including being a bait bigot -  until someone proves the lure/color/ presentation useful by catching fish in my presence. Seeing is believing and I can't tell you how many lures/colors/ presentations I've added to my collection by being seeing it. (Doesn't mean I'll remember or continue using them... lol)

[Snakehead Whisperer]

Let me condense The Roosters reasons:

Too expensive/ don't look worth the cost.

Because they're ugly/ unnatural looking / can't stand the looks of that pink color or red crankbaits

except : red based plastic worms. I'll throw those all day

 I'm a bait bigot of sorts.

 

Funny though, I share many of those reasons including being a bait bigot -  until

someone proves the lure/color/ presentation useful by catching fish in my presence.

Seeing is believing and I can't tell you how many lures/colors/ presentations I've added to my collection by being seeing it. (Doesn't mean I'll remember or continue using them... lol)

I have been fishing several times with people who chuckled when I pulled out the bubble gum senko, but then ask me for one later in the day after seeing me boat a few fish with it. 

 

The bubble gum Rebel Pop-R has also been a consistent producer for me. 

[jhoffman]

You guys have almost effectively eliminated 90% of my tackle

 

No wiggle warts.... um... ok

 

No buzzbaits... um... sure

 

No frogs.... in the voice of little john (whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat)

 

Metal lipped cranks are stupid because they have metal lips. Show me any other crank that you can alter the dive angle and way it tracks without a lighter

 

Im just blown away at some of these. If I gave up the drop shot my catch rate would fall by at least 50%. If I gave up jigs Id probably never catch a fish over 5lbs.

 

I throw them all, metal lips, buzzbaits, frogs, dropshots. The only technique I dont have covered is LARGE swimbaits and the A-Rig. I doubt Ill ever fish the A-rig but I will likely have a large swimbait rod someday.

[gripnrip]

I tournament fish with senkos. I don't fun fish with them. I have to say, I have many things to try and learn. I can't say that there is anything I won't use or try except one. That is Z-man baits. I had a negative experience at their booth. They had an aquarium tank with some of their baits attached to some ice fishing poles. You could move the rod to see the action. I had my little 3 year old daughter in my arms and handed her the rod while I still had it too. The guy felt he had to repeat himself many and I stress many times not to take the lure out of the water. It was nowhere close to doing so. With that being said, you can fill in the blanks to what I said and with Luke Clausen standing there witnessing. I'm getting worked up as I type!

[cdaggett]

Any z-man bait since they will melt my other soft plastics. Not interested in that, and the Alabama rig does not interest me at all either. Just seems like its cheating.

I thought It was just me but holy crap youre right! I had some of the swimbaits that come with those weird hooks, and they actually melted, and caused others to become disfigured!

[*Hootie]

Well, it's only February so there is a lot of time left, but I'm betting this will stand as the silliest post of the year!

X2

X10

X100,

Hootie

[Primus]

I don't fish with ....

 

Elaztech plastics - they work, just don't care for them

 

Matzuo Cranks - I tried a few some years back and they were awful

 

At some point during the season I will utilize almost every technique out there, that said I prefer to fish Power techniques over trying to finesse them with weightless plastics or dropshots. 

 

I prefer bigger more aggressive lures in most situations.

 

If I do fish stickworms I still like Senko's the best. I know they cost more but the others I've tried don't consistently produce as well as this bait. I'm probably as not concerned by the price because I don't fish that way very often but when I do I want the best.

 

I avoid TV Gimmick lures, most are mediocre at best and even with the Banjo minnow I feel I can find better alternatives.

[quanjig]

You know what, as I read thru the responses in this post, I wonder why anyone would poo-poo any bait that they have not used?? Just because it rubs you the wrong way!?!? I can see if you didn't have the results you were looking for but wow? I'll take every one of the storm baits you guys don't want, I know how to make them work!! Jigs, I'll take those too! This is a weird thread! I understand the basis of the post but somewhere it got messy to me

[.ghoti.]

I refuse to use a senko knock-off

[Jay Ell Gee]

I used to swear that I would NEVER throw a jerkbait. This year I finally broke down and tried flukes after I fished with my girlfriend's brother and saw the action they had.

I now own white, baitfish, and watermelon seed flukes, white and shad caffeine shads, as well as white, shad, and baby bass sluggos. Boy was I missing a great south Louisiana lure!

I still don't think I will ever toss a deep diving crank or an A-Rig, however.

[Snakehead Whisperer]

I used to swear that I would NEVER throw a jerkbait. This year I finally broke down and tried flukes after I fished with my girlfriend's brother and saw the action they had.

I now own white, baitfish, and watermelon seed flukes, white and shad caffeine shads, as well as white, shad, and baby bass sluggos. Boy was I missing a great south Louisiana lure!

I still don't think I will ever toss a deep diving crank or an A-Rig, however.

Can't blame you on the A-Rig, but I think you'll come around on the deep crankin'

[Jay Ell Gee]

Can't blame you on the A-Rig, but I think you'll come around on the deep crankin'

 

If I get into some serious deep water fishing such as Lake Okhissa in Mississippi, maybe so. However, I primarily river fish so squarebills are about all I will be tossing.

[tholmes]

Rebel POP-Rs, never caught a fish on them, closest thing i caught a fish on to a POP-R is a Rapala Skitter Pop, and that was just one fish.

 

also,  firetiger color, just doesnt produce for me. never caught a thing on black and blue baits either, or purple

 

Tubes, just no interest in them...

 

wacky rig, dont like it, prefer to texas rig...

 

zoom worms, they just seem really narrow, they have no girth to them, cant get a bite on them anymore

 

---------

 

somethings that have been removed from this list are the jitterbug, some crankbaits, and jerkbaits...

X2 on the firetiger. I've got dozens of different firetiger lures and I've never caught a durn thing on them.

 

Tom

[bkohlman]

Won't/Can't (illegal in KS) fish the A-Rig.

 

[BassinB]

Buzz baits and spinnerbaits!! Buzz baits because they just don't work and spinnerbaits because every yahoo throws them. Not a huge fan of senkos anymore either because of the newb connotations. Used to have football jigs and jerkbaits on this list too but I kicked butt with them last fall so they've moved up.

As far as a technique, I absolutely despise fishing docks or other shallow shoreline cover. I live for offshore or weed line fishing. Less bites but bigger fish.

I'm glad we (UWSP) are fishing against you guys if that's how you fish.  Pick a few of the most productive baits ever produced in history for bass and never use them, now that's bold... at least your not a NEWB I guess.

1 bait that I rarely throw is a swim jig.  I prefer a spinnerbait.

[Hooligan]

So many closed minds. I can understand brand preference in baits, but refusing to use a technique because you'll get tired or because you used it once and it didn't produce...

I will fish almost every bait and technique that people have listed in this topic at some point this season. In most cases I would bet dollars to donuts that the reasons you've not caught fish on certain colors, baits, or techniques is because you have failed to execute them under the correct conditions, situations, or failed to execute properly on the whole. There is nothing that I will refuse when it comes to catching fish. A-Rig cheating? HOW? That's a poor rationalization. It is an extremely situational technique that perfectly strikes the instinct of predatory fish to eat. If that's cheating, then treble hooks are, too. Might as well add hooks to cheating as well. Refusing to use a bait like a swimsuit because it's too big? Biology doesn't say that at all. A black bass will eat anything it can get its face around, in many cases that's quite a chunk. There isn't a body of water in North America that a four or five inch swimbait won't catch fish.

I'm really kind of amazed that so many people refuse to use certain baits and techniques. Shocked, actually. Refusing to throw spinnerbaits because too many people throw them? That's the silliest notion I've seen yet. I can understand not liking tactics or lures, but refusing to use them is doing nothing more than shooting yourself in the foot. That is simply ensuring that under the circumstances in which that bait or tactic is the best option, you're going to not catch fish. Mind blowing.

For the record I hate, HATE, frogging. I will do all that I can to avoid it. But, when that's it, a frogging I will go.