New Lures You Tried In 2014 That Did Not Work?

[primetime]

Spinnerbaits, Just cant get bit on one. Ive had 1 pickerel hit em and thats it. Now I have learned and have been successful this year with jigs and topwater frogs....One step at a time.

I used to use spinnerbaits as my confidende bait for years, almost more than a plastic worm, but in the last 10 years, I feel I rarely have a good day on a spinnerbait. JIg are much harder to fish in my opinon, so if you are getting bit on jigs, then you are doing something right, I have a theory that fish have seen too many spinnerbaits in some places....Or maybe I need to rethink how I use them and also blade sizes etc.

[Dwight Hottle]

I'm pretty confident Dwight was being sarcastic.... Lol

Or maybe not...

 

Yes I was.

 

 

 

River 2 Sea S Waver, Jackall Gyron, and a few other hard swimbaits like the Spro BBZ. I think it is my lack of courage/confidence to throw these lures where they need to be placed, and also I am not sticking with them long enough as I know fishing larger baits is about larger fish and less strikes....I have not purchased any "Duds" this year but I rarely blame a lure or bait, I typically assume I just do not understand it yet, or like everyone else, I try new things when striking out....Hard swimbaits puzzle me, but then again, it took me awhile to like soft swimbaits as well. I need to fish with someone who is a dedicated big swimbait guy or gal.

 

When you say blade baits, do you mean the "Silver Buddy" blade baits, or Vibrating jigs or "Chatterbaits"....I know alot of people have mixed reviews on bladed jigs but I think it is one of those lures that you really have to want to learn and fishing it can be tough especially if ripping it free all day, and chunking a 1/2 ounce version with a big trailer as they have alot of drag...I have been wanting to buy some "Blade baits" like the "Gay Blade" Silver Buddy etc...I still use my little George here and there and it can be a good lure at the right time.

 

 

Blade baits are vibrating blades like the silver buddy. I like to fish them vertically, like a jigging spoon. They can be very effective when the bass are hunkered down tight to the bottom.

[Djf3864]

White swim jig, didn't catch **** on it. Tried all kinds of trailers and it just didn't seem to appeal to the fish up here.

All the other colors I got killed it this year for swim jigs.

[hatrix]

River 2 Sea S Waver, Jackall Gyron, and a few other hard swimbaits like the Spro BBZ. I think it is my lack of courage/confidence to throw these lures where they need to be placed, and also I am not sticking with them long enough as I know fishing larger baits is about larger fish and less strikes....I have not purchased any "Duds" this year but I rarely blame a lure or bait, I typically assume I just do not understand it yet, or like everyone else, I try new things when striking out....Hard swimbaits puzzle me, but then again, it took me awhile to like soft swimbaits as well. I need to fish with someone who is a dedicated big swimbait guy or gal.

 

When you say blade baits, do you mean the "Silver Buddy" blade baits, or Vibrating jigs or "Chatterbaits"....I know alot of people have mixed reviews on bladed jigs but I think it is one of those lures that you really have to want to learn and fishing it can be tough especially if ripping it free all day, and chunking a 1/2 ounce version with a big trailer as they have alot of drag...I have been wanting to buy some "Blade baits" like the "Gay Blade" Silver Buddy etc...I still use my little George here and there and it can be a good lure at the right time.

What size is the S-Waver? 168 or 200? Glide baits are kind of a developed skill in how to fish them. You kinda have to get a feel for them and what you can make it do. That's what I like about them and it makes them fun to fish. A pretty slow retrieve with some pauses or a few quick turns works well as does chopping your retrieve like making a little stutter in turning the handle. also just cranking enough till you feel the head turn then stop so it glides way out to the side. You can make them glide way out from side to side and just keep doing it so it goes back and forth you can probably get like 2' glide with just a 168 doing that depending on some things. The Gyron is blah to me really. I have caught plenty of fish with it but its not very good and it casts like garbage so no bonus points there for casting either. The BBZ ehh again personally its a floater type thing as there are much better baits for below the surface. It is just a bait that never tickled my fancy.

[Mike L]

Any thing I've bought out of a discount bin at a Bass Pro, Gander Mtn, Dicks or wherever.

Mike

[dam0007]

3 baits that came highly recommended that I couldn't get a bite on:

Whopper Plopper

G2 shellcracker (wake bait not the soft plastic)

Dahlberg Frog

3 new baits I absolutely destroyed em on this year:

Rage Bug Structure bug

Rick Clunn jerkbaits the Ito copies (also got some nice brown trout on em)

Yamamoto square bill

[KritterGitter]

I used to use spinnerbaits as my confidende bait for years, almost more than a plastic worm, but in the last 10 years, I feel I rarely have a good day on a spinnerbait. JIg are much harder to fish in my opinon, so if you are getting bit on jigs, then you are doing something right, I have a theory that fish have seen too many spinnerbaits in some places....Or maybe I need to rethink how I use them and also blade sizes etc.

Your probably spot on with that theory....The few ponds/lakes I fish are the only ones within an hour drive and they are heavily pressured, I havent tried a spinnerbait in the rivers yet. In light of that thinking though Ive already started gearing up for big swimbaits this spring, I have yet to see anyone chunking a 6"+ bait around and I know there are 8+ lb bass in the area just waiting for that big meal!! 

[slimshad]

Arashi baits.  Bought several and never caught a bass.  LC Fat Smasher.  Threw that thing with confidence and alot too.  Never turned a fish.  Tough time of year but it hurts when it doesnt produce.  Rage bugs did nothing for me, went back to Dbombs and sweet beavers.  Bought a couple Spybaits but never had the right conditions to try.  I think that is the only new baits that i used that didnt work.

[BassSlayer71]

Spinnerbaits, Just cant get bit on one. Ive had 1 pickerel hit em and thats it. Now I have learned and have been successful this year with jigs and topwater frogs....One step at a time.

 

Man I love spinnerbaits but they do seem to be tougher to use.  They are a great search bait but unless it's low light, good wind or the bass are just active... you almost have to move on.  I fished a pond my friend has that see's fisherman maybe 3-4 times a year.  I'd catch them fine on spinnerbaits till the sun hit the water.  But would absolutely kill them on a trick worm on a drop shot rig.

Of course on another trip to a local river.. a couple of my friends caught about 6-7 bass on the drop shot but I caught only three on a spinnerbait.  Buuuuuuut my 3 would have ate their 7 lol

[wisconsin heat]

3 new baits I absolutely destroyed em on this year:

Rage Bug Structure bug

Rick Clunn jerkbaits the Ito copies (also got some nice brown trout on em)

Yamamoto square bill

That Rick Clunn is truly an awesome lure. I was using it bass fishing opening day this year and in addition to bass I caught 2 11+ inch Brooke Trout and a massive 22 inch Brown trout.

[Trap-n-Fish]

I tried a bunch of lures with no success but the one that annoyed me the most was the Jitterbug. The front treble hook would foul on my line 9 out of 10 casts.

[FishTank]

I bought a couple of bags of Big Bite Baits and they still have caught nothing.  I know some people love them and do catch fish with them but sometimes a good buy is not such a good buy.

[hoosierbass07]

  I'm going to put these two type of lures in the "did not work for me" category even though they both worked one day for me.  The first one is a crankbait (square bill).  

 

 That was my first time catching a fish on a crankbait (I didn't and don't use them often.)  As you can see in the video - it looks like the bass went after it after only after one crank of the reel handle.  That bass is the only bass I caught on a crankbait all year!  I used crankbaits at that same spot later in the summer (strip pit ponds) but no bites except one blue-gill.  I used crankbaits from time to time at other strip pit ponds in the area and still not bass caught.  I'm thinking I would have caught that same bass at that same time if I had on a plastic worm Texas rigged but not 100% positive.  Even if I give that crankbait credit, the casts I made vs. bass caught has a low percentage return.  So I say they didn't work for me.  

 

 Next thing that did not work - spinnerbaits.  I caught five or six decent sized bass while bankfishing one evening all in under an hour in the spring at a big state park reservoir.  I had a blast because the bass were hitting my Booyah Pond Magic spinnerbait hard.  But that was really the only success I had on spinnerbaits the rest of the year.   I did catch one more bass at that same lake while in my kayak.  But that's it.  And I used spinnerbaits a lot at the strip pit ponds I fished at a lot this spring/summer.  

 

 Maybe those strip pit ponds I fish at are lousy for bass fishing.  I don't know, I'm still learning.  But considering they both worked the best in the spring and quickly stopped working after - I'm inclined to believe they are low percentage bass fishing lures, as Bill Murphy said in his book.  

[Angry John]

I bought a couple of bags of Big Bite Baits and they still have caught nothing.  I know some people love them and do catch fish with them but sometimes a good buy is not such a good buy.

I use there 4 inch big bite cane worm and do excellent.  Might just be a one hit wonder

[primetime]

What size is the S-Waver? 168 or 200? Glide baits are kind of a developed skill in how to fish them. You kinda have to get a feel for them and what you can make it do. That's what I like about them and it makes them fun to fish. A pretty slow retrieve with some pauses or a few quick turns works well as does chopping your retrieve like making a little stutter in turning the handle. also just cranking enough till you feel the head turn then stop so it glides way out to the side. You can make them glide way out from side to side and just keep doing it so it goes back and forth you can probably get like 2' glide with just a 168 doing that depending on some things. The Gyron is blah to me really. I have caught plenty of fish with it but its not very good and it casts like garbage so no bonus points there for casting either. The BBZ ehh again personally its a floater type thing as there are much better baits for below the surface. It is just a bait that never tickled my fancy.

I grabbed 2 of the smaller s wavers, and I have no doubt they are good baits, I have just not learned how to fish them with confidence yet, but I appreciate your tips. You seem to know your stuff with the hard swimbaits, I want to start throwing them more, even went out a purchased a dedicated swimbaits set up (Okuma Cedros round baitcaster, Evx Swimbait rod) and to be honest,the Sebile Magic Swimmers work good for me, but the Jackall I agree, I hate that it will not cast far and I traded it to a friend for a couple Rebel Pop'rs he had in the new finish they are making. The BBZ is ok, but the Reaction Strike Wake baits at overstock for $2.99 or $3.99, wake, suspend, slow and fast fall, are working fine, I only use the wake really, but the hook is awful, action on the fall is awful, but upgrade the treble to a larger size, clip off one of the hooks on the treble (like the Snagless flatt shad- Best lure invented, you can flip and pitch it, suspends, only needs a few inches of water, but anyway, I converted the cheap reaction Strike wakes to be weedless and I use a large treble with 2 hooks so it can go in full weeds and not hang up....The Magic swimmer is the only swimbait that I like how it falls, but the S waver glide baits are a different animal, I struggled on a striped bass trip a few years ago learning the Bomber Herky Jerky glide bait as well, I guess it is like a jerkbait, all about your touch, and just knowing when to do what after awhile...Thanks for the tips. I still will try the spro bbz as I love the look, don't like chucking $20 near weeds, and not sure if I fish areas without weeds.

[Ratherbfishing]

I've used a few off brand crankbaits which had the action of soggy lettuce but, generally, if a lure isn't working, it isn't being fished in the right way, in the right place, or at the right time.