Creating A Confidence Kit

[chadmack282]

most of the kids are going to be pretty sparse when it comes to baits. Many don't have a dad or don't have a dad that fishes (so blessed that I grew up with a fishing loving dad in many more ways than just the obvious here)

one of the BR crew ;went through his bags and sent us a big box of plastics which got me thinking about not only panic bags but a bare minimum that would get the kids out and give them a fair chance of success regardless of the time of year or their experiences.

I like hearing both sides of the aisle here. Those that have some "go to" set and those that think the conditions should be the go to kit.

Early on, especially if the young person does not have a load of experience (very likely in my case) having a few lures you really feel good about will make the difference in being able to catch a couple and have some fun v. being shut out.

hey Dave I applaud the effort & huge amount of time that u are sacrificing to help those young men. They will develope skills that will help them choose better paths & occupy some of their time with positive experiences. Which will help them avoid negative & life altering situations.

This world needs more Daves!!

[bassguytom]

Good work you are doing there coach. Anything to keep their minds spinning is what will work as they learn. If I need a panic box I just need to look into one of my younger kids tackle boxes. It will have everything that has been mentioned here because that is what has worked for them in the past. As they progress they start fine tuning the box and baits will change but there will always be some of the ones that they have caught fish on in the past. This is what becomes their panic box. There are endless ways to catch bass and more coming down the pike everyday. I will always try to tell my kids not to fish from memory but rather learn seasonal patterns and where to find the fish. My youngest son said to me today " Dad it's almost blade bait time!" Because he knows how and when we have caught them in the past. There's no right or wrong way to teach them as long as I do my best to pass on the respect and admiration that I have learned for the sport and everything that goes with it. Some of the best life lessons I have pasted on have come from being on the water with my kids. If there was one bait that I can guarantee is in every one of my kids tackle boxes it's a roostertail spinner. As a matter of fact when we are out and nothing else is working they call roostertail and we have to put one on to avoid the skunk. I have 7 kids. Good luck!

[Darren.]

I'm with the simple soft plastics side of things.

 

They are my confidence baits, and because I 

fish for enjoyment, they're my go-to unless I'm

up for something different like a crank, spinner,

lipless, etc.

 

So for me it would have mainly 4" Senkos or 

senko knock-offs (BPS Stik-O).

 

Then I'd have some Zoom Trick worms, and if 

room is left, some Zoom Finesse worms. I'd 

group them according to color, both sizes in the

same slot if I'm sticking to one box.

 

Colors: junebug; watermelon magic; green pumpkin;

black; hot pepper frog.

 

Then I'd have some wacky hooks, some round

bend offset TX rig hooks, and some 1/4 oz Gremlin

bull-shot weights.

[Big C]

Every good "Confidence Kit"  should have Tic Tacs. 

[MidwestF1sh]

Drop shot roboworm

Senkos

Trickworms

Jig (skirted, football or a casting style head)

If you can't get bit with one of those then you're really in trouble.

[Brayberry]

1/4 oz jig

1/8 oz Slider Heads w/ Slider Worms

Norman Crappie Crankbait

Senko

[scaleface]

I wont go fishing without a good supply of 6 inch straight tail worms such as the Manns Jelly Worm , weights and hooks .

[Fish'N Impossible]

to me the first question to ask is of the individual angler.

 

1) what bait do you personally feel you get bit on the most?

 

2) ifyou goto  a place you have never been what is the first bait you put in the water?

 

if they know these they have a good understanding of what that individuals strengths are, and what baits they have confidence in. then their kit should be designed around those strengths. Panic kits are not a box of goto lures because people say they work, its a kit of lures you personally canmakle work in any situation.

 

thats where i would start Dave.

 

[Jaw1]

Mine would include

#5 shad rap silver/ black catches all size fish

Shaky head (roboworm 4"and 6"

Yamamoto shad shapes worm rigged either with a small bullet weight or weightless

Fluke style bait in all sizes depending on the time of year

[Jake the Cake]

I don't know about Ohio, but here's what's actually in my "911" Missouri Plano box:

 

Green/Olive/Orange Yum crawfish

 

Green Pumpkin (Blue/Black backup) Senko

 

White/Red or White/Gray/Smoke spinners

 

Strike King Sexy Shad lipless

 

Bleeding Pearl Chug Bug

 

2" and 3" Berkley Powerbait Swim Shad

[Ohio Dave]

Guys,  I really appreciate you all taking time to share your thoughts, lend advice, and for the more than kind words:  I am not at all sure my wife would agree that the world needs more Daves though LOL.

 

Way back in time I learned to bass fish nearly completely on my own.  I watched Bill Dance and Jerry's shows: thought bass like that only existed down south on private ponds but still fished.  The first bass I caught was a 16 incher who tail danced the lily pads and felt like a whale on my zebco 600

 

I caught him on a plo jockey pre jigged worm.  The point of this trip down memory lane is that for many years after that I did not bass fish with anything but those worms.   

 

If I can put 3 or 4 bait types into their hands that they are likely to have at least some success with on most occasions then the students are going to be less reluctant to try new baits and patterns to grow and improve.  I also want them to develop a little laminated card to be taped to the inside of this box that asks them some questions to think about while making the switch to another lure type.

 

I was thinking something along the lines of   The lure I am using now is the______  I think its not working because______  (color, size, action, depth)  I would maybe break it down a bit more but that would be the general idea.  

[Fishes in trees]

Every lure in my boat is a "confidence bait" (or at least was at one time, i.e. the time of purchase)  Anyway, I'd tell the students to be aware of the seasonal patterns and them make their best, most educated guess at the time.  Some days a bait does seem like a "magic bait" , but in my case I like to think that it was the reasoning process that got me to that bait which was more important.

 

Now, having said that, when I don't know what to throw, my default choice is some sort of jig worm.  My current favorite is a 1/4 oz Brewer Slider head and a 5" Paddle Tail worm.   BPS makes a paddle tail version of the Stick-o and that is my current favorite.  Zoom paddle tail worms are a fall back choice.   For rookies, I'd recommend that they throw this bait on spinning gear using 10 to 20 lb braid and a short fluorocarbon leader.  Retrieve is dirt simple - polish the rocks or whatever bottom is there by making intermittent bottom contact.   If you are on the bottom all the time, you are going too slow.  If you never tough the bottom you are going too fast.

 

Get a copy of Charlie Brewer's book  ON SLIDER FISHING and have all your club members read it.   I don't know what kind of reference library you have, but you might want to start one.   I have most of the in-fisherman magazines every published ( the older ones, when it was owned by the Lindners, have much more info than the more recent ones, but recent ones are ok)   The old BASS FISHING INSTITUTE  which was active from 1980 to 88 or so, published an excellent text book, which covered all the basics of bass fishing in extreme detail.  There are lots more books you might want to collect as well, in addition to the plethora of advice you might find on-line.

 

Next, if you're looking for winter projects, you might teach them how to pour lead and/or soft plastic baits.  Allegedly, the GUIDO BUG, an outstanding craw fish imitation, was invented by his son Dion as a grade school project.  If you need funding - you're on your own - I don't have a lot of ideas on how to fund a high school fishing team, my guess might be that there are some fisherman in your area that might want to help.  My guess would be that the ones who have the most time to help wouldn't be the ones with the most funds to help.

 

My next question would be, why stop at a bass team?   Why not a fishing team - go multi species.   Catch some crappie - catch some carp - catch what ever is biting.   What is your inventory?   How many Dads/ grand dads/ Uncles, etc, have boats?   What are the fishing opportunities available?  Close or within reasonable driving distance?  Thanks for letting me rant.    If yo think about it, club growth is really a marketing issue.  If you think about it in that context, there are many avenues for growth.

[OkobojiEagle]

 But if you can't play a couple songs to impress the girls right now you will get bored and drop it.  LOL 

 

Ain't that the truth... thank God for "Hey Jude"!

 

 

oe

 

[Spankey]

I like NJ Salts care package. I'd throw in a black and blue 3/8 oz. chatter bait and a #7 shad rap in blue back herring along with his picks.

[ClackerBuzz]

Iac's 'Panic Box'

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/iaconelli_panic_box.html

TLTR

[Jaderose]

When I can't buy a bite, I tie on a 1/2 oz Mepps Comet Mino.  I try both silver and gold and work the water column with it.  They foul, the fish trailer spins, it looks like something a kid designed......but...they catch fish.  The might not get you a winning bag but I credit that stupid lure with igniting the LM fishing fire in me.  The first one I had I found in a tree, tied it on and start hauling in 1-2 lbs'er s one after another.  In fact, why don't I use it more now?

[bigfruits]

1/4oz inline spinner

4 or 5 inch stick bait (wacky rigged)

[BassMaster17]

When all else fails pull out a wacky worm (Senko wacky rigged)

[Logan S]

Sometimes you need a reminder of what historically works for you, a 'panic box' is a good way to bring you back to earth if you start spinning out on a tournament day.  It's very easy to get away from your core strengths while in the heat of competition...

 

-Your practice/previous patterns falling apart

-Buying into 'dock talk'

-Worrying about what you 'should' be doing

-Weather and/or conditions keeping you from doing what you intended

-There's a ton more, but you get the idea...

 

The box is there to re-focus your attention, but the key is to put stuff in there that has worked for you personally.  Taking suggestions from others will get you a nice box that could probably be labelled 'Finesse Fishing 101', but if it's stuff you don't have experience or confidence in you might as well just keep guessing.  Just my take on it anyways...

 

Personally, I don't have a panic box.  I always try to have a fall-back plan that includes some of my core strengths.  It would probably only have 2 things in it anyway, waste of a box .  

[Ohio Dave]

Thanks again guys,  much appreciated.  

 

Sounds like more of you have this sort of box but under a different name.  

 

If the kids hear a lure works from the pros and super experienced guys:  They are going to believe they work and toss the lure.  

 

I think in the big picture that is what it is all about.  Helping the kids build confidence in a group of lures and open their minds to the need to read their conditions.  Believe me, getting the kids to use four different lure types and read their conditions successfully would be quite the accomplishment 

[Catt]

I've devoted the last 20 plus years of my life teaching, coaching, & mentoring individuals in the fine art of bassing fishing. I've worked with students from 4 yrs old, to one of my current students whose 65 yrs young. When working with any age group I must first assesses the individual's natual abilities as well as their desires.

Teaching bass fishing is not about what I want them to learn but rather what do they want to learn. Some individuals fishing is merely a casual sport while other are like most of us and are completely comsumed with it.

My "confidence kit" is simple; it contains the most productive lure ever invented, the plastic worm.

Studies have proven that the plastic worm is the only lure made that a BASS CAN NOT REMEMBER!

Texas rigged (weighted/unweighted) straight tail, curl tail, ribbon tail, & senko type worms can be productive year round, in any water clarity, any type of cover, & at any depth.

They cast be cast, pitched, flipped, or punched and can be fished by dragging, hopping, stroking, or swimming em.

Texas rigs can be fished fast, slow, or any where in between!

[Ohio Dave]

Thanks Catt,  much appreciated 

[hatrix]

I had never heard that bass can't remember worns. I am not sure how much bass really remeber any ways.

So where are these kids fishing at? And how much actual fishing experience do they have? I am also from Ohio so maybe I have fished some of the places.

If I was super desprate to get a bite i would go with a drop shot with a worm usually. I like finesse worms or senkos and they also can do double duty T rigged. Of course a inline spinner is also one. A small soft swimbait of some kind. And a small popper for some kind of top water bait.

[Ohio Dave]

The reservoirs around Bellevue are good as are a few lakes in the area.  We don't have a way to fish Erie which is amazingly sad as its one of the very best bass lakes in the world

 

not owning a bass boat myself makes it really tough for the kids to get out on the water rather than just shore.  But if you can catch bass from shore day in and out then when you finally have a chance to be in a boat its that much more fun.

 

 

I really appreciate all who have take time to share their thoughts.  A panic box or confidence box is a fun conversation regardless of experience.  

 

Now we got to get more states off the snide and make competitive bass fishing an official high school sport.  It would be a heck of a lot less head aches in terms of getting and keeping a couple boats for the students to be able to fish on as school representatives..  The FLW does hold a High School Championship for Ohio but its not sanctioned and really should be up on the big lake anyway not the Ohio River where no students north of Columbus ever get to fish that far south.   

[Catt]

Dave ya doing a outstanding job

High school & collegiate bass fishing is catching on down south really well.