What Technique To Learn Next?

[MIbassyaker]

Tom's list is great-- all easy and super-effective adaptations of your current gear.

 

I'm similar -- most of my fishing is strongly dominated by finesse presentation with plastics. I get a lot of mileage out of jigworm (any worm + jighead of some kind; shakeyhead is a version of this) and mojo/finesse c-rig (light cylindrical weight sliding freely above a bobber stopper, placed 12"-16" ahead of a t-rigged plastic). 

 

But to me, the most obvious categories of things missing from your repertoire are

(1) Moving baits and other horizontal presentations (Crankbaits, spinnerbaits, swimbaits)

(2) Topwaters (Poppers, frogs, buzzbaits, walking baits)

(3) jigs

 

You should be able to get a start working on any of the three with your MH casting combo for heavier versions of these baits, and M spinning for lighter versions. 

[bholtzinger14]

I think i will set it up to throw spinnerbaits. Then upgrade the rod at a later date. 

[monkeyman3dee]

You have an instruction manual for jigs?

Many members rave about them and seem to catch big bass as a result. I started using them this fall and haven't gotten so much as a whiff.... I trust members' posts, so it's got to be something I'm doing wrong.

Since you're an hour North of me, I'm hoping you might have a bit of advice for Northern bass.

This site has helped me a lot:

 

sorry not allowed here apparently!! Google jig fishing and you will see plenty of sites to help out the mind set and what to look for in your jig fishing.  BASS RESOURCE has some good articles too.

 

The key for me has been casting parallel to the bank, and searching for "jiggy" bottoms. As long as your jig bumps into something every now and then, you in a good spot. If all you feel is mush, not so good spot. I fish mainly football/brush/swim jigs. Not too much in the way of fishable cover around my lakes, so slow drags have always worked for me. Yum money craw as trailers. and stay positive! be the jig! as soon as you see/feel the bite reel down and set er good. Always a blast when you set the hook and see your rod south bend!!!!!

[hatrix]

I am not sure a lot of things I would classify as "technique" unless it's a totally different way of rigging. I would more or less say what style of baits to learn. But whatever that don't matter. I would agree with a lot of people you need to start throwing moving baits or search baits of you will.

In all honesty I don't think there is much to it for someone to be half decent at using moving baits. The highest skill cap IMO is bottom contact stuff. Really you can apply all the same retrieves and little things to all moving baits. Swimbaits, traps, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, swimjigs, even cranks to some degree.

You should be trying to do a lot of the same things will all of those. And with all of those it is possible to just chuk and wind and stil catch fish but it is rarely your best option. Find some type of cover of structure and bump into it. During your retrieves you just kinda mess around imparting different actions till you find out how they want it while making a mental note of what happened to make you get bit. Then try to keep dialing in more in more on what is working. You can speed up a bait a do a quick half turn of even a couple turns. Killing a bait for a split second works amazingly and I have tons of success with that. Also dragging a bait and using only your rod to really move it like a C-Rig. Ripping baits up out of grass to cause reaction strikes or throwing a coupe hops in here and there. That's basically about it unless there was something I missed.

[DogBone_384]

This site has helped me a lot:

 

sorry not allowed here apparently!! Google jig fishing and you will see plenty of sites to help out the mind set and what to look for in your jig fishing.  BASS RESOURCE has some good articles too.

 

The key for me has been casting parallel to the bank, and searching for "jiggy" bottoms. As long as your jig bumps into something every now and then, you in a good spot. If all you feel is mush, not so good spot. I fish mainly football/brush/swim jigs. Not too much in the way of fishable cover around my lakes, so slow drags have always worked for me. Yum money craw as trailers. and stay positive! be the jig! as soon as you see/feel the bite reel down and set er good. Always a blast when you set the hook and see your rod south bend!!!!!

Thanks for the advice. I've watched all kinds of informational videos on the Interweb and read this forum a lot. I'm sure I'll get the idea once I catch a couple bass with one.

[Fishes in trees]

More techniques = more gear, unless you want to spend time on the water tying knots.   Me, I can buy more fishing gear, but I haven't found a way to buy more fishing time, therefore, I carry many rigs for different techniques and only retie when I need to/got to.

 

Under this system, if you need to learn more techniques, for action baits you will need a rig for deeper cranks, a rig for square bills, a rig for jerk baits, a rig for spinner baits, a rig for chatter baits.  This year I started carrying a rig for Biffle Bugs - a jig /crank hybrid technique that has shown some promise for me.

 

Like previously mentioned, you might want to get some jig rods.   I carry rigs for llghter jigs, in the quarter to 5/16 oz range and for quarter ounce jig worms.   I don't tx rig very often, but I carry a couple of rigs for fishing my home made jika rigs.  Do not ignore the bubba drop shot rig.  

 

That will do for starters - after you've spend the few thousand dollars for gear up for these techniques, there will be more, believe me.

[bholtzinger14]

More techniques = more gear, unless you want to spend time on the water tying knots.   Me, I can buy more fishing gear, but I haven't found a way to buy more fishing time, therefore, I carry many rigs for different techniques and only retie when I need to/got to.

 

This is the way i feel. I know people say rods can multitask and feel like too many people put too much into technique specific rods, but I don't want to spend my time on the water tying on new leaders and tying knots. I want a rod already rigged up with what I need and since I want the rod rigged up with one technique why not get the best rod/reel combo for the set up and have it ready to go.

[EvanT123]

You have 3 setups that can cover a variety of techniques. Think lures for each rod that can cover the water colum and switch it up between the rods.

[Catt]

1: what structure is, how to truly identify it, interpret it, and the fish it effectively.

2: what the predominate prey species in your lake and how that species relates to structure morning, noon, and night...with each passing season.

3: that next after location is timing; just because ya didn't get bit does not mean the bass aint there or ya tied on the wrong bait.

Until you totally and completely understand those 3 it doesn't matter what technique ya learn...ya just fishing!

[Nick49]

skipping jigs around docks

[DTack]

I have a 6'10" ML spinning *** rod I am using for dropshotting/ned rigs.

I have a 7'1" M spinning *** rod I am using for weightless wacky rigged senkos.

i have a 7' MH casting St Croix I am using for texas rigged soft plastics (mostly Baby brush hogs)

 

I am loving being out on the water and learning these techniques. What should I throw in my arsenal next? Its not that these are not working. I just want to be prepared and feel confident with other techniques and give me something else to throw.

 

 

The keitech swing impact fat just caught my attention. Maybe some soft swimbaits?

Where do you live?  What type of water do you fish?  Are you in a boat/kayak/shore?  Thanks in advance!  I think it is cool you're wanting to learn new ways to catch them!

[bholtzinger14]

_{Live in North Texas. Most of my fishing will be bass fishing  in Lake Granbury from a kayak. I will hit up some tanks too as my wife works at spa that has an 11 acre tank behind it.}

[MickD]

In this order, based somewhat on your location:  Tubes, lipless cranks, and hard jerks.  But have to ask, how can any bass fisherman not have spinnerbaits in their arsenal?

 

Don't worry about having a rod for every technique.  Your rods will work for almost anything.  As you gain experience with techniques, you will add to your rods with more technique specific rods, and you will soon be out there with 5 or 6 rods and will not be doing much rerigging.