Should I vary my baits, or specialize in one area?

[You_Only_Live_Once_Fishing]

I am just getting into bass fishing. I have a 7'MF Drop Shot Setup, A 6'6"MLF Wacky Rig/Trout Setup, and a 7'MHF 7.1:1 Pro Max Combo. I have an ok selection of baits, mostly fitnesse and crank baits. Should i stick to one bait (texas rigged white keitech 4" swimbait/senkos) or use other lures?

[BrianinMD]

Yes...and well...no.

Yes, you should try to get comfortable with different baits in order to be effective in different conditions. There is no one bait that works in all conditions, sometimes they want moving baits, sometimes slow, sometimes in tight to cover, and so on.

However, you also do not want to make the mistake of over complicating things. Stick with basics in each area until you get comfortable they you can add to your arsenal. Attempting to become efficient with to many things will just make things harder.

And welcome to the site, there are a lot of articles and video's to help with learning If any questions come up there are a lot of knowledgeable people on here to help.

[Turkey sandwich]

Welcome!  

 

Some suggestions on where to start...  Those rods will cover a lot of basic soft plastic applications, and if you spool the bait caster with mono, it'll take you a ways with spinnerbaits and walking baits as well.  But enough about Rod spcialization....

 

if I were to start over tomorroW and learn everything from the beginning, I'd ask myself a few questions, first. 

1) what types of water will I be fishing?

- There is a lot of crossover in bass fishing, but generally, your high percentage techniques for fishing smallmouth in a river are going to be different from the ones used pitching heavy mats for largemouth, which are different from the ones used in ultra-clear water, etc.

2) how much time do I want to spend really learning versus just catching a few fish for fun?

- There's a lot you can spend time on when it comes to learning specific techniques for specific conditions... Or if you just want to catch fish most of the time, learn to throw basics like a lipless crank, a wacky senko, a Texas rigged curl tail worm, and a 3" grub.  

3) How much am I looking to spend?

- Fishing can be as expensive or cheap a hobby as you want to make it.  Having tools like a boat, sonar, and lots of combos are great, and open up lots of opportunities that don't exist from the shore.  They also greatly influence which baits you can fish well.  

 

If you you can provide some feedback to those questions,. You'll get some really good answers.  

[DumBassFishin]

1 or 2 to start. When you feel confident learn another...then another...and so on. Trust me. 

[scaleface]

Use them all .   Learn what each lure does well and take advantage of it . 

[Catt]

I'll go against the grain & say you should specialize in one area!

Specialize in structure: identifying it, interpreting it, & fishing it effectively.

Can't catch what you can't find

[RB 77]

9 hours ago, DumBassFishin said:

1 or 2 to start. When you feel confident learn another...then another...and so on. Trust me. 

I like this advice.

2 minutes ago, Catt said:

I'll go against the grain & say you should specialize in one area!

Specialize in structure: identifying it, interpreting it, & fishing it effectively.

Can't catch what you can't find

I believe identifying and understanding structure (and how to fish it) is the most important aspect of Bass fishing (and often most misunderstood). I'm sure Catt himself has echoed this statement several times on this forum already.

[scaleface]

37 minutes ago, Catt said:

I'll go against the grain & say you should specialize in one area!

Specialize in structure: identifying it, interpreting it, & fishing it effectively.

Can't catch what you can't find

That's good advice but if one's fishing a deep point with a shallow diving crankbait , fish will probably not be caught . A versatile tackle box  and the knowledge of how and when to use a lure is much better than throwing the same thing all day . 

[DumBassFishin]

Yeah start with something versatile like a spinnerbait or senko or fluke. A spinnerbait would go on your MH caster and fluke/senko on your spinning. 

[burrows]

I also believe start with one Technique Learn it well before moving on it will save you a lot of money as well 

[Catt]

2 hours ago, scaleface said:

That's good advice but if one's fishing a deep point with a shallow diving crankbait , fish will probably not be caught . A versatile tackle box  and the knowledge of how and when to use a lure is much better than throwing the same thing all day . 

If one is average with 1 top water technique, 1 mid-depth techniques, & 1 bottom technique they can be productive on any structure,

One can be average in a dozen techniques & do poorly if they can't find fish.

[BrianinMD]

Very true but the OP was asking about baits, structure and finding fish is a whole different topic.

[Catt]

15 hours ago, BrianinMD said:

 

However, you also do not want to make the mistake of over complicating things. Stick with basics in each area until you get comfortable they you can add to your arsenal. Attempting to become efficient with to many things will just make things harder..

Learning where the fish are is the simplest way not to over complicate things!

Knowing where the fish are holding determines which lure/techniques we select.

[kickerfish1]

I would learn a technique well enough before jumping on to something else. Spend a few months learning each of these: jigs, weightless plastics, hardbaits, frogs, drop shot, etc. Then try to understand what conditions, depth, and structure it would be best to choose one over the other. When I started fishing many years ago my uncle and father taught me the Texas rig. I was probably 8 or 10 at the time. It accounted for more and larger fish than the spinnerbait which was the old thing I knew how to use prior.

 

[DumBassFishin]

4 hours ago, Catt said:

If one is average with 1 top water technique, 1 mid-depth techniques, & 1 bottom technique they can be productive on any structure,

One can be average in a dozen techniques & do poorly if they can't find fish.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Top: fluke

Mid: Spinnerbait or lipless crank

Bottom: Senko

Using just a few techniques will force you to focus on finding fish rather than switching baits  

Those are probably the most versatilest baits I can think of and master those 3-4 baits will get you far. I'd say use a MHF spinning or MF or MHF baitcaster. 

[Catt]

1 hour ago, DumBassFishin said:

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Top: fluke

Mid: Spinnerbait or lipless crank

Bottom: Senko

Using just a few techniques will force you to focus on finding fish rather than switching baits  

Those are probably the most versatilest baits I can think of and master those 3-4 baits will get you far. I'd say use a MHF spinning or MF or MHF baitcaster. 

FYI, one can fish a Senko like a Fluke!

[DumBassFishin]

3 minutes ago, Catt said:

FYI, one can fish a Senko like a Fluke!

yeah i noticed that last weekend and i was wondering why i had never heard about it!

[Mike L]

I Don't know a lot about a lot of things...But the things I know a lot about, I know a lot about them

 

Mike 

[Catt]

13 minutes ago, DumBassFishin said:

yeah i noticed that last weekend and i was wondering why i had never heard about it!

That is what Gary invented them to do!

[DumBassFishin]

oh i didnt know that. everyone just talks about the "shimmy" so i assumed thats what they were designed to do

[Darren.]

Welcome aboard!

I primarily fish soft plastics, and of them, mostly
wacky rigged worms both stick worms and finesse
worms.

It outfishes every other technique I've tried. But I 
will still fish other methods....

[Fishinthefish]

Both, specialize in your confident baits but have a wide array and make a mental effort to at least try one other bait per outing until other baits become confident baits for you as well. Build yourself slowly.