When do you try a never used lure?

[*Hootie]

I will always try a,  "new to me" bait when the fishing is really hot. That will tell me, "usually" if it's a good bait. I know there are exceptions. A couple of my fishing buddies will break out a new lure when they are not hitting anything. Not a fair test in my opinion. If you can't catch them on your "go to" bait, how can you dismiss a lure you've never used before. 

Hootie

[S. Sass]

14 minutes ago, *Hootie said:

 If you can't catch them on your "go to" bait, how can you dismiss a lure you've never used before. 

That just sounds like logic to me. I am guilty of it though. I do try new lures just because nothing is working good at times. Not always but if its something that I think might work yeah ill try it. But if it doesnt work I dont toss the bait as garbage. Ill try it some other times as well. 

[mrmacwvu1]

I know this sounds bad. But sometimes I take only baits that I have not fished or had success with me fishing. This forces me to use these baits. If I have my old reliables with me I think that I give up on baits too easy.

Also when the bite is hot I will usually try something new. This actually helped me greatly in the pass. I was fishing on Lake Erie one day and we were catching fish every other cast in 25 foot of water. I went to throw a spinner bait and was not paying attention and ended up with a birdsnest. Well i fixed it and went to reel it in but it was stuck on the bottom after a few jerks it free and then bam a giant smallie crushed it. After that I started bouncing spinner baits off the bottom. They ended up producing the biggest fish of the day. After that it is now one of my go to techniques.

[Nitrofreak]

I agree the best times to try a new bait is when the fish are active, I don't however dismiss the bait if it does not produce in an area I first use the bait, I will attempt several areas and try as many changes in water conditions as I can before I put it in a box for an attempt on a different body of water.

[lecisnith]

I usually start off an outing using unproven baits and techniques.  I can always catch them later on my confidence baits.

[WRB]

If possible try out new lures when bass are active feeding at the depth that lures runs and prey type is somewhat similar in size. Sometimes this isn't possible, so try it out whenever the opportunity arises. For example my very first use of a rat lure was during sunset and it worked.

Tom

 

[ww2farmer]

I do the opposite.............when they are really biting, they will bite anything............I try new stuff when it's a tough bite, because if I am hauling water with my usual routine, I want to see if showing them something new and exciting is going to generate a few bites............if it does, it goes in the "experiment with later" pile.

[blckshirt98]

I usually try to throw something new every couple of outings just for the fun of it but I'm a creature of habit and I'm usually pretty slow to try new techniques when I have something that works.  I'll also phase out techniques that may have worked for me but I found something better that I have more confidence in.  Last season I found confidence in throwing chatterbaits and topwater rats, this year I'm going to try to start throwing swimbaits but man it is hard to wait for those swimbait bites.

[bigturtle]

i try a new lure right after i buy it.

[kickerfish1]

On a hot bite or whenever I have the chance to use it if it was something bought recently. Generally spring brings lots of product trials, as orders from winter have came in and cabin fever sets in.

[Senko lover]

In the words of my boater, who doesn't mince words, "I try every thing once. If it doesn't work, it can go to heck."  I give it a few more tries than that, but that sums up my mentality pretty well. 

 

[offsidewing]

8 hours ago, *Hootie said:

I will always try a,  "new to me" bait when the fishing is really hot. That will tell me, "usually" if it's a good bait. I know there are exceptions. A couple of my fishing buddies will break out a new lure when they are not hitting anything. Not a fair test in my opinion. If you can't catch them on your "go to" bait, how can you dismiss a lure you've never used before. 

Hootie

Same here.  When I know they're biting I'll tey somethinf new.  Or, if a local on an unfamiliar lake suggests something.

[Ktho]

I pretty much always try a new lure after I didn't catch anything or I wasn't able to work a certain piece of water as effectively as I wanted with what I had. After the days over, I'll sit and think about what I saw/experienced and I'll find the lure that I think will do better. I go back and try it out. I don't want to use a new lure when it's hot. 1. I'm not putting down what works to try something new 2. I can't tell if it was the lure or the bite, other lures were working so it's probably the bite. I feel like I can best evaluate the lure when it's tougher and it takes something more precise to get a bite. Either way though, if it catches fish it's a winner in my book. 

[Wayne P.]

I purchase lures based on patterns, not the lure or brand itself. If I see a new product that matches the patterns I typically determine, I will purchase it and use it if that pattern presents itself.

I am not one that will buy a lure and then come on sites like this and ask how/when/where to use it.

[Neil McCauley]

The extremes of success- red hot bite or completely dead. There is actually a good statistical rationale for this: there is good positive predictive value (or negative predictive value) for a lure being very effective or very ineffective depending on the "pre-test probability" ie how easy the fish are to catch at that point.

For example, if the fish are biting everything, and you throw something and it fails miserably, you can be very sure it is a terrible presentation, at least in those conditions and that location, time of year, etc. On the other hand, if it is a dead bite and you find something that is effective, this again is very predictive of a successful presentation for those conditions in the future.

Use your bread and butter techniques and apply your basic fundamentals when the fishing is average. At the extremes- when it sucks or it is crazy good, that is when it pays off to get creative, at least for the sake of your learning.

[Catt]

6 hours ago, ww2farmer said:

I do the opposite.............when they are really biting, they will bite anything............I try new stuff when it's a tough bite, because if I am hauling water with my usual routine, I want to see if showing them something new and exciting is going to generate a few bites............if it does, it goes in the "experiment with later" pile.

This is when I try new lures!

1 hour ago, Wayne P. said:

I purchase lures based on patterns, not the lure or brand itself. If I see a new product that matches the patterns I typically determine, I will purchase it and use it if that pattern presents itself.

I am not one that will buy a lure and then come on sites like this and ask how/when/where to use it.

This is how I select new lures!

[Incheon Basser]

I use new lures exclusively. Don't have a choice. Have to test, evaluate or compare. You learn a lot about fish and fishing when you are outside your comfort zone. I don't believe the bite is ever on or off. It's not that they are not active. I've learned it's more that I have not found where they are active.  Just look at tournaments. Someone is always catching them somewhere. 

[*Hootie]

Seems everyone has their own system and that's good. If it ain't broke, don't fix it....lol.

Hootie

[Ratherbfishing]

I have a difficult time believing some baits have a "magic" action and others don't work at all.  As long as a lure I've purchased doesn't drag through the water like a soggy cigar, it'll stay in my box for future consideration.

[blckshirt98]

After seeing videos of bass eating a wrench and a twizzler, I'm convinced every lure out there will work at some point, it's just a matter of using it and timing.

[the reel ess]

Either when nothing will bite or you can't shake them off the hook.

My buddy has a pond full of stunted, starving bass and I'll try stupid stuff there. I caught one on a Gummy Worm there just to show him I could.

[rmcguirk]

Generally speaking, I'll have all my regulars rigged and ready to go, depending on the time of year and conditions. And then I'll have a wildcard rod with something different rigged. Whether the fishing is good or bad, the wild card rod will get its fair share of casts. 

[the reel ess]

7 hours ago, blckshirt98 said:

After seeing videos of bass eating a wrench and a twizzler, I'm convinced every lure out there will work at some point, it's just a matter of using it and timing.

I rigged a wrench but haven't tried it yet.

 

[Knightiac]

On 3/31/2016 at 10:09 AM, mrmacwvu1 said:

I know this sounds bad. But sometimes I take only baits that I have not fished or had success with me fishing. This forces me to use these baits. If I have my old reliables with me I think that I give up on baits too easy.

Nothing bad about it. I literally just started a thread regarding a certain lure that I forced myself to use. The first 30 minutes, I was thinking "I really need to change this up so I can fish those pads over there" but I stuck to it, and once I found the fish I got on quite a few in a pretty short span. If I had switched to the bait I wanted to I never would have got on that incredible bite and I wouldn't have been enlightened as to the possibilities of the new-to-me lure. 

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

On March 31, 2016 at 4:36 PM, ww2farmer said:

I do the opposite.............when they are really biting, they will bite anything............I try new stuff when it's a tough bite, because if I am hauling water with my usual routine, I want to see if showing them something new and exciting is going to generate a few bites............if it does, it goes in the "experiment with later" pile.

I like the logic here. If a new bait will only produce when others are working you don't need the new one. I look for new things that will add to the bites I can get with I have. Probably 75% of my fishing time is some sort or R&D related to Rod components or throwing a "new" bait or lure.