Tie me on four baits.

[Catt]

On 6/8/2016 at 2:23 PM, jtipton91 said:

Just looking to gain some knowledge here. I typically only have room for 4 rods with me on my bass raider on a given outing. Those rods are usually rigged as followed. Looking for advice on a good starting lineup or if what I've got goin isn't too bad.

1. 6-6 MHF ethos casting-hollow belly swimbait

2. 6-6 MHF gander mtn elite casting- trig big worm or craw.

3. 6-8 MXF St.Croix Rage casting- weightless senko

4. 6-6 MHF Shimano Clarus casting- top water of some sort.

Fishing a 50 acre sandpit in KS. Let me know if you guys would change anything or any tips you have.

 

3 hours ago, jtipton91 said:

Wind was around 20mph so I swapped the frog for a chatterbait. No hits on that. Caught 1 fish on the cut r worm and the rest on a trig rage craw. Not a bad night. 

 

I would definitely add a jig!

I would also substitute other straight tail worms like Zoom's Trick Worm or Bassassian's Tapout Worm for the Senko.

[primetime]

I love the Gander Mountain Rods and even the reels, they really have nice stuff now. The Company in my Town who makes the *** stuff and *** rods and more is making many of the rods and reels now, which is why you see the cork handles on the vortex bait caster. I am not saying they are the same reels, but they use the same company overseas to make them from what I am told.

Anyhow, I am assuming the Pit is deep with brush and weeds on the shoreline and a back bay of some sort like most pits (At least the ones here in Florida only are's are usually Phosphate and turn green.....But I do fish some 20' avererage depth, 8 feet visibility strip pits where they cut down cypress trees, and the fish in the deeper clear water pits usually are tightly grouped together, have a thermocline, and if it rains scatter into the flooded shorelines. However, they seem to love to feed on or near the surface....

I usually bring 2 spinning and 2 casting rods as well and I use the following almost always....Weed are usually not that thick on edges.

1- #1 bait I throw along edges, to any structure....#9 Original Rapala on spinning gear, 8-10lb test. Key is usually to barely work it, maybe a twitch twich pause....I have had days where they wanted it slow rolled under the surface but you can figure it out...A floating Rapala in Gold and black, silver blue back is hard to beat and is the most under used lure since it is the best selling lure in the world.

2- Swim Jig with paddle tail trailer- I fish it like a spinnerbait and also pitch it into cover or around isolated cover. 

3- Unweighted Fluke- I love the Strike King Caffiene Shad in their watermelon blue or gp blue color.

4- Lipless crankbait in a one knocker or low pitch sound, usually a Spro Aruku Shad once I figure out what Depth they are suspending at since they will go below the thermocline to get a bait, but if you can work them at 12' down, I find a lipless bait find them the best, and then once I find them I will toss a 5" GP grub on a Darter jig head and count it down and then lift and drop or reel steady...

Hope that helps, My buddy throws Frogs and does well, but some days we fish topwater all day long, even in hot sun, Tiny Torpedo, Rapala, Mann's wakes, Smaller baits seem to work better in clear water, and clear Color topwaters seem to catch bigger fish. 

I probably would have a creature bait rigged up on a 5th rod now that I think about it...usually a Rage Craw in summer on 5/16 bullet weight and I will chuck it everywhere and that can be fished horizontal or vertical...

Hope I helped you find a new idea to try. I would say the floating Minnow bait or Rip bait is the most under fished bait and I call it the Senko of hardbaits since it catches fish so fast half the time it never moves more than a foot if it is near fish. If it gets windy I will go with a heavier lure like the Bomber Long A, but smaller #13 size for some reason down here Pit bass in clear water shy away from bigger lures from my experiences. 

 

[jtipton91]

24 minutes ago, primetime said:

I love the Gander Mountain Rods and even the reels, they really have nice stuff now. The Company in my Town who makes the *** stuff and *** rods and more is making many of the rods and reels now, which is why you see the cork handles on the vortex bait caster. I am not saying they are the same reels, but they use the same company overseas to make them from what I am told.

Anyhow, I am assuming the Pit is deep with brush and weeds on the shoreline and a back bay of some sort like most pits (At least the ones here in Florida only are's are usually Phosphate and turn green.....But I do fish some 20' avererage depth, 8 feet visibility strip pits where they cut down cypress trees, and the fish in the deeper clear water pits usually are tightly grouped together, have a thermocline, and if it rains scatter into the flooded shorelines. However, they seem to love to feed on or near the surface....

I usually bring 2 spinning and 2 casting rods as well and I use the following almost always....Weed are usually not that thick on edges.

1- #1 bait I throw along edges, to any structure....#9 Original Rapala on spinning gear, 8-10lb test. Key is usually to barely work it, maybe a twitch twich pause....I have had days where they wanted it slow rolled under the surface but you can figure it out...A floating Rapala in Gold and black, silver blue back is hard to beat and is the most under used lure since it is the best selling lure in the world.

2- Swim Jig with paddle tail trailer- I fish it like a spinnerbait and also pitch it into cover or around isolated cover. 

3- Unweighted Fluke- I love the Strike King Caffiene Shad in their watermelon blue or gp blue color.

4- Lipless crankbait in a one knocker or low pitch sound, usually a Spro Aruku Shad once I figure out what Depth they are suspending at since they will go below the thermocline to get a bait, but if you can work them at 12' down, I find a lipless bait find them the best, and then once I find them I will toss a 5" GP grub on a Darter jig head and count it down and then lift and drop or reel steady...

Hope that helps, My buddy throws Frogs and does well, but some days we fish topwater all day long, even in hot sun, Tiny Torpedo, Rapala, Mann's wakes, Smaller baits seem to work better in clear water, and clear Color topwaters seem to catch bigger fish. 

I probably would have a creature bait rigged up on a 5th rod now that I think about it...usually a Rage Craw in summer on 5/16 bullet weight and I will chuck it everywhere and that can be fished horizontal or vertical...

Hope I helped you find a new idea to try. I would say the floating Minnow bait or Rip bait is the most under fished bait and I call it the Senko of hardbaits since it catches fish so fast half the time it never moves more than a foot if it is near fish. If it gets windy I will go with a heavier lure like the Bomber Long A, but smaller #13 size for some reason down here Pit bass in clear water shy away from bigger lures from my experiences. 

 

Thank you for the advice. It's appreciated. Also, the gander mtn gsx elite I use is one of the best feeling rods I've used so far. It's hands down my favorite. Looks amazing too.

[roadwarrior]

Zara Puppy

Norman Fat Boy

Siebert Outdoors Cosmic spinnerbait

Rage Tail Menace

On deck:

Z-Man Chatterbit/ Rage Structuer Bug Trailer

Rage Tail Cut-R

Fat Ika

Senko

[crypt]

pop-r--swimbait--texas rigged worm 6-7 inch-----baby 1-        covers it all

[McKinneyLonghorn]

Lots of great answers already on this thread. I will add no matter what else you do, tie on a Texas-rigged 7-inch Blue Fleck Berkley Power Worm and get to catching fish. This color worm has caught fish for me in everything from gin clear to chocolate milk water. Bass seem to love it. 

[BassThumb]

Spinnerbait/buzzbait

Squarebill/lipless crankbait

Jig and craw/Texas Rig

Senko/Soft jerkbait

[AndrewJ]

Drop Shot w/ either curl tail robo worm or Biospawn plasma tail

1/4 oz ball head jig with a grub (color depends on what the fish are eating)

Ned Rig

Crankbait (size once again depends on the fish)

[Ghostshad]

Ive been trying the SwimJig & Spinnerbait , i just don't have no luck with either , i'm completely lost on what to do .

[jtipton91]

I don't really have any luck on them either, especially the spinnerbait. I get far more bites on weightless plastics and trig plastics. I really think it depends on the certain body of water. Some places I fish the fish will hit a swimjig, but the place I referenced in this thread they won't even look at it it seems. Plus, everyone fishes a spinnerbait, I think the fish grow immune to them

[Rick Howard]

I only have 3 setups in the boat.  2 casting and one spiining.  

 One  casting with a spinner and one with a jig.  Sometimes I will switch either of these for a soft plastic Texas rigged.  The jig Rod is heavier and has heavier line and I use it for the heaviest cover with heavier baits.

the spinning rod will normally have a floating type jerk bait.  Also it will be used for weightless senko.  If I find myself in deeper water its setup for drop shot.

I fish a bait the meets the requirement of the condition(s) that I'm fishing.  Normally in that few selections I can find what I need to get the job done.  

Primairly I fish the spinner bait, the jig, and the floating jerkbait.  The jerk bait I work along the top most often but sometimes they like it better just under the surface.  The spinner I can fish a half dozen ways and cover a lot of water.  The jig lets me rip them from their hide holes.  I do fish Texas rigged plastics at times and hollow body frogs sometimes too.  But 90% of my fishing is with the three mainstays I described.