Switching Lures?

[Cyklops99]

alright... yuour fishing a river, creek, lake... whatever... your not getting hits on whatever your throwing. you've tried variations on your retrieve, etc. how long do you wait before tying on something else? how often will you switch up before moving on to a new area of the water entirely? 

I've been fishing this creek and it doesnt matter what I throw I am not getting hits. today I fished nearly 4 hours... had one hit, that came off right at the boat about 10 minutes before I had to leave.  but I had switched lures about 20 times. I threw everything i had.. this fish hit a weightless rubber crawdad, thing is I had the exact set up 45 minutes earlier and switched it out for a spinner when I caught nothing after about 30 minutes on it. did I switch to soon?

 

NOW where I (almost) caught the fish was a different location from the others.. though same type... wood, rocks, overhanging branches. 

[Fisher-O-men]

Carry two rods.  Have one rigged up with a reaction bait, the other with a slow, bottom contact bait.  Start with the reaction, then go with the worm.  Move often.

[Fishes in trees]

If you're fishing out of a boat, multiple rods are the answer.   When you approach any given fishing area, there are always several baits that MIGHT work.  Pick one and go with it.  Now, lets say that don't work, you stop & change out to something different - and so on.

One of my very based approaches to fishing is that fishing gear can be purchased but fishing time can not.  Therefore, anything I can do, within reason, to save fishing time, I will do.  To my mind, having 15 to 20 rods & reels, rigged up and ready to go with a variety of reaction baits and soft plastics, is totally reasonable.  I don't begrudge the time spent re-tying when I lose a bait at all.   I don't mind re-tying due to line & knot abrasion at all.  Wasting time re-tying because I don't have the bait I want already tied on is irksome to me.

If you're fishing from a boat I totally recommend having as many rigs as you can reasonably afford and can safely use without stepping on them.   Funding wise, if you have to choose between paying the rent or child support and getting a new rig, pay the rent.  (If there is a tournament coming up and you honestly need a new rig to be competitive, then that is different.   Sooner or later your child, ex, and the government will get over the missed payment.

Be mindful that sometimes is is MUCH later.

So anyway, that's how I deal with the issue of swapping out baits.   If you are a bank fisherman and only an occasional boater, disregard this approach and choose another one.  The last couple of years I was a bank fisherman I had a portable rod rack I got out of the Cabelas catalog that would carry 6 rods (8 with bungees) and I'd carry that and plenty of gear in a back pack.   That left me o ne hand free that I'd use to carry the fish on the way beck to the truck.   The multiple rod approach is still doable from the bank but it is more of a pain.

 

[BiteFiend]

It sounds like the location you were fishing first with the weighless craw didn't have any active fish. The next area did. Its not really a question of lure as it was location. 

[riverbasser]

Pick 3 baits that cover the 3 different depth levels. Top, middle, bottom. You should be confident in all three of these baits. Switch between them for different locations and only change if after awhile of no hits. I might start with color first and then the lure.

Point is pick 3 baits you have confidence in that match the local forage and fish till you find them. Adjust when you need to for the different conditions.

[Cyklops99]

ugh... forgot to mention my limitations on taking rods.. I am in a kayak. i CAN hold up to 4 rods... my issues is however. when i cast... I am hitting my rods, casted one into the creek (got it back tho) , ripped the eye off another.  I'll have to figure out how to rig it so I am not hitting them

 

whats a good middle depth bait? crankbait? spinner? swim bait?

[riverbasser]

Yes those three along with a bladed jig and swim jig