First Cast Hookup Using a New Lure

[OCdockskipper]

This past week, I picked up a pack of 5" Senko's in green pumpkin/amber laminate, a color I had never noticed before and had never used.  On Saturday, I switched my wacky rig to this bait and caught a keeper on the first cast.  It got me to thinking about the lures/techniques that I had used in the past and which ones caught a fish on their very first cast.  I can remember 3:

Yo Zuri Snap Bean - On a slow day years ago, I noticed this bait in with my small crankbaits.  Tied it on, made a cast that went about 20 feet.  As I was thinking about what I would have to do to be able to cast it further, a small bass gobbled it up near the boat.  Thought I had found the magic bullet, caught 1 more fish in the next 3 hours.  Still can't cast them at all.

Wacky Rigged Senko - The first time I read an article about skipping baits and how well a wacky rigged stick bait skipped, I decided to try it.  My first attempt at a skip buried itself off the bow of the boat, a few feet in front of the dock I was trying to get under.  As I untangled the snarl of line at the face of the reel, I noticed the line moving off.  I reeled over the mess and ended up hooking up with a keeper.  By the end of the day, I had drastically improved skipping and realized this was a method to get at fish that others pass by.

Chatterbait - I was late to the chatterbait party, the conditions & cover at my lake don't set up well for spinnerbaits or chatterbaits.  I finally relented, bought a Zman model in a bluegill type color and one fall morning, made my first cast with it.  As I was amazed at how it felt like a crankbait when reeling in, a 8lb catfish hammered it.  Once again, I thought I had found the secret.  To this day, I have never caught another fish on a chatterbait and now rarely use it on my home lake.

 

Any other success stories?
 

[WRB]

A few lures come to mind.

3:16 Top Dawg 8.5" soft swimbait. After doing good using the a Mission Fish I bought a few Top Dawg's in trout colors. First cast a 4 lb class bass ate it and thought this is going to work. 2 years later after several hours wasted time, the Top Dawg became a dog, what a waste of time and money.

Huddleston top hook Bluegill. Was able to get early release of this swimbait and my first cast ended up with loose spool line, not a backlash but close. Pull out about 50' of loose line and wound back onto the spool and noticed my line was about 20' away from where it landed. Cranked quickly and set the hook into a nice bass. At the end of the day had several strikes without hooking another bass, very frustrating. After getting home I decided to add a size 1 Owner treble hook via Butch Brown rig and haven't missed a strike sense, good swimbait when rigged correctly.

Tom

[Spankey]

Pretty cool your new color worked out like that for you. For me this season its been the same with some Lucky Shads. I'm pretty much a Shad Rap die-hard. Doing a bit of a comparison between baits. Had a couple on first cast catch smallies. Has been a natural color year for me this season. Hope they add a couple more colors to their products. Like the lure not real thrilled with SK hooks. Easy to correct that. 

[riverbasser]

I can't think of any with the first cast, guess I got something to look forward too one day

[MIbassyaker]

Wacky rigged senko for me, too.

Also:

--keitech fat impact on a fish-head spin.

--two Rage tail baits -- the cut-r worm and the rage shad

--and...if memory serves... a hula popper. 

[MickD]

First cast at the boat launch with the new large ned rig.  My cousin forgot his cap and went back to the car.  I cast the first ever for my new big ned and caught a nice smallmouth.  I'm surprised I haven't seen more on the forum about the new big ned.

[primetime]

 Swim Senko...I have tried to find knock offs but every time I tie on a swim senko, rigged any way, I feel I get a fish every time I throw it. That is just an awesome bait that the cane Stick, Dinger, Slider Grubs just cant' do the same but I wish they could....

Small cranks will almost always get fish since fish do not see them as much. I throw Subwarts and 2" cranks all the time and they get action when normal size do not work.  

Funny you mention green pumpkin gold flake...That is my favorite color for swimbaits, Worms, skirts....Especially at night. If you think about it, that color blends into most water color and looks natural, dark for shadow, plus gold can be a shiner, or any baitfish and reflects best in stained water. I use that color on all my Speed shad and it rarely comes off unless I need white.

A small curly tail worm with a thin tail, perfectly straight, on a #1 light wire hook, small split shot about 14" above it, maybe 18, cast and let it fall...then just reel it slow and pause every 3 feet. 

in Ponds try using Rats instead of Frogs and cast them into overhanging trees so it sounds like they fell out being chased, as soon as it hits the water, move it fast until you get near cover and then pause it like it is resting....If not strike, just start speeding it up..I am convinced they think a rat is a rat, frogs I don't know, but Live Target Rat is money in ponds more than lakes for some reason....Almost has to come off bank, never do well way out in the lake.....

key to the split shot rig is the phenom worm since the tail is thin, or a few other brands, and boil them to get them gummy soft, MR. Twister comes to hard......Fish kill a black/chart tail worm in summer better than the Ned Rig for me...I never drop shot, I spllit shot instead, kind of same thing depending on how you work it. VMC makes swivel hooks that won't twist line but you can do well if you rig it perfectly straight, if not, it can be good but not nearly the same.

I never credit a lure if a bass grabs it as soon as it hits the water. That just means an active fish was cruising or waiting for something so you could have put on the Banjo Frog/Kens Clone frog (Never knew that is the same guy, Now I don't feel dumb fishing the banjo frogs...I should have realized with the nose hooking of the toads...Same design only 20 for $5. Check those out for real, Banjo Frog, Other companies use same design.

 

[Ktho]

Don't think it was first cast but was within the first 5 minutes of using it I got one on a Jackall Gantarel. Probably 8+ hours more of throwing it and not even a follower.

[Bankbeater]

I don't think I have ever caught a bass on the first cast with a new lure. 

[OCdockskipper]

1 hour ago, Bankbeater said:

I don't think I have ever caught a bass on the first cast with a new lure. 

It creates a weird feeling, especially if you have had some anticipation in using the bait.  For at least a few moments, your brain slips into the mode that NOW you have got it figured out.

That happened with me with the Ned Rig.  I didn't catch a fish on the first cast, but the first day I used it, I ended up catching over 50 fish on it.  Towards the end of the day, I distinctly remember attempting to skip it under a overhanging bush, getting bit and thinking "They (the bass) don't stand a chance"

[doyle8218]

Keitech Swing Impact FAT bluegill flash 4.8 inch.

[Bluebasser86]

Just last Wednesday in fact, first cast with my new Jackall Gantia. Not the fish I'm hoping to catch with the bait, but still a catch on the first cast. I caught several more with it Friday as well.

[EvanT123]

So funny you posted this. I almost started a thread on the same subject the other day. 

The above lure a cheap $2 wal mart Cotten Cordell lure that has been in my tackle box for years got the skunk off my back the other day.  

I have wayyyy to many lures and have been making an effort to actually use them. Like I said I've never used it even though I've had it for years.

 I guess I moved on to "better" brands and lures.

Mainly lucky craft but the other day after trying some staples on a quick trip and not getting anything. I said what the heck and tied it on bam first cast I caught a fish. 

Also caught my first fish on a buzz bait the other day. Posted in the latest catch  pics thread. 

[scaleface]

I'm sure I have caught  a bass with the first cast of a new lure several times but I cant recall  which ones . I guess it was not that big of a deal for my brain to keep it on file . 

[king fisher]

August 1976, first cast with a jitterbug, two and a half pound bass.  Biggest fish of my life at the time, and the first fish of any kind on a surface lure.  Still fish the jitterbug for many different species of fish fresh and salt water.

[Crankinstein]

I actually had this happen to me yesterday. Lure was a Evergreen CR 08 (Combat Crank) and I not only caught a fish on the first ever cast with it but also caught a fish on my second cast too. Both fish were dinks though probably less than a pound. I've only ever caught a fish on the first ever cast with the rebel floating cricket and the SK bitsy minnow. The bity minnow also was a catch on the first and second cast but both fish were bluegill.

[Magnus2004]

This very morning, before work I tried some worms and wasn't getting anything. So I turned around, pulled out the chatterbait out of its package and cast.  For the next 10 casts I reeled in 2-3 lbs bass, not the same ones either.  Ran it along the shore/lily's. This bait has,made me a believer.

[OCdockskipper]

I have to add another lure to my list, the Zman Shroomz micro finesse jig.  I liked the idea of having a Ned rig with a skirt, especially as the cold weather is approaching, so I ordered a few a week ago.  On Saturday, I paired a green pumpkin version of it with a green pumpkin/red Batwingz trailer to make a compact little jig. 

First cast I made with it was to a retaining wall, & I got bit on the drop, a nice 14" keeper.  Second cast to the same spot didn't get hit on the drop, but moments later as I dragged it deeper, I got tapped.  Set the hook & ended up landing a little larger fish.  Looking for a 3-peat, I made another cast to the retaining wall, but this time came up empty.  So much for the magic lure... .  It actually did well for the day, catching a dozen of the 26 fish that came in the boat.

On a side note, this combination is a good little crawdad imitation.  The light weight of the jig (1/16th oz) and the elasticel trailer makes the claws of the Batwingz popup in a defensive mode at rest.  Drug along the bottom, it scoots flat like a crawdad, only to popup again at rest.

 

[KDW96]

Damiki Hydra, custom color combo, using mendit

[the reel ess]

The classic Spook. I caught 5 fish on 5 casts with this thing. I didn't retie because I was so excited and #6 broke me off. I didn't have another so I tied on a Pop R and couldn't catch cold. Then I proceeded to not catch a single fish on it for about 10 years. I started trying a Jr size with a knocker in smaller waters with some success. The chug'n Spook Jr has also been a good one for me.

T-rigged craws. No matter the brand, but I've always had better luck with black/blue.

[N Florida Mike]

I hadn't used a rapala in a long time.Cant remember the last time I caught a fish on one.First cast yesterday paid off,as did the second.Went on to catch several more on it.

[frosty]

Yamamoto heart tail swimbait. Not the first cast, it maybe the 7th or 8th as the wife was telling me nothing in the pond was big enough to eat that, just as she said a one pounder smashed it. It was rather hysterical, and the look on her face, well, you guys that are married know that look

[Scarborough817]

for me it was the strike king sexy dawg ever since then i've had an insane amount of confidence in a walking bait

[lecisnith]

I think the only time I ever caught a fish on the first cast with a new lure was this summer when I built a modified buzzbait that has a toad trailer.  I was tested how it ran in a spot that i knew it wasn't going to get bit, then the first time I decided to test it in a real fishing scenario I caught a good sized bass on the first cast.  Second cast the toad lost a foot to a Northern Water Snake.  At that point I decided I should probably get a patent...

[Airman4754]

I'm sure it has happened more than this but the only two I can think of are the SPRO rat (the big one). I was running a bank and wasn't catching anything. I had the rat on deck and wanted to see the action. I tossed it to the other side of the boat in open water just to mess around with it and boom, 3.5 pounder. A top water bite when you're not even trying to fish is quite the shock.

The second was a Kicker Fish lizard. I had just bought a new C-rig specific rod and had one of those lizards tied on. I was just getting ready to head home and realized I hadn't used my new rod. made a cast, drug it about six inches, and a 5 pounder about ripped the rod out of my hand. That was the hardest fighting largie I've ever caught. I thought I had something way bigger on, but was very memorable.