Hard bait tips to catch quality bass and cover water?

[MikeOGNR]

Hey guys, recently I have been fishing hard style baits to cover more water and search out fish. Most of my fishing career has been Texas rig fishing, and this has produced well for me quality and quantity, but recently I've been wanting to cover water more and find active fish to isolate unproductive areas more quickly and get on fish. I've been using a lot of lipless cranks and they have produced well just not so much with bass but a lot of other species. I really wanna learn more reaction style fishing, crank baits, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits. I fish primarily small under 150 acre ponds and some 600-700 average lakes average depths ranging 5-20ft natural lakes in the northeast. The water temps are fairly cold right now so slow is the name of the game I understand. Any tips would be appreciated, Also do you fish reaction baits in water temps 40 degrees and lower? The water is fairly cold up here right now.

[riverbasser]

Check out jerkbaits. I reccomend kvd's model and also rapala xraps.

For tips on how to fish them read the sticky at the top of the fishing tackle forum. A lot of good info in there 

[IndianaFinesse]

Every bait (including hard baits, no difference there) has its place.  There is no one best hard bait, search bait, or any bait.  Just choose which bait based on the conditions, and let the fish tell you if you're right.

 

And no, I don't fish fast moving "search" (all baits are "search baits" to a degree) below 40 degree water.   A jerkbait fished with long pauses is as fast as I go at those temps.  

 

Don't know where you live, but unless you live in northern Canada, the water temps are well above 40 about everywhere in the states.

 

[papajoe222]

Although the baits you mention do cover more water in less time than most soft plastic presentations, I don't consider what they do as searching out fish, or eliminating water.  Their use will help you become a more versatile angler as you will learn to fish the entire water column (top to bottom) with the best tool.  I'm sure you've had occasion to hook fish as your T-rig was falling, or as you were reeling it in to make another cast. Those were times when the most productive presentation was not on the bottom and although you were able to pick off a fish here and there, a crank or spinnerbait may have been a better option.  Then, too, there are occasions where a hard bait will outproduce a T-rig when fished on the bottom, just as there will be times when a soft plastic worked through the upper or middle part of the water column will out produce a 'hard bait.'

These baits can be fished slow or fast. A deep diving crank can be worked slowly on bottom, or somewhere above it. Switch to one that runs a little shallower, or to heavier line and you can burn it just off the bottom. The same can be said of spinnerbaits. A change in weight, blade size/shape, or line can yield the desired speed/depth control that you desire.

If there is one tip I could pass along; avoid a steady retrieve with these baits. A stop and go, or a twitch of the rod tip will outproduce, a methodical 'chuck and wind' retrieve, especially if you're not bumping them into cover or off the bottom.

 

[geo g]

In deeper lake situations I would use a rattle trap, crankbait, suspending jerkbait.  In our weedy shallow Florida lakes, I would use a fluke, plastic swimbait, a topwater early, and a spinnerbait, or buzzbait.

[Outdoor Zack]

Compact spinnerbait around "fishy" looking spots (laydowns, brushpiles, ledges, etc) is my favorite searchbait.  Use a fast reel and a quick but erratic retrieve.  

 

 

Also a squarebill on hard structure, especially rip rap.  Smack it into anything you can and crank it at a wobbling pace, not really fast 

[Angry John]

The first crankbait i grab in very cold water is a rapala shad rap in 5 or 7.  If no bites its jerkbait time.

[scaleface]

On 5/21/2017 at 5:07 PM, MikeOGNR said:

  I really wanna learn more reaction style fishing, crank baits, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits. I fish primarily small under 150 acre ponds and some 600-700 average lakes average depths ranging 5-20ft natural lakes in the northeast. The water temps are fairly cold right now so slow is the name of the game I understand. Any tips would be appreciated, Also do you fish reaction baits in water temps 40 degrees and lower? The water is fairly cold up here right now.

 

Cast   close to prime cover or structure  . If you bump and deflect your lure even better . A lot of forum anglers swear by the Rapala Shad Rap in cold water .