Who mainly uses the same lures every time they fish? - I'm down to the same 4 lures

[ClackerBuzz]

On 9/19/2017 at 9:18 AM, Team9nine said:

Sure - No doubt, having more tackle means you have more options, and more specific ones at that, but the drawback is it cost you a lot of money to buy the baits, then likely the different combos to fish those baits, plus you have to haul all of it around to the lake each trip because you feel like you might end up needing something you left back at home. In addition, you're going to have a lot of decisions to make. Just in the shallow water you'll need to figure out whether to throw a spinnerbait, your new Teckel Sprinkers, a Plopper (what size and color?), maybe a Spook or a buzzbait,..how about a Senko, or a Pop-R. Don't forget your pitching outfit, and be sure to bring plenty of Rage Craws, beaver style baits, some brush hogs, the newest punching deal, and try them all, because you just never know which one they'll like better today...and we haven't even made it out of the first cove yet...oh, and don't forget the Ned outfit! One thing is for sure, you'll have the love and appreciation of the tackle manufacturers

 

I just want to go out fishing for a few hours, have a good time, and catch some bass. So, lets use @bagofdonuts example. You bring 4 outfits and a huge backpack to carry everything to the lake with you so you can "cover all your options." I grab a single rod/reel outfit along with a pack of my favorite color Zoom flukes. In that bag of flukes, I throw in a couple EWG and dropshot hooks, a couple bullet weights, 2 scrounger heads, 1 underspin body and a split shot or two. The whole thing goes in my back pocket.

 

Now, when we arrive at the lake, I start by tossing my weightless fluke along the bank, next to laydowns, in behind docks, and along the weeds, basically covering some shallow options. If the weed growth is thicker, I can twitch the bait over the moss and let it settle in holes, work it through pads, etc. If I get some halfhearted swirls in the weed openings, I can simply add a bullet weight to my outfit and now pitch the holes and work it slower, or do the same around laydowns and bushes along the bank.

 

Otherwise, no bites, so I start moving out a bit. By pinching a split shot on the line at the head of the bait, I can now fish down a few feet into the opening of docks, the deep ends of laydowns, or the deeper weedline edge. Put a fluke on one of the scrounger heads, and I can now work the bait like a crankbait, paralleling docks and weedlines, fan casting the flats, or throwing out into deeper water and counting the bait down to various depths. I can even rip it and let it drop trying to trigger bites like a spoon or Trap. Not as aggressive, rig it dropshot style and pitch the deep weedline or very ends of docks, finessing a few bass along the way.

 

If a group of schoolers comes up, I'm ready, going back weightless or tossing it on an underspin. If it turns out we need to go deeper to catch them, I can peg the bullet weight above the bait and fish it like a Carolina rig, dragging the bottom. If it's brushy down there, back to the Texas rigged version with the bullet weight, working it through the limbs.

 

If the fish are even halfway active today, I've done a pretty good job of covering all the available depths and speeds, around most every cover option the lake has to offer - all with a tackle pack that fits in my back pocket giving me supreme mobility and less hassles - and cost me almost nothing. I probably have caught my share of fish, also.

 

Of course, this is just an example and not all encompassing, but hopefully you get the idea. You don't need a lot of tackle to effectively fish a body of water and catch some bass. 

Sweet mother of mary that's good stuff T9.  There should be some kind of 'best of' thread with this at top.

[Sword of the Lord]

I'm definitely in this boat, OP.

 

When I go to my favorite ponds, I take 2 bags of different colored 5 inch Senkos. Along with them comes a few 3/0 Gammy EWG hooks for Texas Rigging, and a few 1/0 Gammy Octopus hooks for Wacky Rigging, as well as some zip ties; I take a Whopper Plopper 90 and 130 (I don't have a 110 yet); and I take 2 spinnerbaits, one lighter and one darker in color. I'm thinking of taking 1 spinnerbait and 1 chatterbait from now on, though, color depending on which pond and the conditions.

 

I take these not because I'm not good at other techniques and baits, but because they have proven to be the best producers time and time again, and I like to go light. I can't even count on one hand how many times I've been skunked this year. When I go fishing, it's usually in 2 hour intervals and 5+ days a week. One of those days per week I'll catch more than 10 fish, one of those days I'll only catch 3 fish, but it seems I'm usually sitting at 5-10 fish; which, in 2 hour intervals from the shore, I'll take it! I'm even good for a few 3-5 pounders a week.

 

Fishing really doesn't have to be complicated at all. It gets harder for me when I'm suiting up for the river to catch smallies. Then it looks like I'm going to war and I might not catch a single one no matter what I do, but then I go to my trusty old green friends in smaller waters and have a blast, which salvages everything.

 

Some days I might say "let's change it up" and go with Trick Worms instead of Senkos, Poppers instead of Ploppers, swimbaits instead of spinnerbaits. But I always go back to my small, proven, aforementioned arsenal. That small arsenal with 2 setups: M/F (casting) Lightning Rod with a Zebco Bullet spooled with 10lb mono with a 5' fluoro leader, and a MH/F (casting) Lightning Rod with an Abu Garcia Silver Max spooled with 12lb mono.

 

Small arsenal of baits, modest gear, no boat, rarely skunked. 

 

Simple stuff.

[scaleface]

When bank fishing I'm also a proponent of one rod .My gear fits neatly in a vest and I can cover water . I've walked miles in a river before and had 100 fish days doing so .

 

 

[Michaelangelo]

1/2oz white Terminator spinnerbait

citrus shad Mann's Baby 1 Minus

Xcalibur XRK 50 chrome/black

 

I don't really need anything else, total confidence with those 3, but...I still have 100's of others bc variety is the spice of life ?

[Birdman2136]

Late to the post here, but I found this topic to be interesting being a new angler. 

 

Starting this spring by impulsively buying a Feel Free kayak I am now hooked. At first I started buying every bait I saw in a video or trying a new technique I'd see on one of the YouTube channels I like to watch. 

 

Soon I found when it comes to fishing I fall in the minimalist group. I use three rods. Two spinning and one bait casting. I carry a small variety of lures all which I feel can match up to the body of water I'm on and the conditions I'm faced with. I literally started this spring and self taught myself through this website and YouTube. Fished two days a week and never got skunked. 

 

I like what one person posted. KISS. That is what works for me and what I'm trying to accomplish.

 

(I should add I keep an open mind when it comes to fishing and am always willing to give something new a try) 

Edited October 16, 2017 by Birdman2136
Added info.

[frogflogger]

When I fished tournaments - I used few baits - when I guided I used few baits - now that I'm retired I try them all - What fun!

[Deleted account]

It depends on when, where and conditions, but the fewer rods I have rigged up, the better day I'm going to have. On familiar bodies, sometimes I tie one lure on, and cut it off at the end of the day. Sometimes, a minor adjustment on the fly depending on what's happening on the water. The whole make 10 casts and tie something else on just doesn't make sense to me. Now if I'm fishing a new place, I will rig maybe 4-6 rods, while I try to figure things out.

[scaleface]

6 minutes ago, reason said:

The whole make 10 casts and tie something else on just doesn't make sense to me.

Me either .  

[bigbill]

I throw different baits. If I get no action I toss the baits again with different presentations. I use everything from cranks, spinnerbaits, inline spinners, spinflys, plastics. Change size and colors, change scents.  Usually one will catch bass. My ritual of baits does catch bass more often.

 

dont make too many casts next to each other skip fan cast. I like to make soft suttle casts when my bait hits the water, with some baits

 

remember the number one bass bait set up is the split shot rigged black worm.

[WRB]

You only need the 1 lure that is working at the moment. 

To determine that lure is called fishing.

Tom

[LxVE Bassin]

My got baits are the whopper plopper 110, wacky senko, chatterbait, and t-rigged rage craw. My next conquest will be cranking and dropshotting.

[Fishin Dad]

I definitely have my go-to baits or confidence baits.   1/2 oz. chatterbait, senko, T-rig rage bug, jig and pig.   But, I like to experiment with other baits.   That's part of the fun of fishing for me.   I would say 90% of my bass this year came on these four.   I am working on dropshotting and deep jig fishing.   I feel confident fishing top water and absolutely love it, but the majority of lakes I fished this year didn't have a great top water bite.  Learning is a huge part of the fun for me with bass fishing.   My family might actually call it a problem, an expensive problem.