Are you giving any lures a Second Shot this year?

[tcbass]

Two lures that I purchased last year that I've never tried before were a Chatterbait and Teckel Sprinker Frog. The Chatterbait never got one bite and the Teckel got a few blow ups with no hookups except 1 pike. So, this year I want to try to catch more fish on both.

 

 

Are there any lures you're going to give a Second Shot this year?

 

 

I'm really set for what I use and don't plan on buying anymore lures, for topwater I use a Whopper Plopper and Homemade Teckel Sprinker Frog, and for underwater I use a nose-hooked Zoom Superfluke and Wacky Rigged Senko. I will be trying a Booyah Toad Runner to replace the homemade Teckel though. 

[Dorado]

I’ll play:

 

1) Cavitron Buzzbait - never caught a single fish off any buzzbait for that matter but won’t stop this guy from trying. Guys on this site swear by em

 

2) Football Jigs w/ Craw trailers- I usually get snagged fairly early on whenever I tie one on. I’ll always persuade myself to reverting back to a Texas-rigged soft plastic to avoid getting frustrated. 

 

3) Livetarget Sunfish Hollow Body- during the summer, Had some exhilarating  blowups, including one from a nice Channel Cat last year. I either set the hook too early or these bass are coming up initially to stun it when I’m walking the dog. Problem is I never got a follow up 

 

4) Swimbaits (generally speaking)- simply because I never had the proper Swimbait gear until my bday this month.  I made the rookie mistake of throwing a 3oz rainbow trout glide bait on a crank bait rod with 12# co-polymer. During the motion of my second cast, it snapped at its highest point flying a football field’s distance. Lesson? Make the initial investment into proper gear with specifications that match respective lure ratings. 

[CroakHunter]

I won't call it a second chance, but a bait I didn't throw very much last year Was a shaky head. I plan to throw it a little more this year when I really am working to get bit. 

[FishDewd]

I have a hard time with techniques that involve light bites where line watching is required and there isn't much feel to it. I can never determine much from line watching, haven't yet figured out how that works. Don't think I've even thrown a senko more than 3 times this year, and I don't even bother with jigs or shaky heads anymore. If they don't jerk on it, high chance I will miss it. So there's a lot of lures I need to work on, bite detection wise.

[papajoe222]

I didn’t throw a fluke all last season and the majority of 2016, opting for jerkbaits, or stick worms. Seeing as I relied on stick worms heavily, I’ll be reversing that trend. 

[TOXIC]

Have no choice due to the late spring, I'm going to throw Jerkbaits more.  I am also going to fish the Ned rig more since I am a finesse guy anyway.  

[A-Jay]

Perhaps not a bait but a technique ~ Drop Shot.

I got away from it a bit last season but will be looking to deploy this often deadly presentation more this year.

Deep mid-summer will be the time.

A-Jay

[Sam]

5 hours ago, CroakHunter said:

I won't call it a second chance, but a bait I didn't throw very much last year Was a shaky head. I plan to throw it a little more this year when I really am working to get bit. 

Make it one of you staples and you will not be disappointed.

 

And don't forget its cousin, the drop shot.

 

For your shaky head, I suggest you consider going with a Junebug or green pumpkin with black flake Zoom trick worm on a 1/8 to 1/4 ounce Provider jig head (or a jig head of your choice) and rig it on a spinning rig with 8 pound fluorocarbon on a 6'6" medium heavy fast action rod.

 

Throw the plastics everywhere. In wood, brush, under docks, along the bank, in grass, along seawalls, around piers, under and around trees and brush and everywhere else.

 

Water color and temperature seem to have very little impact on the shaky head.

 

The shaky head is the first plastic technique I throw after topwaters and if a bass misses your topwater you can throw a shaky head back at the spot (although I do throw a Senko) to try to get her to come back and eat the trick worm. I then continue to throw it as my main plastic during the day, intermingled with the crankbaits.

 

Good luck and have fun at the Indy 500.

5 hours ago, FishDewd said:

I have a hard time with techniques that involve light bites where line watching is required and there isn't much feel to it. I can never determine much from line watching, haven't yet figured out how that works. Don't think I've even thrown a senko more than 3 times this year, and I don't even bother with jigs or shaky heads anymore. If they don't jerk on it, high chance I will miss it. So there's a lot of lures I need to work on, bite detection wise.

Dewd, have you tried braid as your main line?

 

No leader, just tie the braid directly to the hook's or bait's eye

 

If you need a weight to with a tungsten weight, the lightest you can use in your water conditions.

 

Braid + tungsten = outstanding feel of what is going on in the water.

 

No weight for your Senkos. Rig them wacky style so they float like a butterfly.

 

You can set up a baitcaster or spinning rig with this braid or braid/tungsten setup.

 

And always watch your line for it to either move or on a cast, stop falling. Seeing your line move increases your heart rate and if it stops on the fall, set the hook!!!! You have to let the bass run with your plastic for a few seconds before crossing his eyes with a strong overhead hookset.

 

Give this setup a shot and then decide if it helps you feel those bites.

 

And use a scent on your plastics so the bass will hold onto the plastic a little longer.

 

WARNING: The guys in my bass club will hit some structure on the bottom and call it a strike. This could happen to you so be alert as to what you feel using this setup. It could be a new personal best or a stick on the bottom.  

[Oregon Native]

This all made me smile....I agree with A-Jay...a technique....the ever famous Carolina rig...ugh.  Don't know why but this technique has bitten me in the butt this year and have had it handed to me you might say.  So will be trying it more.  So far it's 0 for 2.  One maybe two more chances.  A lure that I would like to catch some fish on are the plain ol fluke....plan on giving this a go too and who knows...it may also join the ranks of the C rig forever......

[Sam]

And I forgot to mention to Croak to Texas rig the plastics to make them weedless.

[Hook2Jaw]

...those daggum crankbaits will be getting thrown more this year.  I bought a good number of squarebills telling myself I would fish them more last year, but that never really happened.

[Fishin Dad]

I have to try a fluke this year to compliment my stick bait habit.   I also want to throw a shaky head and see if it works in my area.  We have a lot more of weeds in most places I fish and a mucky bottom.   We will see what happens.

[scaleface]

9 hours ago, tcbass said:

Chatterbait

I need to give it a third go . Every-time I have tried one  , I make a few cast then switch to a spinner-bait .

[mattkenzer]

Single and Double Tail Grubs

[sully420]

Jerkbait

Fluke

Hair jig

Every year i pick some baits or techniques to get confidence in thats what im doing this year.

[LionHeart]

Had a chatter bait for years but really only started throwing it last year.  Swapped out the dark skirt for a white and chartreuse and put a little dippers on as a trailer.  Have gotten quite a few fish with it.  Just got a few different sizes from TW and looking forward to experimenting.  

Also, not a second chance, but as always I plan to work on jig fishing.  I never realized how much there is to it.

[Log Catcher]

Like others it is more of techniques than baits. I need to try the dropshot and ned rig more.

[burrows]

I need to start learning how to drop shot.

[tcbass]

10 hours ago, Dorado said:

I’ll play:

 

1) Cavitron Buzzbait - never caught a single fish off any buzzbait for that matter but won’t stop this guy from trying. Guys on this site swear by em

 

2) Football Jigs w/ Craw trailers- I usually get snagged fairly early on whenever I tie one on. I’ll always persuade myself to reverting back to a Texas-rigged soft plastic to avoid getting frustrated. 

 

3) Livetarget Sunfish Hollow Body- during the summer, Had some exhilarating  blowups, including one from a nice Channel Cat last year. I either set the hook too early or these bass are coming up initially to stun it when I’m walking the dog. Problem is I never got a follow up 

 

4) Swimbaits (generally speaking)- simply because I never had the proper Swimbait gear until my bday this month.  I made the rookie mistake of throwing a 3oz rainbow trout glide bait on a crank bait rod with 12# co-polymer. During the motion of my second cast, it snapped at its highest point flying a football field’s distance. Lesson? Make the initial investment into proper gear with specifications that match respective lure ratings. 

 

Cavitron buzzbait is the best one my group has used. We own a bunch of them. CS is great too, bought a brand new one and the skirt came off and the Bobby sent us a brand new one. I think 2 brand new ones actually.

[Jaderose]

Jigs.  Got tons of them.  Never throw them.  Never had much luck.  I KNOW they catch fish.  Just have ZERO confidence in them

[tcbass]

2 minutes ago, Jaderose said:

Jigs.  Got tons of them.  Never throw them.  Never had much luck.  I KNOW they catch fish.  Just have ZERO confidence in them

 

 

I bought some Siebert jigs and hit a nice spot where I threw like 20 casts and caught 4 nice bass over 1.5lbs each, must have been a hole with them in it. Never did that again and never really caught anymore bass on jigs........so, I usually use spinnerbaits. 

[FishDewd]

4 hours ago, Sam said:

Dewd, have you tried braid as your main line?

 

No leader, just tie the braid directly to the hook's or bait's eye

 

If you need a weight to with a tungsten weight, the lightest you can use in your water conditions.

 

Braid + tungsten = outstanding feel of what is going on in the water.  

 

You can set up a baitcaster or spinning rig with this braid or braid/tungsten setup.

Yeah I normally use a leader for a few reasons... generally it's fluorocarbon though, which still has a fair bit of sensitivity. It's not that I can't feel it, it's just by the time I do it's more of a "it just got spit" feeling so when I set it they are already gone. Big problem with line watching here is the wind. I can try straight braid and see if it helps, I'm really not a big believer in the whole "the fish can see the line" deal I just worry about the buoyancy not allowing the lure to settle in choppy water. My braid gets the wind bow in it and it's difficult to get it tight enough to eliminate that since the lure is always moving in the water column. I think I need better braid to solve that issue, eventually I will try something better than the stealthbraid I'm using now. Could help a lot. Also, I like to use a leader since there are catfish in my waters that could well decide to eat a bass lure. I've had my leader save me a few times from main line twist cause of that. I am pretty good at working a fish though, so far I haven't had a line ever get destroyed from that.

 

Tungsten weights... yeah I've been wanting to try those. Just the expense has stopped me. I don't really have a lot of money to mess with most of the time so I usually get steel as a middle ground between lead and tungsten as far as density goes. They all sink a little differently but tungsten is definitely the best at transferring vibration. Oops, I just exposed my inner nerd there lol.

 

4 hours ago, Sam said:

No weight for your Senkos. Rig them wacky style so they float like a butterfly.

This is how I usually do it, minus wacky style. I do wacky sometimes. Usually it'll be on a dropshot if I do that though. Normally I rig them standard worm style with an offset hook of some sort. Wacky style would make it easier to feel the fish though for sure I need to do that more often on non-dropshot rigs for sure.

 

4 hours ago, Sam said:

And always watch your line for it to either move or on a cast, stop falling. Seeing your line move increases your heart rate and if it stops on the fall, set the hook!!!! You have to let the bass run with your plastic for a few seconds before crossing his eyes with a strong overhead hookset.

This is the meat of the issue right here. I know when my lure hits the bottom most of the time but I find it hard to notice if it's taken on the fall since there is normally a little flutter to it as it falls. Baitcaster is the issue there, I've managed that a few times on spinning gear when my line just kept pulling off the spool long after it should've hit the bottom lol.

 

4 hours ago, Sam said:

And use a scent on your plastics so the bass will hold onto the plastic a little longer.

 

WARNING: The guys in my bass club will hit some structure on the bottom and call it a strike. This could happen to you so be alert as to what you feel using this setup. It could be a new personal best or a stick on the bottom.  

I've been using Mega Strike and got a deal on Pro Cure crawfish scent not too long ago. I haven't really noticed a big difference so far, but then again I do fish really pressured waters where the fish are leary. I like that challenge though, makes one a better angler when you can catch pressured fish. Enforces that you're doing it right.

 

Setting on structure... yep done that a few times lol. Think it's kind of inevitable though at some point. Concrete blocks usually get me since they can give that "tap, tap, tap" just like a fish.

[Sam]

Remember, tungsten is very sensitive and it will transmit, via the braid, back to your hand and fingers what is happening underwater.

 

A pro told me that the braid will not spook the fish. He told me to tie directly to the bait and don't worry about the leader.

 

Use a heavier weight to keep bait down and to feel what is on the bottom.

 

Nothing you can do about the wind bow in the line. You have to live with it.

 

Have fun. Looks like you are on the right path.

 

Tight lines!!!!

[FishDewd]

1 hour ago, Burros said:

I need to start learning how to drop shot.

Dropshot is am amazing technique, it's probably my favorite finesse technique and has caught more fish than anything- catfish, perch, bass, it'll do it all. The whole "it catches only small fish" thing is a myth. The size depends upon the hook size and bait size. I love it for catching perch as bait though, they will nail it with a little piece of earthworm on there. Spinshot hooks work best I have found. Eliminates many issuse you run into with a traidtional dropshot by allowing the hook to swing around so it won't get caught up in the line. Also allows a low-strength weight line as a sacrifice leader in case it gets stuck. Just tie a new line and attach a new weight and back in action in under a minute. The ONLY good use for Berkley Vanish, I keep 6-10 lb Vanish in my bag whenever I am dropshotting.

 

Technique wise, it's similar to a jig. Twitch, twitch, fall back down. Or, lift, hold, drop. Trick is to move the bait/lure without moving the weight. After some x minutes, drag it 2-3 feet and repeat. It's like a fish locator.

[tcbass]

2 hours ago, FishDewd said:

Dropshot is am amazing technique, it's probably my favorite finesse technique and has caught more fish than anything- catfish, perch, bass, it'll do it all. The whole "it catches only small fish" thing is a myth. The size depends upon the hook size and bait size. I love it for catching perch as bait though, they will nail it with a little piece of earthworm on there. Spinshot hooks work best I have found. Eliminates many issuse you run into with a traidtional dropshot by allowing the hook to swing around so it won't get caught up in the line. Also allows a low-strength weight line as a sacrifice leader in case it gets stuck. Just tie a new line and attach a new weight and back in action in under a minute. The ONLY good use for Berkley Vanish, I keep 6-10 lb Vanish in my bag whenever I am dropshotting.

 

Technique wise, it's similar to a jig. Twitch, twitch, fall back down. Or, lift, hold, drop. Trick is to move the bait/lure without moving the weight. After some x minutes, drag it 2-3 feet and repeat. It's like a fish locator.

 

 

How shallow do you fish with dropshot?

 

 

I fish like *** feet at the most usually, usually 1-2 feet. Is that too shallow for dropshot?