What do you do that nobody else does?

[Glaucus]

49 minutes ago, N Florida Mike said:

I catch a lot of fish In the summer by reeling a 5 - 6 inch senko on the surface. Talk about some wild explosions !

I now skip a lot of my casts even if I don't have to. I believe the subtle entry into the water has increased my catch rate a lot.

I know some of you would sneer at this but,

I also fish with live ' gills, with no cork. Almost fish em like I would with  plastic baits. Great big bass weapon. 

Do that with a wacky Senko. Might as well be a frog. Works well.

[blckshirt98]

For me it's my Frankenstein spinning rod setup.  Being a shore guy I don't like juggling around multiple rods so usually only take one rod.  To avoid having to re-tie often I'll have my 15lb braid mainline, tie on a quick snap (Decoy V-Snap, Norman Speed Clip, etc), then use that as my "base" setup to be able to attach almost any rig quickly.  So for example I'll drop shot and attach a size 10(35lb) Spro Power Swivel, have my fluoro leader with hook and dropshot weight.  If I want to switch techniques instead of having to cut anything, i'll just unhook the Spro swivel from the quick snap, attach on a squarebill, jerkbait, another Spro Power Swivel with a Neg Rig tied on, another Spro Power Swivel with a shakey head tied on, etc etc.  The quick snap to power swivel is the unconventional part, but fish don't seem to mind it.

[the reel ess]

20 hours ago, MassYak85 said:

I wouldn't say nobody else does it but a lot of times in my kayak I will paddle through large expanses of lily pads just looking for swirls from fish moving out of the way to get a better picture of where fish are. Then come back a little later after things calm back down and fish it with a frog. 

I do the same. I also use weeds and lilies as an anchor if it's windy. 

 

[Captain America]

I like to rig my spinning rods with 10lb braid and use a 20 - 25 foot mono or fluorocarbon leader. I fish rivers a lot, so it is nice to know that i probably wont have to change my leader after losing a few baits to the rocks. It also gives me more sensitivity than straight mono or fluoro, and i like to think it helps with pressured fish.

 

I also like to nose hook Strike King KVD dream shots and fish them like a soft jerkbait when the bite is REALLY slow. It is a little fish magnet, but the big ones will still bite.

[Hyrule Bass]

18 hours ago, Graham said:

Rather than buying into the wacky rigging tool and o-ring hype I’ve always used little elastic hair bands made for braiding. 5$ gets you about 100 of em.

 

 

They are super small I just double them over once and they fit nice and tight.

i use these to hold chicken livers on the hook when catfishing, it has worked very well, and i always get my rubber bands back, the catfish dont seem to swallow them at all

 

 

16 hours ago, scaleface said:

Buzz a 5 inch grub on surface like a buzzbait .

i fish weightless baby rage tail craws on the surface like a topwater, such a versatile little bait...

[N Florida Mike]

3 hours ago, Glaucus said:

Do that with a wacky Senko. Might as well be a frog. Works well.

I have not done well with wacky rigged senkos .I have heard how well it works though. I can't imagine it could work any better than a T rig. The bass absolutely love a t rigged senko.

I'll have to try wacky again though.

[rosshilk]

In my neck of the woods I am the only one I've seen really just ripping a Jerkbait hard to elicit strikes. I watched a video on KVD just snapping the hell out of the line so I have done it pretty frequently with some great results. This past Saturday the fishing was slow for all of the other anglers on the water including my Dad who was on the boat with me. I just kept cracking that line like a maniac all morning and caught over 40 bass on a day others were leaving skunked. I watched a guy judging me from his boat like I was crazy then completely shift his opinion once he saw me land several fish doing. He started fishing his baits very erratically trying to get the same results.

[TnRiver46]

8 hours ago, Glaucus said:

Same. There's more to a Senko than people think. It's the first bait I learned how to bass fish on. I remember that summer vividly. I literally never used another bait and never felt like I had to. To this day it's still my bread and butter. 

That can be a waste of time, in my opinion. If I don't like the spot, I don't keep it there long. Better chance of catching a bass from a spot I like after reeling in and recasting than keeping it soaking in a spot I don't have faith in.

I was speaking more figuratively, like, I go fishing as often as possible

[riverbasser]

I stretch. . .  either on the boat or just before launching. Never seen anyone I fish with nor any of the guys in my club do this but when you fish 10 hr days it sure helps

[MassYak85]

6 hours ago, Captain America said:

I like to rig my spinning rods with 10lb braid and use a 20 - 25 foot mono or fluorocarbon leader. I fish rivers a lot, so it is nice to know that i probably wont have to change my leader after losing a few baits to the rocks. It also gives me more sensitivity than straight mono or fluoro, and i like to think it helps with pressured fish.

 

I also like to nose hook Strike King KVD dream shots and fish them like a soft jerkbait when the bite is REALLY slow. It is a little fish magnet, but the big ones will still bite.

At first I read that as "I like to rig my spinnerbaits with 10lb braid and a 20-25lb leader" and I was so confused lol

[BuzzHudson19c]

On 5/9/2018 at 8:44 PM, Dtrombly said:

I frog in open water alot, regardless of conditions I usually try to get that bite going first before I switch to other techniques. 

Me too. I love the look on someones face the first time they fish with me and I throw a frog non stop in open water. Then they realize it works after a few caught and stop questioning my methods.

[flyfisher]

On 5/9/2018 at 5:09 PM, MassYak85 said:

I wouldn't say nobody else does it but a lot of times in my kayak I will paddle through large expanses of lily pads just looking for swirls from fish moving out of the way to get a better picture of where fish are. Then come back a little later after things calm back down and fish it with a frog. 

i do something similar except i will sit and watch a lilly pad field for 10-15 minutes looking for movement in the pads.

[Alan Reed]

On 5/9/2018 at 8:28 PM, Graham said:

Rather than buying into the wacky rigging tool and o-ring hype I’ve always used little elastic hair bands made for braiding. 5$ gets you about 100 of em.

 

 

They are super small I just double them over once and they fit nice and tight.

On the advice of Gerald Swindle I started using the small black zip ties instead of an oring to wacky rig. Very easy, cheap and hold up to anything.

[FishDewd]

Not sure I really do much special... I try to use different stuff than I see others using though. About the only trick I use that I don't see anyone else doing is when catfishing. I will make a carolina rig, but fasten a small lead split shot about an inch above the sinker. To A. keep it from sliding up to far, and B. to make additional noise. Also a bead below. Then I will slide a very small pear peg float onto the leader line, and measure it against the egg sinker so that at it's maximum buoyancy the hook sits just an inch or so above the bottom. This works great when my hooks are getting stuck in muck along the bottom, or during windy days when I want my bait/lure to stay in place, but still wiggle around like it's alive.

[islandbass]

A couple things:

 

1) I won’t hesitate to go to ultralight mode when I sense a skunk coming and target species of bass only changes to whatever will bite — as long as I catch something, lol. 

 

2) Not to often these days but when I first started fishing, I watched Bill Dance’s show a lot. I thought it was so cool when he’d hook into a fish, turned toward the camera, smile and set the hook.  I don’t think anyone else does this — when I get a bite, I’ve been known to turn to the side as if I were looking into a video camera, smile and set the hook. 

 

 

[Graham]

4 hours ago, Alan Reed said:

On the advice of Gerald Swindle I started using the small black zip ties instead of an oring to wacky rig. Very easy, cheap and hold up to anything.

Well that’s what makes my method one other people aren’t doing. Don’t get Swindled

[Wurming67]

Fish in a speedo,so when another boat pulls up in that area they leave so I  got the spot to myself less fishing pressure

[Bigbruce]

I work on a military base that has stocked ponds, but they are heavily fished. I take the kids to those as they are good for brim and catfish.

 

On my lunch break I fish small ponds  in training areas that no one else goes to. It is kind of a pain to have the right documentation and passes. It’s worth it as they seem like my own private ponds and I always catch bass.

[FishStickHunter]

I use glass beads between the weight and a Texas rigged worm.  Not sure if it does anything but I catch fish with this setup

[Hyrule Bass]

20 hours ago, riverbasser said:

I stretch. . .  either on the boat or just before launching. Never seen anyone I fish with nor any of the guys in my club do this but when you fish 10 hr days it sure helps

i agree totally, i stretch before any physical activity or work. it just simply helps prevent a lot of soreness later on when you finally sit back and let your body relax for the day. great advice

[lonnie g]

I cast a worm on the bank and slowly pull it into the water then just wait, sometimes there is no wait just slam! Seems that season doesn’t matter either. It is amazing how big bass can get in that shallow of water.

[Columbia Craw]

Kiss MY wife before I leave for the lake.

[WRB]

On May 11, 2018 at 7:48 AM, FishStickHunter said:

I use glass beads between the weight and a Texas rigged worm.  Not sure if it does anything but I catch fish with this setup

Brass n Glass, standard T-rig for me.

Tom

[NittyGrittyBoy]

Electric blue, zoom mag2 one of my favorites. Don't tell no one

[Seth_7]

I tie trailers for the rear treble on my crankbaits and poppers. been liking white and red deer hair and crystal flash. Works great!