What is your go to tackle?

[John Tom]

I just started bass fishing a year or so ago and still learning. I am starting to get a feel for my go to baits: Black/Red Rattletrap, Dinger/Senko, Buzzbaits. What are yours?

[scaleface]

Texas rigs , crankbaits , spinnerbaits , and top waters get  over 90 percent   of playing time .

[Log Catcher]

I have to agree with scaleface except I don't spend as much time as I should throwing topwaters.

[Graham]

Jigs, worms, and shallow cranks have been my go to presentations lately. 

[BankBasser]

T-rigs, rage rig, jigs, ned rig and frogs have seen the most action lately. I'm trying to get better at jigs so there's always one tied on regardless of whatever else I bring. 

[WRB]

I select lures that are effective where the bass are located. Always have a jig and soft plastics rig tied on. I use nearly everything so keep an open mind and let the current conditions tell me what to use.

Tom

[Happybeerbuzz]

Lately my go to tackle has been whatever the bait monkey has most recently provided me which are a R2S Bubble Popper, XPS lipless crankbait, Rapala X-rap, Booyah 5 for $10 spinnerbait, Yo-Zuri DBM lipless crankbait, and a KVD 1.5 Squarebill.  

[Rahlow]

Texas rig, worm

[Somd Fx4]

the ponds and lakes around me have a lot of grass on the bottom so I use a lot of soft plastics. Texas rig and ned rig top two.

[ww2farmer]

 For soft plastics If there's one bait in my rotation that has more uses than a 5" stick bait, I don't know what it is.

 

I can fish it wacky on a light wire hook wacky jig and spinning tackle in clear water

 

I can fish it wacky on a heavy wire wacky jig and casting gear in and around heavy cover

 

I can drop shot or power shot them.

 

I can peg a sinker to it's nose and flip/pitch/punch with them

 

I can t-rig them with a weighted hook and fish it like a soft jerkbait

 

I can c-rig them

 

I can neko rig them

 

I can cut them down and fish them on jig heads.

 

For a moving bait, I always try to get something going on a hollow body frog, sometimes to my detriment.

[SlappinKraken]

I fish from a kayak so I have a max of 6 rods.  I always have stuff tied on that covers the top, middle, and bottom water columns. 

 

Currently my favorites are a frog, weedless drop shot, weightless sinkin shad, heavy jig, punch rig, texas rig, and spinnerbait. 

[BigAngus752]

1 hour ago, scaleface said:

Texas rigs , crankbaits , spinnerbaits , and top waters get  over 90 percent   of playing time .

 

1 hour ago, Log Catcher said:

I have to agree with scaleface except I don't spend as much time as I should throwing topwaters.

Historically I've fished crankbaits or spinners 90% of the time.  I am now fishing plastics 90% of the time to learn them. 

 

I've not had huge success with topwater stuff but I don't tend to fish them very long before I decide that the conditions aren't right for topwater and I move to something else.  So how much time do you guys spend with a topwater lure before you figure it's not what the fish are looking for?

[Arcs&sparks]

Pretty basic most days

 

(Northeast)

 

Senko type bait;

Red shad

Black/blue

 

Lipless crank;

Red

Natural

 

Spinnerbait;

White

Red

Black blue

Natural

 

Top water; mostly ploppers, Spro rat, spook;

Natural

White 

Black

 

Throw larger swimbaits quite a bit as well. Need to throw more jigs...

[MassYak85]

If the fish are being nice and biting what I want to throw...spinnerbait, wacky worm, frog, BIG topwaters. If they aren't (they never are), then I guess that's why we all can't stop buying stuff haha. 

[Deeare]

Besides senkos/stick worms try a jig, bladed jig with a swimbait,  Ned rig.   Also I love the Carolina rig with a brush hog on the end. 

[AC870]

Zoom Ultravibe Speed Worm, Red Bug

Whopper Plopper 

Trick worm/Shim-E-Stick

Lipless crankbait

squarebill

 

Planning to play a little more with ned rig, drop shot, underspin. 

[ohboyitsrobby]

I keep a Carolina rig tied on 365 days a year. The bait changes season to season but always tied on and rarely lets me down. Texas rig of some variety either a creature or big worm. Right now it's a keitech fat 3.8, a shakey head with a candy craw fat baby finesse, topwater, and a 5xd. But these will change as the season's change, the c-rig and Texas rig will remain.

[Mike L]

Bottom contact plastics 

Vertical swimming plastics 

Frogs

Chatterbait

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[Brad in Texas]

Right. Most of us sort of line up on the finesse or power fishing preferential side of things. Me? I almost always go out in my canoe or kayak and sort of mentally fall into a tournament mind-set where one wants to put fish in the boat, cull from there.

 

Drop shot works for me and is my "go to" presentation. At certain times of the year, I lead off with a weightless Keitech shad-like bait.

 

These are my best choices for both numbers and to "skunk proof" my day on the water.

 

Brad

 

[Catt]

Texas rigged plastics; weightless to 1 oz punch rigs

 

Jig-N-Craw; 1/4 to 1 oz

[burrows]

Weightless super fluke.

[NYWayfarer]

Finesse wide gap hooks and some kind of plastic stick bait in various sizes. Dingers for shallow waters, Senkos for deeper waters or waters with strong current.

[NittyGrittyBoy]

I went yesterday evening, got there starting throwing weightless fluke, ended up throwing a weightless fluke. 

 

So my go to is ..... Weightless fluke

[Tennessee Boy]

Carolina Rig because it can be fished fast or slow,  shallow or deep.

[Bankbeater]

Jigs, and t-rigs.