Have you got a lure you refuse to give up on?

[fin]

It looks great in the water and you love it, but the fish don’t. You can’t catch a fish with it, or maybe you caught one the first time you used it and never since. But you keep on throwing it. Or maybe it cost so much you’re determined to catch a fish on it. Or maybe it’s what your buddy catches all his fish with, and you fish at the same place, but you never catch a fish with it. You’ve got other lures you know you can catch a fish with, but you keep throwing this one.

 

What is it?

[Largies4Life]

The Teckel Maracker frog.....I used it this past summer and although I would catch bass on it here and there, I missed too many fish with it compared to all my other frogs. My theory is that the bass are hitting the shiny, noisy part of the bait, which in this case, is the back end of the bait so I think they are all just striking it at the back and missing the hooks.

[Troy85]

Superfluke.  I won't throw one for months, then I'll read an article about how effective they are, or a buddy of mine will be catching fish out of the back of the boat throwing one.  So I'll give it another try, always ends the same though, with a big fat zero.

[Crestliner2008]

8" Huddleson swimbait for sure. Love the action. Fished it a ton of times over many various structures. I keep tossing it with no results!  Yet I keep trying. Have been much more successful with the BBZ. I think it's time to throw in the towel.

[IgotWood]

Jerkbaits...

[Junger]

1 hour ago, Troy85 said:

Superfluke.  I won't throw one for months, then I'll read an article about how effective they are, or a buddy of mine will be catching fish out of the back of the boat throwing one.  So I'll give it another try, always ends the same though, with a big fat zero.

Same - except, my dad will throw it, catch a 4lber, and I'll get nothing. I'm pretty sure I'm working it too fast.

[Derek1]

Hollow body frog never a single bite. 

[Bankbeater]

It’s Beetle Spins for me. I’ve used them for years, but I have never caught anything on them. 

[fin]

28 minutes ago, Bankbeater said:

It’s Beetle Spins for me. I’ve used them for years, but I have never caught anything on them. 

During the dead of winter one year, when nobody was catching anything, I saw a guy catch a decent size bass on a beetle spin - the standard beetle spin, black with a yellow stripe. Up to that point I always considered beetle spins more of a crappie bait, so I never used them fishing for bass. Well, after seeing that guy catch a nice bass, I decided I’d give it a try. It seemed like a cheap lure, but I got hooked on buying a bunch of different types of jigs and grubs and spent the rest of that season trying to catch something with a beetle spin. I still try every now and then, and I may have caught one or two, but the results were not worth the effort. I’ve caught lots more using spinnerbait and I really don’t understand why that is.

[Sam]

Alabama rig.

 

Wears me out and I have never had the results the magazine articles claim will happen when you throw it.

[Happybeerbuzz]

Spro BBZ-1 Shad in slow sink. 

 

2019 will be year 3 and the closest I have come to catching a fish with it is seeing the water stirring behind it once when I was fishing it near the surface. 

[Dorado]

Any type of buzzbait. Not even a single missed strike. But, I see how many BR members praise em, and I never loose hope. 

[GReb]

Traps. Can’t catch squat on them but I keep trying. Actually just bought a LV500 last week. One day.....

[CroakHunter]

Buzzbaits, brush hog, 

[WRB]

Nope

Tom

[Jaderose]

Whopper Plopper.  I try, darnit, I try.  3 years of owning a couple....one dink.  I've just about given up on it.  Plenty of other baits that do work

[Deleted account]

17 minutes ago, WRB said:

Nope

Tom

X2. Fish don't want it, I don't throw it.

[fin]

18 minutes ago, WRB said:

Nope

Tom

Never?

1 minute ago, reason said:

X2. Fish don't want it, I don't throw it.

So, do you have a time limit or what?

[Deleted account]

4 minutes ago, Hank. said:

So, do you have a time limit or what?

A time limit on a lure that I never catch fish with? Yeah, zero.

All the lures I use are ones that have proven themselves over time, so I have confidence in them. 

[fin]

14 minutes ago, reason said:

A time limit on a lure that I never catch fish with? Yeah, zero.

All the lures I use are ones that have proven themselves over time, so I have confidence in them. 

So you never try anything new?

[Deleted account]

2 minutes ago, Hank. said:

So you never try anything new?

Of course, usually when I face conditions not adequately handled by the arsenal, or when something becomes available that outperforms what I already use. Keep in mind that I've been doing this a long time, and I am always tinkering and modifying as conditions dictate, so it's fine tuned by evolution. I'm sure that if I moved to an area where the conditions and bodies of water were very different, I'd recalibrate and make more changes. As far as the latest and greatest lure de jeure? I keep an eye out for them and throw them when they intrigue me, but more times than not they are no better (and often no worse) than what I'm already using. I view lures as tools, they either work for the job at hand or they don't. 

[fin]

13 minutes ago, reason said:

Of course, usually when I face conditions not adequately handled by the arsenal, or when something becomes available that outperforms what I already use. Keep in mind that I've been doing this a long time, and I am always tinkering and modifying as conditions dictate, so it's fine tuned by evolution. I'm sure that if I moved to an area where the conditions and bodies of water were very different, I'd recalibrate and make more changes. As far as the latest and greatest lure de jeure? I keep an eye out for them and throw them when they intrigue me, but more times than not they are no better (and often no worse) than what I'm already using. I view lures as tools, they either work for the job at hand or they don't. 

Okay, so zero is not the time limit. That's kind of what the subject is about - whether you spend too much time trying something.

 

I keep fishing records, and over the years patterns become clear, as you mention. Certain things work better at certain times of the year, and in certain spots on the lake/river/whatever. Sometimes I fish what has worked historically, but I find it kind of boring. Trying something different is a big part of fishing to me.

[Log Catcher]

For me it is a brand of baits. I'm trying real hard to like 6th Sense crankbaits. So far have not had much luck with them. I have been using some in shad and bluegill patterns and have only caught one White Perch. I have bought some in the colors A-Jay has recommended in some other posts. It will be a while before I get to try them.

[TnRiver46]

2 hours ago, Dorado said:

Any type of buzzbait. Not even a single missed strike. But, I see how many BR members praise em, and I never loose hope. 

You’re kiddin

[DSTN]

I would have said buzzbaits until last summer, don't give up! Mine would be a hollow belly frog thats not a Sprinker Frog. Just haven't been able to make it happen yet.