Driving me crazy

[Wizzlebiz]

Soft plastics seem to hate me. I have yet to catch anything on any type of soft plastic outside of a trailer on a jig or a chatterbait. 

 

Please help me get better with these soft plastics. 

 

Weightless or weighted it hasnt mattered. I need some advise please. 

[Krux5506]

are you fishing from a boat or from the bank?

[Hewhospeaksmuchbull]

I felt your pain until I didn't, for me I just had to keep at it.

 

Things changed for me when I stopped trying to feel the bite and instead began watching my line. I fish these baits almost always weightless and from the bank.

 

I now have to opposite problem, cant get bit on anything but a worm.

[scaleface]

Texas rig worm , lizard , creature , craw... fish it in  cover and you will start getting bites .  Th fish will do its part . Its up to you to detect it , set the hook and land it . It might take awhile to get the hang of it .

 

I can remember my first Texas rig bass . I became a much better bass angler that day .

[Wizzlebiz]

33 minutes ago, Krux5506 said:

are you fishing from a boat or from the bank?

Bank

[The Bassman]

Read up on ned rig/midwest finesse. I know you're not in the midwest but trust me, it'll work there. Focus on guys talking about very light jigs not the 1/10 on up stuff. Read Ned Kehde's own articles on In Fisherman's site. Don't let his attention to detail put you off. It's really very simple. I just got home from a quick one hour outing that produced 10 fish up to around two lbs. Not bigs for sure but plenty good on a too hot calm Sept. day. Devoted more time to it yesterday and caught app. 35, one that was about 4 and a couple over 3. It works.

[lo n slo]

5 hours ago, Wizzlebiz said:

Soft plastics seem to hate me. I have yet to catch anything on any type of soft plastic outside of a trailer on a jig or a chatterbait. 

 

Please help me get better with these soft plastics. 

 

Weightless or weighted it hasnt mattered. I need some advise please. 

3/16 oz bullet, 3/0 round bend offset shank, 15 lb invizx, worm or lizard

 

fan cast the area out as far as you can and let it sink to the bottom. drag it back with the rod tip, reel up the slack, repeat. move down the bank doing this. hit em hard ?

[Mobasser]

You might try a smaller plastic worm. A Zoom Finesse worm will draw strikes from bass of all sizes. Rig with a 1/0 or 2/0 lighter wire hook, and fish them with a slow lift/drop retrieve. Use a bullet weight of 1/8 or 3/16. June bug is a good color to start with

[BassNJake]

What type of cover /structure are you fishing from the bank?

Do you have laydowns, points, weed edges, deep drop offs or anything similar?

If you are fishing during daylight hours try finding areas that are shaded.

 

There are a million soft plastics out there that will catch fish, but only if they are fished in areas that have fish.

It sounds so simple but often people are too concerned with what to fish, when where to fish is the most important.IMO

[Harold Scoggins]

As soon as you feel that "tic" on your line, SWING!

[jmz313]

15 hours ago, lo n slo said:

3/16 oz bullet, 3/0 round bend offset shank, 15 lb invizx, worm or lizard

 

fan cast the area out as far as you can and let it sink to the bottom. drag it back with the rod tip, reel up the slack, repeat. move down the bank doing this. hit em hard ?

^ definitely catches the fish.  accounts for 75% of my fishing.  If they don't take the stick worm, i switch up to a ribbon tail and then it gets eaten.  Also, I will put a fat albert grub and catch the smaller ones. 

[taylo166]

15 hours ago, lo n slo said:

3/16 oz bullet, 3/0 round bend offset shank, 15 lb invizx, worm or lizard

 

fan cast the area out as far as you can and let it sink to the bottom. drag it back with the rod tip, reel up the slack, repeat. move down the bank doing this. hit em hard ?

This, exact rig I fish almost exclusively, with a stick worm (senko type worm)

[Wizzlebiz]

3 hours ago, BassNJake said:

What type of cover /structure are you fishing from the bank?

Do you have laydowns, points, weed edges, deep drop offs or anything similar?

If you are fishing during daylight hours try finding areas that are shaded.

 

There are a million soft plastics out there that will catch fish, but only if they are fished in areas that have fish.

It sounds so simple but often people are too concerned with what to fish, when where to fish is the most important.IMO

So the cover is all of the above and some toolies.  Il try it again and again and again until I figure it out. 

[billmac]

Go simple.  Tie on a curly tail grub with either a slip sinker or a jig head.  Cast and reel.

[BassNJake]

58 minutes ago, Wizzlebiz said:

So the cover is all of the above and some toolies.  Il try it again and again and again until I figure it out. 

I try to align as many common variables as I can.

If I'm catching fish on a chatterbait, I want to know what the depth is that I'm getting the bites at.

It doesn't have to be specific, top, middle or bottom of the water column is a good place to start.

Then what type of cover or structure was I getting the bites at?

 

Now I can try some type of soft plastic in the same areas with a similar retrieve.

So lets say my chatterbait bites are when I am slow rolling it on/near the bottom.

I can change to a soft plastic and drag/hop it off the bottom in that same area.

I'm not soaking the bait because my earlier bites were on a moving lure

 

This is where the knowledge of what the bass might be eating comes into play.

It its bluegills then you can try bluegill color, sized and shaped soft plastics.

If its crawfish then something that resembles the crawfish colors in that area at that time.

 

A lot of times I have found that many of the prey have similar color as the bottom composition they are on.

Here we have a lot of red clay banks and I do better with lures in those type of colors

where as when I lived in Ohio I often used lighter color baits as many of the areas I fished were sandy

 

The thing is... its fishing- meaning what worked yesterday might be 100% different than what works today

That's why we keep casting because that next cast might be "the one"

however once you catch "the one" you''ll be on the hunt for the one thats bigger than that

[The Bassman]

6 hours ago, Harold Scoggins said:

As soon as you feel that "tic" on your line, SWING!

Gets to be instinctive. Once you develop that feel you're on your way.

[Columbia Craw]

There are three plastics that get bit when things are tough.  A baby Brush Hog, a stick worm and a finesse worm.  just fish them and and when you feel something "different" set the hook.  File that away and build on it.  Once you feel some bites or different types of bites the "feel" will come into play and so will the success.

[Alex from GA]

Have you ever noticed that people in a boat fish close to shore and people on shore always cast out in the middle of the lake.  The boat people catch the most fish.  Use the most sensitive rod you have or get one for plastics.  You have to feel the bite.  Buy or borrow a kayak and get off shore, use an anchor and fish in wood.  

[JustJames]

Only thing I can say is spend more time with it and don’t give up. You can try something simple and proven like weightless senko (Texas rig or wacky rig), light 1/8oz Texas rig with 5-6” finesse worm or even dropshot.

[Wizzlebiz]

2 hours ago, Alex from GA said:

Have you ever noticed that people in a boat fish close to shore and people on shore always cast out in the middle of the lake.  The boat people catch the most fish.  Use the most sensitive rod you have or get one for plastics.  You have to feel the bite.  Buy or borrow a kayak and get off shore, use an anchor and fish in wood.  

You have a valid point. But cant I just cast it down the bank instead of to the middle of the water work it back to where I am on the bank? Just seems to me i can cover alot of area that boat folk would love to cover in one cast. 

2 minutes ago, Bass_Fishing_Socal said:

Only thing I can say is spend more time with it and don’t give up. You can try something simple and proven like weightless senko (Texas rig or wacky rig), light 1/8oz Texas rig with 5-6” finesse worm or even dropshot.

Thanks for the reminder. I have in fact caught a bass on a drop shot. Does the bite feel similar? 

[JustJames]

2 minutes ago, Wizzlebiz said:

Thanks for the reminder. I have in fact caught a bass on a drop shot. Does the bite feel similar? 

Some what similar with weightless senko you have more chance of not feeling anything but the worm already in fish mouth (watch the line, watch the tension)

with light Texas you will have to distinguish between a mud tab from dragging the weight on rock and sharp tab when fish inhale your bait.

[Hammer 4]

Not always. I've had bass slam a dropshot, and run like crazy with it. More often than not though, it will be a light tic/thump. You really have to be in tune with your rig, i.e. line and rod..Also, keep in mind that a bass can grab a lure and spit out faster than you can react. When in doubt, set the hook, using a sweeping hook set.

[Wizzlebiz]

K next time I go out I am only bringing only my rod the soft plastics and some 3/16 oz bullet weights. I am to quick to say screw it this lure isnt working and go back to reaction baits. 

 

Im gonna get this and when I do it will be a glorious dink. That I am certain of. 

[roadwarrior]

 

[JustJames]

13 hours ago, Wizzlebiz said:

K next time I go out I am only bringing only my rod the soft plastics and some 3/16 oz bullet weights. I am to quick to say screw it this lure isnt working and go back to reaction baits. 

 

Im gonna get this and when I do it will be a glorious dink. That I am certain of. 

Remember when you think you slow enough, slow down even more, especially after you fish a lot of moving bait.