Did success create your favorite bait?

[Will1248]

On 3/26/2020 at 10:06 PM, Hook2Jaw said:

A jig is one of my confidence baits, but my confidence was initially derived from the posters here.  I fished from the break of dawn until 1 PM one day before I truly gained full confidence in a jig.  That was the day I caught my personal best bass.

 

Another of my confidence baits is the paddletail swimbait -- this one is quite the opposite.  Similar to a stick worm, I can pull out a pack of YUM Pulse 3.5s and a ⅛ ounce 2/0 jig head and catch fish.  They're the right mix of loud and natural for me and I just know they're going to be eaten, and they are.

Jigs and swim baits are my absolute worst techniques. What do you look for when fishing them? Any specific advice like wait for the rod tip to bend instead of doing a hooksett immediately etc?

[NJBasstard]

1 hour ago, Will1248 said:

Jigs and swim baits are my absolute worst techniques. What do you look for when fishing them? Any specific advice like wait for the rod tip to bend instead of doing a hooksett immediately etc?

 

If you haven't already you should read the topic pinned at the top of the

1 hour ago, Will1248 said:

 

 

If you haven't already, check out the topic pinned at the top of the page here called "Jig Fishing Questions". Lots of useful info in that thread that could help improve your jig fishing.

 

 

 

On to the topic of wether success create my favorite bait.. I would say no. When things seam tough and I'm having trouble catching I tend to tie on a senko or a little TRD ned rig just so I can catch something. Both of those baits are most likely to catch me fish but are probably some of my least favorite things to throw.

 

My two favorite baits are squarebills and jigs. I almost always have one or both rigged up on a rod. Squarebills allow me to fish open shallow water, fishing around rock, laydowns and docks bumping into everything & making all the commotion I can while covering water fairly quick.

 

Depending on the jig I'm able to do a lot. My favorite (and maybe the most versatile) is an arky headed jig. The jig lets me go everywhere I do with the squarebill & more, but it allows me to fish at whatever pace I want. It can be fished at every depth of the water column and can be used to imitate both crawfish & baitfish. Tons of different trailer options too. I can swim it, drag it, hop it, knock it into things, rip is through grass or whatever else. I think the jig is probably the most versatile thing there is for bass fishing.

 

Those two baits might not get me the most numbers but they're what I enjoy the most. I get enough quality fish on each that I've kept them as go-to's for about a decade now. 

[Hook2Jaw]

2 hours ago, Will1248 said:

Jigs and swim baits are my absolute worst techniques. What do you look for when fishing them? Any specific advice like wait for the rod tip to bend instead of doing a hooksett immediately etc?

I look for anything when fishing a casting jig, the conditions mainly alter size.  Post frontal or clear water get my finesse jigs.  Good, overcast weather and less than clear, stained, or muddy water see my ½ ounce and plus offerings.  When I'm fishing a jig horizontally, I gather my slack quickly before I swing to set.  When I'm fishing them vertically(pitching), I swing as quickly as I can.  My thought process is horizontal often elicits what I believe to be a feeding response and I give them a bit of time to engulf my bait.  Additionally, I'm also moving a lot of line between me and a jig I've rocketed 30 yards out.  My thought process for a slack line swing on vertical jigging is that they're striking out of reaction, and have engulfed it.  Possibly, they're not primed to feed in that instant.   They could reject my jig in a split second.  Also, there's not as much line out on a pitch and you've got leeway to put the crack on them.

 

For paddletails, I simply cast them out and retrieve them at various speeds, depths, and cadences.  I hit them the moment I feel them.  I opt between YUM Pulse swimbaits and Big Bite Baits Cane Thumpers.  If one of them won't get eaten, the other generally will.

 

For my ½ ounce casting jigs, which carry a 4/0 hook, I drive them with a Medium Heavy rated to 1 ounce.  For my ¼ ounce finesse jigs with 2/0 hooks, I set them with a Medium rated to ¾ ounce.  Always keep in mind that you need the right rod to drive a heavier hook or not bend out a lighter one.

 

My swimbaits use the same rules.  I've been matching my rod power not only to lure weight but also hook size, and it has been paying dividends.  We all jerkbait fish and crank with lighter rods often with added parabolism, but I don't see many people say if you want to drive a 5/0 through the upper jaw and out a nostril you're gonna need a heavy stick. 

[BigTimeBassin]

For me, no question about it. Texas rigged strike king rage menace. I started back up fishing two years ago after having not since I was in my early teens (33 now). First year back I just had a spinning rod and threw a lot of senkos with decent success. Year two I got my first bait caster, started doing a lot of reading and watching youtube, expanding my tackle selection a bit.

 

May 30th, I'm out at the dam on my local lake, I see a couple of kids catching some big bass throwing a weighted lizard. I tie on a rage menace with a 1/4oz weight and proceed to have the most incredible day of fishing I ever had. Little did I know at the time that New York was right in the middle of spawn and I was catching bedding bass. Must have caught a dozen in the 3-4.5 pound range that day, and quite a few others. The rest of late spring and all through the summer you bet I had a rage menace tied on at all times.

[Quarry Man]

My confidence baits, in order from most confident to least confident: Drop Shot, 3.8" Keitech, Spinnerbait, Chatterbait, Swim Jig, & Senko (wacky or Neko).

 

I feel confident in these baits, working to add jigs and frogs (can't set the hook)