Confidence

[DitchPanda]

I'm a firm believer in having confidence in certain lures and techniques. We all have those baits and presentations we lean on heavily especially under certain conditions and in certain spots. But how much do you feel like this holds us back? How many more fish do you imagine could be caught if we weren't tied to our preconceived notions of what works based solely on preference and past experience? 

[A-Jay]

Interesting topic ~ 

So 'past experience' - we all have it.

Some good, some bad.

Anyone have any 'future experience' ?

Me either.

Years on the water teaches us many things.

 I rely on it; Heavily.

Flip side - I used to be the guy who, once I got on a 'bite',

would constantly switch baits & presentations, looking to find, 'what else would work'.

Did it for a few years - pretty certain That Move cost me many fish and with out much,

if any, up side.

I Do Not participate in that Tom Foolery any longer.

I get on a bite - and I will Wear It Out !

That's my story and I'm Sticking to it.

A-Jay

 

[Choporoz]

2 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Flip side - I used to be the guy who, once I got on a 'bite',

would constantly switch baits & presentations, look to find, 'what else would work'.

Did it for a few years - pretty certain That Move cost me many fish and with out much, if any, up side.

I Do Not, participate in that Tom Foolery any longer.

I get on a bite - and I will Wear It Out !

I still do that to some degree.  There's some weird stuff going on in my head.  Especially, if its the first bite in an hour or more....I should be saying, 'Great! I found them, or they turned on!"  But, usually, my brain says "WTH have I been doing wrong for the last hour?  At least there's fish in here - maybe I just found the one dumb one.   I need to try something else...something else would have been working for the last hour."

 

So, I suppose overall confidence isn't necessarily my strong suit.  But I do recognize the role confidence plays in fishing baits or styles.  I have zero confidence in buzz baits -- I will still tie one on a couple/few times a year when I get to what I think is perfect situation -- but I won't stick with it for more than 30 minutes or so without a whiff.  On the other hand, I can throw a GP Rage Bug for eight hours without a bite.

[A-Jay]

2 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

I still do that to some degree.  There's some weird stuff going on in my head.  Especially, if its the first bite in an hour or more....I should be saying, 'Great! I found them, or they turned on!"  But, usually, my brain says "WTH have I been doing wrong for the last hour?  At least there's fish in here - maybe I just found the one dumb one.   I need to try something else...something else would have been working for the last hour."

 

So, I suppose overall confidence isn't necessarily my strong suit.  But I do recognize the role confidence plays in fishing baits or styles.  I have zero confidence in buzz baits -- I will still tie one on a couple/few times a year when I get to what I think is perfect situation -- but I won't stick with it for more than 30 minutes or so without a whiff.  On the other hand, I can throw a GP Rage Bug for eight hours without a bite.

I did it on my first trip to Mexico for a while.

The guide wanted to beat me up.

I stopped, he was big. 

A-Jay

 

[jimmyjoe]

15 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

On the other hand, I can throw a GP Rage Bug for eight hours without a bite.

 

   That's the way I am with spoons. Luckily, I don't have to prove it very often.  ?   jj

[Bankc]

As a man without a confidence bait, I can tell you that you're not missing much.  Unless you like tying knots.  In my opinion, most of the time when the bite is on, it's on because of factors that go beyond the bait itself.  What kind of lure you're using is far less important than when, where, and how fast you work it.  The big reason I rotate out lures is to try a different area or depth.

[Bird]

I stick to certain baits for hours if I think they should produce under the conditions I may be fishing under. 

 

OR if I catch a fish on a certain bait, find myself hanging in there a little to long after they quit producing......stubbornness. 

 

What I find odd yet must be taken into consideration is bass may hit a bait with regularity in one lake but the lake just down the road they want nothing to do with it. 

 

But yes, often get asked " you ever gonna change baits? " , just a few more casts.

 

 

[BassinCNY]

One of the things I appreciate the most about doing local kayak tournaments is the knowledge I receive about what I could have been catching if I made the correct choices. It gives me something to aim for. Definitely worth the cost of admission.

[BrianMDTX]

I think I have quite a few “no confidence” baits! 

[Alex from GA]

I have one confidence bait that I always catch a fish with.  I tried several baits this morning but came back to my confidence bait and caught 2 fish.  Everyone I talked to said it was really tough.

[soflabasser]

Confidence is very important in bass fishing. There are times I will only fish with one technique for the whole day if I feel confident it will help me catch the bass I am after. It has payed off many times for me.

[GreenPig]

I have confidence that all my baits will catch fish or else I wouldn't haul them around. Me choosing the right one and how to fish it, at the right time is where the problem usually occurs. Over the years I've got exponentially better. I can get on a bunch of dinks or a couple good one's,  but my goal is to consistently catch 8 - 10 three to five lbers.?

[Tennessee Boy]

Interesting topic.  People say just throw what you have confidence in.  I've never liked that approach.  Confidence is an emotion. I try to make decision based on logic not emotion.  I'll admit I'm not always successful. 

[DitchPanda]

11 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

Interesting topic.  People say just throw what you have confidence in.  I've never liked that approach.  Confidence is an emotion. I try to make decision based on logic not emotion.  I'll admit I'm not always successful. 

This is exactly what i was getting at. I always try to remain open minded and fish the conditions but sometimes confidence 

like any emotion can get in the way and decision making suffers from some feeling making us relaxed and comfortable. As I play this game a little longer I am getting better at setting my heart aside using my head and going with my gut. Two times in the past few years I remember distinctly this working in my favor. Back in the beginning of April I was having a slow time with a jerkbait. Water was perfect for a lipless..a bait I use but don't have total confidence in...tied one on and literally first cast caught a 7. Fall of 2018 I went to a local pond in November where I usually do well with a jerkbait. It was overcast and the water has a little color so I just brought a jig rod with a spare jig. Fished hard and was rewarded with one pushing close to 8.

[Bird]

When I'm in a somber mood and just want to be left alone from the human race and all aquatic species.....I tie on a chatterbait.

[DitchPanda]

3 minutes ago, Bird said:

When I'm in a somber mood and just want to be left alone from the human race and all aquatic species.....I tie on a chatterbait.

Look I'm no expert at bass fishing but I've noticed several people saying they can't catch bass on a chatterbait...buzzbait as well. How is that even possible? I don't throw a chatter often opting for a spinner bait or swim jig instead but I caught a 6 on one just a few weeks ago. And a buzzbait well don't even get me started...May be my favorite topwater ever. Just a few years back I was throwing a white war eagle buzzbait in a light rain one fall day. For big ones it was about as good a day as I can remember. Caught 10 fish I think..nothing under 3ish lbs...my best 5 went around 25 or 26 lbs. 

[BrianMDTX]

59 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

Interesting topic.  People say just throw what you have confidence in.  I've never liked that approach.  Confidence is an emotion. I try to make decision based on logic not emotion.  I'll admit I'm not always successful. 

I disagree. I’m “confident” in a particular lure because it has produced for me many times in the past. Either because it’s a great lure, or it’s simply one I have a knack for fishing with. You cannot become confident without experience. 

 

Having said that, you can become stagnant being over-confident on a particular lure type or two. Sometimes bass want a fast-moving bait and sometimes they want it slow. I’m very confident with a 5” Senko fished weightless TR or wacky. But if I have no strikes in 60 minutes, the bass are telling me something. 

[Log Catcher]

I have baits I confidence in that have worked many times. If I am on a good bite I sometimes will change to a similar bait that I think should work but hasn't in the past. I have been known to give up on good lures too quick in the past and not try them as much as I should.

[MassYak85]

I think this can work both ways too. There's certain lures I could grind out a whole day with and not get a bite but still have confidence in.

 

But at the same time there are those days where I'm looking for "THE" lure the fish want, switching between tons of stuff that ultimately doesn't work and leaves me wondering if I would have done better just grinding it out with a handful of confidence baits looking for the right spot or waiting for a "bite window" to open up. 

 

So much of this sport is a mental thing IMO. 

[RoLo]

 

Without a doubt, confidence is hugely important, but I have to struggle sometimes to stay objective.

That's one of many reasons why I prefer the electric anchor to the electric motor.

Anchored down on a waypoint, I generally cycle thru all the setups on the bow, before leaving a spot.

But I do cheat a lot. My confidence lures get lots of casts, but low confidence lures get a few token casts  

 

Roger

[frogflogger]

When not fishing for money - I'll change around throw crazy stuff, I've learned a lot doing this - and at this stage of my fishing (70+yrs.) I like to catch them my way - it's fun to throw a big noisy topwater gizmo in the middle of the day and have giant blowup Occasionally.

[The Bassman]

I had some excellent outings with chatterbaits last season. Not so this year. Why? Probably because I've barely fished them. Our thought processes have far greater impact on our success than a particular lure does.

[senile1]

Confidence is important, but having confidence in enough lures to cover all conditions is key.  If I only have confidence in a couple of baits that only cover one or two situations on the water, I am going to have some tough days.  Learning the situations and what baits are best for them is so important.  Then one can spend enough time with those baits that cover the different conditions to be proficient with them.  It doesn't have to be a great number of baits, but just enough that an angler is ready for most situations.

[scaleface]

I have certain lures that I know work in certain situations and I will use them first . 

[A-Jay]

As a follow up ~ 

I am at my best, if I have 'confidence' in an area or particular piece of structure

and that's always situational and dependent on season / current conditions.  

That's when I expect to get bit on any cast/every, regardless of what I'm throwing.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not.

But for the first hour or so, I'm usually pretty pumped up.

A-Jay