What bait/lure or technique do you struggle with the most?

[NavyVet1204]

I’m sure this question has been beat to death, but to be honest I use topics like these to get an idea of things I haven’t tried and see if they work for me. 
 

All fisherman have a lure or technique that flat out just doesn’t put the food on the table. Even if your on the water with a buddy and they are burning it up with a particular lure and you try the exact same lure or presentation, but to no avail. It is very frustrating for me. My best friend and partner in life, my wife, murders bass with a crank bait. Not just any one crankbait, but ANY crankbait. I could have my wife sling a crankbait down our front lawn….and she would catch fish. Her luck is just that good with cranks. Crank baits are to her what shakey head are for me so I’m not getting skunked when we are out except on the crankbait. I’m to the point where I don’t even consider cranks for tackle because I have such a terrible time with them and only buy for her the ones she wants. Wacky rigs are also very slow on the come up for me as I’ve had no luck with those either, but admittedly I don’t use them near as often as my shakey heads.

 

What is the seemingly lost cause lure/bait/presentation for you?

[GreenPig]

Dropshot. I can fish it for hour or two with no fish while my partner has caught 5 or 6. I can pick up a Ned, Shaky Head, or small swimbait on a jig head a start catching fish. Only difference in our setup is the guy fishing it. 

[Skunkmaster-k]

Ditto. But I’m going to try and get better at the ol droop shot so I can stifle some of the heckling from my wife. 

[Deleted account]

Diaper changing, and getting the formula just the right temp.....

[scaleface]

Skipping lures . I just havent got the hang of it . It kills me too , knowing I could catch more bass if I could just skip a lure back there . 

[AManWearingAHat]

I’m not a great jig fisherman, I don’t have the feel for “fish vs rock, weed, stick, etc.” down yet and I’ve set the hook on some really stupid stuff. 
 

likewise with cranks. I’ve been really trying to get better with cranks and especially lipless cranks, but so far no luck. 

[NavyVet1204]

19 minutes ago, BassWhole! said:

Diaper changing, and getting the formula just the right temp.....

My wife and I are expecting our first in August. I am definitely on board with you on this one! Belated congrats!

[Bankc]

Anything finesse in water deeper than about 5 feet.  Though I think a lot of that has to do with the muddy waters I typically fish in.  And even in the shallow waters, I'm pretty much fishing those Ned rigs, wacky rigs, drop shots, shaky heads, etc. like I would a jig.  Pitch, drop, raise, drop, reel in and repeat.  

 

[A-Jay]

Glide Bait.

I just don't get it.

A-Jay

[J Francho]

Carolina Rigs

[Bird]

No rhyme or reason why but if I as much as tie on a chatterbait, the entire body of water I'm fishing shuts off.

 

I've even tried to be stealth and sneak into a back of a cove and quietly tie one on.......bass know it and run.

 

All other Zman tackle works fantastic. 

[fishingtx]

Dropshot

nedrig

shakyhead

 

[InfantryMP]

43 minutes ago, scaleface said:

Skipping lures . I just havent got the hang of it . It kills me too , knowing I could catch more bass if I could just skip a lure back there . 

The best thing I have done to help work on this is that I got a DC reel. The SLX DC. I know the digital control system is not needed for skipping, but when you are not good at skipping it is very forgiving. 

 

I catch a lot more now that I skip docks and boat lifts. I wont do it though without my DC reels. ( I had to justify why I needed more than 2 of them lol)

[the reel ess]

47 minutes ago, scaleface said:

Skipping lures . I just havent got the hang of it . It kills me too , knowing I could catch more bass if I could just skip a lure back there . 

'Tis better to make a racket getting the lure back there than it is to not get it there. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I've literally paddled up to a laydown and done everything wrong including making noise and having to yank a jig out and still caught a big bass out of it. I find that big bass in heavy cover are a little too confident in their safety. And sometimes the racket gets them focused on the bait that drops in.

[NavyVet1204]

4 minutes ago, InfantryMP said:

The best thing I have done to help work on this is that I got a DC reel. The SLX DC. I know the digital control system is not needed for skipping, but when you are not good at skipping it is very forgiving. 

 

I catch a lot more now that I skip docks and boat lifts. I wont do it though without my DC reels. ( I had to justify why I needed more than 2 of them lol)

Ive been told as well that DC reels help out with this.

14 minutes ago, Bird said:

No rhyme or reason why but if I as much as tie on a chatterbait, the entire body of water I'm fishing shuts off.

 

I've even tried to be stealth and sneak into a back of a cove and quietly tie one on.......bass know it and run.

 

All other Zman tackle works fantastic. 

That was my feelings as well up until about three weeks ago. I swear the fish knew that I was about to wet a chatterbait. Then they started biting.

[jbsoonerfan]

Larger (8"+) swimbaits and glidebaits

[TheBasslayer]

I think that for me, it's topwaters. I don't know if the fish in my local pond don't like it, but I never catch anything on topwaters. I just got a popper, and that might help me catch one, instead of using my old Whopper Plopper 90 in an interesting color.

[NavyVet1204]

2 minutes ago, TheBasslayer said:

I think that for me, it's topwaters. I don't know if the fish in my local pond don't like it, but I never catch anything on topwaters. I just got a popper, and that might help me catch one, instead of using my old Whopper Plopper 90 in an interesting color.

The WP for me has only caught two bass in over a year. Yo-Zuri Hybrid poppers have been working just fine for me as well as my Strike Pro Swing Pop.

[galyonj]

5 minutes ago, TheBasslayer said:

I think that for me, it's topwaters. I don't know if the fish in my local pond don't like it, but I never catch anything on topwaters. I just got a popper, and that might help me catch one, instead of using my old Whopper Plopper 90 in an interesting color.

 

WP/Choppo/etc are great (unless you're @TnRiver46, who has the same problem with them that I do with chatterbaits), but they're probably third or fourth in line when it's time for me to decide on a topwater to throw.

 

I get bit on walking baits far more than I do anything else when it's topwater time.

 

[TheBasslayer]

Just now, NavyVet1204 said:

The WP for me has only caught two bass in over a year. Yo-Zuri Hybrid poppers have been working just fine for me as well as my Strike Pro Swing Pop.

I just got a Rebel Pop-R so I should have some luck on that!

[NavyVet1204]

1 minute ago, TheBasslayer said:

I just got a Rebel Pop-R so I should have some luck on that!

I literally am ashamed to admit that I do not own a single Rebel in my entire tackle lol Bait monkeys next visit ought to remedy that lol

[Junger]

1 hour ago, GreenPig said:

Dropshot. I can fish it for hour or two with no fish while my partner has caught 5 or 6. I can pick up a Ned, Shaky Head, or small swimbait on a jig head a start catching fish. Only difference in our setup is the guy fishing it. 

Same, drop shot for me too. I either catch nothing, or I break off after a couple casts and I pick up a T-rig and catch them.

[the reel ess]

26 minutes ago, NavyVet1204 said:

Ive been told as well that DC reels help out with this.

Another thing that helps is a lighter jig and a "bug" style trailer, like Rage Bug.

19 minutes ago, TheBasslayer said:

I think that for me, it's topwaters. I don't know if the fish in my local pond don't like it, but I never catch anything on topwaters. I just got a popper, and that might help me catch one, instead of using my old Whopper Plopper 90 in an interesting color.

One way to increase the bites on topwaters is to fish them early, late or in the day when it's overcast. Low light conditions. If you can get it into shady areas even when the sun is high you can still get a few. I'm not saying bass won't ever hit a topwater in broad daylight on a sunny day, but it will usually be less seldom. You will probably get more bites on the popper than the WP. But the WP will likely deliver more quality size fish on average.

[Columbia Craw]

Umbrella rig.  My state has a three hook maximum so I have to neuter the set up to start.  Ain’t happen in’

[ironbjorn]

Spinnerbait.