JoeDeal55 Posted September 13, 2021 Posted September 13, 2021 What is your confidence bait and how it came to be? I havent been strictly a "bass angler" for very long. Started this journey 3-4 months ago. I have thrown out every lure and bait I could get my hands on during this time. Crankbaits, buzzbaits, jerkbaits, t-rigs, ned rigs, weightess yum dingers, swim jigs, arkie jigs (most jigs) wacky rigs, flukes, frogs, poppers, walking lures, and even a whopper plopper. Ive landed 1 bass on a crankbait (foul hooked), 3 bass on jigs, and 3 bass on yum dingers. All under 2.5lbs. Everytime I think im going to get skunked I throw out a ned rig with a Z-Man TRD Ticklerz in Hot Snakes color. Ive landed 10 bass already on this bad boy! It hasnt failed me yet. I actually caught a massive bluegill on this as well. I have the utmost confidence in my neg rig. Although, I havent landed any bass over 2.5lbs on the ned rig I know its gonna get bit. I know I am inexperienced with the majority of baits and lures (for a while I didnt even know what a jig trailer was) but for now I only have confidence in the ned rig. I have numerous bites on a hollow body frog but I havent hooked any yet. Using the wrong rod I assume. Id say the lack of bites using other lures is user error. Struggling with imparting action and retrieving. There is so much more to learn and practice, Im sure I will gain more confidence in other techniques. So, what do you have confidence in? 3 Quote
Super User DitchPanda Posted September 13, 2021 Super User Posted September 13, 2021 Spinnerbait...Ned rig...swim jig...Texas rig worm...flipping jig. These are all very high on my confidence list. Quote
Super User A-Jay Posted September 13, 2021 Super User Posted September 13, 2021 No confidence bait for me ~ I do however, have confidence Times, Places & Techniques. Fish Hard A-Jay 10 2 Quote
DaubsNU1 Posted September 13, 2021 Posted September 13, 2021 For a long, long time my #1 confidence lure was a 2" white power grub on a lead-head jig. It just worked. Back in the mid 90's a buddy introduced me to T-rigged plastic worm fishing...that was a close #2 for a long time. Today my #1 confidence bait has to be a green-pumpkin NED rig. It produces when I need it the most. #2 is a green-pumpkin Senko, weightless. Hang in there...keep grinding!! 1 Quote
JoeDeal55 Posted September 13, 2021 Author Posted September 13, 2021 43 minutes ago, A-Jay said: No confidence bait for me ~ I do however, have confidence Times, Places & Techniques. Fish Hard A-Jay Would you care to elaborate further on techniques? Or is it like certain techniques for certain times at a specific place? 59 minutes ago, DitchPanda said: Spinnerbait...Ned rig...swim jig...Texas rig worm...flipping jig. These are all very high on my confidence list. I have yet to try a spinnerbait. Might have to add that to my wishlist. Thank you. Quote
Global Moderator Mike L Posted September 13, 2021 Global Moderator Posted September 13, 2021 1) Bottom contact plastics in grass, the thicker the better. 2) Swimming a UV Speed Worm in, over and through fairly scattered grass flats and isolated weed clumps. Mike 4 Quote
Super User WRB Posted September 13, 2021 Super User Posted September 13, 2021 Welcome to bass fishing. It takes time to develop a feel for bottom contact lures and it appears that is your confidence lures of choice. Location of active bass is a key factor, bass react to a wide variety of lures when feeding and ignore most when inactive. Bass fishing is a long journey and you just started. Take your time and research Bass Behavior,types of prey they prefer where you fish and enjoy this sport. Tom 4 Quote
Super User scaleface Posted September 13, 2021 Super User Posted September 13, 2021 I have a lot of confidence baits . If you describe in detail the water you frequent and equipment you use I would clue you in on what I would have confidence in there . 2 Quote
Super User Catt Posted September 13, 2021 Super User Posted September 13, 2021 Plastics! ? I don't care how ya rig it, shallow water or deep water, grass or wood, winter, spring, summer, or fall. Got my Worm Rod in my hand I'm happy, happy, happy! 6 1 Quote
Super User king fisher Posted September 13, 2021 Super User Posted September 13, 2021 Spinnerbait. Fished fast on top, or slow rolled on the bottom, and everything in between. I'm lucky to be able to fish water that the bass have not seen many lures. If I had to fish pressured water, there is a good chance my confidence bait would change. 3 Quote
Functional Posted September 13, 2021 Posted September 13, 2021 Spinnerbait. As mentioned above you can fish it through the whole water column and change up retrieve speed. My second is a shaky head if they refuse the spinner. Best way I found to learn something well is leave EVERYTHING behind except one technique so you are forced. Accidentally did that with spinners and was the best thing for me. Also how I learned baitcasters. 1 Quote
gunsinger Posted September 13, 2021 Posted September 13, 2021 For me, the Tokyo Rig with Fire-n-Ice has become my confidence bait (at least during the summer). I like the Watermelon/red flake on a wacky rig during pre-spawn, spawn, and post spawn (before the weeds/grass start getting thick). I like a jerkbait and rattle trap in the fall. The Chatterbait is moving up my list as of late. Quote
Super User A-Jay Posted September 13, 2021 Super User Posted September 13, 2021 1 hour ago, JoeDeal55 said: Would you care to elaborate further on techniques? Or is it like certain techniques for certain times at a specific place? I am going to say "Yes" on this one. There may be a little more to it though so I will also supply this info below. None of which is set in stone as 'it changes all the time'. https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/183215-most-productive-baits-~-a-seasonal-review/ https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/209845-2018-~-my-most-productive-baits-by-season/ https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/221344-my-2019-list-of-productive-baits-~/ https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/233905-my-most-productive-baits-~-2020-edition/ Fish Hard A-Jay 1 Quote
Super User Mobasser Posted September 13, 2021 Super User Posted September 13, 2021 Light t rig plastic worm is my confidence bait. 2 Quote
Skunkmaster-k Posted September 13, 2021 Posted September 13, 2021 In the summer if I’m fishing deep vertically it’s a spoon. Casting deep it’s a jig . Shallow is a well known secret , the weightless purple worm. Quote
BustedSwimbait Posted September 13, 2021 Posted September 13, 2021 Almost always, a spinner bait. Closely followed by weightless TR swimming plastic. Quote
Super User LrgmouthShad Posted September 13, 2021 Super User Posted September 13, 2021 Spinnerbait fan here also. Confidence in it just snowballs. You can develop understanding about the lure, learn where it works and why, you can see it if you are retrieving it up in sight, you can feel it, you can pump your rod or reel a few times and see the bait actually do what it's supposed to. It works in many conditions but is not necessarily the best choice in some conditions. I struggled with it a lot in the heat of summer. I believe that soft plastics are more effective with warm water and hard lures are more effective in cold water. 1 Quote
ironbjorn Posted September 13, 2021 Posted September 13, 2021 1/4-1/2 ounce lipless crankbaits, particularly the Original Rat-L-Trap in Blue Shiner. As long as the water is soft, I always get bit, no matter how tough it is out there. This bait has outperformed and stopped me from getting skunked more times than even the Ned Rig. How it came to be? Well things were tough and nothing was working. My Hail Mary was this bait, and I learned that randomly casting it anywhere and everywhere with countless different retrieves will pick up fish. Of course these days there's usually more of a pattern and reasoning behind it rather than randomly bombing it. 4 Quote
Super User gim Posted September 13, 2021 Super User Posted September 13, 2021 Moving lures/power fishing are my jam. Topwater, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, jerkbaits, crankbaits, and such. I generally have more success with these types of lures during certain conditions, which is also when I try to fish more. Finesse fishing with plastics has never been my favorite way to fish. Although I know how to do it, I know its effective, and I've had success with it many times, its just not my thing and probably never will be. Quote
JoeDeal55 Posted September 13, 2021 Author Posted September 13, 2021 4 hours ago, A-Jay said: I am going to say "Yes" on this one. There may be a little more to it though so I will also supply this info below. None of which is set in stone as 'it changes all the time'. https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/183215-most-productive-baits-~-a-seasonal-review/ https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/209845-2018-~-my-most-productive-baits-by-season/ https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/221344-my-2019-list-of-productive-baits-~/ https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/233905-my-most-productive-baits-~-2020-edition/ Fish Hard A-Jay Thank you for this info 1 Quote
Wprich Posted September 13, 2021 Posted September 13, 2021 Strike king game hawg in blue craw Texas rigged first time I pulled it out to try it caught a fish on second cast. Then same day on my last cast before I decided to go home caught my pb on it. To this day I think 3 of my 4 biggest have been on it. Quote
JoeDeal55 Posted September 13, 2021 Author Posted September 13, 2021 5 hours ago, scaleface said: I have a lot of confidence baits . If you describe in detail the water you frequent and equipment you use I would clue you in on what I would have confidence in there . So far I only have access to 3 ponds in WV. One is a small farm pond with mud bottom and few rocks, muddy water color with approx 2 foot visability. Another is a large pond that I assume used to be a brush field before flooding it for a pond. About 8 ft deep max but dense dead brush and trees to where it is difficult to get around in a kayak without getting hung up. 3rd pond is new to me only fished once. Deep deep large pond with 3 coves and a lot of tall clumps of vegetation. Every retrieve I have to remove 2 pounds of weed/grass. These are the only 3 ponds I have access to at this time. Only the farm pond I can bank fish from. The other 2 I have to use a kayak. 1 Quote
PressuredFishing Posted September 13, 2021 Posted September 13, 2021 7 hours ago, JoeDeal55 said: What is your confidence bait and how it came to be? I havent been strictly a "bass angler" for very long. Started this journey 3-4 months ago. I have thrown out every lure and bait I could get my hands on during this time. Crankbaits, buzzbaits, jerkbaits, t-rigs, ned rigs, weightess yum dingers, swim jigs, arkie jigs (most jigs) wacky rigs, flukes, frogs, poppers, walking lures, and even a whopper plopper. Ive landed 1 bass on a crankbait (foul hooked), 3 bass on jigs, and 3 bass on yum dingers. All under 2.5lbs. Everytime I think im going to get skunked I throw out a ned rig with a Z-Man TRD Ticklerz in Hot Snakes color. Ive landed 10 bass already on this bad boy! It hasnt failed me yet. I actually caught a massive bluegill on this as well. I have the utmost confidence in my neg rig. Although, I havent landed any bass over 2.5lbs on the ned rig I know its gonna get bit. I know I am inexperienced with the majority of baits and lures (for a while I didnt even know what a jig trailer was) but for now I only have confidence in the ned rig. I have numerous bites on a hollow body frog but I havent hooked any yet. Using the wrong rod I assume. Id say the lack of bites using other lures is user error. Struggling with imparting action and retrieving. There is so much more to learn and practice, Im sure I will gain more confidence in other techniques. So, what do you have confidence in? I have confidince in every lure depending on the conditions, but my favorite lure right now is a jerkbait or spoon or spook, why? because there is something that makes me happy when I have caught so many fish on a hard bait and they still work great, It creates a connection between me and that specific bait, even though its just a bait I guess. I have a rapala balsa jerkbait that is beat up and caught many fish, but If I get snagged or loose it you know d**n well im swimming into 20 ft deep water to get it back in the dead of winter with a snorkel because I love it so much. Quote
Super User Deleted account Posted September 13, 2021 Super User Posted September 13, 2021 I don't throw baits I don't have confidence in. Quote
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