Confidence Bait

[J Francho]

7 minutes ago, Catt said:

 

Switch from a Speed Worm to a Speed Craw!

That only works when you're wearing your lucky underwear.

[Bankc]

Anything power.  About as far into the finesse fishing spectrum as I care to go is a slowly dragged C or T-rig.  I have no confidence in anything more finessey than that.  Otherwise, I'm most confident in whatever I caught my last bass on.  At this minute, that happens to be a crappie jig.  It's been a rough month.  

[soflabasser]

topwater

[FishTank]

5in Senko black with Blue Flake or any finesse worm.  

 

When the bite gets tough, I can fish slow with patience and confidence if I have a light rig and a finesse presentation.   The hard part is finding the fish first.   A good example of this is two weeks ago on Saturday, I was fishing with a buddy on a clear lake with no wind.  He was fishing chatterbaits and lipless cranks and I was using a wacky rigged senko.  He fished fast and I was fishing slow.  He caught 2 and I caught 15 > it could have been more.  

 

 

[JoeDeal55]

On 9/16/2021 at 7:59 PM, soflabasser said:

topwater

I just caught my first topwater bass a couple days ago on a bone colored Zara Puppy! It also caught a brave bluegill and had a handful of missed strikes. But it was my first ever topwater catch and it was exhilarating! I finally learned how to "walk the dog" I discovered my issue was trying to the walk the dog using reels with right side retrieve. It was uncomfortable and awkward. My dad gave me an old pinnacle baitcaster that was left side retrieve and it changed the game for me. Im right hand dominant and assumed it was best to reel with that hand. Boy was I wrong!

[KP Duty]

On 9/16/2021 at 12:55 PM, WRB said:

I have confidence in several lures. Hair jigs with pork rind trailer is my big bass confidence lure. Hand poured finesse soft plastics for numbers of bass, my least favored presentation but it works.

Tom

Yea...the ol Arkie hair jig that walmart sells has caught me a lot of colder water bass.  Thinking of trying one of the new leather trailers and see how it stacks up against the uncle josh.

[WRB]

Uncle Josh is now again available #11 and jumbo frog.

A jig is only as good as it’s hook!

Tom

[soflabasser]

On 9/17/2021 at 11:10 PM, JoeDeal55 said:

I just caught my first topwater bass a couple days ago on a bone colored Zara Puppy! It also caught a brave bluegill and had a handful of missed strikes. But it was my first ever topwater catch and it was exhilarating! I finally learned how to "walk the dog" I discovered my issue was trying to the walk the dog using reels with right side retrieve. It was uncomfortable and awkward. My dad gave me an old pinnacle baitcaster that was left side retrieve and it changed the game for me. Im right hand dominant and assumed it was best to reel with that hand. Boy was I wrong!

Congratulations on catching your first bass on a topwater, it is probably the most exciting way to catch a bass.

[papajoe222]

Without a doubt, mine is some form of jig and an Arkie style gets the nod the majority of the time. I can pitch it, swim it, hop it or drag it and it just produces for me. I even tie some up with hair for cold water presentations. Trailers vary throughout the season, but I always have a jig tied on a rod on my deck.

[Fishlegs]

On 9/16/2021 at 2:07 PM, J Francho said:

That only works when you're wearing your lucky underwear.

You should always wear underwear that you have confidence in when you go fishing. ? 

[The Baron]

Dropshot with a MaxScent flatworm or flat nose minnow.  I’m coming back in after a very long break in fishing, so only learned about drop shot a few years ago.  I sure wish I knew about it when I was a kid (although, that was 30+ years ago, so no one did. lol).

 

It’s produced so well for us, I need to force myself to use/learn other stuff.  I’m getting there, but I’m always ready to grab the dropshot if I need to feel a fish.?

[billmac]

Curly tail grub on a ball head jig with spinner arm attachment.  Fast, slow, shallow or deep, it just produces.

[QED]

This has been my favorite, most productive bait.  No longer made.  I swap out the tiny default blade for a hildebrandt #3 blade.  Caught numerous bass, catfish, and a 10+ lb striper on ultralight gear.  These lures show up on the large auction site on occasion so I restock when I can.  Mann's jelly worms also continue to be productive but senkos seem to produce better.  Whoever thought up the wacky rigged senko deserves a lot of credit - never would have occurred to me to try something like that.

[ABrugs]

Through my first 2 seasons of bass fishing, it's definitely a 5" Yamamoto Senko in green pumpkin/black flake rigged weightless w/ a 3/0 EWG hook. This also unexpectantly caught my PB smallie.

[the reel ess]

On 9/17/2021 at 11:10 PM, JoeDeal55 said:

I just caught my first topwater bass a couple days ago on a bone colored Zara Puppy! It also caught a brave bluegill and had a handful of missed strikes. But it was my first ever topwater catch and it was exhilarating! I finally learned how to "walk the dog" I discovered my issue was trying to the walk the dog using reels with right side retrieve. It was uncomfortable and awkward. My dad gave me an old pinnacle baitcaster that was left side retrieve and it changed the game for me. Im right hand dominant and assumed it was best to reel with that hand. Boy was I wrong!

Keep it up and you'll catch some pigs that way. You'll get addicted like me.

[soflabasser]

10 hours ago, the reel ess said:

Keep it up and you'll catch some pigs that way. You'll get addicted like me.

For me in bass fishing nothing compares to catching a +8 pound bass on a topwater. 

[the reel ess]

11 hours ago, soflabasser said:

For me in bass fishing nothing compares to catching a +8 pound bass on a topwater. 

I wish I lived in FL. For a while my PB was about 7.8 lb on a Chug Bug. It was not an explosion. Before I even started my retrieve the bait just disappeared. Set the hook and it was on. Some of my favorite bites have come on the Whopper Plopper. You don't get many. But the ones you get are usually good bass and vicious. I got a 7.93 lb. in spring on the WP 110.

[Spankey]

On 9/21/2021 at 10:43 PM, billmac said:

Curly tail grub on a ball head jig with spinner arm attachment.  Fast, slow, shallow or deep, it just produces.

Agree 100%. The old grub. A fish catcher. I’ll pass on the spinner arm, but I can see how it would be effective. 
 

Along with tubes they are a big part of my fishing. Those baits are overshadowed today by the newer latest and greatest. 

[Hook2Jaw]

When the going gets tough the finesse gets going; a shakyhead with a Z-Man Fattyz has caught me so many fish and so many good fish this year.  Behind that, the Strike King 3XD has caught my biggest bass of the year and tons of them as well when conditions line up.  When fish are hanging close to cover, a jig, finesse jig, and Texas rigged D-Bomb.

 

If I've gotta catch one, it's the shakyhead.

[Big Hands]

It can change every time I fish, which is usually at least once a week. . . .

 

• One day, it will be a weightless wacky 5" #297 Senko
• Another day, it will be a 4.5" straight tail Roboworm on a dropshot
• Another day it will be a 4.5" curly tail Roboworm in Hologram Shad
• Another day (at night) it will be a texas rig 7" black curly tail power worm
• Another day, it will be a wacky rig 4.8" Jackall Flick Shake in Pumpkin Pepper
• Another day it will be a carolina rig with a 3.8" Keitech Sexy Impact in Electric Shad
• Another day, it will be a wacky rig 4.8" Jackall Flick Shake in Cola
• Another day, it will be a weightless wacky 5" #956 Senko
• Another day (at night) it will be a texas rig 10" Zoom Ol' Monster in June Bug
• Another day it will be a carolina rig with a 4" Keitech Swing Impact in Electric Shad

 

Yup, it could be a different type of soft plastic every time I go. . . .

[heavyduty]

On 9/23/2021 at 8:30 AM, Spankey said:

Agree 100%. The old grub. A fish catcher. I’ll pass on the spinner arm, but I can see how it would be effective. 
 

Along with tubes they are a big part of my fishing. Those baits are overshadowed today by the newer latest and greatest. 

 

Spankey, try the spinner arm. I use the Bett's in gold arm with gold #3 colorado blade, the largest they make to my knowledge. I'll either use a fat albert grub or a baby rage menace grub. Just started throwing it last Fall and it's saved the day several times for smallies.

[Spankey]

59 minutes ago, heavyduty said:

 

Spankey, try the spinner arm. I use the Bett's in gold arm with gold #3 colorado blade, the largest they make to my knowledge. I'll either use a fat albert grub or a baby rage menace grub. Just started throwing it last Fall and it's saved the day several times for smallies.

Fat Alberts on the lake.

 

3” PowerGrubs on the river. 
 

Don’t remember how I got on that kick or what is behind the differentiation of the two. Size I guess. 

[Kenny Yi]

On 9/21/2021 at 9:45 PM, Fishlegs said:

You should always wear underwear that you have confidence in when you go fishing. ? 

my confidence is my black and blue with the black band, it's super breathable and alwa- oh this is about baits...

[Plottman1974]

I have thrown a ned rig behind other baits and caught fish routinely.  Honestly,  I cannot remember ever having thrown a bait behind a ned rig and caught a bass.  That is how the ned rig became my confidence bait.  

[Alex Ball]

Keitech 3.75 on a belly blade tied to my Abu C3 MHMF and a Johnny Morris 711 XPS on 40# power pro.

 Nevermind a bait, this is my confidence setup.