Using lures the way they were not intended

[scaleface]

While viewing the wake bait thread , I was reminded on how I caught my largest spotted bass . I was at a clear Ozark lake fishing a vintage Rebel popper , about twice the mass of a Pop R ,around standing timber with no luck . Some how I realized that at the right steady speed , the lure would push a big bulge out in front and have a shimmy to it . I played around with it and caught a spot in the 4 lb class . So what ways have you caught bass using lures in a way they were not intended ?

[Catt]

Waking a buzzbait just under the surface like you would a spinnerbait.

 

One of those picking a backlash out & started reeling line in & before the buzzbait broke the surface bam a nice chunk. 

 

Threw the buzzbait 3-4 more times reeling it on the surface nuthin. Drop it back under the surface bam another chunk. Caught 4 more chunks, ain't never happened like that again.

[Dwight Hottle]

I was fishing lake Erie for smallies & wasn't getting any action. So I decided to speed reel the bait in to change actions/color. While reeling in as fast as I could I got absolutely slammed. It was a nice steelhead that I had provoked. Anybody that has ever fished for & caught steelies know you can't reel in a bait as fast as they can swim. 

[JustJames]

Yes, trolling joint wake bait about a foot or two deep. I think the bass follow buzz bait sound from my friend but saw my bait swimming (the last fish caught in video).

 

I also did the same with sprinkler frog, weight them down enough to sink a little and retrieve like spinnerbait around weed.

 

 

[islandbass]

Perhaps that’s how the wacky set up got invented. The original person probably wasn’t getting bites the traditional t-rigged or nose hook way and voila! 

[Mobasser]

I don't think plastic worms were originally meant to be fished on the surface, but I've caught many bass reeling them slowly over thick moss, pads etc.

[Functional]

double jointed floating rapala reeled in consistently slow just under the surface to create a wake or just a few inches below. aside from a cat I've caught just about every species my lake has to offer that way...turtle included.

[ironbjorn]

I've heard of this and any lure would have probably worked, but I've pitched a spinnerbait into pockets of shoreline vegetation and caught bass. Kind of like using a jig or Texas rig. I just let it fall.

 

I've also caught bass casting a lipless near the shoreline and just shaking the bait, keeping it off the bottom but not swimming it or moving it much either; like dangling it.

[scaleface]

1 hour ago, Catt said:

Drop it back under the surface bam another chunk. Caught 4 more chunks, ain't never happened like that again.

My dad use to catch smallmouths in a river like that . He didnt know it was a top water lure .

[Smells like fish]

Spy buzz’n 

[BassNJake]

An old timer used to slay them with a lazy ike on a carolina rig

Me, not so much

[Bankc]

14 minutes ago, ironbjorn said:

I've heard of this and any lure would have probably worked, but I've pitched a spinnerbait into pockets of shoreline vegetation and caught bass. Kind of like using a jig or Texas rig. I just let it fall.

I do this too, from time to time.  I'll bring a rod to work with me so I can get some fishing in on my lunch break, and sometimes will only have a single spinnerbait with me.  And when the regular spinnerbait retrieve isn't working, I'll often try to fish it like a jig and pitch it into cover.  Occasionally that works.  

[A-Jay]

I took the hardware off an old wooden Zara Spook

and am using it as an ignition key fob for my riding mower.

Does that count ?

A-Jay

 

[river-rat]

 

Many moons ago I was fishing an oxbow lake during the spawn. I came across a large bass on the nest and began to try to catch her. I could get her to react to a Smithwick Rogue but she wouldn't really commit to it. I tried everything else I had but no luck.

 

Finally, I took a bell sinker and ran my line through it and then tied the Rogue on. I then cast this out and reeled it into the bed and stopped. I then began to give some slack so the Rogue would float upwards and would then jiggle it in place. After about 5 minutes, the bass finally took the bait and I was able to get her in the boat. 

 

Only time that has ever worked for me.

 

 

[Oklahoma Mike]

10 hours ago, Catt said:

Waking a buzzbait just under the surface like you would a spinnerbait.

 

One of those picking a backlash out & started reeling line in & before the buzzbait broke the surface bam a nice chunk. 

 

Threw the buzzbait 3-4 more times reeling it on the surface nuthin. Drop it back under the surface bam another chunk. Caught 4 more chunks, ain't never happened like that again.

I just picked up a couple of these new Jackall buzzbaits that are intended to be able to be used either as a buzzbait or a spinnerbait depending on how you bend the arm. I got them with the intent of using them just like you described here. 
 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Jackall_Gargle_Buzzbait/descpage-JGBB.html

[Log Catcher]

I have pulled the same trick @Catt did. Caught a nice bass using a buzzbait as a wake bait. My dad used to cast a worm and retrieve it like a crankbait. He caught plenty of fish that way. We didn.t know anything about slow fishing a worm on the bottom at the time.

[OldManLure]

When we were about 11 or 12, my cousin and I got in a ton of trouble when we were caught using fly rods and poppers trying to catch bats around the barn’s security light. 

[Big Hands]

Saw fish boiling not far from my boat. I was fishing with a slipshot rig (like a finesse carolina rig) with a blue-ish/brown straight tail plastic worm tied on. I flung it out past the boil, and yo-yo'd it just under the surface (because I had no other idea what to do with it) and came up with a 3 lb rainbow trout.

 

The first fish I ever caught on a Z-Man TRD was with it on a carolina rig dragging it through weeds. I was catching fish that day with just about everything and thought it was time for some 'proof of concept' action.

 

Last winter, I used Keitech Swing Impact swimbaits on Carolina rigs and crawled them at 25 feet as slow as I could turn the handle. Let's just say I was inquiring about purchasing them in packs of 100.

7 hours ago, A-Jay said:

I took the hardware off an old wooden Zara Spook

and am using it as an ignition key fob for my riding mower.

Does that count ?

A-Jay

 

That seems to fit the stated criteria.

[HaydenS]

6 hours ago, riverat said:

 

Many moons ago I was fishing an oxbow lake during the spawn. I came across a large bass on the nest and began to try to catch her. I could get her to react to a Smithwick Rogue but she wouldn't really commit to it. I tried everything else I had but no luck.

 

Finally, I took a bell sinker and ran my line through it and then tied the Rogue on. I then cast this out and reeled it into the bed and stopped. I then began to give some slack so the Rogue would float upwards and would then jiggle it in place. After about 5 minutes, the bass finally took the bait and I was able to get her in the boat. 

 

Only time that has ever worked for me.

 

 

Apparently this is a real technique.  Guys use it a lot in Missouri.  Heard about it on Bass Talk Live.

[Wprich]

I've used rage craw and space monkeys as topwaters around lily pads and they did well.  Don't know if they were intended for use as topwater but they were my goto several summers ago.

[Bluebasser86]

Making long cast and burning a jigging spoon ?

[The Baron]

When I first learned how to rig a dropshot, I was having great luck on ZMan Scented Paddlerz.  I didn’t realize they weren’t specifically designed as a dropshot bait. (Yes, I was very green when it comes to fishing soft plastics).

 

I still use them.  They work great, last for several fish and (the best part) is that the paddle tail keeps the bait from spinning on the retrieve.  We usually cast and work them back slowly, so more using that setup to keep a swimbait at a controlled depth than vertically dropping.

[king fisher]

spinnerbaits as wind chimes in trees.

[detroit1]

I tried pulling a floating rapala 3' behind a Dan Gapen 1oz. bait walker one day, never got a bite or tried it again.

[Scott F]

I was on a fly-in trip to Northern Manitoba several years ago. We had a guide who made us shore lunch every day with the walleyes we’d catch. One day, the guide had forgotten to pack silverware to eat our lunch with. I removed the treble hooks from a couple of Dardevle spoons and we were able to eat. I don’t believe Eppinger ever intended for their “spoons” to used as actual eating utensils.