The Skunk Award Goes To…

[PotatoLake]

Hey y’all I’m starting this thread as both a way to vent frustration and also investigate why one particular lure category provided little to zero fish this year.

 

So the lure I spent the most time throwing and catching ZERO fish was a buzzbait. I also had no blowups either. And I tried several different ones in several different bodies of water from March to November. I don’t get it. Now that I think of it I can only remember 1 fish Ive ever caught on one.

 

So what lure did you devote the most time to that saw little to no action?

 

[LrgmouthShad]

Flipping/punching jigs IN lily pads. I expected much better results than I got. However, I do think that I lost one of the biggest bites I've gotten this season doing that.

 

I tried hard, it just never was terribly effective for me

[gunsinger]

Jigs in general for me.  I guess I lack the patience ?

[jimmyjoe]

11 minutes ago, gunsinger said:

Jigs in general for me.  I guess I lack the patience ?

 

   I quit drinking (alcohol).  I replaced it with coffee. I understand COMPLETELY.   ?         JJ

[LrgmouthShad]

19 minutes ago, jimmyjoe said:

I replaced it with coffee. I understand COMPLETELY.   ?         JJ

Sipping on a cold brew right now. 

[FishinBuck07]

Jigs for me also!  Fish them and never get bit, my buddy always yells at me for not having it in my hand.  But why continue to be frustrated when I can fish something else.

[A-Jay]

A Glide Bait ~

Going on a couple of seasons now.

I just don't get it.

A-Jay

[scaleface]

A large Bagleys Balsa Shad . One of those realistic looking ones meant for striped bass . Every so often I catch a large bass with a huge shad in its gut , so I thought this lure would catch some lunkers for me . I threw the lure until the lip fell off and never caught a single fish .

[TnRiver46]

I didn’t try any useless baits this year that I can recall . I have in years gone by, just don’t really fool with them anymore (like whopper plopper)

 

caught plenty with buzz bait and jigs, even got a couple dinks on a spinnerbait. If you want to catch fish use plastic worms 

[PotatoLake]

2 hours ago, A-Jay said:

A Glide Bait ~

Going on a couple of seasons now.

I just don't get it.

A-Jay

I'm probably on your side of the argument for or against glide baits, but the couple of times I got bites, it was pretty exciting, so I can see why people throw them. But, ultimately going fishing and knowing most likely I'm going to strike out is a tough concept for me.

 

To all my friends that replied with Jigs, I will just say this, and maybe I need to take my own advice on buzzers. Stick with it, they pay off, but I've also learned what lakes are "Jig" lakes and what lakes are not in my area. I think that has helped me avoid those skunky days with them. I don't really have any specific advice as there's a whole thread on that topic I'm sure you'e already perused.

[Swampdonkeyfishing]

I caught many fish on a buzz bait this year i wander why you didn't

 

 

 

[Luke Barnes]

For me it was the A Rig. I tried different paddletails in different colors, in different bodies of water and never got a sniff. I thought they were so good they were banned?? I put it down, picked up a Jackhammer, and caught fish. 

 

I'm on the jig train too in that I dont have much luck with them. This year I threw them more but still not alot. I got some finesse jigs and used small trailers, I tried big ones with rage craws, and the only thing I caught with was a swim jig. 

[zpelletier]

I caught zero fish on a ned rig. Everyone says it’s deadly, not for me. 

[PotatoLake]

2 hours ago, zpelletier said:

I caught zero fish on a ned rig. Everyone says it’s deadly, not for me. 

Whoa, now that is surprising. Were you using Zman TRDs?

3 hours ago, Swampdonkeyfishing said:

I caught many fish on a buzz bait this year i wander why you didn't

 

 

 

I really wish I knew why I struck out on the buzzer. I threw it grass, over flats, next to laydowns and docks. I used every color you can think of. Zilch, Nothing, Nada.

[Columbia Craw]

Spy bait.

[HaydenS]

Wacky rig.  I hate fishing this thing.  Pretty sure it’s a medieval form of torture.

I’ve caught one fish on it, and it was about 10 inches long.

[DitchPanda]

My biggest letdown this year was a spinner bait with my close 2nd being a swim jig. I caught some fish on both even some nice ones...but they have been confidence baits for me for several years now and this year they didn't pan out like I hoped they would. That said I  did gain slot of confidence in both the Ned rig and a popper...they both caught alot of fish for me. Oh and the buzz bait thing..I smoked em again on it this year for the 4th or 5th year running. Just straight clobbered them.

[thediscochef]

3" swim shads of various types. Caught one bass on it but spent probably a month throwing it. The idea was to emulate their food but I guess I wasn't good enough for them lol

I discovered the tiny chatterbait and didn't look back 

[zpelletier]

1 hour ago, PotatoLake said:

Whoa, now that is surprising. Were you using Zman TRDs?

Yes, I was. I have no clue what I’m doing wrong, but I haven’t even gotten a nibble when I’ve thrown a ned rig. I’ve watched videos on different techniques, still nothing. 

[Way north bass guy]

1 hour ago, Columbia Craw said:

Spy bait.

Me too!

I’ve given one a shot several times over the last two years, and all I manage to catch is pike. I figured they’d be gangbusters here in Georgian Bay’s gin clear waters, and I’m sure they are for some people, but not me. I can go through an area with one and haul water, and turn right around and hit the same area with a big spinnerbait and hammer the smallmouth. Guess I’ll just keep crushing them with the good ole spinnerbait instead. 

[OldManLure]

8 hours ago, A-Jay said:

A Glide Bait ~

Going on a couple of seasons now.

I just don't get it.

A-Jay

I’m with you on this.  I think bass feel sorry for a bait that swims like it’s drunk, and leave them alone.

[HaydenS]

59 minutes ago, zpelletier said:

Yes, I was. I have no clue what I’m doing wrong, but I haven’t even gotten a nibble when I’ve thrown a ned rig. I’ve watched videos on different techniques, still nothing. 

Try and swim it.  Cast it out, give it a second to sink and slow reel it and throw in a couple twitches and pops.  They’ll throttle it.  Gonna go out and swim a ned rig tomorrow. 

[thediscochef]

21 minutes ago, HaydenS said:

Try and swim it.  Cast it out, give it a second to sink and slow reel it and throw in a couple twitches and pops.  They’ll throttle it.  Gonna go out and swim a ned rig tomorrow. 

This. I never had luck with a ned doing it the way you see in videos, always with the slow retrieve with a stop in the middle if the lure rises too high in the water. I believe that's kinda how Ned himself retrieves most of the time as well. Soon as I did as Ned suggested in a Dec 2019 article on Zmans website I started catching em. Helps the classic Ned to be in clear water; I started using the zman chatterbait micro with TRDs because I'm in stained water everywhere and I needed some flash and noise but still wanted the compact presentation of the ned. Worked like a charm.

[Columbia Craw]

3 hours ago, Way north bass guy said:

Me too!

I’ve given one a shot several times over the last two years, and all I manage to catch is pike. I figured they’d be gangbusters here in Georgian Bay’s gin clear waters, and I’m sure they are for some people, but not me. I can go through an area with one and haul water, and turn right around and hit the same area with a big spinnerbait and hammer the smallmouth. Guess I’ll just keep crushing them with the good ole spinnerbait instead. 

I refuse to give up on this bait.  I know it’s a niche’ bait and I just have to hit the right situation.  I don’t force feed smallmouth.  I’ll do a hurrah post when it it proves itself.

[papajoe222]

I don't have a style of lure, but I do have a brand that I've never, repeat, N E V E R  caught a fish with and that's Bandit cranks.  I am clueless as to why, but I can mark fish at a certain depth, throw the corresponding Bandit crank and zip. Take it off and throw a Bomber, or a LC and it's fish on.