Picking Out New Baits

[Mobasser]

Most bass fisherman I've known are picky about the baits they use. When I've gone to buy new baits, I look them over carefully.                I compare colors, and try make sure the baits are molded consistently, and packaged well.              My wife on the other hand, does just the opposite. She'll walk buy, and pick a package of plastics, then say, " These look good, they should work". She makes her choice based solely on how the baits look, most always on the color.                                   She gives little consideration to how deep the baits will run, the correct retrieve to fish them, or the time of year they may work best. She picks out fishing baits much like she does a new purse, sweater, or new shoes.                                                     Yet, it's amazing how well her non scientific method works at times. She could care less about water temps, time of year, or water clarity. But, she catches fish, pretty consistently. She prefers smaller stuff- tubes, small plastic worms, light jigs etc, and almost always uses a very slow steady retrieve, always with the same rod/ reel combo.               I think next season, I might try following her lead, and maybe I'll catch more fish. Im sure I've been guilty of over thinking everything in fishing, and trying too hard to make sure everything is " perfect".                                                I've been trying to figure this one out for years now. Her method works amazingly well, and she's outfished me several times. Pick a bait, start throwing it everywhere, retrieve it super slowly, and like she says" something will bite this one". And, if she doesn't catch anything, she never complains. She still has fun just being out there. Sometimes, taking a simple approach to fishing can be a good way to go. I've seen it work many times over the years.

[Mike L]

Your Lady is a perfect example of keeping it simple. 
She has her own set of criteria that makes sense to her and she’s good at it. 

Sometimes trying to over think our way through we lose focus of our true objective.

 

We can all learn a lesson from her. 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[A-Jay]

While I have heard the term 'Junk Fisherman', 

I'll admit that I don't totally understand it.

However I've not been exposed to very many

'Random Fisherman', or I suppose Fisherwomen in this case. 

Good on Her. 

A-Jay

[NavyToad]

My wife fishes a 3-4” grub on a 1/8 jighead and that’s it. Cast, slow steady retrieve, repeat. I usually have 4 rods rigged with different lures and she’s outfished me more times than I’d like to remember. She’s uses an Okuma spinning reel and a 20 year old 6’M Bionic Blade. 
 

[LrgmouthShad]

Hasn’t it been said that women are better natural fishers? I dunno what it is. My Mom has used a same slow steady retrieve with a lizard out fishing with me and done very well. A fisherwoman friend of mine uses nothing but a Texas rig worm and hopping retrieve along the bottom. Another one who’s been down to Florida a fair bit sticks with topwater and has caught some true giants. Her favorite lure is a buzzbait. 

[king fisher]

     I took my wife bass fishing while on vacation in WA Sate when we first started dating.  We were fishing a creek I fished growing up from shore.  I tied an inline spinner on her line and showed her how to cast a spinning rod.  I showed her the best hole, and told her the spinner would catch anything in the creek.  I walked up and down the creek throwing every lure in my box and didn't catch a fish.  She caught a dozen small bass, a few trout, and a bluegill.  She wanted to know why I didn't catch anything because it didn't seem difficult to her.  I told her I was after bigger bass so I used different lures.

      The next day we took a boat out on a lake, and I tied the same lure on her line.   Again I fished everything in the box and caught a couple small bass.  She caught the most and biggest bass, a 5 pound brown trout, a couple small rainbow's, and a few crappie.  Then she snagged her spinner and lost it.  She asked how much it cost, and I told her about $3.  She lost another one and quit fishing because she felt it was getting to expensive.  She then thanked me for letting her use the expensive lure while I fished the cheap ones that didn't catch any fish.  I didn't know what to say, but realized some times it is best not to say anything at all. 

     A few years later after we were married I got a package from Tackle Warehouse.  She looked at the lures, then noticed the price.  All she said was why don't you use the $3 lures that you let me use, that actually catch fish and quit buying all of this junk.  Again this was on of those times, when it was best to not to say anything at all.

[LrgmouthShad]

With what I said about gals sometimes seeming better natural fishers, I’m going to go out on a limb and say, carefully, without generalizing too much,  that hypothetically, if dudes can be more prideful than gals, then they can be more apt to tell themselves that what they are doing is right and if they aren’t catching, it’s the lures fault. This ties into what Catt recently posted with Gary Klein. And if a dude is catching, he might think that if he only changed just one thing, he might catch them better instead of staying with what is working. The gal could be less apt to blame the lure and instead thinks that she herself is doing something wrong or that she is throwing in the wrong spot or at the wrong depth. She might find them easier with less experience. 
 

it’s a pride thing

[jimmyjoe]

38 minutes ago, king fisher said:

  I didn't know what to say, but realized some times it is best not to say anything at all. 

 

   You just discovered the secret to a happy marriage! ? ?       jj

[papajoe222]

My wife constantly catches more fish than I do. She will, however, admit that I put her on the location, tied on whatever lure she was using unhooked and took pics of her and her fish.  I'd like to say it's because she spends more time actually fishing, but it occured to me that while I'm doing all that, she isn't fishing either....................? I've concluded it's that woman's touch that the fish just seem to like more. 

BTW, I'm partially color blind, so she is the one that picks bait colors.

[Jaderose]

16 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

 And if a dude is catching, he might think that if he only changed just one thing, he might catch them better instead of staying with what is working. 
 

it’s a pride thing

 

It's insane how much truth there is in this statement.  I can't begin to guess how many times I'll be having a good consistent day using something like a weightless Senko and then CHANGE TACTICS and have it fall apart.  WHY?  Why do I (we...I know I'm not the only one) do this?  It's moronic!

[LrgmouthShad]

50 minutes ago, Jaderose said:

 

It's insane how much truth there is in this statement.  I can't begin to guess how many times I'll be having a good consistent day using something like a weightless Senko and then CHANGE TACTICS and have it fall apart.  WHY?  Why do I (we...I know I'm not the only one) do this?  It's moronic!

There’s a caveat to this though. I don’t think that just because someone’s catching dinks consistently that they are on the best pattern for bigger fish. So as far as I’m concerned, if all I’m catching is small ones, I haven’t found the pattern yet. 

[A-Jay]

1 hour ago, Jaderose said:

 

It's insane how much truth there is in this statement.  I can't begin to guess how many times I'll be having a good consistent day using something like a weightless Senko and then CHANGE TACTICS and have it fall apart.  WHY?  Why do I (we...I know I'm not the only one) do this?  It's moronic!

Yup ~

I was not only a member of this group,

I was the freaking Club President !

Actually had my guide in Mexico Yell at me for doing it. 

Took me a REALLY long time to break the habit too.

Now I'm sort of stuck in the opposite zone.

I get a few decent fish and good luck getting whatever bait that was out of my hand !

If there's a middle ground in this one somewhere, I'm still looking for it.

A-Jay

[Black Hawk Basser]

We will see how my wife does at picking new baits for me.  She says I am notoriously hard to shop for, so I gave her a picture of a ZMan package and said just buy a bunch of bags of these in whatever colors and shapes you think are 'cool'.  My birthday is Sunday, so the big reveal is coming!  I'm sure my 7 year old son also helped in picking the baits, so I imagine there will be some blue choices among the haul.  He loves him some blue lures.

 

I'll post what I got in the bait monkey thread.

[Bankbeater]

My daughter picked me out some bubblegum flukes for Father's day about 10 years ago because they were pretty.  Danged if I didn't start catching bass on that bait.  Now I always keep a package in the tackle bag.

[roadwarrior]

For the most part my "new lures" are those recommended by members here at 

BassResource. 

 

[Columbia Craw]

44 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

For the most part my "new lures" are those recommended by members here at 

BassResource. 

 

And that is wisdom.

[Log Catcher]

For me fishing is much like @papajoe222. I pick out my wifes baits, take the fish off the and take pictures. She only uses two rods with spincast reels on them. One for soft plastics and one for crankbaits most of the time. She hates crankbaits. She says those mean treble hooks attack her. She doesn't usually try to pick out any baits for me. If I tell her what I want and where to get it she will get them for me for birthday or Christmas.

[thediscochef]

At this point my only 'new lures' are new colors of 1/8oz chatterbaits, and various plastics I can rig them with that will impart a lot of action. Always looking for new plastic shapes and colors. But thats about it. I have one lure, one technique. If that's not getting bit, I'm better off changing location before changing techniques. My lady doesn't really fish so that's not been an experience yet.

[Jaderose]

18 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

There’s a caveat to this though. I don’t think that just because someone’s catching dinks consistently that they are on the best pattern for bigger fish. So as far as I’m concerned, if all I’m catching is small ones, I haven’t found the pattern yet. 

I don't disagree at all.  If I'm just catching little dink after dink, I'll happily change tactic or move on but I'll change baits even if I'm catching nice fish.  I guess maybe the thought process is I can catch EVEN BIGGER ONES with *insert bait choice here* and it rarely works.  The only time I never do this is is frogging but I can't exactly tie on a crank bait and throw it on a scum mat.  I've probably tried...lol

[scaleface]

I'm glad my wife doesnt like to fish . I'd never get any peace and quiet. We go on a fishing vacation , she sits at the cottage or back of the boat and reads .

[Catt]

Wanna know how much ya don't know about fishing...take a kid!

 

My granddaughter Lissie Rose, pick her on lure out of daddy tackle box, pitched in front of the bass, & stuck it. Daddy got skunked!

 

 

[WRB]

When my son was about 6 he wanted to choose his own lures in the boat. My choice for him was a split shot S & P 3” reaper. He would get bored and find something else to try. I wouldn’t say anything and hold my breath as he learned to tie knots or use a clip to change lures. He lost a few lures and caught some bass on things I hadn’t thought of. Tommy settles down on soft plastics and a Shurmy Shad aluminum spoon. He caught good fish on the spoon from big 2-3 lb crappie, channel cats, a few trout and carp in places I wouldn't use the Shurmy spoon over the years.

Letting a kid explore your tackle box is both priceless and pricy. 

Tom