What lures do you always start with/go

[everymanalion]

I am curious as sometimes I will go out and SLAY fish by being aggressive with my lure changes every 15-20 mins if i dont get bites, walking and casting, new spots from the bank, constant movement varying up my retrieve speed and switching from my UL with 6 pound test and generic spinners that will catch anything like joes flies, panther martins, mepps etc to my medium action bass rod with straight 10 pound mono test no leader that I use for topwater, senkos and even tiny little white grubs on the bass rod. I am trying to catch ANYTHING when I first get out to the water, trout, bass, perch, drum, sunfish etc to get my confidence up for the day before I start targeting specific fish.

 

But sometimes the fish are hitting top water and I am pretty sure they are feeding on bugs on the surface because they wont hit the wopper plopper, frog or anything else I throw. I like to start out with a small white grub on the bass rod and the joes flies on the UL then go up from there. Any other tips when the fish aren't biting besides all the stuff I listed above and going up in lure size, retrieve and spot gradually?

Also how in the hell do you cast these tiny little fake bug plastics that sit on the surface but if you add any amount of splitshot they just sink, I cant get them further than 5 feet from me without weight and they just sink instantly.

[Deleted account]

I don't really have a set list, depends on a bunch of things.

[MN Fisher]

10 minutes ago, Deleted account said:

I don't really have a set list, depends on a bunch of things.

Yep - water temp, clarity, calm or chop, sunny/cloudy/rainy

 

So many variables that I can't just pick one to start with every trip out.

[Dwight Hottle]

1 hour ago, everymanalion said:

 

Also how in the hell do you cast these tiny little fake bug plastics that sit on the surface but if you add any amount of splitshot they just sink, I cant get them further than 5 feet from me without weight and they just sink instantly.

 

The answer is called a fly rod. The line weight cast the little bug rather than an additional weight. 

[Bass Rutten]

I always start with what the prevailing wind, light intensity, water clarity, and recent weather events dictate, most days will require a different approach. If I got an hour to junk fish I grab my mh rod and a box I keep a few chatterbaits, jigs, and plastics in.

[Mike L]

13 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Yep - water temp, clarity, calm or chop, sunny/cloudy/rainy

 

So many variables that I can't just pick one to start with every trip out.

Ditto

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[Tennessee Boy]

When I start a home improvement project what tools do I start with?   It depends on the project.   

 

Same with fishing.  The tools (lures) I used depend on the water I'm fishing.

[roadwarrior]

I usually start with a PopMax.

[BrianMDTX]

I usually start with a Whopper Plopper, Zara Spook or PopMax. If no topwater action, or the bite dies down, I may switch over to many different baits. But I will normally start with topwaters. 

[PhishLI]

This totally depends on where. It's almost to the point in some places where anything topwater with trebles is out. Not a chance. Just mining slop.

[MickD]

2 hours ago, everymanalion said:

Also how in the hell do you cast these tiny little fake bug plastics that sit on the surface

Fly rod?  

[casts_by_fly]

I always start with what I want to catch them on.  Last night that was a popper because I hadn't fished a popper in years and the BR influenced bait monkey made me do it.  I thought it would be a good topwater bite given the conditions.  About an hour in throwing a popper, a frog, and a weedless spoon (which all should have gotten at least one blow up) I could tell that wasn't happening last night and was right.  I swapped subsurface and caught fish.  Talked to a guy at the ramp who had the same thought going in but didn't change up.  He didn't catch a topwater fish.

 

I'll start with what I want to fish or what I prefer to fish because if they are hitting that I'm golden.  Always more fun to catch with the way you want to fish (which usually is topwater for me).  You just have to be able to realize when it isn't happening and then decide how much you care.  I'll swap a topwater for a chatterbait or spinnerbait pretty easily.  If they aren't chasing I don't mind pitching a jig to targets or swimming a jig.  If the conditions are good enough (not 20 mph wind making boat position tough) then slowing down further to soft plastics is fine, but I may choose to fish elsewhere.  If I have to drop down to finesse lures and spinning rods I usually go home.  I don't need to catch fish that bad.

[Bankbeater]

2 hours ago, Deleted account said:

I don't really have a set list, depends on a bunch of things.

Sometime a topwater bait, sometimes a crankbait, and sometimes a Texas rig.  Wind, water clarity, cloud cover, and temp are some of the things I look at. 

[DaubsNU1]

I've been fishing two lakes recently...my game plan on both:

 

Lake #1: I like to be the first one off the ramp, 30-40 minutes prior to daylight. Start the day with Buzz-bait or a Plopper on one rod. Move to other rods/setups as the day progresses -- spinner-bait, chatterbait, SENKO, KVD 1.5, NED, T-rigged plastics

 

Lake #2: again, first off the ramp...start with buzz-bait, then move to spinner-bait and square-bills, maybe a rattle-trap. The other lures do not tend to produce on this lake.

[JbroBass]

3 hours ago, everymanalion said:

Also how in the hell do you cast these tiny little fake bug plastics that sit on the surface but if you add any amount of splitshot they just sink, I cant get them further than 5 feet from me without weight and they just sink instantly.

 

In addition to the fly rod, as mentioned by others, you could also try a bubble. I used to fish flies with a bubble on a spinning set-up and it works fine. 

 

 

[T-Billy]

I don't always start with it, but I often do. Sometimes it's all I throw all day. The Sweet Craw has been good to me. Heavy cover, open water structure, this thing on a Trig flat puts fish in the boat from ice out till ice over.

[everymanalion]

awesome info thank you for all the replies!!!

[Bird]

WP /  buzzbaits in the morning during warmer months.

[keagbassr]

Water temp, Weather, blah,blah, blah.  99% of the time I'm starting with a buzzbait, plus whatever i was catching them on last time out since its already tied on. 

[the reel ess]

This time of year, I start with a topwater of some kind, sometimes as many as three. A Plopper or a Spook Jr. I'll also have a buzzbait/spinnerbait, a frog, a lipless crank and a jig/T-rig. That last one is a year-round lure. 

[ironbjorn]

Since last season, usually a spinnerbait.

[gim]

I almost always start with a faster, more aggressive approach, at least for a little bit. It doesn’t take long to find out if that strategy works. I primarily start with this because it’s how I prefer to fish.

[BlakeMolone]

3 hours ago, T-Billy said:

I don't always start with it, but I often do. Sometimes it's all I throw all day. The Sweet Craw has been good to me. Heavy cover, open water structure, this thing on a Trig flat puts fish in the boat from ice out till ice over.

Do you feel like this bait is better than a reaction innovations beaver or basically interchangeable?

[schplurg]

Whatever is tied on unless I think something else will work better. and am not too lazy to change baits at that moment. It's an intricate system.

[Bass Rutten]

1 hour ago, BlakeMolone said:

Do you feel like this bait is better than a reaction innovations beaver or basically interchangeable?

Not better, just different. I use the bbb yomama which looks identical to the one pictured (as well as the ri sb). It has a much larger tail in relation to the body than the ri sweet beaver. A smaller tail to body ratio = faster fall rate>use in clearer water/tougher bites (reaction bite), bigger tailed baits = slower fall>use in dirtier water, it's good to have both for different conditions. That's the theory anyways, as always experiment, mother nature has been known to kick the rule book in the teeth.