i can name my SINGLE favorite bass fishing technique. (to help me shop)

[Darth-Baiter]

i do them all.  well, i do lots of them.  but i know my favorite way to catch a bass.  

 

i do realize it is almost an impossiblity for forum member of any forum to name a single favorite, so i wont try.  hahah..:D

 

my single favorite:  is bottom contact bass fishing.  i love it low and slow.  that slow, meticulous, methodical fishing where i am imagining my bait creeping and hopping along the bottom.  i love interpreting the bottom contour, pretending i can understand the tactile feedback better than i actually can.  then i love when my bait stops (!).  i freeze.  hold tension.  "is it a snag?"  "can it be a bass?"..it's like playing chicken at that point.  i take a long pause to feel if i can tell if it is pulling back.  "nope..snag."  proceed.    they arent all the typical TAP TAP TAP  of a bass sucking in the bait.  sometimes it is nothing, but the line moving to the side.    jigs, light texas rigs, etc.    i love leaning back into the rod to drive the hook point home.   i lean hard if it is a heavy hook jig, but for the most part i trend towards needle like hooks.  thinner.  i like precision casting to cover.  lighter bait rigs.

i am saying this because i have been thinking about it somewhat.  with respect to my next rod purchases.  

 

thanks to this forum, i am better educated. i used to just buy rods and use them for whatever techique.  drives my boat friend nuts.  he laughs when i lose fish.   (i'm that guy that hooked a good bass on a Fury 703, with 12lb flouro, and a FROG - it didnt end in my favor) i am gonna buy a couple of GREAT rods to start.  may as well rank my favorite techiques so i can systematically buy a few good rods.  i'm gonna buy the MegaBass X-bites for my single favorite fishing method.  hope my wife doenst notice.  hahah.  them maybe the FMJ for the heavier bottom contact stuff...or a Windbuster by Christmas.  (hey, i have to buy myself something!)

 

i think knowing my favorite way to fish is really helping me save money.  yup.  i said it.  no willy nilly shotgun approach to buying gear like i use to.  

 

what is your Single favorite techinque..and is it asscociated with your best rod/reel combo?  or no.

[Mobasser]

My single favourite technique is fishing t rig plastic worms. I have a couple of rods I use for this.

[king fisher]

Crankbaits are my favorite.  They have been my number one from back in the day when they were called bass plugs, and had metal bills.  I have never met a crankbait I didn't like.  Doesn't matter how many I own, every time I see a new one, I have to have it.  Every time I loose one, it was my favorite and has to be replaced.    

[Darth-Baiter]

@king fisher every time i catch a bass on a crank, i tell myself, "wow..i cant believe that worked!"

 

i got a few this weekend.  and yes,  it was fun as heck.  but sadly, i cant seem to figure out a crank consistently.

[gim]

Definitely frog or topwater fishing.  When its going, its violent and exciting.

 

Unfortunately I haven't been on a good frog or topwater bite in years.  I think its the pressure.

[Darth-Baiter]

frog or topwater is definately up there.  

[A-Jay]

Top-Water ~ !

While not my most productive technique,

it is Easily my favorite way to get bites. 

A-Jay

 

[Cbump]

Pitching Texas rigs or jigs for me! I like close contact battles. 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

1.) Big sub surface swimbaits........combines topwater with the ability to tease fish into biting, along with getting to watch fish follow your bait.   Hard to top watching a fish track your bait like a Great White for 10-15yds, and then you get it to commit 5 ft from the boat.

 

2.) Buzzbaits.....the ultimate topwater for me because it moves so much water.   While Pop-R and Walk the dog types produce epic bites, they are a bit more boring to fish because of the pace you work them

 

3.) Suspending Jerkbait......when they decide to eat a jerking stick, they usually decide to eat it by the boatload.    The actual hit is extremely addictive as well, watching them knock slack into your line is so exciting.  

 

**** Honorable mention:   Setting the hook on a T-Rig bait, not fishing them, but the actual hookset is one of the best feelings under the sun.  That moment of hookup....."I AM LEGEND" ?

[Pat Brown]

Jig/Jerkbait/glidebait/crankbait.

 

I fish all of it these a lot.  I can't get enough of the bite on any of these but jig and jerkbait seem to get me fired up to start hunting for a fish the most confidently.

 

Only reason topwater isn't up there is the hookup/land ratio makes it my least used technique, but when they're munching on top, it's in there too.

[Darth-Baiter]

Just now, Pat Brown said:

Jig/Jerkbait/glidebait/crankbait.

 

I fish all of it these a lot.  I can't get enough of the bite on any of these but jig and jerkbait seem to get me fired up to start hunting for a fish the most confidently.

 

Only reason topwater isn't up there is the hookup/land ratio makes it my least used technique, but when they're munching on top, it's in there too.

dang..that is like 4 different rod setups for me.  5 if you get a warm glow from the topwater..

 

 

[TnRiver46]

Spinnerbait. Hands down. 

[Jar11591]

Man it’s hard to pick, but most days I would say topwater. A popper is one of my most successful baits year in and year out, and was champion for 4 years running. Seeing a popper get crushed over a weed flat or rock pile will never get old. Both smallmouth and largemouth willingly take surface lures in these parts.

Close second has to be a spinnerbait. Slowly reeling, feeling that steady thump then all of the sudden it just gets crushed and the fish sets the hook on you.

Heart is pumping just thinking about it. 
 

Honorable mention goes to jig fishing, when you feel that absolute no-doubter of a bite, where you can really wind up that hookset and stick em good! 

[T-Billy]

Pitching the nastiest stuff I can find floats my boat. I often grind away with the flippin stick even when I know something else would likely be more productive. 

[Pat Brown]

6 minutes ago, Darth-Baiter said:

dang..that is like 4 different rod setups for me.  5 if you get a warm glow from the topwater..

 

 

 

I cheat. 

 

I can fish my topwater and jerkbaits and crankbaits on the same combo with 10 lb big game.

 

I can fish my glide and my jigs on the same combo with 20 lb big game.

 

I do typically just have 4 or 5 rods ready to go in the car/on the jonboat but I truly can just bring a tackle box and two rods if I'm determined to go that route (visiting friends/camping/fishing in a boat with lots of people)

[Bankc]

56 minutes ago, king fisher said:

Crankbaits are my favorite.  They have been my number one from back in the day when they were called bass plugs, and had metal bills.  I have never met a crankbait I didn't like.  Doesn't matter how many I own, every time I see a new one, I have to have it.  Every time I loose one, it was my favorite and has to be replaced.    

Crankbaits, with spinnerbaits being a close second.  

[J._Bricker]

Flipping/ pitching/ punching to cover

[N Florida Mike]

The way you described is basically my presentation. With me it’s soft plastics fished slow, but I do catch a lot when it’s moving too.

I have basically 5 combos that I commonly use . I can and have used all of them for fishing plastics, but Usually now there are 3 for soft plastics, 1 for a spinnerbait, and 1 for a chatterbait… the chatterbait rod is also my frog rod…

[Texas Flood]

Jerkbaits and Football jigs. 

[Darth-Baiter]

4 minutes ago, N Florida Mike said:

The way you described is basically my presentation. With me it’s soft plastics fished slow, but I do catch a lot when it’s moving too.

I have basically 5 combos that I commonly use . I can and have used all of them for fishing plastics, but Usually now there are 3 for soft plastics, 1 for a spinnerbait, and 1 for a chatterbait… the chatterbait rod is also my frog rod…

 awesome!!  right now, i am using a Fury 733 with a Curado 150, and 12lb Sunline Sniper.  i am kicking butte.  but the rod is okay..just okay.  i really need to be pulling gently with rod tip just preloaded to notice anything good is happening on the end.  the best thing about the rod is i can cast baits easily.  just a flick of the arm wrist..and i am accurate.

 

 

[Mike L]

Most times it’s a Magnum Speed Worm over, in and through most anything that grows. 

 

If and when that bite dies just give me a foot thick matt of hydrilla, the big stick, and a big weight and leave me alone. 
 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[Steveo-1969]

Up until 2 years ago my favorite technique was a skirted finesse jig. I even had @Delaware Valley Tackle build me a custom BC rod specifically for this technique. Then the tip broke off in a car seat accident in 2021 and I haven’t gotten it fixed yet… ????

 

I’ve fished light jig heads and plastics the past two years (almost exclusively) and have two spinning rods dedicated for this. A 1-power and a 2-power GLX jig pitching rod from Loomis’ walleye series. I can’t imagine better rods for casting light jigs!

[Catt]

CATT is a bottom feeder!

 

Once the boat comes down off of plane the first thing I grab is a Texas Rig, Wacky Rig, Shaky Head Weightless T-rig, Carolina Rig, Jig-N-Craw, Mojo Rig, Rage Rig, Drop Shot or anything that takes me to the bottom.

 

I'm gonna be casting, flipping, pitching, punching, hopping, dragging, shaking, dead sticking, or skipping.

 

I don't care if its grass, brush, timber, rocks, docks, pads, lay downs, shore line or off shore.

 

I don't care if its pre- spawn, spawn, post spawn, summer, dog days, fall, winter, morning, noon, or night.

 

Give me 2 rod-n-reels with any of the above techniques & I be happy, happy, happy!

[btoups]

Topwater is my favorite.  Any type of topwater bite just get the blood flowing.

 

Second would be moving baits.  I love to feel them hit a crankbait or spinner bait.

 

My least favorite is slow bottom fishing, but I do like the feeling of setting the hook especially when fishing a T rig.

 

 

[BrianMDTX]

Topwater is fun. No doubt about it. But my favorite is working a Texas rig on the bottom. Especially in cover. Just feeling that subtle bite, taking in the slack, slamming that hook point home and then watching that bass take off gets me going. 
 

I like using pretty much everything, but I tire (mentally) of chucking and reeling in crankbaits for long periods of time. But I can work a Texas rig from dawn to dusk.