Rookie of the year baits

[Munkin]

Since the bass season is winding down I thought I would post my ROY baits. This year was a little different in that I spent more time fishing creeks and rivers for SM than LM. With that said the 3 techniques that shined were; small bait finesse. spinnerbait. and topwater. To put this into perspective I have caught more fish in the past 3 months on topwaters than in the previous 5 years. 

 

Top 3:

 

#1 Ned beavers I had made, these have caught fish anywhere and everywhere. Not a big fish bait but my biggest SM of the year at 3.9 was caught on one.

#2 Evergreen JT 95 walking topwater bait. This is a compact, silent bait that just produced for me since May in clear water. Not sure what color I have but it looks like LC Chartruese shad? Going to pick up a couple more colors this winter for this bait.

#3 Don Iovino popper. This was a recommendation from a friend that paid off.  This bait is more of a spitter than a popper and it just flat out catches bass (and bats). I would say this is more of a finesse popper than other baits so with all the low clear water we had this year it shined.

 

Allen

 

 

[Columbia Craw]

For me a few baits stick out.

 

Yamamoto Yamatanuki

This bait was very effective when pitched around cover, especially in the pre-spawn period.

 

6th Sense Glitch Worm

Excellent results as a drop shot bait.

 

6th Sense Munch

This is now my go to crankbait for ultra shallow fish.

 

Good stuff!

 

[RRocket]

For me, it's unquestionably been "poop baits". Finally broke down and bought these and they flat out produced for me during what turned out to be a very tough year.

 

I particularly like the Coverscat and also the Spinnuts. I like the idea of the Yamatanuki, but it didn't produce as well.

 

Honorable mentions:

 

-Dolive Beaver on Free Rig is exceptional.

 

-3" Zako on a Minimax chatterbait is an outstanding trailer.

[thediscochef]

9 minutes ago, RRocket said:

-3" Zako on a Minimax chatterbait is an outstanding trailer.

try the berkley powerstingers too. I find it stays on plane better than the zako. Also if you really want to downsize the minimax and add action, use the 4" yamamoto shad shape worm. Can be a little tough to rig but once you get it, it's a killer

[RRocket]

2 hours ago, thediscochef said:

try the berkley powerstingers too. I find it stays on plane better than the zako. Also if you really want to downsize the minimax and add action, use the 4" yamamoto shad shape worm. Can be a little tough to rig but once you get it, it's a killer

To add action, I don't think anything beats a 3.5" Spunk Shad. And even better, some of the colors were deliberately matched to the Minimax colors. 

 

For me, this is the best trailer on the market for the Minimax.

 

But you're absolutely correct. The Zako is a more subdued presentation. But gosh does it look good and fish well! I have a Blue Gill Minimax paired with the Electric Shad Zako. Looks great. From some angles, the back nearly glows purple (see image) and other angles barely visible.

 

It's just a really, really good bait.

 

Oh..I also use a Chartreuse and Yellow Minimax with Chartreuse Electric Blue Zako for Pike! I'm trying to mimic Yellow Perch. But the bass eat it too! (Image)

 

 

[Choporoz]

10 hours ago, Munkin said:

Since the bass season is winding down I thought I would post my ROY baits. This year was a little different in that I spent more time fishing creeks and rivers for SM than LM. With that said the 3 techniques that shined were; small bait finesse. spinnerbait. and topwater. To put this into perspective I have caught more fish in the past 3 months on topwaters than in the previous 5 years. 

 

Top 3:

 

#3 Don Iovino popper. This was a recommendation from a friend that paid off.  This bait is more of a spitter than a popper and it just flat out catches bass (and bats). I would say this is more of a finesse popper than other baits so with all the low clear water we had this year it shined.

 

Allen

 

 

Sunday morning, I started with a huge Evergreen SB, downsized to a spook, then a spook junior.   Not a whiff.  Once I tied on a Iovino popper, it was game on.  And not just dinks.  A couple of my biggest fish in last several weeks came on that tiny popper.   Best bet was to skip the dog walking, and just bring it straight back fairly quickly, with a little pop every few feet

[Functional]

This year the bulk of my fish can be accounted for (including my PB) on a Z-mann mini max in spot remover and a dirty jigs 3/8 swim jig in white.

 

Typically big on spinnerbaits they just didnt work for me this year. 

[LrgmouthShad]

I did not put a lot of time into new baits. I spent the first part of 2023 in Missouri and then moved to Texas in March. New lakes, more than new baits. 

[Bird]

I threw more wacky finesse worms and Shakyhead this year than any year previous and never exceeded 1/8 oz.

They kept producing and I kept throwing them.

[Pat Brown]

Kinda caught them on the usual suspects like jigs and spinnerbaits and crankbaits and plastics but this year I added Jerkbait, Frog and Buzzbait to my list of confidence techniques!

 

Loooooot of fish caught on Frogs, Buzzbaits and Jerkbait this year I wouldn't have caught otherwise and a lot of fun bites and bigger fish in addition to piles of small ones.

[Cgolf]

One really jumps out, the Berkley #7 Flicker shad shallow. This bait caught a bunch of fish for me on a late spring early summer N. WI outing. My father in-law was on the same lake mid august and it was the go to bait then too. I thought it was just a cooler water or post frontal bait, but it appears just to be a fish catcher. 

 

Of course I now own like 8 of them;)

[Big Rick]

The Don Iovino Splash-It Popper has been the number one popper style bait in my arsenal for many years. I have count countless bass on them. And my number one color is Bluegill, though I have caught fish on most of the colors. They come in standard (2-1/4" ~ 1/4oz) and Big (2-3/4 ~ 3/8oz). I keep both sizes in my favorite colors as often time the fish will short strike the bigger one and inhale the standard size. They're both very easy to throw and to work. 

 

 

I really didn't have a standout rookie bait. I did have a standout presentation this year ~ square bill cranks in lay-downs. My two best cranks were:

 

Bill Lewis ATV Squarebill 1.0. I believe ATV stands for All Terrain Vehicle as this is the most daring square bill I have ever thrown. I almost will NOT hang up in limbs and lay-downs. Very versatile and tough as nails. It comes in several sizes with 1.0 being my most used.  Favorite color is grey gizzard. 

 

 

Rapala Ott's Garage OG Rocco 5 crank bait. This is a balsa bait that has high flotation and a smooth, rhythmic wobble. It is deadly silent, which is awesome for pressured fish. I love the bruised citrus shad color. 

 

[webertime]

Zoom Z Craw in Yabby mud bug

[Bankbeater]

This year I fished a lot of baits that have not seen water in a while, but the only new rookie bait I fished this year has been a 1/4 Mini Max.  I'm about ready to send it back down to the farm club.

[RRocket]

4 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

I did not put a lot of time into new baits. I spent the first part of 2023 in Missouri and then moved to Texas in March. New lakes, more than new baits. 

How exciting is that!! 

[Hook2Jaw]

The Headhunter Fire Tail Craw was an absolute machine for me all year long.  Particularly in cold water on deep laydowns, the bait caught fish.

 

My second standout was the Netbait Paca Slim, Texas rigged.  That bait never went without a bite when I decided to pick it up.

 

Third and most recently was the Lucky Craft Lightning Pointer.  I've finally found my shallow 3-6' jerkbait that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

[MN Fisher]

Only rookie I had this year was the Mr Twister Ned Ringer...produced better than TRDs on my Ned-Heads.

[Choporoz]

Earlier this year, I bought a big lot of plastics from a member here.  In the box were a few packages of little 2.8 Keitechs.  I've never thrown swimbaits that small and just tossed them in a pile.  After two different podcasts about fall fishing talked about downsizing, I decided to dig them out.  I've been tossing them on 1/4 oz Spiked Jigheads from @Siebert Outdoors and killing it the past couple weeks.

[Munkin]

Forgot about the Zcraw Jrs on a football wobble head. Caught a bunch of fish this summer in 1-3 FOW using a 1/4oz head and GP Zcraw Jr baits. Found this pattern out completely by accident. Fishing with a buddy he saw the bait tied on a rod that had been on there for a month. Since the water was clear figured I would throw it beside the boat to show him how it works. Casted right beside the boat 3' behind the motor. Fish hit it right away and on the next 4 casts I caught one, This wobble head bait suprisingly doesn't get snagged much even though its heavy compared to the water depth.

 

Allen

[txchaser]

Shimano World Boost Jerkbait, both deep and regular. 

Vision 110's catch dinks for me, I don't understand it. Maybe a texas thing. 

So far if they are biting jerkbaits they will bite this. 

One thing on deck to try though is some silent jerkbaits.

 

Deps 7+ deep crank, I've talked about the day elsewhere here. If I had just immediately turned to fish the pattern I had a good shot at a 35lb bag. Fiddled around with big worms a bunch and some other deep cranks. Ended up with a couple of eights and a seven or maybe it was two 7's and and eight and some other misc fish, 4-5 didn't weigh.

[Cdn Angler]

New bait for me this year was the Gary Yamamoto Hula Grub, an old bait, in dirty plum, which was a fish catching machine. I was trying to figure out why and I think it is basically the same profile as a small football jig/trailer, except with an extremely slow rate of fall, depending on the bullet weight you use. I fished it wacky, weightless, in heavy cover, pegged, unpegged, clear water, dirtier water, down to like 15 feet of water. It just worked over and over again in terms of generating bites. I also found it surprisingly durable for a GY bait and it still got bit if I rigged it differently after it got torn up. 

 

I've never had much luck fishing a chatterbait, but I made some changes that worked. Changed from 3/8 to a 1/2 oz, and from a "chatterbait" TM to a locally made bladed jig. Changed to a 4.5 spunk shad trailer. And mainly used it in low light conditions (dawn/dusk). That seemed to be the formula for me. I used a white/pink version and probably caught 50ish fish on that setup, many of them decent, and also many pike and even one big walleye. 

 

Lastly a keitech tungsten casting jig. 

 

Those three baits were probably 30% of all fish I caught this year. 

On 10/17/2023 at 12:28 PM, Choporoz said:

Sunday morning, I started with a huge Evergreen SB, downsized to a spook, then a spook junior.   Not a whiff.  Once I tied on a Iovino popper, it was game on.  And not just dinks.  A couple of my biggest fish in last several weeks came on that tiny popper.   Best bet was to skip the dog walking, and just bring it straight back fairly quickly, with a little pop every few feet

I had many similar days with a Ima Finesse Popper, which is also tiny. Same deal where bigger topwaters weren't working, then switched and it got bit quickly. 

 

I don't know why, but I don't get bit nearly as much on big/loud topwaters anymore (large spooks, whopper ploppers), whereas previously big smallmouth were committing suicide on them. Not sure why the change. The only thing I can think of is that the ubiquity of the Choppo/Whopper Plopper has made fish wary of big/loud topwaters in general. 

[NittyGrittyBoy]

1 bait, all year, and is still producing. I throw everything and end up fishing this 1 lure 90% of the day. 

 

From lakes scattered in North Fla to rivers winding in South GA, custom made Devilshorse has ruled this entire year again.

[Woody B]

My only "rookie" was a bladed jig.   I hadn't caught anything on one until late last year.   Not my biggest producer, but a steady producer.   I use various jigs and trailers but my best is a 3/8 ounce Sievert Fogy with a manns classic spinnerbait trailer.   

[gim]

I honestly don’t think I tried a single lure or presentation this past season that I haven’t tried before.

 

I had my second best season in 25 years here, so there’s that.

 

I am generally a “strike while the iron is hot” kind of guy. I fish to my strengths, and if it’s working, I keep using it. That’s what happened almost this entire season here.

[FryDog62]

Rookie Winners

• Free Rig - Geecrack Bellows, Dolive Beaver, Berkley Jester
• Scat/Poop category - Deps 3.5, Fish Arrow 3.6 and Missile Baits Bomba

 

Losers

• Shimano World Pop (I like the flash, but it doesn't pop/spit or walk very well)
• Yamatanuchi was just okay, I need to give it more time...