Need help with selecting lures/baits for largemouth/spotted bass in Eastern NC

[Rocky998]

Hi everyone! I'm a fisherman in eastern NC and I really want to start targeting bass! 

I've been using spinnerbaits but haven't gotten any bites. I also have a chatterbait but stupid me got the wrong color (Carolina craw)...

 

I have 2, maybe 3 water types I fish. One being the Neuse and Trent rivers which are both brackish water as they are connected to eachother and to the ocean. The water there is always brown. Sometimes it clears up a bit, but it always has a tannin stain to it. But mostly it's gonna be murky as well.

 

Two is a quarry lake. There's lots of aquatic weeds/plants in there but don't mat at the top from what I've seen and I don't know how or if I should penetrate it. Should I use a tungsten weight with a bobber stop and a soft plastic?

This water is clearer. May sometimes be a little brown at times due to tannins, but otherwise the visibility is pretty good! 

 

Three is the rivers still, but further up where it's a bit more fresh water. Same conditions as far as water clarity goes, just a bit fresher water.

 

I'm unsure of what to use... I have a medium heavy baitcasting rod with a daiwa lexa 100h on it, a medium heavy spinning rod, a medium spinning rod, and an ultralight as well.

I've tried senkos for a little this year and plan to still try, but haven't gotten anything. Tried crankbaits, nothing, and spinnerbaits as well... 

 

My plan right now is to get into soft plastics. I plan to get 3 different colors of the strike king rage bug (black/blue swirl, Okeechobee craw, and blue craw), the June bug variant of the rage craw, the paddle tail yamamoto zako (still deciding on colors but know I'm using it to imitate a shad presence, so probably somethingwith white), and a bunch of jig type things like the strike king hack attack heavy cover swim jig, and strike king swinging swim jig. 

 

I've done tons of research and feeling overwhelmed as I don't want to waste money on things that won't benefit me in the long run.

 

This is a big step for me cause I used to really only use actual bait like worms, or something like rooster tails, and maybe a small type of crank bait here and there. 

I used to think jigs and all these 3 inch+ soft plastics were way too big for fish, but after looking into stuff I'm realizing I'm wrong lol.

 

Also, speaking of that... I want to get the 3" zako, but all the 3/8 chatterbaits I've seen have a 5/0 hook which would be really massive on a 3" bait, right? 

So I'm confused on what to do there. 

 

 

[FishTax]

I'd focus on one body of water and try to get some bites and learn the area and patterns before moving to the next. You need to learn and build confidence, not get confused by the thousands of baits and colors we Constantly discuss here. Start with high probability stuff, like senkos. I didn't fish rivers often but a senko is universal fish catcher! 

 

Ps I crossed the Neuse a few hours ago on my way to the beach 😎 would love to fish it sometime when not with family in the van 😊

[Rocky998]

I probably need to learn it better is all, but I also think other baits like craws and swimbaits would help. Especially in the brown water here where the action and vibration helps.

I have the green pumpkin colored senkos with nothing else (ie, no glitter or added colors). And I think it just blends right into the water...

[Pat Brown]

I agree with bass fishing, you're going to want to pick one good body of water you're positive has some bass in it and focus your energy there for a while and learn to make *those* bass bite one lure and then from their you can try expanding your lure choice on those fish once you've found them or you can take your new confidence with that bait to another body of local water that you think holds bass and try it.  But basically you need to build some confidence.

 

The baits you have in the colors you already have work 365 days a year 24 hours a day all over the country on bass of all sizes......in the right hands.

 

You gotta learn what the right hands means more so than baits.  Presenting the lures takes years of practice to understand all the nuance and the nuance of presentation is what gets bites not the color or specific bait you're using.

[GRiver]

@Rocky998….I think you’ve got a pretty good handle on it. Seems like you got the colors figured out.

You can’t go wrong with green pumpkin, caught many a fish on that color. Okeechobee is one of my favorites, when I lived in Nc, works great here in Fl too.

I agree with @FishTax and @Pat Brown , might need to work on presentation.  How are you rigging it and what weight, how are ya working the bait?

[Rocky998]

6 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

I agree with bass fishing, you're going to want to pick one good body of water you're positive has some bass in it and focus your energy there for a while and learn to make *those* bass bite one lure and then from their you can try expanding your lure choice on those fish once you've found them or you can take your new confidence with that bait to another body of local water that you think holds bass and try it.  But basically you need to build some confidence.

Thats kinda my only option. I don't really go far, I stay local, so it's either the quarry lake or the brackish/sometimes fresh water river. 

 

The thing is, I want to have confidence in some of these baits but I just haven't been able to gain it lol. They're so big and I wonder how any fish I'm fishing for will ever bite it. I know they do, but it just seems massive lol.

 

Like those 4-5" swimbaits just seem huge. What size of bass go after them?

While catching larger 3-10lb bass would be nice, I really just want to catch any bass I can right now and then work up from there. Even a 1lb bass or just under would be nice. 

6 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

The baits you have in the colors you already have work 365 days a year 24 hours a day all over the country on bass of all sizes......in the right hands.

Well I don't have them yet. That's what I was trying to say, that those baits and lures are the ones I PLAN on getting.

The stuff I do have but isn't working, are the green pumpkin senkos, the Carolina craw chatterbait (makes sense why that's not working though), and several spinnerbaits that I haven't gotten a single bite on sadly. 

 

If you're wondering the colors I have for spinnerbaits are:

Bluegill

Black

white/chartreuse 

gold/black 

(I used to have all white, but somehow I snagged it and lost a ton of my braided line as well after it dug in on itself when I tried pulling it from the snag point 🤦)

 

So that's why I'm here, to figure out what to spend my money on exactly as I don't have a lot of that to throw around...

6 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

You gotta learn what the right hands means more so than baits.  Presenting the lures takes years of practice to understand all the nuance and the nuance of presentation is what gets bites not the color or specific bait you're using.

I definitely need to practice more with presentation I know. 

I'm thinking of attempting a stop and go retrieve rather than just reeling straight in and doing an occasional jerk. I'm finding out that stop and go allows the fish a chance to strike

4 hours ago, GRiver said:

@Rocky998….I think you’ve got a pretty good handle on it. Seems like you got the colors figured out.

You can’t go wrong with green pumpkin, caught many a fish on that color. Okeechobee is one of my favorites, when I lived in Nc, works great here in Fl too.

I agree with @FishTax and @Pat Brown , might need to work on presentation.  

Well thats really good to hear! Glad I did my research right on colors! Lol

Thanks!

4 hours ago, GRiver said:

How are you rigging it and what weight, how are ya working the bait?

As of now, as far as soft plastics go, I have a 1/4oz bullet weight on a texposed green pumpkin senko.

I usually do a quick 2 pops, reel the slack, and do 2-3 more pops.

[Functional]

For your quarry with weeds that go close to the top.

 

Try a 1/16 or 1/32 belly weighted hook with a soft jerkbait in a shad color (or white). You could even try weightless if the weeds truly go up high. You just want to twitch it back skimming a hair above the tops of the weeds. I've had luck with this even in murky water. 

[Rocky998]

2 hours ago, Functional said:

For your quarry with weeds that go close to the top.

 

Try a 1/16 or 1/32 belly weighted hook with a soft jerkbait in a shad color (or white). You could even try weightless if the weeds truly go up high. You just want to twitch it back skimming a hair above the tops of the weeds. I've had luck with this even in murky water. 

This is a great idea!! Thanks! 

I'll look into that when I do my lure/bait shopping!

 

Also, quick question... So I'm wanting to use the Yamamoto zakos that are 4 inches, but the jig I'm wanting to use (strike king hack attack, and strike king swinging hook jig), uses a 5/0 hook. Do you think that will be ok or is the hook too big?

If so, what jig should I get that would be good for cover and also 3/8 oz?

[WRB]

You are already on overload.

I would avoid the brackish water as fresh water bass are marginal population the further toward the coast you fish.

The quarry lake, if it has a bass population, is a good place to start.

My suggestion is use what you have starting with the green pumpkin Senko 5” snd wacky rig size 1  weedless wacky hook with no weight. Try Spike It chartreuse dye the 1/2” of the tail end. 
Don”t be too concerned about the aquatic growth, look for holes or edges.

Stay with this 1 lure everywhere you fish for a month.

Tom

[Choporoz]

I'm sure Neuse and Trent above New Bern can be great.  But aside from the brackishness, you have the added pressure of a massive variable added in: tides, not to mention the current.  Working on smaller still waters will allow you to remove some big variables and gain confidence. 

 

BTW, those Rage Bugs can do triple (quadruple?) duty for you, trailer for jig and chatterbait, swimming, dragged, etc.   When you restock, try, GP, and Watermelon....for some reason, that blue in Okeechobee, Blue Craw and Moon Juice don't do much for me in VA and NC.

[FishTax]

On the question about what size fish bite spinnerbait, I've caught fish well under 1 lb on 1/2 oz standard spinnerbait. See photo. I've caught crappie on lures that wouldn't fit in their mouth.. so I wouldn't worry about that.

With that said, I recommend sticking with senko. Go slow. Either wacky or Texas rig with light weight (1/8) around cover. Cast it, wait until line goes slack when it hits bottom, then slowly life lift rod and repeat.. If rod feels anything different, set the hook. When you're learning, set the hook a lot 😎 they're free. You'll have a bass on before you know it!

Edited April 8, 2024 by FishTax
Forgot photo

[Rocky998]

2 hours ago, WRB said:

You are already on overload.

That's my overthinking brain for ya 🤪😂

2 hours ago, WRB said:

I would avoid the brackish water as fresh water bass are marginal population the further toward the coast you fish.

Kinda hard as I can't get out to the quarry lake as much as I'd like to... I feel like the senkos won't do much for me in the river, which is why I want to try a large lure/bait selection to see what works, but also be careful about picking the selection so I'm not just throwing out money.

2 hours ago, WRB said:

The quarry lake, if it has a bass population, is a good place to start.

My suggestion is use what you have starting with the green pumpkin Senko 5” snd wacky rig size 1  weedless wacky hook with no weight. Try Spike It chartreuse dye the 1/2” of the tail end. 
Don”t be too concerned about the aquatic growth, look for holes or edges.

Stay with this 1 lure everywhere you fish for a month.

Tom

I'll try this! Thank you!

I'm using a 3/0 offset worm hook on it but idk if I'll be able to get the dye. 

 

And sadly at the quarry there's barely any visible holes or grass lines in the water (I'm a bank fisherman) 

1 hour ago, Choporoz said:

I'm sure Neuse and Trent above New Bern can be great.  But aside from the brackishness, you have the added pressure of a massive variable added in: tides, not to mention the current.  Working on smaller still waters will allow you to remove some big variables and gain confidence. 

Sadly I don't know where a good place to start for that would be.

I guess I could try the river section at the quarry which is normally very calm water. It's a rum off from the main river and I remember a year or two ago using a black rooster tail and seeing a MASSIVE bass following it but then it saw me and got scared away. It was a day where we caught nothing, so I was frustrated LMHO 

1 hour ago, Choporoz said:

BTW, those Rage Bugs can do triple (quadruple?) duty for you, trailer for jig and chatterbait, swimming, dragged, etc.   When you restock, try, GP, and Watermelon....for some reason, that blue in Okeechobee, Blue Craw and Moon Juice don't do much for me in VA and NC.

Hm someone else said Okeechobee worked great for them in NC... 

I would think so with the bold/dark coloring in the murky water. Especially with the large amount of dark blue. 

 

I just feel like GP and Watermelon would blend right in with the water color, right? Or am I wrong? (I overthink. Sorry for all the questions and talking, I really like having people to bounce my ideas off of)

1 hour ago, FishTax said:

On the question about what size fish bite spinnerbait, I've caught fish well under 1 lb on 1/2 oz standard spinnerbait. See photo. I've caught crappie on lures that wouldn't fit in their mouth.. so I wouldn't worry about that.

With that said, I recommend sticking with senko. Go slow. Either wacky or Texas rig with light weight (1/8) around cover. Cast it, wait until line goes slack when it hits bottom, then slowly life lift rod and repeat.. If rod feels anything different, set the hook. When you're learning, set the hook a lot 😎 they're free. You'll have a bass on before you know it!

That's AWESOME! Thank you so much for sharing that!

Were you using a trailer for that one?

 

I'll definitely be trying what you say with the senko

[FishTax]

@Rocky998 the SB had a standard split tail zoom trailer. Your best chance of a bite for lmb is on senko, IMHO. Spinnerbait, for me, is very hot or cold bite. Senko gets bit way more often. Don't over think color. Maybe people slay on green pumpkin. I know people who swear by black or June bug. I think they all work and color is not too important compared to other factors. 

[WRB]

TW has Senko’s 30% sale now.

Owner Wacky Jungle shook size 1 and use  a O-ring. The Senko with a 1/16 iz Neckp nose weight works in current.

I want you to catch bass in lieu of fishing for them!

Tom

[Rocky998]

20 hours ago, WRB said:

TW has Senko’s 30% sale now.

Owner Wacky Jungle shook size 1 and use  a O-ring. The Senko with a 1/16 iz Neckp nose weight works in current.

I want you to catch bass in lieu of fishing for them!

Tom

I don't know yet if I'll get the o-ring kit. I want to stretch my money as much as possible and try a good amount of lures/baits to see what works to expand my small collection of bass lures.

 

Also what type of weight are you talking about? I can't find it. Or maybe that was a typo?

 

[WRB]

Neko is a nail weight just use a nail.

O-ring are cheap and help save the Senko.

Tom 

[whitwolf]

@Rocky998

 

You're over thinking color. In turn now you're overwhelmed. 

 

I grew up fishing the swamps, rivers, and lakes in Eastern NC. (East of I95) The majority are brackish. There are nice fish in that brackish water.  As others have said; pick one body of water and fish it thoroughly.  If you have confidence in the Senko then throw it. I would fish it TX rig unweighted.  3/0 hook is fine. In those dark waters I throw Black, Redbug, and on occasion Redshad.  I would fish early and late, or at night, as the tempatures rise. But right now I would fish all day. I would be more apt to concentrate on presentation and learning every aspect of fishing a weightless worm. 

 

You will be more successful at this point by keeping it simple. Work from there.

 

A couple of observations:

 

While asking folks on the bank (dock talk?) about baits, color, and presentations; simply stay observant, keep your bait in the water, and fish. All the reading and talking to others is fine but nothing will help you learn more than simply going out and doing it.

 

The Carolina Craw chatterbait is fine. In the darker water the vibration and retrieve are more important color. Try fishing it fast to start. 

 

Color: I mentioned the colors that were successful for me. It might have overwhelmed you more. That's not my intention. The point was location is so much more important color. 

 

Lastly: keep it simple. I would advise against changing colors every half hour and concentrate on high percentage places to throw. Master one technique and then another. It takes time and patience. 

 

One other thing: you're fishing from the bank for now; don't carry more than two rods and a small tackle bag. It will, in the long term, make it easier. 

 

@Pat Brown and @FishTax  are from the state, as am I..... I feel confident in the direction we have steered you.

 

 

[Rocky998]

6 hours ago, whitwolf said:

@Rocky998

 

You're over thinking color. In turn now you're overwhelmed. 

 

I grew up fishing the swamps, rivers, and lakes in Eastern NC. (East of I95) The majority are brackish. There are nice fish in that brackish water.  As others have said; pick one body of water and fish it thoroughly.  If you have confidence in the Senko then throw it. I would fish it TX rig unweighted.  3/0 hook is fine. In those dark waters I throw Black, Redbug, and on occasion Redshad.  I would fish early and late, or at night, as the tempatures rise. But right now I would fish all day. I would be more apt to concentrate on presentation and learning every aspect of fishing a weightless worm. 

 

You will be more successful at this point by keeping it simple. Work from there.

 

A couple of observations:

 

While asking folks on the bank (dock talk?) about baits, color, and presentations; simply stay observant, keep your bait in the water, and fish. All the reading and talking to others is fine but nothing will help you learn more than simply going out and doing it.

 

The Carolina Craw chatterbait is fine. In the darker water the vibration and retrieve are more important color. Try fishing it fast to start. 

 

Color: I mentioned the colors that were successful for me. It might have overwhelmed you more. That's not my intention. The point was location is so much more important color. 

 

Lastly: keep it simple. I would advise against changing colors every half hour and concentrate on high percentage places to throw. Master one technique and then another. It takes time and patience. 

 

One other thing: you're fishing from the bank for now; don't carry more than two rods and a small tackle bag. It will, in the long term, make it easier. 

 

@Pat Brown and @FishTax  are from the state, as am I..... I feel confident in the direction we have steered you.

 

 

Awesome! Thank you so much! That sounds good!

 

Should I reel in the chatterbait bu doing a stop and go retrieve where I reel up until it vibrates, then let it drop and repeat?

 

Today I'm going to a very small pond. I know there's bowfin, but I'm not sure if there's bass. I know there's other fish besides the bowfin, I just don't know what else lol. 

But I literally would love to catch anything. A bowfin would be cool!

I know people catch them on chatterbaits, so maybe I can try different reeling methods with that.

 

But yah if I showed a picture of all my tackle, I think you'd also be saying I need to get more stuff.

I have stuff I rigged up really badly as well from a long time ago lol. 

Maybe I can share some photos later today of my lures. I have a medium sized collection, but I'm slowly finding out from reading about bass fishing online that I'm needing a better selection. 

Like I have no black/blue or junebug cause I always thought nothing would bite it, but i know now that's wrong thinking lol.

 

What type of trailer should go on the Carolina Craw styled chatterbait? Or should I not have one on there?

[FishTax]

52 minutes ago, Rocky998 said:

Awesome! Thank you so much! That sounds good!

 

Should I reel in the chatterbait bu doing a stop and go retrieve where I reel up until it vibrates, then let it drop and repeat?

 

Today I'm going to a very small pond. I know there's bowfin, but I'm not sure if there's bass. I know there's other fish besides the bowfin, I just don't know what else lol. 

But I literally would love to catch anything. A bowfin would be cool!

I know people catch them on chatterbaits, so maybe I can try different reeling methods with that.

 

But yah if I showed a picture of all my tackle, I think you'd also be saying I need to get more stuff.

I have stuff I rigged up really badly as well from a long time ago lol. 

Maybe I can share some photos later today of my lures. I have a medium sized collection, but I'm slowly finding out from reading about bass fishing online that I'm needing a better selection. 

Like I have no black/blue or junebug cause I always thought nothing would bite it, but i know now that's wrong thinking lol.

 

What type of trailer should go on the Carolina Craw styled chatterbait? Or should I not have one on there?

You are still over thinking it 😎

 

On chatterbait, if you insist on using it (I don't love them) try different retrieves and speeds until you get bit. 

 

On your tackle, if you have a rod and reel that is functional, a worm of any color, and a sharp hook, you have enough. Go catch a fish! 

[Rocky998]

4 hours ago, FishTax said:

You are still over thinking it 😎

I'm definitely known for that on everything I do 😂😂

4 hours ago, FishTax said:

On chatterbait, if you insist on using it (I don't love them) try different retrieves and speeds until you get bit. 

Haven't gotten a bite in it yet, so I'm thinking its probably due to the color or times I'm using it. 

I did put a soft plastic on it and it gave some pretty good action. I'll show a photo of everything I'm working with later. 

4 hours ago, FishTax said:

On your tackle, if you have a rod and reel that is functional, a worm of any color, and a sharp hook, you have enough. Go catch a fish! 

Lol.

I wish that was the case for me.

I tried using the worm today and nothing bit it at all. BUUUT, I did use a topwater Rapala minnow lure and caught two big blue gill!! 

Here's some photos (first two are the same under different lighting):

[FishTax]

3 hours ago, Rocky998 said:

I'm definitely known for that on everything I do 😂😂

Haven't gotten a bite in it yet, so I'm thinking its probably due to the color or times I'm using it. 

I did put a soft plastic on it and it gave some pretty good action. I'll show a photo of everything I'm working with later. 

Lol.

I wish that was the case for me.

I tried using the worm today and nothing bit it at all. BUUUT, I did use a topwater Rapala minnow lure and caught two big blue gill!! 

Here's some photos (first two are the same under different lighting):

Those are some gorgeous bluegill, and fatties at that! If you're catching those you may as well keep on and enjoy that bite. I love catching those, especially on UL gear!

[Rocky998]

23 hours ago, FishTax said:

Those are some gorgeous bluegill, and fatties at that!

Thanks! Yah, they're probably up there in with the biggest bluegill I've caught. Definitely most colorful, probably! Absolutely stunning fish.

They remind me of cichlids... In fact they may be in the same family, I'll have to do some research on that.

23 hours ago, FishTax said:

If you're catching those you may as well keep on and enjoy that bite. I love catching those, especially on UL gear!

Yah! I'll have to try the lure in other places...

But I might have only caught those ones cause that pond isn't fished at all really. (I got permission from someone before fishing it. There's not a sign saying you can't fish it, but it's not really meant to fish if that makes sense...)

It's hard to fish with a ton of those slimey weeds... Makes sense top water would work best I suppose lol. Easier to navigate weeds

[Rocky998]

I just caught my first bass of the year on a big bites craw!! 

I'm so happy!