Confidence baits vs being stubborn

[softwateronly]

  I feel like a jig, swim jig, worm, spinnerbait, and frog can do everything for me on my water.  But there's been many situations where I have found a better tool and most of it has to do when bass are relating to bait, ignoring cover and structure, and or I need a profile change that is hard to accommodate.  Jerkbaits, small salt metal jigs, flutter spoons, tailspinners, jigging spoons, preacher jigs, spybaits, poop baits, flukes, and jighead minnows all have a place for me now and don't expect to ever be good enough with the mainstays to give these up.

 

scott

   

[fishhugger]

21 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

@Bankc: What you wrote makes total sense to me. I studied the brain and creativity in graduate school. Innovation doesn't come from nothing. It comes from what we already know being transferred to what we don't know. Did you see the movie, "A Brilliant Mind"? In it, the Russell Crowe character is able to borrow from a pretty girl with plain pals walking into a bar to develop a new theory. He borrows from what he sees to what he heretofore couldn't see. Robert Redford, who directed "A River Runs Through It," did something similar with Brad Pitt, who mastered metronome-based fly fishing to launch his own style. He bridged from the familiar to the novel. 

that's a gr8 scene........ i see it more as a jump to innovation...  he sees what everyone else sees, but he simply sees more, and transfers it to other situations that others just can't.  they don't have that brain that can just jump to things. 

i guess fishermen do this too when they do something totally against the grain, when others just do what everyone else is doing.  but this isn't as dramatic as what the crowe character did in the movie.  he did a huge leap, imho

[Swamp Girl]

45 minutes ago, fishhugger said:

that's a gr8 scene........ i see it more as a jump to innovation...  he sees what everyone else sees, but he simply sees more, and transfers it to other situations that others just can't.  they don't have that brain that can just jump to things. 

i guess fishermen do this too when they do something totally against the grain, when others just do what everyone else is doing.  but this isn't as dramatic as what the crowe character did in the movie.  he did a huge leap, imho

 

Yep!

[Bass Rutten]

I fear not the man who has casted 10,000 lures once, but I fear the man who has casted one lure 10,000 times  -Bruce Lee, Watahhhh!

[Tennessee Boy]

On 8/27/2024 at 2:39 PM, August said:

If you have been fishing your confidence baits for a long while and aren’t getting any, what do you do?

I keep trying to solve the puzzle.  I don’t view fishing as a search for the right lure.   It’s a search for the right location, depth,  speed of retrieve,  direction of retrieve,  lure size,  lure action,  lure color, etc.   Lures are tools.   If I think I need to try fishing deeper,  I might need a different tool so I change to a lure that lets me fish deeper.   Some tweaks to the way I’m fishing require a lure change,  some do not.  

[Swamp Girl]

1 hour ago, Tennessee Boy said:

I keep trying to solve the puzzle.  I don’t view fishing as a search for the right lure.   It’s a search for the right location, depth,  speed of retrieve,  direction of retrieve,  lure size,  lure action,  lure color, etc.   Lures are tools.   If I think I need to try fishing deeper,  I might need a different tool so I change to a lure that lets me fish deeper.   Some tweaks to the way I’m fishing require a lure change,  some do not.  

 

Smart way to fish.

[Bankc]

3 hours ago, Tennessee Boy said:

I keep trying to solve the puzzle.  I don’t view fishing as a search for the right lure.   It’s a search for the right location, depth,  speed of retrieve,  direction of retrieve,  lure size,  lure action,  lure color, etc.   Lures are tools.   If I think I need to try fishing deeper,  I might need a different tool so I change to a lure that lets me fish deeper.   Some tweaks to the way I’m fishing require a lure change,  some do not.  

This is how I have my lures organized.  Not by size, color, or really even type.  But by running depth.  Usually when I pull up to a spot, I take note of how I plan to fish it and then pick the lure that best matches my game plane.  I try to fish the spot, not the lure. 

 

Of course, there are often overlaps in what lures I can use for any given spot.  And that's where "confidence baits" take on more importance.  For instance, I'd rather use a square bill than a spinnerbait, if I can get away with it.  And I'd rather use a flutter spoon than a blade bait, if I think it'll work.  And I'd rather use anything at all rather than a jerkbait, because I think you guys are all pulling my leg on that one. 

[roadwarrior]

On 8/27/2024 at 5:54 AM, Woody B said:

 

I don't believe in magic lures.  

 Hmm... 

My first Magic Lure was the Creme plastic worm.

Then there was  the Smithwick Devils Horse and and Arbogast Jitterbug.

In 1960 we had the Rapala. In 1997 I was  introduced to the Senko.  You may

have others,  but these were my Magic Lures.

 

 

 

 

 

[MassYak85]

I have a few confidence "search" baits that I might cycle through. Once I feel I've found something I can call a pattern I will pay more attention and slow down in those areas and see if I can increase my bites. But sometimes you just have a bad day and spend all of it looking. It happens. Usually when that happens I end up fishing "history" based on the time of year and going back to structure or areas I know the fish "should be" and fishing slow to see if they are just in a mood that day. Once that fails I usually call it. 

[A-Jay]

On 8/26/2024 at 1:45 PM, August said:

 My question is where do you draw the line between being confident in baits and being too stubborn to tie something else on? 

Also a little side topic here but in your opinion is it more important to master a handful of techniques or is it more important to be very versatile and know how to throw lots of different baits? 

Thanks everyone, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this! 

After some years on the water, and having some decent success,

I am supremely confident in the baits I fish.

That said, location & timing plays a huge role in that every trip on the water for me. 

My biggest challenge comes when I believe the timing & conditions SHOULD produce,

I'll cast off an arm trying to prove I'm right.

Leaving and coming back to a spot over and over and over checking to see if the fish are there and or are willing to eat what I'm throwing. 

Sometimes it happens right away, like first cast. 

https://youtu.be/k3Z48BqFWuw?feature=shared&t=586

But when it doesn't, there is not an exact time limit for me before I pull the plug.

Admittedly, I probably stay too long. 

As for being versatile vs keeping it simple.

I can only speak for myself and I say I think I'm somewhere in the middle.

There are presentations I like and catch fish doing, and there are presentations I sort of do not like but still catch fish doing.

I'll do whatever, but I may or might not enjoy it as much. 

Once I figured out what plus size bass here would eat, I made myself better at those specific deals.

I'm still learning and always trying to improve.

I lost a GIANT at the boat a couple of weeks ago on a spinnerbait. Just came off right at the net.

That one will haunt me ALL WINTER.

A-Jay

[GetFishorDieTryin]

I wouldn't worry about mastery.  Many people throw jigs, but hardly any truly master them as the slightest change to skirt, head or trailer drastically changes the bait.  

I would just focus on becoming proficient at a few versatile techniques.  Better to be Jack of all trades instead of master of one kind of thing. 

it's awful hard to go wrong with T rigs or jigs as they are incredibly versatile.  I think enjoying the technique is important as well. It's much easier to put time into something you love than something you don't.

While it's good to have fall backs and favorites, make sure to try new things out of your comfort zone.  I believe it's beneficial to force yourself to catch fish with a new bait before you allow yourself to use anything else that particular day.  

 

[king fisher]

On 8/28/2024 at 8:42 PM, Bass Rutten said:

I fear not the man who has casted 10,000 lures once, but I fear the man who has casted one lure 10,000 times  -Bruce Lee, Watahhhh!

Any man that can cast the same lure 10,000 times and not loose it should be worshiped, not feared.

[Junk Fisherman]

On 8/27/2024 at 2:39 PM, August said:

These replies are awesome! Thanks everyone! If you have been fishing your confidence baits for a long while and aren’t getting any, what do you do? Do you switch up to something new that you don’t fish a lot, or do you just try and cover more water?

As time goes on you will have more confidence baits for different conditions.  To answer your question, I would find different water to fish as long as my techniques were matched well with whatever cover and structure I was fishing.  

 

I think back when I was a novice fisherman and if it wasn't calm enough for me to throw plastics or a Senko, I struggled.  Now, I have a variety of power fishing techniques that I have confidence in as well.  I have my finesse techniques that I feel I am best at (dropshot, Neko, Ned, plastics, wacky) but I also have a number horizontal baits that I have confidence in (swimbaits, topwater, bladed jigs/spinnerbaits) so I know I can match a presentation that I am confident in my ability to fish with practically any situation I am faced am.   And I'm always working on presentations that I'm not confident in my ability to fish.  If the fish are active and I'm catching them on a confidence bait, I will always try a similar type presentation but something I am trying to learn.  For example, I've been trying to get better at jerkbaits for years.  On days when the smallies are hitting my swimbaits, I'll always bust out a jerkbait and mix it in.  Hair jigs and Daiki rigs and a couple other finesse rigs along with my FFS are what I'm working on now.  Finding new presentations and getting better at them is one of my favorite aspects of fishing.   Good luck.

[F14A-B]

Interesting thread for sure. For me it’s simplicity at its finest. Horizontal presentation and vertical presentation. Folks do well in the early spring with horizontal techniques because of warming waters, longer days & spawning cues. Fish are active and eager to feed. Pretty simple huh? Bedding fish are where a vertical presentation works well, males defending with females preparing to deposit eggs. Rocks and rocky shoreline absorbs heat and is home to crawfish etc. pulling in fish for both warmth and feeding opportunities. When fish are done with spawning and begin moving offshore is where it gets tougher. Carolina rigs, heavy jigs/trailers and Texas rigged worms get it done as well as deep diving crank baits. A rising lake level with flooded vegetation/wood makes for awesome flipping and pitching. In a nutshell, my philosophy isn’t really philosophical, it’s based off of nature itself and the predictive, known behavior of LMB. On top of this the FSLMB is wholly different from the NSLMB.. smallmouth? I catch them on accident 🤣 I get into them sometimes here on a small river or sometimes on Kentucky lake. I like their aggressive behavior.. if you wanna talk smallmouth on this board, ask AJay, he’s the Hammer of smallmouths 😂

If I only had 1 bait to live or die by, it will absolutely be a Texas rigged plastic worm, and it wouldn’t be a disadvantage at all. 

Larry Nixon is the Man. 

[rangerjockey]

On 8/26/2024 at 12:45 PM, August said:

I posted a topic similar to this a while back, but I figured I’d revisit it again. Lately I’ve had lots of confidence in 3 techniques, a frog a Texas rig and a jig ( including a swim jig). I know that these three aren’t great for everything but they can do a lot. My question is where do you draw the line between being confident in baits and being too stubborn to tie something else on? I can fish a whole 8 hour day using just these 3 and not catch much (or anything) but I still might feel like they fish just aren’t in that area, or I haven’t thrown it in front of any active bass. Is there a specific amount of time that you give it before you switch and stop fishing baits you’re confident it, or is it more of a gut feeling?
 

Also a little side topic here but in your opinion is it more important to master a handful of techniques or is it more important to be very versatile and know how to throw lots of different baits? I guess a happy medium would probably be best, but I know of lots of pro anglers that only fish a few baits and have great success. 
 

Thanks everyone, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this! 

I think if your fishing a place that gets any kind of pressure on it at all you've got to add some sort of finesse technique like ol' ned or a small minnow bait ect.

 

 

[Brian11719]

Regardless of how great I thought a lure was going to do and how it has done in the past if it has been 30 minutes or so and I haven't gotten a single bite I'm trying something else. Usually by that point it's pretty safe to assume it has gone by at least a few fish and they probably just aren't in the mood for it on that given day. Case in point I was trying a new drop shot lure and was sure it would do well a couple of days ago, but ended up switching to an underspin after a while and getting a couple of nice ones (for that pond) in the same spots where I was throwing the drop shot. A drop shot is one of my top 'confidence lures' but even that has days where something else will do better. This is why it's best to have at least a few different options available so you can move on if something just isn't working that day.