Effectiveness of baits from year to year

[Catt]

2 hours ago, Rockhopper said:

White spinnerbait.  All day. Everyday. Year after year.

 

A friend & his wife love eating bass. Every pre-spawn he goes up to Toledo Bend for a week. He catches enough to last months throwing nuthin but a white spinnerbait.

 

I seldom if ever take a lure out of my rotation but I will on occasion add one. 

 

If I'm working into a "pocket" with a spinnerbait, I work my way out with a chatterbait. Different profile, different action, different angles. 

 

Now firmly believe each body of water can require different lures. 

Edited October 29, 2024 by Catt
Fingers faster than the brain

[Spankey]

I am a Rapala junkie up and down and inside out. I love fishing DT’s and Shad Raps. And others with that same amount of confidence. 
But if my fishing conditions are putting fish 20-25 feet down (conditions have been this way for many many week) with baitfish like bluegill and crappies at that depth also and I believe larger bass are deeper than 20 feet of water, for me to throw DT 06 and SR 07 and 09 is not gonna get deep enough and get the job done. 
I don’t have extra extra deep Rapala DT’s to get down there. I don’t believe my crankbait setups will let me get that deep. So I can’t say crankbaits are in an off year. 
I could have went out and bought a bunch of new stuff to reach these depths. May or may not have been the answer to my problem. I just went with fishing soft plastics at those depths. Yesterday morning I had only a handful of perceived bass hits and one bite that got me a 16” greenie. Open hook split shot rig on a PowerWorm in 18 feet of water. Thursday morning I’ll be back in that same area. 
But I’ve had seasons where a Rebel Craw would not get hit or a SubWart was the real killer on fire. Times where a roadkill color tube is all I needed or a christmas tree color grub. Zoom was better than Berkley. Strike King out fished a RoboWorm. 
Lake fishing this season the bass were forced to deeper water. Why I don’t know. Temps? Drought conditions? The baitfish have retracted to these depths. I’d like to know why but I have no idea. 
I had a very serious case of pneumonia back during one of the heat waves. They (Dr. and my family) did not want me to be out in that. I honored their wishes. BUT I think loosing this fish time I got knocked back a few steps when these fish started that transition. It is what it is and all I can do is keep at it, never give up. 

[WRB]

The soft plastic worm catches more bass then all other lures combined and continues to do this for decades.

There is a wide variety of soft plastic worms that also continues to grow year after year. 
If you bass fish the “worm” should be your 1st choice.

2nd choices that catch bass everywhere year after year is the jig that combines a soft plastic trailer and a spinner bait that combines a soft plastic trailer.

Hard lures like top water, sub surface jerk baits and diving lures come and go year to year popular today and forgotten tomorrow.

Tom

[F14A-B]

2 hours ago, Catt said:

Rayburn Red Rat-L-Trap ripped outta grass has been killing em for years and will again the spring.

 

Did the bass stop biting it or did we stop throwing it?

Right. Exactly, quite frankly some things just don’t change. Picture from my latest Bassmaster magazine. 
 

Chrome w blue back rattletrap has been killing it on the St. John’s river system for decades and apparently, it still does. 

[dodgeguy]

The Senko is a prime example of this.When they first came out you couldn't  keep fish off them. Then I went from T rig to wacky and caught .

more fish when the t rig bite slowed. 20 years later I can't buy a fish on one.

[WRB]

I was skeptical there was a Senko bite going on in my local lake until giving it try.

The key was finding a color they wanted and fishing the 5” Senko weightless wacky rigged. The only 2 colors the bass would eat were #301& 330 but on different days.

Tom

[Team9nine]

I would speculate that reason #1 probably is one of the larger contributors to what you're experiencing. Add in things like seasonal variability, temporary water condition changes, etc., and that could account for some of it. How many events this is based on could also play a large part. If this is just something like 6-8 events a year, I'd expect to see a lot more randomness or variability to the data. I kept a detailed record of catches on what was my home lake at the time over a period of 6 years and more than 100 events. I only included data from events that I cashed in, because I wanted to see just the most financially productive baits/patterns to focus on, as just numbers or random catches that didn't produce a check didn't really mean anything to me in the big scheme of things. I cashed in 56 of those events, and caught 377 keepers on those tourney days. When I graphed the data (below), what became apparent was that a jig accounted for an overwhelming majority of my fish over that period of time, year after year and season after season. Then you had just a handful of other baits that you could consider fairly consistent producers to compliment it.

 

Was the lake just a good jig lake? Was it just a confidence bait I fished more than others? Was it a bait that a lot of other guys weren't fishing or the fish weren't seeing? Did I have a "magic" color combination? Or was I just a better decision maker on the water - have a better rotation more times than most? Hard to say, but the bass apparently never really tired from seeing these presentations over an extended period of time for whatever reason, despite like most lakes, all the best areas or "spots" were all well known to the locals competing, and everyone beating up the same stuff week after week, showing the fish anything and everything in the way of baits and techniques (for the time).

 

[gim]

@Team9nine what is “stud fries”?

[Team9nine]

4 minutes ago, gimruis said:

@Team9nine what is “stud fries”?

 

Bass Pro Shops now long discontinued soft plastic. Smash-Tech eventually resurrected the bait with a near knock-off. Haven't looked to see if they're still around. My buddy and I bought 260+ bags of the originals from BPS when we heard they were discontinuing them, so we always fished with originals  Super versatile little bait.

 

[F14A-B]

13 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

I would speculate that reason #1 probably is one of the larger contributors to what you're experiencing. Add in things like seasonal variability, temporary water condition changes, etc., and that could account for some of it. How many events this is based on could also play a large part. If this is just something like 6-8 events a year, I'd expect to see a lot more randomness or variability to the data. I kept a detailed record of catches on what was my home lake at the time over a period of 6 years and more than 100 events. I only included data from events that I cashed in, because I wanted to see just the most financially productive baits/patterns to focus on, as just numbers or random catches that didn't produce a check didn't really mean anything to me in the big scheme of things. I cashed in 56 of those events, and caught 377 keepers on those tourney days. When I graphed the data (below), what became apparent was that a jig accounted for an overwhelming majority of my fish over that period of time, year after year and season after season. Then you had just a handful of other baits that you could consider fairly consistent producers to compliment it.

 

Was the lake just a good jig lake? Was it just a confidence bait I fished more than others? Was it a bait that a lot of other guys weren't fishing or the fish weren't seeing? Did I have a "magic" color combination? Or was I just a better decision maker on the water - have a better rotation more times than most? Hard to say, but the bass apparently never really tired from seeing these presentations over an extended period of time for whatever reason, despite like most lakes, all the best areas or "spots" were all well known to the locals competing, and everyone beating up the same stuff week after week, showing the fish anything and everything in the way of baits and techniques (for the time).

 

Clearly you used a jig predominately. Do you break it down into cover types?

 

Your worm data kinda shocks me but I’m assuming the Jig is your favorite bait. 
 

#1 for me is worm #2 is Jig. Both are very capable as you know but generally jig fish seem to average bigger. I use to do this via pen and paper as it concerned Whitetails rather than fish. 

[Team9nine]

8 minutes ago, F14A-B said:

Clearly you used a jig predominately. Do you break it down into cover types?

 

Your worm data kinda shocks me but I’m assuming the Jig is your favorite bait. 
 

#1 for me is worm #2 is Jig. Both are very capable as you know but generally jig fish seem to average bigger. I use to do this via pen and paper as it concerned Whitetails rather than fish. 

 

Didn't break it down by cover types or retrieve style, etc., since I fished the lake so frequently, but you can cover an awful lot of presentations in a myriad of cover/situations with just a basic jig design or two. I was never a "worm guy" when I tourney fished, as I figured the jig was always more efficient (and had better 'feel'). This was a typical stained water flatland reservoir with no submerged weeds, so my choice/outlook might have been different if I fished clearer water and more weed growth. I had a select few plastics I'd take and use on specific water bodies or under specific conditions, but soft plastics were always more jig trailers than primary baits for me with just a few exceptions (like Stud Fry's).

[casts_by_fly]

14 hours ago, JHoss said:

The other main factor I'm coming to realize is that my knowledge of these lakes has increased tremendously. I'm able to go to specific spots I expect to be good instead of setting my trolling motor on 2 and beating the bank hoping to come across a random fish here and there. We fish the same 6-10 lakes 90% of the time for all of these trails I've fished, so it stands to reason that I would eliminate certain areas and then spend more time picking apart the best areas- that picking apart doesn't favor some of the power fishing techniques I relied on in my early years.

 

now that you’ve done that and eliminated areas, don’t forget to go back and fish them. On my favorite lake I had eliminated a bunch of water after two seasons of fishing it. All of the other areas produced all of the fish. Until they didn’t. And then the fish were in the areas I eliminated. Now I maybe make a few more casts to the ‘good’ areas but I don’t skip over the other stuff. Sometimes you just have to put the trolling motor down and fish. 

[JHoss]

22 hours ago, Catt said:

Rayburn Red Rat-L-Trap ripped outta grass has been killing em for years and will again the spring.

 

Did the bass stop biting it or did we stop throwing it?

 

I think fisheries are cyclical in general and the baits we use are too - especially baits with a more aggressive signature. So if people stop throwing a bait for a while, the fish become less accustomed to it. I generally think of this cycle over many years, but your question brings up a good point- maybe the cycle for the Rayburn Red Trap is a 12 month cycle. It gets thrown a ton in the spring until fish get conditioned to it, then they stop biting so people stop throwing it until the next spring when fish have had 10 months to forget about it. 

 

There was a study done out of the University of Florida where they take two identical, small impoundments. In one they only fished a senko and the other only a trap. The catch rates dropped significantly more in the trap impoundment in a short time vs the senko impoundment. The folks running the study theorized that was because the sound/vibration signature of the trap is so distinctive bass could learn to recognize and resist it after a few negative exposures whereas the subtleness of the senko was harder for fish to recognize and associate with a negative interaction like being hooked or seeing another bass get hooked. 

 

 

@Team9nine I like your simplified take on data collection. I tried tracking my trips for a year and found that I was just gathering too much data to really be able to use it. Who cares what the atmospheric conditions were when I caught 20 8" bass in the neighborhood pond on half a trick worm if that's never going to help me in a tournament or serious fishing scenario. 

[BrianMDTX]

I think you will always be able to catch bass on a plastic worm. But not always the same worm, or same color. And that can change rapidly. Even day by day. I find it interesting and frustrating that a black Senko, Zoom Trick or Jelly Worm attracts bites on a Saturday, and the following day it’s totally ignored, but green pumpkin, blue/black or some other color combination is on fire. Sometimes conditions have changed and other times they are exactly the same. 
 

Last weekend nothing worked until I put on a Zoom Z-Craw in California 420 (a dark {almost black} top with a red flake and watermelon red bottom). That’s all the bass wanted. Why? I guess only the bass know and they ain’t tellin’. But unless you only have one or two colors, it’s a rare day to not get a bite on a soft plastic, and especially a worm. It’s boring fishing to some. Over time, I’ve come to enjoy working a jig, especially swim jigs, more than working a Texas rig. But I enjoy catching bass more. If they aren’t biting on much else, I will always be casting a plastic worm on a Texas rig at some point. 

[Tennessee Boy]

@Team9nine I always appreciate your data-driven, logical approach to these matters. If I did a similar chart for my tournament fishing in the '90s, it would be 70% worms and 30% jigs. I can't think of a single fish I caught on another bait in a tournament I cashed a check in, although I'm sure there were a few. I fished lots of other lures, but when I was at the top of my game, it was with a worm or jig because that's what I did best. I had some epic days with a rat (now known as a hollow-body frog), but there were several guys in the club that were big-time rat fishermen, so I never out-fished them when the rat bite was on. Those experiences taught me that you will have more success being very good at a few techniques than being mediocre at many techniques.

[Pat Brown]

This discussion (a very good one!) points back to the wisdom we return to time and time again:

 

(To the Bait Monkey's™ chagrin) There aren't really 'fall baits' and 'summer baits' and 'spring baits' and 'winter baits'...there's bass baits.  Pick the ones you like that cover the bottom middle and top of the water column and work in the cover you fish and that can go fast or slow -  learn em inside and out and backwards and sideways and maybe even invent some new ways to use em 🤫🤫🤫

 

And then stick with those.  You'll never have a situation that you don't have a tool for.

[Catt]

1 hour ago, JHoss said:

but your question brings up a good point- maybe the cycle for the Rayburn Red Trap is a 12 month cycle. It gets thrown a ton in the spring until fish get conditioned to it, then they stop biting so people stop throwing it until the next spring when fish have had 10 months to forget about it

 

Uhh! I pretty sure pre-spawn may have something to do with it. After pre-spawn the colors change but the bass doesn't stop bitting Traps. 

[Rockhopper]

On 10/29/2024 at 8:56 AM, gimruis said:

 

I know someone who goes with a green one instead, aka "greenie."  He will toss that thing for hours with nothing to show for it while the rest of us are killing it on another presenation, and he still refuses to switch.

 

At one point we had 35 bass in the boat and asked him if he wanted the plastic we were using.  He looked at us and said "you and your rubbers" and then went back to chucking greenie.

 

Dig your own grave, and then die in it.

 

Thats because he should have chose white.  

[F14A-B]

On 10/29/2024 at 1:22 PM, Spankey said:

I am a Rapala junkie up and down and inside out. I love fishing DT’s and Shad Raps. And others with that same amount of confidence. 
But if my fishing conditions are putting fish 20-25 feet down (conditions have been this way for many many week) with baitfish like bluegill and crappies at that depth also and I believe larger bass are deeper than 20 feet of water, for me to throw DT 06 and SR 07 and 09 is not gonna get deep enough and get the job done. 
I don’t have extra extra deep Rapala DT’s to get down there. I don’t believe my crankbait setups will let me get that deep. So I can’t say crankbaits are in an off year. 
I could have went out and bought a bunch of new stuff to reach these depths. May or may not have been the answer to my problem. I just went with fishing soft plastics at those depths. Yesterday morning I had only a handful of perceived bass hits and one bite that got me a 16” greenie. Open hook split shot rig on a PowerWorm in 18 feet of water. Thursday morning I’ll be back in that same area. 
But I’ve had seasons where a Rebel Craw would not get hit or a SubWart was the real killer on fire. Times where a roadkill color tube is all I needed or a christmas tree color grub. Zoom was better than Berkley. Strike King out fished a RoboWorm. 
Lake fishing this season the bass were forced to deeper water. Why I don’t know. Temps? Drought conditions? The baitfish have retracted to these depths. I’d like to know why but I have no idea. 
I had a very serious case of pneumonia back during one of the heat waves. They (Dr. and my family) did not want me to be out in that. I honored their wishes. BUT I think loosing this fish time I got knocked back a few steps when these fish started that transition. It is what it is and all I can do is keep at it, never give up. 

I won a tournament on the St. John’s river in about 88 throwing the larger balsa gold foil shad rap. A rainy, windy cold miserable day with 30% of anglers not showing up. I caught back to back 5 pounders then an hour later a 2.5… I smoked that field on that bait. 
It was a hard bait to throw but I would use spinning gear. They are rock solid baits. 

[gim]

4 hours ago, JHoss said:

There was a study done out of the University of Florida where they take two identical, small impoundments. In one they only fished a senko and the other only a trap. The catch rates dropped significantly more in the trap impoundment in a short time vs the senko impoundment. The folks running the study theorized that was because the sound/vibration signature of the trap is so distinctive bass could learn to recognize and resist it after a few negative exposures whereas the subtleness of the senko was harder for fish to recognize and associate with a negative interaction like being hooked or seeing another bass get hooked. 

 

I've seen other studies similar to this as well in In-Fisherman.  Louder, faster, flashier presentations allowed fish to become less likely to bite much quicker than a slower, more subtle approach for those very reasons stated.

 

Perhaps that's why a lure such a chatterbait or whopper plopper can turn into a Christmas ornament so quick.

 

I think the study is more relevant when there's ramped up fishing pressure too.  On bodies of water where fishing pressure isn't as high, those louder more aggressive lures tend to still work more effectively because fish haven't seen it as much.

[geo g]

There are just too many variables to blame or praise the lure being used.  No two days are the same, with water temps, wind direction, cloud cover, fronts, boat traffic, current, water depth.  All have effects on fishing success as much as what you throw and how you’re throwing it.  Your job is to figure it out for that day, that hour.  We have all seen the best pros, with the best boats, with the best gadgets, and the best equipment, have hours of non productive fishing.  Just too many variables, that’s what truly makes fishing fun!  It’s like gambling, with darts thrown in!

[Fried Lemons]

I've seen this happen mostly with baits that have a loud/unique signature in the water like a whopper plopper/MS slammer/crawler. These baits were like magic for me when I first picked them up; I could go to almost any lake in my area and catch fish on them. I think it's the novelty of these baits that gets a lot of attention from the fish which eventually wears off. After the first year or two the fish responded far less to these baits. On the other hand I've never seen them stop eating a worm or to a lesser extent a jig. 

[king fisher]

I understand the theory of subtler lures working better for bass conditioned to loud flashy lures.  I basically subscribe to this theory.  I do have to wonder why most of my biggest bass have been caught on loud moving baits such as crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and buzz baits.  The bigger bass are older and should have been conditioned to prefer the soft plastics, that are so popular with the smaller bass.  The opposite seems to be true in many of the waters I fish.  The bigger bass may be bigger because they are more aggressive, and more competitive.  They may feed more often, and might be prone to getting to there food before other less competitive bass can. Making them more likely to chase down a fast moving bait.  How many members PBs have been caught on noisy baits, the large bass should have learned to avoid by the time they are trophy size?  I doubt a 10 pound bass has never seen a rattle trap, but plenty of them get caught on traps every year.  Buzz baits don't always work for me, but when they do, on average they catch far larger bass than plastic worms.  The worms will work on more days, but when the buzz bait bite is on, the worm rod gets put away for the day.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Imho it's not the noisy vs. subtle aspect as much as it's the reactionary vs. realism aspect.   

 

I feel like big fish outside of really deep water situations have far too good of eyesight and experience to be easily fooled on slow moving bottom contact presentations during daylight.     On the other hand, I catch the majority of my 7lb+ fish at night using slow moving bottom contact presentations.   

 

I think those same fish are way more easily tricked into biting a reactionary moving bait during daylight in my experience.  Force them into a position where the bait surprises them, and their predatory instincts take the wheel.       I.E.  speed cranking a crankbait into the bottom or cover.    They might be following that bait from splashdown until the boat/bank and never commit, but once that bait slams into a rock or branch, boom she eats.    Fishing big glides will teach you quickly how many big fish will follow a bait, and as you evolve you learn how to trick some of those big girls into committing by forcing her hand through speeding that bait up or spinning it right back around into her face.      You learn they'll never commit based on realism alone, it takes a triggering mechanism to get a commitment.    

 

Sorry kind of off topic but @king fisher touched on something I think quite often about.     4/5 of my biggest fish the last two years have been off moving baits.  

[Pat Brown]

1000% my experience @AlabamaSpothunter