techniques that you have moved away from

[rboat]

I think as bass anglers we are all guilty of going through phases of different styles, lures, techniques, the newest thing out of Japan, old reliable, etc. Is there any technique you have kind of moved away from for one reason or another?

I have a couple.

1. Soft stick baits, I know they work great, but just moved on to other lures. (still have a ton of them to come back to someday)

2. Crankbaits and hard Jerkbaits, shallow weedy lakes make treble baits a bit more difficult and I am trying to improve on flukes, topwater, swimbaits, bladed jigs. (still plenty of hard baits to come back to later).

[GreenPig]

Deep cranks. In the lakes around here, they simply don't produce for me as well as other baits. My old fishing buddy loves deep cranking and he'd catch a couple, while I'd catch 8 - 10 on a Shakey Head. I don't even put them in the boat at this point.

[softwateronly]

I also gave up stick baits, and under strict guidance from @gimruis haven't touched a drop shot in years.  I've been adding more than subtracting, though I feel like the pace of that is significantly slowing.

 

scott

[Susky River Rat]

I only use like 3 things so I can’t really move away from anything 

[MediumMouthBass]

I stopped fishing 90% of the baits i bought and used for years,

nothing on this earth can, has, or will work better for where i fish than a #1 lipless crank, #2 wacky worm, #3 ned rig, #4  chatterbait, #5 football jig. Maybe on occasion a tube jig if im getting bored with a ned rig.

 

The mainstream, popular, in every tackle box across America baits and lures (Texas rigs, spinnerbaits, swim jigs, crankbaits, jerkbaits, paddle tail swimbaits, frogs, topwaters) have never worked in the almost dozen different places i fish. Only the ones above do. And dont even get me started on the giant scam of green pumpkin.

 

4 hours ago, rboat said:

the newest thing out of Japan

Side note, am i the only person who fishes for bass that has zero interest in Japanese bass fishing, JDM rods and reels, or BFS?

[gim]

34 minutes ago, softwateronly said:

I also gave up stick baits, and under strict guidance from @gimruis haven't touched a drop shot in years.

You’ll look back at that decision as one of the best in your fishing life too.

[softwateronly]

18 minutes ago, MediumMouthBass said:

Side note, am i the only person who fishes for bass that has zero interest in Japanese bass fishing, JDM rods and reels, or BFS?

 

I was you....now, not so much.  Tread lightly is my advice.

 

scott

13 minutes ago, gimruis said:

You’ll look back at that decision as one of the best in your fishing life too.

Did!!

[LonnieP]

35 minutes ago, MediumMouthBass said:

 

Side note, am i the only person who fishes for bass that has zero interest in Japanese bass fishing, JDM rods and reels, or BFS?

I have no interest in BFS but I do like saving money by buying JDM. Why pay 370 for a reel when you can get the same one from Japan for a little over 200?

[MediumMouthBass]

3 hours ago, LonnieP said:

I have no interest in BFS but I do like saving money by buying JDM. Why pay 370 for a reel when you can get the same one from Japan for a little over 200?

I bought all my reels from US based stores, with sales i got them for 30-60% off MSRP. I got my US Zillion for $10 more than a JDM. And sure that point is valid that you CAN save money, but zero warranty. With the way quality control has taken a nose dive into a mess id rather spend the same or a few bucks more and get that warranty.

[Pat Brown]

Hmmmmmm - I rotate stuff out based on what the bass seems to want or not want and then rotate things back in sometimes many moons later when I feel they may want the thing again.  It seems to work pretty well.

 

I may do more stick bait one year and more trick worm another year.

 

I may do more swim jig one year and more flipping jig the next.

 

Might fish more Colorado blades one year and then switch to willows the next.

 

Might throw a smaller popping frog one year and bigger walking frogs the next.

 

Etc etc.

 

I mostly rely on the same basic lure categories that have been around forever though.  Not much in the way of special new techniques or baits.

 

I think I just try to keep changing things around a little bit within the categories I am good with so they get a little thrown off and keep biting it each year.

[A-Jay]

techniques that you have moved away from

 

Glide baits.

Large Huddleston type Swimbaits.

Super Deep Diving Crankbaits.

Finally, I had to stop using TriNitroToluene.

Too many legal issues.

😎

A-Jay

[Mike L]

Every light line finesse type bait and presentation on spinning rods 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[Scott F]

4 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

techniques that you have moved away from

Finally, I had to stop using TriNitroToluene.

Too many legal issues.

😎

A-Jay

That’ll cut down on the number on the number of big fish videos we’ll see from you. 😂

[J Francho]

Crank baits, especially the deep divers. They were a staple for so long.  I'll probably get back to it someday. 
 

The other will sound crazy coming from me. I think I spent about an hour total fishing jigs this season. It's not that they don't work, I just wasn't in the mood. A slippery Texas rig was doing it for me. 
 

Speaking of T-rigs, for a while Jika rigs about replaced them for several years for me, but I didn't fish them at all this year either. 
 

I didn't do much froggin' this year either, but that was more a function of taking my almost 80 yo MIL out fishing with me. Those areas would make it too difficult for her to fish comfortably. 
 

I did fine with my usual repertoire of stick baits, top waters, and drop shot. 

[king fisher]

I have moved away from techniques that catch bass.  This year I didn't waste valuable casting practice time landing and releasing bass.  I hope to go back to techniques that catch bass next year, but only time will tell.

[islandbass]

For me, crank and jerk baits. I still like them but I’ve been delving into soft plastics for the past few years now. 
 

Not only that, as a shore angler, when you snag it, your chances of trying to free it aren’t so great so it’s not cost effective. When I started fishing in 2004, I could get rapalas of all kinds for $3-5 give or take. Today’s prices? Absurd. I taught myself the art of making flat cranks and jerks, but those are time consuming labors of love. 
 

They still have a place in my heart because all of my bass were caught on them for the first two years I fished, but they are on the back burner for now. 

[Texas Flood]

Swim jigs and billed crank baits. They were all I threw when I first got into bass fishing. Outside of a chatterbait and lipless, I’m not into throwing reaction baits anymore. Rather fish a jig or worm. 

[WRB]

The 1st lures I sold after selling my boat was big swimbaits. You can’t back seat using 8’ rods and chucking heavy lures 60-75 yards! 
Tom

[GRiver]

I don’t drop shot…. Never did any good for me anyway, don’t use Carolina rigs anymore ether.

[Catt]

techniques that you have moved away from

 

None! 

Some never were in my rotation, some never will be.

 

12 hours ago, MediumMouthBass said:

Side note, am i the only person who fishes for bass that has zero interest in Japanese bass fishing, JDM rods and reels, or BFS?

 

👍

[r83srock]

I have moved away from: 

 

1). Drop shot

I know it effective, but I find equal success without the the line twist frustrations from other techniques like a Ned rig or swimming a grub.

 

2). c-rig

 

Sort of like the drop shot it’s a pain for me to rig and awkward to throw. I’ve had moments in time where I’ve done well on one but it’s not a go to for me. I would rather fish a heavy jig in the same places.

 

3). a-rig 

 

Again, awkward and frustrating at times. I remember catching a good smallie on one about my 5th cast ever, that sent me down a rabbit hole. I’d Rather throw spinnerbaits.

 

4). swimbaits

 

I don’t throw any of the big swim baits.  I will always have a small simple ball head jig and grub in my arsenal for smallies though. 
 

5). chatterbaits

 

Ive had some good days on one, but it’s never out produced a Spinnerbait or lipless or swim jig in the same areas. It seems you have to spend a small fortune to get a good one, and it’s a northern pike magnet. I just don’t like em much. 
 

6). Deep cranks

 

I have a box full of these if I ever go to Kentucky lake. My waters don’t require them. 
 

7). whopper plopper

 

I can count on one hand the amount of bass I’ve caught on one. It’s a great lure for pike. I’d rather throw a classic buzzbait, comes through cover better for me. 
 

8.). Swim jig

 

I remember learning to throw a swim jig before it got “big”. Early 2000s up here it would have ran toe to toe with the senko, and was a top technique for me for years.  It’s not as magical is it once was. I can’t just wind it in year round and fish smash it like they once did, something has changed. I pitch a jig a lot, always have always will. I’m confident that that basic jig is a bait that has stood the test of time. Sure there are days  a t rig out produces it, especially in the summer, but I rely on it so much. 
 

I quit buying specific swimjigs. I still swim a jig, but it will be my standard flipping jig to gauge the mood of the bass. I may modify that same jig to suit the situation, but I’m done buying the “balanced 28 degree line tie, tinsel skirt swim jigs”. The windows that it works for me anymore are very small.

 

This year I stuck with:

 

punch/weighted/weightless t-rig (senko, put boss, fluke)

Jig n pig

1/2oz trap

pop r

small spook

jerkbait (limited use)

ned

grub

spinnerbait

buzzbait

frog

 

These baits worked nearly everywhere and if I wasn’t catching fish it wasn’t the lures fault. I plan on lightening the boat next year but removing stuff i didn’t use. I won’t get rid of stuff, just pull it out of the boat. 
 

 

[Swamp Girl]

12 hours ago, MediumMouthBass said:

Side note, am i the only person who fishes for bass that has zero interest in Japanese bass fishing, JDM rods and reels, or BFS?

 

Other than my Deps 6" and 7" Sakamata flukes, I don't use any of the above. @AlabamaSpothunter told me about the Sakamatas and I've scored with them. They feel different (softer) and the local bass like their size and feel. I'm kept busy with the lures I already own. I don't know what JDM rods are and I barely know what BFS is. I think they're light line setups, but for decades, I fished for smallies with four and six-pound line, tossing light lures long distances. 

 

I own a lot of crankbaits and would like to use them regularly, but the water I fish is just too weedy and shallow for them. I can use them in early spring for a couple weeks before the weeds rise.

 

I use Whopper Ploppers a lot less simply because I can't cast them into weeds and under bushes. Plus, I catch a lot of bass with poppers, which land on the water without the BIG PLOP that can spook bass.

[Mike L]

12 hours ago, MediumMouthBass said:

 

Side note, am i the only person who fishes for bass that has zero interest in Japanese bass fishing, JDM rods and reels, or BFS?

NO

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[T-Billy]

Frogs. Just not great producers in my local lakes. 

[Bankbeater]

Carolina rigs, and deep diving crankbaits are two that I can think of right off.