What do you follow your search baits up with?

[Will1248]

I am revaluating my tackle box and im trying to plan out my follow up techniques. For example I follow Zara Spooks up with soft jerkbaits. Squarebills I'll use a shakey head. 

 

I'm trying to conceptualize what to follow up certain techniques with. Typically I downsize. But as I started branching out to new techniques things like lipless crankbaits I have no idea what to follow it up with. 

 

1. Spinnerbaits

2. Crankbaits

3. Lipless Crankbaits

4. Chatterbaits (Bladed Jigs)

5. Swimbaits (Paddle-tail)

6. Jerkbaits

7. Buzzbaits

8. Topwater

9. Swim Jigs?

 

Follow up

1. Worms

2. Drop Shots

3. Ned rigs

4. Soft Jerkbaits

5. Shakey head

 

 

 

 

[Swamp Girl]

I'll sling a wacky worm or fluke if there's a hit and miss. Something quieter and slower.

[Jar11591]

I don’t have specific search & follow up pairs. Like @Swamp Girl I will follow up a missed strike with a weightless senko or fluke. 

[Mike L]

I don’t have a universal follow up, as it depends what I was throwing. 
 

If I swing and miss a bottom contact bait I’ll just stay with that and maybe change the follow up angle, bounce it, slow it down or even speed it up. 
It’s more of change up presentation type deal. 
 

If a moving bait, since I already got a reaction out of her and she was moving to get it unlike a bottom bait, I bank on her awareness, reaction and aggressiveness to come back.
I may throw something different or not.
A lot depends on how she hit it 
 

I got her attention with what I threw, I may not with something completely different. 

But that’s me

 

 

 

 

Mike

[Swamp Girl]

38 minutes ago, Jar11591 said:

I don’t have specific search & follow up pairs. Like @Swamp Girl I will follow up a missed strike with a weightless senko or fluke. 

 

My approach is KISS: Keep it simple, Swampy!

 

 

4 minutes ago, Mike L said:

I got her attention with what I threw, I may not with something completely different. 

 

Interesting. 

[Mike L]

@Swamp Girl

 

I’ve found it to be true more times than not

 

 

 

 

Mike

[Swamp Girl]

8 minutes ago, Mike L said:

@Swamp Girl

 

I’ve found it to be true more times than not

 

 

 

 

Mike

 

Then I'm going too try it too, Mike. Thanks!

[king fisher]

I usually follow up a lure that gets bit with one that doesn't.  If I am already fishing a lure that doesn't get bit, I follow that lure up with a more expensive one that doesn't get bit.

[Bird]

23 minutes ago, king fisher said:

I usually follow up a lure that gets bit with one that doesn't.  If I am already fishing a lure that doesn't get bit, I follow that lure up with a more expensive one that doesn't get bit.

Classic 🤣 

Sometimes we just wanna be left alone on the water. 

[A-Jay]

@Will1248

I rarely use "follow up baits".

If & when a bass 'misses' a moving bait, I call it "a Poke",

as long as I do not believe she felt the steel,

I throw the same bait right back at her.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not.

But I'm for sure able to get a bait back out there much faster with what I'm already throwing,

than putting it down, picking up another rig and making that exact cast.

Besides, she deserves a second shot anyway and so do I.

Good Luck & Fish Hard

A-Jay

https://youtu.be/oIoNOk6kf8o?feature=shared&t=301

 

[Bird]

Misses are a common occurrences, happens a lot.

A follow-up plastic works, sometimes.

[greentrout]

Weightless Zoom Trick Worm ...

[FryDog62]

5 inch Caffeine Shad on a 

4/0 Owner Twistlock LIGHT

[GetFishorDieTryin]

IMO one of the best follow up baits is a senko,  You can throw them anywhere, rig them a bunch of different ways and they will cover th entire water column even when they are weightless. 

I do use small swimbaits, ned rigs, shakey heads and T/ rigs often to pick apart structure after fishing it with a swim jig, bladed jig, crank, or whatever.  

[papajoe222]

If it's a topwater blow up, I'll just let it sit where it landed and give it a twitch or two after. If she doesn't come back, I'll follow up with a senko. If it's a moving bait, I'll adjust the speed and then the angle. My next move is to either change the size or the color of that type of bait. I don't follow up a missed bottom contact lure. I just cuss myself out and toss it back.

[IYAOYAS]

I always use a wacky rigged senko.

[wdp]

5 hours ago, Jar11591 said:

I don’t have specific search & follow up pairs. Like @Swamp Girl I will follow up a missed strike with a weightless senko or fluke. 

This right here. Those are my top 2 follow ups. #3 and #4 for me are a big TRD on a 1/10 oz jighead and a crawfish lure of some sort on a 1/8 oz jighead. 

[GRiver]

I don’t have a 1st and 2nd type of system, if I get a short strike or miss, I throw it back at them. I take it as a sign that they are interested in that type of bait. 

[Bankbeater]

I'll throw the same bait back in.  I'll change the retrieve somehow, or hit the same spot from a different angle.

[Born 2 fish]

The only search bait I use is a big glide bait great way to find fish. Then I’ll follow up with a jerkbait or wacky rig worm.

[Swamp Girl]

8 hours ago, papajoe222 said:

If it's a topwater blow up, I'll just let it sit where it landed and give it a twitch or two after. If she doesn't come back, I'll follow up with a senko.

 

I'm glad PapaJoe raised the surface lure miss. You guys know I fish a LOT of surface lures and if a bass misses a surface lure, but tastes steel, I'm done. No second cast. Certainly no third cast. I just mosey.

[LonnieP]

Most of the time I’ll keep throwing the same bait. A few years ago a nice bass hit a buzzbait at the boat as I started to lift it out of the water. A few casts later I caught her as soon as the buzzbait hit the water. 

[TOXIC]

My follow,up bait is a Senko.  Most often my primary bait is a Senko.  It’s one of the most effective baits for multiple hits from the same fish.  We say after a missed strike and we either slow down or completely stop the bait, that the fish “came back”.  As a matter of fact, I watched one of the tournament trails and the angler threw a Senko back in where he had gotten broken off by a fish and caught the same fish with the Senko still in its mouth.  I’ve had that happen as well and it’s only been on a Senko.  

[Functional]

I'm in the no follow up lure camp. I already tempted the bass to strike what I'm throwing and if I'm throwing it odds are there is a reason I picked it over something else. I'm not going to throw something I dont know if they are tuned into that day. If I switch I'm 9/10 switching to fish that lure for a while. 

 

Like with @Mike L, I'll usually recast and try a slight presentation change, or no change. Entirely depends on the strike and if its multiple strikes or just one. 

 

To be transparent, I did try follow up lures for half a season and found on average I'd get less follow up bites or fish than if I just used my method above. Might just be my fishing style but that has been my experience. 

[Swamp Girl]

When I caught muskies, if we had a lukewarm musky, we'd leave the area and then circle back after 20 minutes to an hour. Do any of you do that when a bass has hit? I don't because I'm paddling, but those of you with engines could easily do this musky trick.