Just an Observation

[KU_Bassmaster.]

I have noticed that me and my fishing buddys' have different styles and confidence baits. My dad first started me out using plastic worms so I feel most comfortable using soft plastics. One of my other buddys' first started out using crankbaits. The other spinnerbaits. Needless to say when we fish together we are usually fishing differently to begin with and then switch over once we see who is catching them. We always have a good time having friendly fights over which is better. (It broke my heart to tell my crankbait buddy that I caught my 10.5 lber. in the picture with a crankbait..... ;D) I would say that just in the past 5 years I have opened my eyes and realized there is a time and place for all different baits and have become a much more versitle fishermen, but when the going gets tough I am always reaching for a soft plastic T-rigged. Do you guys have the most confidence in what you first started out fishing?

[hookset]

I also started out fishing soft plastics. To add to that i have caught my biggest two fish a 6.5 and a 7.2 lb. bass with soft plastics.  The kicker is that I have won a few tournaments on cranks, spinnerbaits and jigs.  Versitility is the key to becoming a good fisherman.  Its good to have a confidence bait but keep an open mind>

[Chris]

I also started out with a worm and felt that if they well not bite it them they must not be bitting. Later in life I found out that I was wrong and that the other lures that I had been carring around for years as a status symbol have a use after all. I have always for the most part been self taught. I think now I am able to have confidence in everything I throw. The main thing is that I took the time to learn them and spend hours figuring out what when and where to throw them. I think that it has helped me the most in tournaments because I don't win or fail on just one bait or one way of thinking. It has helped me make the top ten more times then not.

[lateral_lines]

Its all about adjusting to the conditios you are dealt.  I learned to fish along shady banks with a top water bait early and then switch to a worm as the morning bite ended.  I guess thats the only way I ever knew how.

[Yankee_lake]

one thing thats annoying about fishing with different ppl is that my one friend always wants to troll around.. how annoying is that he thinks it better.. and he hates when he doesnt drive the boat... some ppl are just annoying to fish with

[GamblerFL]

I also started with a worm, but I dont throw one very often anymore. I usually throw a Rat-L-Trap, spinner bait, Rapala minnow and a crank  bait. I know a worm is a very good bait but I have a hard time slowing down.

[BassnG3]

I also started with a simple Texas rig but now I find myself pitching sweet beavers, senkos or flukes for soft plastics.  I throw spinnerbaits alot also.  Come to think of it I can't remember the last time I caught a fish on a t-rigged plastic worm.  I try to be versatile and not have a go to bait.

Scott

[Will]

I use to be a huge spinnerbait fisherman fishing them all the time, and catching fish on them. Anymore it doesn't seem I have a different style or confidence bait that I always start out with, but I fish everything.

[Pond-Pro]

>One of my fishing buddies always starts out with a buzz-bait. He will ocasionaly use a T-rigged worm if he is not catching any on a buzzbait or a spinnerbait. The annoying part is that he usually catches the biggest bass of the trip. He has never caught more bass than me though.  ;D

[johnbr19792003]

zoom centipedes are hard to get my buddy to stop using for a while but when he sees me start pullin em in he changes his mind quickly.

[Skeeter6598]

I started out as a youngster with a spinnerbait. Considering I used it all the time that was my confidence bait. As I got older dad kept telling me to throw jigs more, and that they are a big fish bait. It took me a long time to start liking them and learning how to fish them. Now they are my favorite go to bait.

The only down fall it that even though I still fish everything with success, jig fishing I feel has hurt my worm fishing. My catch rate on T-rigged plastic worms has reduced and everyone I talked to says it's because I fish them to slow. I fish them slow like I do my jigs and that when fishing a worm you want to keep it moving more so than a jig. Just something I going to have to work on to start bringing my catch ratio, on a worm, back up

[roadwarrior]

When I started fishing, my dad bought me a little Zebco and had me casting a jitterbug or another small topwater and sometimes a small spinner bait. I think it was all about learning to cast and not getting hung up, it certainly wasn't about catching fish on THAT side of the boat!

My favorite artificials are soft plastics and I didn't start out with anything close. My observation is that guys gravitate to lures and techniques that work best for them. Maybe they have mastered other presentations, but they still ride the horse that brung 'em.

p.s. Skeeter6598, I fish Senkos and Fat Ika weightless, weedless and slooooooooooooooooow.

[Fisher of Men]

I started out on Spinners and topwaters, as Roadwarrior said,  I'm sure for the same reasons.  We did alot of pond fishing growing up and I did catch fish.  As a teen I continued to catch fish on H&H's, Beetlespins, Lit'l George's, and  Hot Spots.

I never fished plastics until a friend of mine (who I worked with in the Sporting goods department) turned me on to them.  I slowly migrated to plastics and topwaters, until adding the spinnerbait back to my arsenal.  I am now trying to diversify by fishing more cranks.  I guess I'm still pretty reliant upon soft plastics and spinners.  For me soft plastics just work really well.  

P.S.  Roadwarrior, I finally stuck with the Senko long enough to get some good bites the other day.  I'm looking forward to using it again tomorrow.

Fisher

[Rattlinrogue]

I started with soft plastics.Then it was jerkbaits,spinnerbaits,jig and pig,crankbaits.I've become decent with all of them except the crankbait.I don't know why.I've caught the odd bass here and there with a CB,but I never got "confident" using it.If it doesn't work pretty quick,I'm on to some other bait.

[Evilbill]

Something I notice about this thread is that no one has said that they started off the old fashion way...nightcrawlers!!! Remember live bait???!! lol

Yes I know they are not "fish specific" and you catch about everything a lake has to offer on them (including the occasional snapper turtle) but it taught me how to cast with an assorment of reels, how to take it easy on your bait and not belly flop it and how to handle the different styles of fish there are (i.e. don't stick your fingers in a Catfishs mouth).

I think when a person is young nightcrawlers and shiners are a great way to learn, with or without a bobber. Let the young fishermen experiment and build their resume as they move along in their career.

Anyway now I fish with anything that will catch a fish. I am more confident in plastics like Senko and grubs with a spinner tail, but I have used cranks and poppers, as well as the occasional spinner to haul in bass.

EB

[roadwarrior]

Fisher of Men, Don't forget to pick up a couple of packs of Fat Ika, they will compliment your Senko fishing.

[GobbleDog]

I mostly bring the following 5 rods to a tournament. Ranked in order of use:

1 - Trick worm

2 - Curly tail worm

3 - Weightless fluke

4 - Jerkbait (minnow)

5 - Top-water

[Marty]

Do you guys have the most confidence in what you first started out fishing?

No. When I started, I used stuff like Sonics, Lazy Ikes, River Runts, Hula Poppers, Beno Eels, Daredevles, Mepps spinners, and others that I can't remember. These days the only one of those lures that still gets wet is Mepps spinners.

[rollo58]

I use to be a huge spinnerbait fisherman fishing them all the time, and catching fish on them. Anymore it doesn't seem I have a different style or confidence bait that I always start out with, but I fish everything.

likewise will, i started with spinners and fished them to the exclusion of more appropriate lures for a long time.

i actually had rat-l-traps that my uncle gave me a long time ago (28 years or so?) that I never fished until just recently...now I fish ratls alot. Buddies turned me on to them, and I feel silly that I didn't use them for so many years when they can be such a dependable lure.

(my goal this year is to learn how to fish worms...I've never really known what I was doing, but my buddies are going to show me the light this summer).

[Landis76]

It's a well known fact that plastics catch the highest percentage of bass. Although, I think it has more to do with the way lure is actually fished...slow. With that being said, I consder my specialty to be spinnerbaits. I have gathered as much intelligence on them as possible and I feel they are the most versitile bait in the box. In my case though, I have the most confidence in the bait I think that will work for each situation. It is important to be a versitile fishman, but just don't get lost in your lures.

[Landis76]

Hey KU Bassmaster, I live in Lawrence, graduated from KU, work in Overland Park and I am a HUGE KU fan. Where do you fish?

[BassMaster]

i pretty much started with spinnerbaits, but when my dad told me that once i start catching fish on plastics, i will never want to go back... that was about 15 years ago when he told me that... been fishing soft plastics since... now i occassionally use spinnerbaits when i know exactly what they want.

[KU_Bassmaster.]

When I am here in Lawrence for school I go to Douglas County State Fishing Lake, Lone Star, and a couple of farm ponds up near Perry. When I am back home in Overland Park over the summer (when I can take the boat) I go to Bone Creek, Kill Creek, Leavenworth County State Fishing Lake, Truman, Lacyne, Mozingo, and every once in a while Lake of the Ozarks.

[Nick_Barr]

I started out fishing with a $1 crankbait that didnt even run right and i still like cranks, but they are certainly not my true confidence lure.  I like fishing with soft plastics. I have always had good success with them on my local lakes.

[lateral_lines]

Nicely put alandis311.  As an avid fisherman I commend your insight on such topics.