Most effective techniques

[basspro48]

Well, another year is coming to an end and we've all done different things to catch fish throughout the year, but I want to know what was your most effective technique/bait for the year.

For me it had to be pitching a t-rigged sweet beaver to shallow wood cover and matted vegetation, also burning a small homemade spinnerbait with 2 small willow blades through the deeper ends of laydown trees.  

[KU_Bassmaster.]

[move]CRANKBAITS, CRANKBAITS, CRANKBAITS[/move]

It was the year of the crankbait for me. In the past I hadn't really had much confidence in them, but this year I set my mind on learning how to use them. Mission Accomplished ! A lot of people don't think of the crankbait as a "big" fish bait, but it seems like I caught more 4 lbs. + bass on a crank (including a new PB) then all other baits combined.

I also fell in love with wacky rigging senkos. I can't remember catching any real good fish with it, but it will definately put fish in the boat. And lots of them.

In 2006 ........................ the Spinnerbait .................... some people may find this funny, but I have absolutely no confidence in them what so ever.

[Keepin_It_Reel]

KU, i am the same as you i just can catch fish on a spinnerbait and i dont know why? This year was a big jig year for me, Last year i would have never said that a jig would be one of my go to baits but it is now. And i also produced lost of fish on buzzbaits and jerkbaits. Over all i would say that this was a good year for me I also became addicted to flipin around docks

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

I went with Chris' addage "if you can find 'em, you can catch 'em"

I used same techniques as always, tried 6 or 7 new baits, but concentrated my efforts more on finding them.

Learned a bunch with special thanks to Roadwarrior and Chris, our local "tactics and presentation" writers. Some great posts this year guys, well done to all and thanks to the many whose 2 cents enriched my season.

[phisher_d]

The spinnerbait was my #1 lure this year.  I caught tons of fish on it, along with a new pb.

For smallmouths I had the best success with chartreuse and watermelon tubes on a 1/8oz tube head.

Next year I'm going to work on building my confidence with crankbaits.

[Marty]

In a word---topwater.

[Gatorbassman]

The best thing I did this year is joining this site and get involved. The second was to go fishing with Spotaholic. He kind of became my mentor. He helped me learn how to find the fish on Clarks Hill and I learned how to fine-tune my fishing presentations by watching him. My best bait this year was by far the Spot Remover Jig with a green pumpkin finesse worm. I came in the top 5 in 5 tournaments using it and I had several 30+fish days with it. Next year it will be crankbaits every day.

[Nick_Barr]

My best this year was a crankbait, dropshot, and a texas rigged Ghost baits Split Tail

Like LBH said, its about finsing them. IN 2006 i am going to focus on finding and following fish and put together a well defined pattern. Because in 1 1/2 years i will be a boater in tournies and need to learn how to find fish more efficiently.

[Guest avid]

I would have to say that this was the year of the jig for me.  I did well over the summer with senko's and in the fall with rattletraps, but once I started catching fish with jigs, it just seized ahold of me.  Love pitchin them thangs.

[justtrying]

our state has a 10 bass limit. ..therefore, lots of guys around here ask the question, "did you get your limit?"

jerkbaits, supe flukes & zoom trick worms have produced LOTS of limit culling days this year. ..i threw, & caught fish, on crankbaits, spinnerbaits, etc., but those three baits just consistently produced more "quantity" days than i've ever had before.

i plan to fish tubes & jigs the next couple of months til they become Very Familiar to me.

[BassinSoldier]

 The zoom super fluke prodused massive numbers for me while I was at home and not in Iraq.  I caught my biggest fish thid year (7.9 lbs) on a buzzbait but I have always went to that for a big bite in the summer.  I just got into the Senko and haven't fished it wacky rigged yet but plan on it.  I plan on using jigs and cranks more this coming year.

[Kana]

this past year i have gotten successful with vibration style baits, adding on to my crankbait and spinnerbait skills.  starting a few weeks ago i have been trying to get used to jigs, finess and larger weights.  i have spent many hours perfecting my flipping and pitching so now im ready to take hold of the jig, so i think.  my idsadvantage is that i bank fish 90% of the time so i will have to adapt my technique for that situation.  the finess jig has already got me bit, so i know a bit of the action it takes to gain interest of the big bad fishy!  wish me luck, i think taking on jigs is going to be a doosie, but ive also heard it pays off!

[Phishn_Phool]

I moved to central Florida this past year and that has really hurt my fishing.  I guided in Mo for the past 25 years so catching fish was not a problem.  Everything is different here.  LM here, SM there...lake here...river there...plastic here,,,SB & Rogues there...Help!!! I need a mentor.  I have started catching fish on Trigs and Crigs so that is my goal for next year..Also I am going to learn to "catch" with live shiners.  I know that is a bad word, but it seems to be the bait for 10+ fish down here

                                                 CPR ;D

[L.D.]

Jigs! In either a tube or a Yum Dinger. Also grub spinners worked well in the summer.

L.D.

[.ghoti.]

I had resolved that this was going to the year I learned to use a jig. So much for resolutions! Caught one fish all year on the jig. Overall though, I had one of my best years lately, using tubes, senko's and cranks. Between my wife and I, we caught 14 over 5lbs. I know, I use a rapala lok-n-weigh. My best was a 7.5 and her's a 6.5 Mine hit on a shad rap, her's on a berkley frenzy minnow. All the rest came on tubes or senko's.

Last year, I discovered the senko and was nearly ruined. I fished that thing all year long. I don't remember ever tying on a crank all year. I had resolved to be more versatile this year, and I managed to do that, except for the jig thing. Next year I resolve to master the jig. HA! Like I'm going be able to put down the senko's, the tubes, cranks, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, flukes, spooks, power worms, lizards, salt craws, pop-r's, pointers, x-raps, grubs, etc. Not to mention the fly rod and the boxes full of bugs, poppers, sliders, wolly buggers, dahlberg divers, zonkers, bouface's, etc. Do I sound like a tackle junkie? Can I get an AMEN, brothers? I'm a card-carrying member af Tackleholics Anonymous!!. The bait monkey rides me like a chimp on a greyhound. ( Now that's a race I'd pay to see.)

Anyway, it's been a good year for me, and, I hope for everybody here. Cabin fever is just starting to set in. Can't wait for warmer weather. I'll spend the winter cleaning up all my reels, sorting and arranging, and re-arranging all my tackle and hanging out with the good people on BassResource.com.

I've learned a lot here. Thanks to everybody, and good luck to all.

GK

[Will]

Well it was not texas rigged plastics. For me it would be crankbaits. My favorite though was frog fishing, which I plan to improve on next year.

[bassdocktor]

I caught more keepers this year than ever before by using a texas rigged Zoom Trick Worms. Seemed to be the one thing that kept catching them all year long. I also found more success with pitching and flipping tubes this year than in the past. Also in general thanks to alot of reading I did especially here, I was able to find alot more fish and actually figure out what they were doing. Just an observation but I bought my first bass boat this year and it seemed that the fish got bigger just like the boat. Seems like a pretty big coincidence but hey maybe I should have gone with the 21' instead of the 18'6".

bassdocktor

[Bass Hammer]

Crankbaits was something that worked well for me this year.

I spent most of the year practicing working them through cover, rod position relative to the depth, etc.

I also worked a great deal on sonaring structure.

Next year I think it's tubes and jigs.

[Chris]

This year I caught fish on everything just call me Mr. Junk fish. Top tournament producers jig, crankbait, spinnerbait, senko, kreature bait, paddletail worm, popR, Spit'n image, frog, jerkbait, zoom sweetbeaver wannabe, sweetbeaver, trap, tube, cuttail dropshot, yep I'm the poster child for the title Mr. Junk fish.

[Shad_Master]

Every year I set a goal to try to improve on one technique or another.  This year it was jigs, because I have been fishing for about 40+ years and had never caught a fish on a jig.  I did manage to start catching some on jigs and it was a hoot , but I don't think I caught enough to feel that I have "mastered" this technique, so I will be reading posts about this over the winter and will probably keep it as my goal for next year.  One thing I did do however, by accident, was discover the ZOOM Vibra Tail Worm.  I caught more fish on this during the season than all the other techniques combined, including my 6#'er.  Might have caught some of 'em on a jig, but it's hard to stop doing what's working.

[h1x71]

the worm "green pumpkin" for me was the bread and rat-l-traps "chrome" was the butter but the jam was a 'dbl willow chartuse spinner bait'

next yeat going to play more with cranks and pig-n-jigs

[Hawg_Hunter]

I had three distinctive techniques this year that stood above the rest;

1. 1/4 oz Jig - Black-n blue with #11 black or black -n- blue Uncle Josh pork (I know....old school, but hey, if it aint broke, don't fix it)

2. 3/8 oz White double willow spinner bait, with a slow yo-yo retrieve in cold water! Yes very cold water (42degrees!)

3. Rapala DT Series cranks in crawdad color. I have never been a crankbait fisherman, but like many of you I wanted to expand my approach and it paid off more than once this year.

HH

[Matt Fly]

pre-spawn-yozuri red rattlin vibe

spawn- anything plastic

post spawn-buzzbait

dog days of summer- early june, c-rig in 3-4 inch plastic bait,  shades of green

late summer 10 in plus worms.  Buzz bait

fall- 10 in/ crank baits   Buzzbait

winter? still a work in progress.

[Upnorth]

The 1oz. black and blue jig in the grass mats and a dropshot on the edges were the two techniques that took the most for me.

[mgmoore7]

TRigged Senco style for me.   It brought me out of the day after day skunks on the few lakes I fish.