Break up you day in 3 sections

[Redtail]

If you broke up your fishing day in three sections.  Let's say you get there just before dawn - what you you be using?  Then a few hrs later the sun has come up and you make a change - what's next?  Now its noon time and you've got another 3 hours to fish.  What then.

I know this is filled with variables temp, time of year, water color etc etc.

Let's just say an 80 degree  June or July day, little wind, bluebird skies, clear water, ample amounts of cover and structure.

I'm sure many guys have a routine they go with on most days.

Maybe Topwaters & Spinnerbaits early

Followed by soft plastics and jerk baits

And then maybe deep cranks and some Carolina Riggin

I'm just curious because I haven't established a routine yet and would just like to get your imput.

Please remember I know there are millions of variables, but I still think that a lot of you have routines you follow for most conditions.

Thanks for the Help!

[roadwarrior]

I like to use topwater, jerkbaits or crankbaits in low light (I rarely throw spinnerbaits unless there is chop).  

Once the sun comes up over the trees, soft plastics. I'm trying to learn to use jigs during the day, too.

Sometimes I'll go with deep crankbaits during the middle of the day, particularly when it's overcast.

The late afternoon and early morning are the same for me, topwater, jerkbaits or crankbaits.

[Siebert Outdoors]

Topwater,

then jig, or 10.5 ol monster worm

[Matt Fly]

June and July, blue bird days, which in Tx means constant High Pressure on the norm and patterns are usually true and don't change much more than slight colors.    

Morning till the sun appears is top water prime time.   Buzz baits with a chop or a slush bait.     Spooks, chuggers, or popper baits on calm mornings.   If the bite has been good early, once the topwater dies off, I might go with spinnerbait if the presence of baitfish is there.   A chrome rattle trap w/blu back is a no brainer bait, some good fish are caught this way, but sizes can run into the dinks zone.   If good size has been caught, I back off in depth around 8am to 5-12ft area and may attack with c-rig, not my favorite, but does work.   Drop shotting is good on numbers with small plastics.   If the bite doesn't pick back up, I head for main lake off shore structure and contour areas.    From mid morning on, I'm fishing 15-25ft with 10 inch plastics t- rigged.   This is were the better fish are on my area lakes, shallow at night and early morning, and deep in the after noons.    Sometimes the 7 inch worms do the trick, july starts picking up on my bigger worms.

[senko_77]

hey mattfly, what is a slushbait??  just wonderin?

[Peter E.]

The break down of my day is based on the strike zone of the fish, this depends on the amount of light and its angle.

1) Morning: in the dawn and just past post dawn with the sun light not yet a factor I go with a top water approach because the fishes strike zone is large (a strike zone is how far a fish will go to strike a lure). inthe mid morning I will stay in the shadowy areas working crank baits and spinnerbaits.

2) mid-day: as the sun rises higher in to the sky the fish will start to go deeper or into heavier cover to escape those rays and also to keep cool. This makes their strike zone smaller, and ar high noon that strike zone is at its smallest. I will wo to soft plastics and jigs, with an occasional deep diver.

3) afternoon and evening; as the sun sets his strike zone begins to broaden. I will return to a pattern closer to the one i used in the mid morning. Although I will still use soft plastics and jigs I will use that larger strike zone to locate schools with those horizontal presentations. in the evening I return to the dawn pattern.

Everything is about the strike zone.

Peter

[GobbleDog]

1. Plastic Worms

2. Platic Worms

3. Plastic Worms

If I'm feeling froggy, I'll throw a topwater, minnow or crankbait.  

[Matt Fly]

Slush baits are those with props, the Hedon Torpedo, I like these baits when I have some ripple, but not really chop. I even saw a big bass caught at this years classic with a slush bait. Dual props, one on each end. Trying to remember who it was on Day one.

http://www.lurenet.com/catalog.aspx?catid=Torpedo

I have bunches of the Heddon torps, all colors and sizes.    It was one of the first lures I stole out of my dads tackle boxes when I was in the 4th grade.   I actually got a huge bass and was aftraid to tell my dad what I caught it on thinking he would be mad.   Nope, not all, come to find out, he always left his top water tackle box on a lower garage shelf, his thinking was, if I was to nose around in his tackle box, he figured I'd have a harder time losing top water plugs instead of his cranks, which he didn't have even close to the variety that we have now days.    He had bombers, Pico perches, hellbenders, lazy ikes and some others I didn't know the name of.

Fell in love with slush baits, took me awhile to realize, plugs are tools, each has its own use.

Hope this helps Ryan.

Hookem

Matt

[directlink]

Morning - buzzbait

Mid-day - crankbait

late afternoon - soft plastics

[Guest avid]

1. topwaters

2  spinnerbaits/jerkbaits

3. crankers/worms

Jigs all day long.

This is a basic game plan.  On any given day the order could be completely different.

[basspro48]

This depends very much on the current conditions and time of year, but let's just say it's a warm June morning with overcast skies and a slight ripple on the water.

Early morning: I'd start out with a walking bait like a sammy or skitterwalk and cast it around shallow grass cover and weeds. I would also alternate between a Fluke twitched near the surface and a buzzbait thrown around any shallow cover.

Midday: Let's say the wind kicks up a little and the sun comes out. I would back off the bank a little and start throwing a double willow blade spinnerbait and a crankbait around wood cover in 4-7ft. of water. I would also try pitching a jig to steep banks with laydowns and stumps and casting a t-rigged worm around stumps.

Evening: The wind has died down and the sun is going down. I will be throwing a shallow diving crankbait "waked" on the surface, reeled so slowly that it just wobbles along the surface. I would cast that and a weightless senko around any shallow cover.

[spotaholic]

Aaron Martens caught fish on day 1 and 2 on a slush bait (Devils Hores)

[KU_Bassmaster.]

Just like everybody I like to try the topwater first (I usually don't throw top waters until late May/June though).  I am quick to switch if I have no takers (usually 10 to 20 minutes or so).  Next is the Jerkbait.  I'll fish this all day if the bite is there.  Next is the crankbait.  I usually stick with this the longest even if I don't get a bite right away.  Again I will fish this all day if the bite is there.  And last but certanly not least is soft plastics and jigs.  This would be an ideal day.  After one bite ends the next bait will step right in and take it's place, but how many of those days do we have ....... NOT MANY.  Most of the time I try to go to the lake with a game plan taking into consideration the current weather and season.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  When it doesn't ...... I go "junk" fishing until I find something I can duplicate.

[Rattlinrogue]

Early morning,I fish topwaters,floating jerkbaits,and buzzbaits.As the sun comes up,I'll hit a few more shady areas with the floating jerkbait.When that runs out,I'll go with a 3/16 white spinnerbait.Later on in the morning it's a Carolina rig using a watermelonseed lizard.When the sun really gets up,I'll either pitch a tube to the numerous blowndown tree tops or continue the C-rig on some deeper water structure.I'll probably throw a deep diving crank bait along with the C-rig.As the sun starts to go down,It's back to topwaters,floating jerkbaits,and buzzbaits.