Lure choice

[hghfidelity37]

I'm having a hard time deciding what type of lures to use in different situations... Is there some rule of thumb when deciding what lures will work the best for varying situations? :'(

[langs15]

Hate to come down on you...but uh...theres a search button on this site, and it's really helpful. There are A LOT of qeustions like this and some way even be on this page or the next two pages...

[RoLo]

Welcome aboard

The short answer to your question is No...the long answer is also No

There are several hundred rules-of-thumb, so you'd really have to be much more specific.

I used to think that nuclear fission was complicated, but that was before I got involved in fishing

Roger

[Marty]

It's trial and error, as you can't predict in advance what will work on any given day. But there are some general guidelines which you can start with. For example, slow-moving baits in cold water, topwaters under low light in warmer water. It goes without saying that the lure must be suitable for the conditions, e.g., no crankbaits in heavy weeds, to state the obvious. Confidence and personal preference enter into the equation too. Take a situation where you're fishing over submerged weeds that come to within two feet of the surface. That situation can be fished effectively with topwaters, spinnerbaits, a variety of soft plastics, shallow crankbaits, inline spinners, and perhaps others. You need to put in your time, experiment, figure out what works, what lures you have confidence in, what ones you enjoy using, and the like. After awhile, you'll find out the decision-making process might clear up a little. And don't forget that if you're in an area holding fish that are willing to hit a lure, much of the time there are multiple lures that they will hit. So you don't have to choose only one thing that will work, which is pretty fortunate, since many of us wouldn't catch anything if the decisions had to be precise all the time.

[Guest avid]

I have to disagree with the previous posts.

There ARE certain "rules of thumb" so to speak, but what my friends were probably saying is that none of these work all the time so you will still have to experiment.

Let's take a few common baits and the "rules of thumb" associated with them.

spinnerbaits - work best on windy, overcast days

surface baits - work best in early morning and late evening

jitterbug- works best at night with steady retrieve

jigs - use blue/black jig with blue or black chunk type trailer - cooler water

Lizards - great for spawning bass

Ratltrap - schooling bass

senko - anytime anyplace

There are many others.  Just remember these are suggestions based on what works for most people most of the time.  You will quickly learn that most lures are quite versatile and that one of the real fun aspects of bass fishing is using old lures in new ways to catch fish.

good luck and have fun.

avid