The next generation

[Alpster]

If you want to learn to use a new class of lures, you need to spend some time focused on fishing them.

It's really that simple.

Amen! I could be happy fishing my confidence baits (soft plastics and Jig & trailers) forever. I have caught fish on buzzbaits, spinnerbaits and even one (1) on a crankbait, but I have considered it mostly luck, because I know I don't fish them with a lot of skill. My tendency is, to quickly get impatient after throwing a non-confidence bait and I reach for that faithful worm rod. I need to follow RW's example and take only the bait I want to learn to fish.

Ronnie

[Guest avid]

I still say you can have suitcases filled with every lure imaginable.  If you have no clue as to what conditions are best for throwing a particualar lure than I'll put my money on the guy who carries a little plano filled with a dozen or so wisely selected lures.

[Chris]

When I was growing up in Florida my main lures was soft jerk baits, jerkbaits, worms, rattletraps, topwater, spinnerbaits, swim baits. For 15 years you couldn't get me to use any other lures because I was highly successful with what I was using. When I fished other places in other states I picked up a few more lures because they worked better for the situation. The conditions changed and so did the water and structure/cover that I was fishing.  When I moved and started fishing deep clear water my finesse techniques expanded. The majority of the water I fish now is stained to murky so my power fishing techniques expanded. Crankbaits, jigs, flipping tubes, spinnerbaits, buzz baits, are what I use mostly. When I get stuck fishing clear water my I still have my old techniques to fall back on. I do understand that sometimes you get to a point where what you are using works for where you are fishing. I also understand that you get to a point where you narrow your choices and pick a select few that tend to work best. If you gotta learn a strength then you need to learn the right one that works for the area. If all I knew was jigs and I went to Florida I would have less success than if I knew plastics. If I fished Illinois and all I knew was worms I would have less success then if I knew jigs or tubes. I understand whatcha saying this just makes good conversation

[Raul]

Back then when I started fishing and dinosaurs ruled the earth, when there was no innernet, no graphite, no nuthin for you to get any kind of information and there were tons and tons of secretz....

Well not really cuz I ain 't THAT old in years, but yes information and baits were quite scarce specially because I live in Mexico where for one reason or the other tackle and information was hard to find, ocassionally I stepped on a F & S magazine or an OutdoorLife Magazine at the magazine section of Sanborns but still, there wasn 't much to choose from, my dad was anything but a fisherman so I missed that part of the learning curve. With a few baits my dad bought me, with the help of the few articles I read and by experimenting on my own I taught myself how to fish.

I learned by steps, first in-line spinners, then jerkbaits, then spinner baits, then crankbaits and last soft plastics and jigs, the way I taught myself was by forcing me to fish with only one kind of lure until I was able to catch fish consistently with that particular type of lure before stepping into the next, with the help of a family friend and with the help of my uncle who allowed me to fish their irrigation ponds stuffed with dumb bass that have never seen a lure is how I learned through trial and error how to work a bait properly thus catching fish consistenly with that particular type of bait. As time went through the fish got smarter and so did I.

Being a veterinarian and being a fish hobbyist ( for 37 years now ) helped me to understand how the animal behaves and reacts, add to that my keen sense of observation, my priviledged memmory, my methodical ( yet nervous ) personality, my stubborness ( a mule is pale comparison ) and that huge end extreme confidence that never leaves me has helped me become a better, more proficient and consistent angler.

I know I 'm going to catch fish, it 's just a matter of how many and how big.

And still, I just can 't seem to catch a cold with a buzzbait, don 't know if it 's me or the dang fish don 't like it.

[CJ]

Been following this thread and I think it is a good one.I know where you are coming from Chris.It is becoming clear to me that today's pros are becoming more versitile and some are still fishing their strengths.

I have a tournament coming up on a lake that is tough for me.I know a variety of things that work on this lake.Only a few of these techniques are within my element.So should I try to force the fish what I'm best at or do I try to learn the best technique going?I hope the fish are on to what I'm best at.If not I will go to what works best for the fish.

To me fishing can be like dancing.I need to be in beat with the fish so I can get in the groove!

[GAMEOVER]

I sorta agree with what you saying but then again I dont.. there are some what you called "masters" of certain lures who have proven they can use them very effectively while even other pros cant. One example would be David Fritts with Crankbaits.

Id also have to say im sort of like RoLo by what he said.. I fish and try to master what I like and what fits my style. Crankbaits, Jerkbaits mostly, and Jigs are not for me. So what do I do? I fish with Crankbaits and Jerkbaits trying to constantly reach that level of insanity with em.

[Chris]

I sorta agree with what you saying but then again I dont.. there are some what you called "masters" of certain lures who have proven they can use them very effectively while even other pros cant. One example would be David Fritts with Crankbaits.

And these guys are just as good.

Mark Davis-won a classic cranking a fat free shad and a deep flat A

Rick Clunn-built a crankbait just to win a classic (now made by Poe's)

Davy Hite-almost won 1996 classic by cranking

George Cochran-shallow water crankbait fishermen classic winner

David Fritz-1993 classic with a Poe crankbait that he added weight to and sanded the bill.

Paul Elias-1982 Bass masters classic with a deep little N

Takahiro Omori-2004 classic won on a crankbait

Of that list how many do you think is known today as a master crankbait fishermen? 4 maybe? What is more important is that they also throw other lures even David Fritz. David is also a heck of a Carolina rig fishermen and a great spinnerbait fishermen. You would be surprised how many other lure those "masters" throw. David is a structure fishermen and isn't much of a shallow water fishermen because he has poor eyesight. He has a problem hitting a visual target with accuracy. His words not mine.

[fishbear]

I have read and reread eveyones opinion,,,

I still have the opinion, it depends a lot on your personality and style.

Example, Can you see Kevin Van d**n fishing a dropshot rig????  I do not follow the professionals much, but I do know that he is as hyper a powerfisherman as I have seen... just can not for the life of me see him sitting there, humming a little tune to himself  with a dropshot rig in the water,,,   :o

[Chris]

Remember that large bass KVD caught on a shakey head jig and a 3x finesse worm? I think it was a Bush shoot out or something like that. He wasn't going warp speed then.

[FIN-S-R]

KVD caught the lake lewisville record on a shakey head (not too far from a drop shot) and was drop shottin smallies on champ. to take 9th.

From the mouths of two BASS pros I have talk to recently came the words (paraphrased) versatility is paramount. If you fish on the same waters pretty much exclusively, then chunkin the same thing that produces well is the way to go. Ex. a little clear lake full of finicky smallies I fish quite often should have a sign up at the ramp "Small Plastics only or youll get skunked". The guys that win the jackpots here throw the same thing at the same spots all year long every year and have done so for as long as Ive been donating. When I go there i throw pretty much the same stuff at the same spots cause thats what works...Ive tried to will these fish into hitting something else and they wont. Now I also fish a half a dozen or so more lakes on tourneys, and in order to stay in the black for the year on my gambling (tourney fishin) addiction I have to be ready to pick up somthin else and be as good as the locals. My personality leans toward finnessing deep structure with my electronics, but I have trained myself to switch gears quickly when the conditions call for it. Trophy hunting is another deal where you stick with what you know, or a collection of lures and techniques that produce a singular result.

This next year I am going to really concentrate on increasing my ability to be an effective power fisherman cause I cant cover water worth a darn right now. My partner is a super power fisherman and hates the whole sight fishin with electronics deal, so I have found that I can improve versatility by observing and implementing.. adopting his strengths and maintaining my own.

I firmly believe that increasing versatility concerning techniques is absolutley the way to go in order to increase #s and it has put many more big fish in the boat for me this year than the previous years wheras I was not too concerned with techique versatility. This year It has accounted for:

6.0 smallie on popper

8.0 LMB on spinner bait (slow roll winter)

7.8 LMB on Frog

7.2 LMB on jig

7.0 LMB on drop shot

4.8 Spot on frog

4.2 Spot on Jig

5.2 Smallie on Crank

5.74 LMB on Crank

4.0 Smallie on d-shot

4.0 Smallie on Jerk

and 6 LMB btw 4-6lbs on shakey head.

2 5.0 lmb on worm

5.4 and 5.3 lmb vibe

and thats all I have in my notes for me thats not to mention the hawgs my partner and son and wife caught while with me this year.

Versatility is Paramount

[BASS fisherman]

AMEN brother!

[Fish Chris]

I think your mainly talking about tournament and / or numbers fishermen (the normal guys).

But personally speaking, what I have learned is, I don't need all that garbage to drag around. If I were to go back to "numbers" fishing today, I would probaby use nothing but crawlers and tiny live dads, and then I would just carry a small box of hooks.

If I cared anything about tournies (which I never did) my tackle would still be a smaller assortment than practically every other T-angler out there. Maybe a few plastic worms in only a few solid and broken colors. A couple of cranks.... Maybe a few Chatterbaits.... and I'd be good.

But in the end, since I am always chasing the big ones, I bring my Huds. If those don't work, I try a Hud. And when that doesn't do it, I just resort to a Hud.

I will throw a Basstrix Bluegill in the Spring for sightfishing.... If I happen to find a 10 plus on a bed (which I hardly have in the last couple years).

And I still carry a box or two of crawlers, or maybe a few dads on many trips throughout the year, but only throw them, when faced with a few select situations, and many trips will go by, where I never even use a live bait, even though it's within arms reach.

So anyway, my point is, in rare situations, "versatility" might help you to catch a fish or two which you would not have, if you were throwing nothing but your bread and butter stuff, but I personally believe that "even more often", guys get themselves caught up in (buried in) a bazillion and one lure choices, and end up hurting, rather than helping themselves.

The bait monkey would starve to death if he depended on me :-)

Peace,

Fish

[roadwarrior]

Fish Chris,

You sir, are so politically incorrect.

This is a "Fishing Forum" but you seem to think it's all bout CATCHING big bass. Crawdads, worms...what are you thinking? If everyone fished like you do we would have no pros because they would have no sponsors. A lure company can't make money if everyone goes back to fishing live bait! Besides, that's cheating.

I hope you can get your act together and become more "versital". How else will you know about all of the things that don't work? You sometimes spend hours fishing that Hud without success. There are plenty of other lures that can do "that" just as well.

[BASS fisherman]

Now Im convinced, EVERYONE on here works for that darn bait monkey!

[FIN-S-R]

Fish Chris: You are evedently not a bad stick by the looks of that picture, and i made reference to the trophy hunters like yourself in my previous post- Singular technique for singular result. Im not a trophy hunter though i will accept one anytime she wants to get in the boat with me. Conversly, the fish I consider "trophy" fish as I listed above arent double digit monsters, but more or less the joe six pack of quality fish. I hit the water with the intention of learning something new everytime, making an observation and implementing what I have learned to help me either show my son a better time next time we go out, or to hook up with a better paycheck at the next tourny. These are two goals that versatility is paramount in achieving. So I will better quantify my earlier statements: Versatility is paramount in being success at catching more quality fish.

[Fish Chris]

Hey RW, you got me ROTF over here :-)

But hey FIN-S-R, seriously though, lets forget about how I fish, and the kind of fish I fish for, nowadays. You must understand that I am 42 years old, and I have been fishing for nearly 40 years. This whole trophy kick of mine, only accounts for about the last 10 years.

Long before that, I just wanted to catch "a fish". Then I wanted to catch "numbers of fish". And their might have even been a brief time period in there, when I still wanted numbers, but was starting to experiment with lures that might increase the average size.

I could go on and on.... but let me just cut straight to the chase; It has been my personal experience, that the actual lure in question has SOOO much less influence on the number of quality fish that an angler catches, as does "the skills and techniques of the angler himself". It's my personal belief that TOOO many people, put TOOO much emphasis on the lure itself, instead of the angler fishing it. I believe this is in large part due, to what I have called "cooperate brainwashing". Fishing lures are a multi-million dollar industry, which depends on guys 'believing' that they need every size, every color, and every style of bass fishing lure on the shelf.

My personal experience has shown me otherwise.

Again, give me a few plastic worms, in only a few colors. A few cranks. Maybe a couple spinnerbaits and / or Chatterbaits, and I'd be as confident as if I had brought the whole darn tacklestore with me..... and this is "even if I were fishing a tournament".

But anyway, I don't want to sound like I'm forcing my opinions on anyone. If you believe you need all of that hardware, then by all means.....

Peace,

Fish

PS, Hey FIN-S-R, I'd hate to think that you would consider me to be a decent stick "based on one single photo of a big bass"..... Any dummy can make 1 lucky catch :-) I have actually caught 73 over 10 lbs (not bragging... simply a result of time and effort, and HUGE blessings :-) but for each of those 73 fish, I have caught countless 3 to 6 lb "tournament winning" sized fish too.

[RoLo]

It has been my personal experience, that the actual lure in question has SOOO much less influence on the number of quality fish that an angler catches, as does "the skills and techniques of the angler himself". It's my personal belief that TOOO many people, put TOOO much emphasis on the lure itself, instead of the angler fishing it. I believe this is in large part due, to what I have called "cooperate brainwashing". Fishing lures are a multi-million dollar industry, which depends on guys 'believing' that they need every size, every color, and every style of bass fishing lure on the shelf.

My personal experience has shown me otherwise.

Again, give me a few plastic worms, in only a few colors. A few cranks. Maybe a couple spinnerbaits and / or Chatterbaits, and I'd be as confident as if I had brought the whole darn tacklestore with me..... and this is "even if I were fishing a tournament".

But anyway, I don't want to sound like I'm forcing my opinions on anyone. If you believe you need all of that hardware, then by all means.....

Peace,

Fish

What He Said

Roger