Whats your style?

[Brian_Reeves]

Here's something I was thinking of today while I was pulling guard out here in the sandbox.  I think that one of the problems that people have with successful and consistant fishing is that they associate their style with a lure or a type of lure instead of looking at the entire picture.  A lot of people spend time and money on tackle and lures that don't really play to their strengths or won't work them effectively because they don't fit their style.  That can be a good thing if you're trying to attack your weaknesses.  But if you don't really know "how you fish" then you really won't be able to adjust quickly to new techniques.  I'll use myself as an example.

I'm an aggressive angler that prefers power techniques normally applied to "finesse baits."  I guess you can call that power/finesse.  That's what I call it anyway.  For example, most people will barely hop jigs around.  I am constantly swimming mine or moving them through the water column quickly, preferring to pitch and flip a bank line rather than really work one piece of structure.  I work my jigs hard on the fall and then run them back to the boat a few inches over the bottem.  A typical "cast" while jig fishing will usually take me no longer than 20-30 seconds, depending on the conditions.  By using this style, I'm focusing more on reaction strikes than anything else.  I really don't like to switch to more traditional uses, but I can.  I'm just not as good at it simply because I like to do everything quickly.

With dropshots, I'll use them more like a carolina rig or work them aggressively when fishing them vertically.  While probably not -as- effective as the usual approach, I do land fish and this helps me use the rig and fits into my style.  

Some people like more passive approaches or prefer traditional finesse to traditional power.  (finesse being small baits moved deliberatly and power being fast and big most of the time)  I tend to do everything aggresively.

Identifying that allows me the ability to adjust things off of the water.  If I want to work crankbaits or traps slowly, I'll only spool about half of the line my reel can hold.  This will force me to slow down my retrieve.  If I'm deadsticking lures because of a front, I'll bring my IPOD with me.  Things like that help me focus on being less aggressive and usually help me put together a better catch at the end of the day.

What are your styles?

[roadwarrior]

Sloooooooooooooow.

I prefer fishing deep structure for big fish only. I go out of my way to fish a number of techniques, but my "style" is slow and deep.

[fishing man]

my type of technique is fast, thats why during the cold fronts i cant catch a fish at all. the only thing i can fish slow is a weightless worm for some reason. but if i have a rattle-trap, crankbait, or jerkbait. i constently finding myself working it fast even when im trying to work it slow.

[Catt]

I'll work baits slowly but yet aggressively  

Example: I'll work a jig with a series of fast short hops but covering little distance.

[bubbler]

oh yah. slow and deep is how i fish.

pretty much texas rigs and plastics. but sometimes i will fish a crank in the fall or spring.

love fishing dropoffs

[Jeff H]

My style is "incredulous". I backreel my spinning reels, I fish mono, I fish stiff rods, my plastics often have mineral oil on them (except my Powerbaits), I use BANG, my rod arsenal is not completely comprised of GLoomis sticks, I fell off the Shimano wagon this year and landed in the Revo tub, I don't get out of bed at the crack of dawn, I have no real strengths but I am weak with cranks, I PREFER ultra clear water, my PB is only 6lb2oz and I did not boat a 5lb'er this year, and I prefer the old style flasher on the bow of my boat. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing out there but I have fun I guess.

Joking aside.... ( I forgot to add this part)

I'm all about slow and deep structure during the summer.  I am, at times, too patient for my own good.  I could fish most of the summer with just jigs and worms.  I look for rock around humps, rock/weed transitions and a real gem is a saddle between 2 humps.  I'll work that saddle with a C-Rig, or Drop Shot as well as a jig or worm, just depends on how deep it is and whats in it.

[Tin]

I just figure out where the fish are in there seasonal patterns and where they SHOULD be then go for a reaction bite with a jig, trap, spinnerbait, or just giving the senko a quick drop. If it doesnt produce, I'll slow down and take it one step at a time.

[Evan Pease]

I fish mainly in the mid-depth range so I can catch a bigger average size fish with decent numbers. I use both slow and fast techniques in the same spot with good results. A torpedo-shadrap-jig approach is my favorite but I dont limit myself to those 3 only.

[fourbizz]

very slow finesse fishing with very big baits.

[T-rig]

very slow finesse fishing with very big baits.

;D ;D 8-)

[senile1]

My style is dictated by how much time I have to fish which has been very little since the beginning of July.  I just finished three months of work on the Sprint Center network in Kansas City so my time on the water has been limited.  The first concert for the venue was this past weekend so I'm ready for some vacation and some water time.    Anyway, when I don't have much time, I'm trying to find fish quickly so I'm throwing spinnerbaits and crankbaits in a power fishing mode to locate fish.  If I find them I'll switch over to plastics or a jig and fish slower.  If I'm not able to coax a strike in power fishing mode I'll slow down and throw plastics tight to cover on structure.  When I have lots of time, more of it is spent fishing deeper structure slowly.  

[Joel W]

My style changes by the season. If something has been working for me then I tend to stick with it untill it no longer produces.  This year I've become a Drop Shot junkie.  If there is fish in the area, I'm convinced that I can catch them with my DS rig.  Shallow or deep doesn't really matter. Even today with water temps in the low 60's I caught LM's with both Rattle Traps and a Drop Shot rig.

[fishfordollars]

I prefer slow and agressive with a jig. I will however adapt to what ever the conditions dictate. I am comfortable with most anything that it takes to compete. I wil have at least a dozen rods riged with different things during a practice period. Tournament day is not the time to be looking for fish and types of lures.

[Davis]

Throwing plastics weightless in about 5-8 foot of stained water along weedbeds is my favorite scenario. Or just throwing a powerworm up into the rapids and letting them float on down the creek.

Not big on putting weights on my plastics or fishing crankbaits.

So I guess you could say that I'm a slow/twitchin type of fisherman.

[islandbass]

My goal is to not have a particular style but rather to let the conditions dictate what I will be throwing vs what I want to throw. Hmmm, I guess by default that would be my style to strive for.

At this time, drop shot and t-rig plastics seem to be what I have been throwing this season, but last year, I was a crankbait, any hard lure tossing buffoon.

I was planning to get into jigs and pigs this season, but the effectiveness of the drop shot has put that on hold. :o

[StandOut]

Here's something I was thinking of t

I

What are your styles?

I use the Wiggle rig 100% of the time,, even when others are not watching me,, I do it because no other method of fishing has ever beat it "PERIOD" !

When it has been tested head to head ( in the same boat, or next to other fishermen on the bank) against all other rigs and techniques, I have NEVER been out fished, not even by a pro. Most of the time my catch rate is over 5 to 1,, today it was over 20 to zero against 6 other fishermen

Now i have a number of "years" experience with it, it is not something most people can totally master with a couple of times fishing it. Although in many cases , well actually all cases I am aware of, people have caught more fish using it than anyone next to them not using it, but they have still not mastered it to the point where it catches "every" bass that sees it, regardless of the conditions or the mood of the fish. I have not seen a bass in years, I have not caught. It is still just a rig so you need to choose the right lures for the conditions,, just like today, I started with a worm,, and 6 cast, no bass, switched lures, and had a bass on "every" cast.

It takes fishing from 2 dimensions to 3 dimensions , You can totally control the action of your lures in "all" directions,, now knowing what action is needed, under what conditions, is the key to catching "every" bass. This takes a lot of practice. Sometimes it takes leaving the lure in one spot, and vigorously working the lure, other times leaving it in one spot and just the slightest amount of action every couple of sec. letting it lay still between those movements,, other times it's covering water, working the lure, like you have never seen a lure move before, it's like a live bait fishing struggling against a hook.

Sometimes it is just the death quiver of a dying minnow, other times it's swimming a minnow lure on it's side in a tight circle, just like a shad with it's gills injured .

Bass like to chase things,, no doubt about it, but they also prefer, over anything, a "free" lunch, when they are not interested in feeding at all, they will still "always" hit a small morsel of high protein the can "mosey" over to and inhale. On the Wiggle rig the tiny Dynamite worm (1/8 inch X 2 1/2 inches) has nailed some awesome bass that ignored everything else. I now fish with a fluke above this worm most of the time, I am really amazed at the huge bass that pick that tiny worm over that fluke, the only problem I have with using it,, everything hits that tiny "wiggling" worm, and I mean everything, bream, trout, perch, crappie, cat fish, and even carp. You never know what you will be reeling in.

In most cases, BIG bass don't chase pray,, they feed by two methods, ambush, and opportunity, the Wiggle rig is an opportunity fishing technique, it gives the bass a meal they "know" is hurt, that can't run, that they don't have to waste energy on to eat. The reason live shiner, and live shad fishing is so productive is the struggle of the bait, the fish know it's hurt. The problem of fishing this way is,, having live bait, live bait does not really struggle very long as they get tired too quickly, and live bait is not legal in tournaments,, the other factor is many bass fishermen don't think live bait fishing is a sport, the fishermen has not "tricked" the bass  

The Videos of lures on my web site show a lot of motion that can be created using the Wiggle rig,, because, well,, those actions catch fishermen (also many bass when they are in the feeding mode), but it is not the most productive way to fish the rig "all" the time. You, the fishermen can control the action with the Wiggle rig,, never before have fisherman been able to control lures this way.

Remember the Wiggle rig does "nothing" to a lure

It just allows the fisherman to do "anything" to a lure.

Now the fisherman's true skill can be placed into his lures.

If you have not tried this thing, you have nothing to risk, because it is the only tackle in the world with a 100% instant "total" refund including S&H, if you don't like it,, and you keep the rig, you don't even have to send it back, heck you don't even have to buy a stamp, just email me and tell me you want your money back,, and I hit "refund payment" at PayPal.

So far,, no one has ever asked me to refund their money, but i will do it in a heart beat.

[jeremyt]

I am still fairly new to bass fishing, well seriously anyway. I don't have confidence in a lot of baits. I have found that I like a weightless t-rig in water out 10ft deep. Well I have caught fish in this situation anyway. I am still trying to expand my arsenal, but this seems to be a good fallback.

[johnbr19792003]

I try not to have a style. I try my best to be versitle in my fishing its the only way to become a better angler... But I enjoy topwater most because of the explosion on top.