Top 5 in the last 15 years? 2025
Carolina Rig reply :
So I'll admit, I haven't been around bass fishing in about the last 15 years. I spent the better part of the day earlier this week reading about chatterbaits because I'd never heard of them. When I first saw one, it seemed somewhat gimmicky so I decided to read up on them and learned that they're very effective and people are now swearing by them.
That got me wondering if there are more things out there that have really become popular in my time off that might be worth hearing about. Rather than spending countless hours on the internet trying to find them, I figured I'd ask everyone here and then use the responses for some more targeted research. Plus, once I found out I'm going to be able to bass fish again, buying tackle, studying, researching lakes, etc., has pretty much consumed all of my spare time and I think my wife is over it.
So, if you had to list the top 5 new things in bass fishing, specifically largemouth bass fishing, over the last 15 years, what would they be and why? This could be anything from a new lure, a new bearing system in a reel, new boat electronics, new hooks, a new presentation of an old classic, etc. I'm trying to learn as much as I can between now and when I get down to Texas and get to chase them again, so your replies are greatly appreciated!
FryDog62 reply :
On 1/5/2019 at 11:49 AM, Carolina Rig said:So I'll admit, I haven't been around bass fishing in about the last 15 years. I spent the better part of the day earlier this week reading about chatterbaits because I'd never heard of them. When I first saw one, it seemed somewhat gimmicky so I decided to read up on them and learned that they're very effective and people are now swearing by them.
That got me wondering if there are more things out there that have really become popular in my time off that might be worth hearing about. Rather than spending countless hours on the internet trying to find them, I figured I'd ask everyone here and then use the responses for some more targeted research. Plus, once I found out I'm going to be able to bass fish again, buying tackle, studying, researching lakes, etc., has pretty much consumed all of my spare time and I think my wife is over it.
So, if you had to list the top 5 new things in bass fishing, specifically largemouth bass fishing, over the last 15 years, what would they be and why? This could be anything from a new lure, a new bearing system in a reel, new boat electronics, new hooks, a new presentation of an old classic, etc. I'm trying to learn as much as I can between now and when I get down to Texas and get to chase them again, so your replies are greatly appreciated!
Top 5 “Newer” things (past 15 years) to know IMO would be:
•Jerkbait
•Chatterbait
•Wacky Worm
•Neko Rig
•Ned Rig
Carolina Rig reply :
On 1/5/2019 at 11:54 AM, FryDog62 said:Top 5 “Newer” things (past 15 years) to know IMO would be:
•Jerkbait
•Chatterbait
•Wacky Worm
•Neko Rig
•Ned Rig
Up and running. Now I have more research to do! Thanks!
Carolina Rig reply :
What is this world coming to? Cutting perfectly good Senkos in half?? I guess it's a good thing I bought about 65 bags of stick baits to get up and running again...
MIbassyaker reply :
On 1/5/2019 at 12:08 PM, Carolina Rig said:What is this world coming to? Cutting perfectly good Senkos in half?? I guess it's a good thing I bought about 65 bags of stick baits to get up and running again...
Nah. You just wait until they're almost torn in half from wacky worming, and finish the job. Then each half gets a second life as a Ned body.
A-Jay reply :
In no particular order ~
Shallow water anchoring systems (Talons / Power Poles)
GPS guided Position holding enabled Trolling Motors (Ultrex)
Improvements in Electronics - Both Side & Down Imaging
Improved Fishing lines - In Both Braid & Fluorocarbon
The Umbrella Rig is pretty good too.
A-Jay
Carolina Rig reply :
In my boat purchasing research I've come across those GPS guided spot lock trolling motors. That seems like it's almost imperative for a guy who will be fishing on his own quite a bit in windy places.
A-Jay reply :
On 1/5/2019 at 12:44 PM, Carolina Rig said:In my boat purchasing research I've come across those GPS guided spot lock trolling motors. That seems like it's almost imperative for a guy who will be fishing on his own quite a bit in windy places.
Seems that way to me as well.
The motor on my rig does not have that capacity.
However, I would not be totally opposed to changing that.
A-Jay
FCPhil reply :
Not sure what all is new in 15 years but I’ll take a stab at some things to try:
-WHOPPER PLOPPER!!!!
-Glide baits (start with smaller ones)
-Line-thru swimbaits
-Hollow body frogs (not new but now so many different options)
-Decoy X-S21 hooks (my secret weapon on larger topwater lures, a lot of people write them off but on certain lures they are killer at keeping fish hooked...hard to find though...)
Catt reply :
Every lure mentioned has been here before in some form or another.
@A-Jay list is spot on with the exception of the umbrella rig, I would toss that out for the improvements in 4-stroke technology.
BoatSquirrel reply :
Having also come back to the sport in the past few years, one thing I have not seen mentioned so far is the dropshot. If you ever used to fish a texas rig, the dropshot is not that terribly different and will get you lots of bites. Plenty of tutorials and threads on it available. Welcome back and isnt it great to be fishing again!
A-Jay reply :
On 1/5/2019 at 7:06 PM, Catt said:Every lure mentioned has been here before in some form or another.
@A-Jay list is spot on with the exception of the umbrella rig, I would toss that out for the improvements in 4-stroke technology.
That's a fair assessment @Catt ~
And I'm sort of ashamed for not having the newest 4-stroke technology listed.
Especially considering I did manage to get in on that myself recently.
(and it's a pretty big deal for me)
A-Jay
Dirtyeggroll reply :
When was bassresource started? The idea of mass fishing information online has got to be one of the best things that has happened for the masses for fishing.
A-Jay reply :
On 1/5/2019 at 11:40 PM, Dirtyeggroll said:When was bassresource started? The idea of mass fishing information online has got to be one of the best things that has happened for the masses for fishing.
Good Call ~
Although I wasn't here for it, looks like it launched in or around perhaps November 2004 (ish) ?
A-Jay
Carolina Rig reply :
On 1/5/2019 at 7:06 PM, Catt said:Every lure mentioned has been here before in some form or another.
Which is precisely why I asked about new presentations of old classics. I'll never claim to know it all, and I'm not disillusioned enough to think I ever will. I've fished about 80% soft plastics since I started and I still always learn new things about them. I'm sure there have been developments in how people are using them, and I'd love to learn more so I can put a few more arrows in my quiver before I hit the water. Great examples are the Ned Rig and Neko Rig, I hadn't seen these back when I used to fish. Although, to be fair, I've fished a Ned Rig nearly all my life, I just didn't know that's what it was called. My uncle always used to tell me, "To catch the big fish, you've gotta use the big lures."
Obviously he was a little off the mark; but, I used to love days where I'd boat dozens and dozens of bass so I'd take my trick worms and cut off all but about 2 1/2" of it and rig it the same way as I'm seeing people rig them in these Ned Rig videos. My logic was that if I used a smaller bait, it'd be appetizing to all of the fish, regardless of size, and I'd catch more.
So, while I'm sure a lot of these things have been around for a long time, they're gaining a lot more popularity now and someone in my shoes may not have heard of new twists on the old favorites. Perhaps someone else in my shoes might stumble across this thread and find it useful, so let 'er rip!
Catt reply :
On 1/5/2019 at 11:49 AM, Carolina Rig said:That got me wondering if there are more things out there that have really become popular in my time off that might be worth hearing about. Rather than spending countless hours on the internet trying to find them, I figured I'd ask everyone here and then use the responses for some more targeted research.
Today's electronics has opened up offshore structure fishing like nothing since Buck Perry. I've been an offshore structure fisherman my whole life, down/side imaging is almost like cheating.
Boat positioning with shallow water anchors & GPS controlled trolling motors...you kidding me!
On big bodies of water we have detailed mapping systems. With some you can build your own map of the lake you're fishing.
To this dumb Cajun that's advanced the sport the most
I forgot to add all of the above can be linked together!
Edited by CattOperator Error
WRB reply :
I agree with electronics, the sonar units with GPS accurate detailed 1' maping.
Trolling motors with spot lock features allow a novice angler to stay on the structure.
Light weight rods and reels, the improvements are phenomenal the past decade.
Knowledge, this is both good and bad, good sites like BR with unlimited amount of good information, bad too much unfiltered bs on on utube.
Hooks, we have excellent strong sharp hooks availble today. Line is debatable, most has been around more then 15 years including FC.
Tom
Tennessee Boy reply :
I have to agree with Catt. Advances in electronics have totally changed bass fishing in the last 15 years and continue to change it. 25 years ago, I might spend an hour trying to find some offshore structure. Now that same structure is as easy to find as a lay down on the bank. In the past I might spend an hour driving around dropping buoys trying to map out the shape and breaks on structure. Now I have high definition maps of said structure that I can study on my iPad before I ever hit the water. It should also be said that 25 years ago if you put in the work to find offshore structure, there was a good chance you would have it all to yourself. That's no longer true today.
Top five
GPS
Detailed maps from recent sonar surveys
Side scan sonar
Trolling motor/GPS integration
360 imaging/Live Scan sonar
NorthernBasser reply :
On 1/5/2019 at 12:08 PM, Carolina Rig said:What is this world coming to? Cutting perfectly good Senkos in half?? I guess it's a good thing I bought about 65 bags of stick baits to get up and running again...
For ned rig, get some Z-Man TRD's. They're made from this plastic called ElaZtech that has crazy stretch and is way more durable than Senkos. You can easily catch over 50 bass on one worm. Make sure you have the proper jig heads for them.
https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Z-Man_Finesse_TRD_8pk/descpage-ZMANTRD.html
NorthernBasser reply :
On 1/6/2019 at 2:37 AM, NorthernBasser said:For ned rig, get some Z-Man TRD's. They're made from this plastic called ElaZtech that has crazy stretch and is way more durable than Senkos. You can easily catch over 50 bass on one worm. Make sure you have the proper jig heads for them.
https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Z-Man_Finesse_TRD_8pk/descpage-ZMANTRD.html
Also, make sure you keep the TRD's in a bag with other TRD's, If touching other plastics, they will 'melt'. Sounds weird, but it happens.
MN Fisher reply :
On 1/6/2019 at 3:14 AM, NorthernBasser said:Also, make sure you keep the TRD's in a bag with other TRD's, If touching other plastics, they will 'melt'. Sounds weird, but it happens.
Sounds like back in the 70s when ANY worm would not only melt together, it'd melt troughs in your plastic tackle box.
Carolina Rig reply :
I’ll have to take a look at them. Fortunately, Cabela’s has their customer appreciation sale going on and I went deep on their stick baits. I’m not sure how; but, I ended up with almost a hundred bags of those alone, so I’m not gonna be hurting for them any time soon and cutting them in half once their worn seems like a good idea! If this supply ever starts to wane, I’ll probably pick up some of the TRD.
stratoliner92 reply :
Things come and go over the years by many names from all over the world, saltwater/freshwater and get adapted from fishing other species. These all weren't developed within 15yrs but have gained lots of attention
Spy Bait
Ned Rig
Drop Shot
Senko
Whopper Plopper
TxHawgs reply :
SK XD10s and other real deep diving crankbaits
Shakyhead
Wobblehead
Tungsten
Heartland reply :
Top water - Show blows shorty, Stutter step, Whopper Plopper
Ned Rig
Elastec Plastics
Drop shot hooks with swivels built in
Tatsu, Sunline Defier Armillo, Gliss,
Keitech plastic baits, Reins plastic baits.
Just a few things that are new or have been improved upon.
lo n slo reply :
for me, my choice of lures and methods are basically still the same, but here is my list.
low profile baitcasters
fluorocarbon line
PFG outerwear
sonar technology
the internet (and smart devices, such as, weather radar and Hank Williams radio on my phone!!!)
Carolina Rig reply :
PFG outerwear. This one hits home. Just had a spot removed two weeks ago so I’m definitely going to be upgrading my apparel when I get down there and probably loading up one boat hatch with SPF 600.
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