Which 5-7 lures should I spend this upcoming season 'dialing in'?? 2024
Kyle S reply :
So I'm looking to hone in on a few key lures/techniques, to practice and really develop some skill with each. I saw Glenn's video on the Bass Resource YouTube channel that suggested 7 lures that work year round which are jigs, crank baits, jerk baits, craw/creature baits, spinner baits, finesse worms, and lipless crank baits. Now, I've fished mostly all of these lures a bit, but want to select a few to spend some serious time with. What are your picks/suggestions? Thanks!!!
A-Jay reply :
Jigs.
Work it low & work it slow; especially this time of year.
Second choice would be a lipless bait.
And if you work it like the jig you, might get your arm broke.
Good Luck.
A-Jay
Heartland reply :
Jigs, Plastic baits on the end of a T-rig or F-rig, learn to perfect the walk of a top water bait, master the differences between a swim jig, a chatter bait and a spinner bait. Mix in a little finesse like the different cadences of an effective ned rig, or read up on AMart and the drop shot.
Get bored and want to try something new that is old, make yourself a few Jika rigs and give that a go. Lot's of fun.
That will keep you going for a while.
B-Dozer reply :
It would depend on where you fish, and structure. Off shore, or in a boat.
Ask other anglers fishing where you plan on fishing, many are willing to help.
scaleface reply :
Buzzbaits .
RHuff reply :
Instead of baits I would try to perfect techniques by bettering myself on when and how to use them.
1) Analyzing/Mapping an area
2) Search baits to catch active fish
3) Slowing down/Finessing to catch less active fish
4) Using the above to thoroughly fish an area
Don’t get stuck on using one single technique for the duration of a trip all over the lake.
Catt reply :
I suggestion, pick just 3 ????
Topwater, mid-depth, & bottom contact.
Topwater & mid-depth would be lures that are prevalent to your locale.
Bottom contact would either be a Texas Rig or Jig-n-Craw.
Texas Rigs would include everything from Weightless to Punch Rigs.
I would also suggest starting now & fish em until this time next year.
roadwarrior reply :
Topwater: Megabass PopMax (Chug Bug as a less expensive alternative)
Shallow Crankbait: Bandit Rack-It squarebill and Bandit 200
A little deeper: Red Eye Shad
Bottom contact: GYCB Senko & Fat Ika, Rage Tail Structure Bug and
Siebert Outdoors 3/8 oz Gridiron G2 jig/ Rage Tail Craw
WRB reply :
The one thing that builds confidence in bass fishing is catching bass. Spending hours on the water learning various lures can be unproductive and discouraging.
Trying to become efficient with 5 to 7 new lure types can take a lifetime, depending on your skills.
My suggestion is start with a lure type you have confidence with catching bass, whatever it maybe. When you locate active bass by catching a few then pick up the new lures you want to master and try catching those active bass.
I agree with Catt, don't over do it use 3 types for a year before adding more. Being effiencent with top water, mid water column and bottom contact lures cover the entire spectrum of bass fishing.
Good luck,
Tom
Munkin reply :
Chatterbait is what I will work on.
Allen
Paul Roberts reply :
Man... all worth your time. I guess I'd pick two, for specific reasons:
-Jigs: If you were to pick one -even for the rest of your fishing days ahead- this would be it. Jigs are the best way, IMO, to learn the most significant fundamental part of presentation: depth and speed control. With jigs, the two become obviously inseparable.
-Jerkbaits. Bc they suspend, they offer insights into the attraction and triggering aspects of presentation.
You can, and must, do these with all lures. But, I think these two may just be the most obvious route there.
Big Rick reply :
I would spend my time on a technique, not a particular bait. You can have the right bait, present it wrong, and not catch a single fish. On the other hand, you can skip the wrong bait under a dock and still get hammered because the bait was put in the right spot at the correct presentation. Bass are opportunists and often bite because of the convenience and availability rather than seeking out that perfect color, style or size. That said, work on skipping jigs and swimbaits. Also, perfect your pitching accuracy. Where and how you put a lure in the water is often more important than the lure itself.
TBAG reply :
Good thread and some great advice. I myself am going to focus on the jig this year as it's a technique I need to improve on.
Kyle S reply :
Thanks for the replies guys! I truly appreciate the advice????
BassWhole! reply :
I don't know that you can "dial in" any one type of fishing in one year. I've been at this for almost a half a century, and I'm still adjusting the rabbit ears, and turning the broken knob with small vise grips....
Where did I put the clicker?...
Paul Roberts reply :
On 12/15/2018 at 11:35 PM, WRB said:-The one thing that builds confidence in bass fishing is catching bass.
-Spending hours on the water learning various lures can be unproductive and discouraging.
-I agree with Catt... Being effiencent with top water, mid water column and bottom contact lures cover the entire spectrum of bass fishing.
X2
Good thread!
J.Vincent reply :
1) Texas Rigged Worms
2) SpinnerBaits
3) ChatterBaits
4) SquareBills
5) Sammys
6) Frogs
7) Jigs
Columbia Craw reply :
If you fish locations with any deeper clearer water, the drop shot for sure.
Dwight Hottle reply :
On 12/16/2018 at 3:43 AM, Paul Roberts said:Man... all worth your time. I guess I'd pick two, for specific reasons:
-Jigs: If you were to pick one -even for the rest of your fishing days ahead- this would be it. Jigs are the best way, IMO, to learn the most significant fundamental part of presentation: depth and speed control. With jigs, the two become obviously inseparable.
-Jerkbaits. Bc they suspend, they offer insights into the attraction and triggering aspects of presentation.
You can, and must, do these with all lures. But, I think these two may just be the most obvious route there.
This is a good answer. Like Catt suggested you need top of the water, middle column & bottom. The jerkbait can cover both top & middle. The jig can cover middle (swim jig) & bottom. These two baits can cover it all.
TOXIC reply :
I don't fish the same techniques in different times of the year. In other words, some techniques are seasonal. Some are better suited for certain bodies of water. Some are better suited for parts of the country. Without knowing where, when, and what you are fishing for, nothing is off the table. You can fish em, you just might not catch em. Nothing builds confidence better than catching. Being able to feel how exactly a bite feels on different techniques is key.
Dens228 reply :
I agree with focusing on one, maybe two techniques/lures at a time.
This past summer was the jig for me.......it also happened to coincide with my catching many larger bass this summer.
I always had a jig tied on, with either a Rage Tail craw or a paddle tail depending on what I was using it for.
Once the water cooled a bit I was slamming them on various cranks from squarebills to medium depth.
So those were my two for the year, I couldn't imagine trying to learn 5-7 in a summer.
Boomstick reply :
I would go with Glenn's suggestion personally. Of course, in the summer I will be fishing frogs and poppers as well but that really is a solid starting point and a ned rig or drop shot is great in clearer water as well, but those are a fairly reliable 7.
Tennessee Boy reply :
Focus on what you want to build not what tools you want to build it with.
Smalls reply :
“Dialing in” a bait, to me, means learning how to fish it and knowing you’re doing it properly because you’re catching fish. Problem is, that bait probably isn’t going to work every single day. So even if you fish it properly, there’s other factors involved that affect how well it works.
It'd be be smarter to learn when and where and why a bait might work in a certain scenario, and then focus on “dialing in” your technique.
Catt reply :
Texas Rigs would include everything from Weightless to Punch Rigs.
It can be used with every piece of plastic on the market.
It is productive winter, spring, summer, or fall.
It is productive in ponds, lakes, reservoirs, streams, bayous, creeks, rivers, & marshes.
It is productive in vegetation, brush, timber, or rock.
It will catch Largemouth, Smallmouth, & Spotted Bass.
The Jig-n-Craw should be you #2 choice!
Big Rick reply :
On 12/19/2018 at 5:26 PM, Smalls said:It'd be be smarter to learn when and where and why a bait might work in a certain scenario, and then focus on “dialing in” your technique.
While this is a very important part of fishing education, an incorrect presentation of the lure will destroy all the "when, where, and why" with one cast. It's much better to BE accurate FIRST. THEN you can began to understand WHY you need to be accurate as you learn the "when, where and why". Take one step at a time. Jam your mind with too much info and you'll never catch a fish, get disgusted and walk away permanently.
Hook2Jaw reply :
I stepped into jigs this summer and caught a bass I may never best, but my experience with Texas rigged plastics really transferred well to that realm.
What taught me the most was the brief time I spend fishing a squarebill this fall. It taught be the subtle differences in what my lure is doing during both slack line and taut line contact, and I believe it's going to transfer wonderfully to other presentations.
Tennessee Boy reply :
On 12/19/2018 at 11:00 PM, Big Rick said:While this is a very important part of fishing education, an incorrect presentation of the lure will destroy all the "when, where, and why" with one cast. It's much better to BE accurate FIRST. THEN you can began to understand WHY you need to be accurate as you learn the "when, where and why". Take one step at a time. Jam your mind with too much info and you'll never catch a fish, get disgusted and walk away permanently.
Interesting thread and an interesting perspective. I would argue that the best presentation in the world is worthless if used in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's difficult to judge the quality of a presentation unless it catches fish and it's hard to catch fish if there aren't any there. There are exceptions of course. You can learn to "walk the dog" in a swimming pool and you can practice casting in your backyard.
To some extent, this is a chicken and egg problem. My approach is always start with location. That starts with a map, then an on the water evaluation of a location, then I start thinking about presentation and lures. For example, my goal for the upcoming season it to improve my fishing in deeper water. I can find these fish on my graph but my confidence starts to drop at 25 ft and I usually don't even try to catch fish I find at 35+ ft. Catching these deeper fish will require improving my technique, presentation, and probably "dailing in" new lures. I don't think it's possible for me to make these improvements unless I spend more time fishing this deeper water.
Big Rick reply :
The OP stated he wanted to "dial in" some lures.... Your goal is improving deeper water fishing. Until you learn HOW to fish deeper your catch ratio WHEN and WHERE you are fishing will be greatly diminished. And, yes, you can learn to walk the dog in a pool. I test nearly every new lure in my pool. Extensively. I also honed my skipping and pitching in my pool. Then, when I went to where the fish actually are I didn't spend the day spooking them with awkward casts and frustrating myself to the point of quitting.
You don't go hunting to set your rifle sights....
stratoliner92 reply :
Texas Rig worms/craws
Jigs
Topwater walking baits ex: spook, KVD sexy dawg, sammy
Crankbaits
Drop Shot if you have good water clarity
Tennessee Boy reply :
On 12/19/2018 at 11:36 PM, Big Rick said:The OP stated he wanted to "dial in" some lures.... Your goal is improving deeper water fishing. Until you learn HOW to fish deeper your catch ratio WHEN and WHERE you are fishing will be greatly diminished. And, yes, you can learn to walk the dog in a pool. I test nearly every new lure in my pool. Extensively. I also honed my skipping and pitching in my pool. Then, when I went to where the fish actually are I didn't spend the day spooking them with awkward casts and frustrating myself to the point of quitting.
You don't go hunting to set your rifle sights....
I get what you're saying and I agree that anything we can do off the water to improve our fishing can make a big difference. I bet when you were working on your pitching and skipping in your pool, you were trying to improve your dock fishing. That tells me you were focused specifically on fish on docks. The key word is "focused". I've been there myself. I''ve been on the water catching fish on docks but having trouble fishing way back under some docks where I knew there were probably quality fish. That revealed a specific weakness in a specific situation that needed to be improved.
The OP ask for generic lure suggestions without mentioning any specific goals. Are you fishing from a boat or the bank? fishing a swamp or a deep mountain lake? I see lures as tools that I can use in specific situations to catch fish. I've been fishing 40 years and I fish a lot of different lures but I would say I've "dialed in" 3 lures. Would I be a better fisherman if that number was 4? Sure, but I'm focused on the situtations where I'm weak not on the lures where I'm weak.
Smalls reply :
On 12/19/2018 at 11:36 PM, Big Rick said:
You don't go hunting to set your rifle sights....
I agree, but in your analogy you can see your progress. With the exception to walking topwaters, skipping, and maybe a few more, how do you measure accuracy?
I measure my success with baits based on fish caught. If I know fish are there, and they should be biting a particular bait, then I know I’ve “dialed in” that bait or pattern when I start catching em. If I don’t, then I adjust.
frogflogger reply :
Want to catch fish and learn a technique - ned rig
ned rig works most anywhere
FishTank reply :
When I want to learn a particular technique, the first thing I do is find the fish (in the general sense) and use my go to bait, a black and blue flake 5in Senko. Once I catch one, I try to keep the boat still and set up something I want to work on depending on the depth and water conditions. I think my point is that I don't try and search for fish using a new technique or one that I do not have confidence in.
soflabasser reply :
On 12/22/2018 at 2:05 AM, frogflogger said:Want to catch fish and learn a technique - ned rig
ned rig works most anywhere
The ned rig is a very good lure that is for sure. I caught the most smallmouth bass in 1 day with the neg rig when the smallmouth where barely biting the other lures I was using. Now I carry a bunch of ned rigs whenever I travel up north for river smallmouth bass fishing.
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