Learning new lures and techniques 2024

Catt reply :

While it's good to learn new lures and techniques some times I feel we hurt our confidence to the point of putting us off on certain lures. I was one who taught that the only way to learn new lures and techniques was to bring nothing else in the boat. But how is it helping our confidence if we spend all day not getting bite?

Some lure will produce under certain conditions while it's of waste time to even throw other lures.

Case in point buzz baits; I can tell you in less than an hour if the bass are on a buzz bait bite on not, at least on Toledo Bend any way. So am I really helping a student by telling him not to have any thing on the deck but buzz baits?

Catt reply :

Some lure will produce under certain conditions while it's of waste time to even throw other lures.

Catt reply :

Some lure will produce under certain conditions while it's of waste time to even throw other lures.

Ima Bass Ninja reply :

There has to be a happy medium somewhere. On the other end of the spectrum if you only throw the baits you are confident with then you will never learn anything new. I usually like to break my time up on the water by giving equal time to a new technique and my confidence ones . That way when i leave i don't feel like i have wasted a day trying something i don't understand fully.

BTW the current new technique i trying to learn is jig fishing. But until i learn this

Quote

Feeling a worm/jig bite requires keeping a certain amount of tension on your line while at the same time keeping a certain amount of slackness in your line. To the average angler this makes no sense at all but the worm/jig angler it makes total sense.

i will always have a jig tied on

Ima Bass Ninja reply :

BTW the current new technique i trying to learn is jig fishing. But until i learn this

Quote

Feeling a worm/jig bite requires keeping a certain amount of tension on your line while at the same time keeping a certain amount of slackness in your line. To the average angler this makes no sense at all but the worm/jig angler it makes total sense.

i will always have a jig tied on

Ima Bass Ninja reply :

BTW the current new technique i trying to learn is jig fishing. But until i learn this

Quote

Feeling a worm/jig bite requires keeping a certain amount of tension on your line while at the same time keeping a certain amount of slackness in your line. To the average angler this makes no sense at all but the worm/jig angler it makes total sense.

i will always have a jig tied on

bigfruits reply :

i think it depends on the lure. with buzzbait no, with jig yes. a day that you cant pull a bass up with a jig or plastic is very rare.

bigfruits reply :

i think it depends on the lure. with buzzbait no, with jig yes. a day that you cant pull a bass up with a jig or plastic is very rare.

bigfruits reply :

i think it depends on the lure. with buzzbait no, with jig yes. a day that you cant pull a bass up with a jig or plastic is very rare.

Red reply :

Quote
i think it depends on the lure. with buzzbait no, with jig yes. a day that you cant pull a bass up with a jig or plastic is very rare.

I wish I could agree, but for many weeks now I haven't got a bite on anything but a moving bait, mainly spinnerbait and crankbait.

Red reply :

Quote
i think it depends on the lure. with buzzbait no, with jig yes. a day that you cant pull a bass up with a jig or plastic is very rare.

I wish I could agree, but for many weeks now I haven't got a bite on anything but a moving bait, mainly spinnerbait and crankbait.

Red reply :

Quote
i think it depends on the lure. with buzzbait no, with jig yes. a day that you cant pull a bass up with a jig or plastic is very rare.

I wish I could agree, but for many weeks now I haven't got a bite on anything but a moving bait, mainly spinnerbait and crankbait.

Blue Streak reply :

I try new baits all the time, I am a sucker for new soft plastics. But I work them into a rotation with my old tried and true confidence baits. I feel like this also gives me a a good chance to compare new baits to the old ones on any given day.

Blue Streak reply :

J Francho reply :

Try learning to fish big swimbaits. :

J Francho reply :

Try learning to fish big swimbaits. :

J Francho reply :

Try learning to fish big swimbaits. :

senile1 reply :

I think Catt has a good point. It does take time with a new lure to learn how to utilize it's specific advantages to the fullest extent but common sense has to be used as well. If one is fishing on a day when only an extremely slow, methodical presentation is catching fish, it's unlikely that would be the day to learn to fish crankbaits, buzzbaits, etc.

J Francho state:

Quote
Try learning to fish big swimbaits.

This is definitely something I need to do but I need to purchase a swimbait rod first. I fish the lighter, smaller plastic swimbaits but I'm not going to be throwing a 2 ounce plus swimbait on any of my rods.

senile1 reply :

J Francho state:

Quote
Try learning to fish big swimbaits.

senile1 reply :

J Francho state:

Quote
Try learning to fish big swimbaits.

Gangley reply :

Fish adapt to their environment and if their environment is constantly being flooded with the same old lures, then they adapt accordingly.

However, I generally wont fish a new lure until I know I am at a spot where the fish are biting. Until I know the bite is on, I dont really bother with a new lure because there are too many variables to account for otherwise. There is simply no way to know if it was you, the lure, or quantity of fish in the area setting the tempo of the bite that day.

For instance, there is a 100 yard stretch of bank that usually holds good fish if there are any fish in the area at all. If they are there, I can usually catch them on a worm fairly consistantly, but it they are there and I can't catch them on a worm, then often times I can't seem to get them to bite anything. So, that stretch of bank has become somewhat of a testing ground for me. I start with the worm and see if I can get them to bite, if I can, then I start throwing a "trial" lure that I am attempting to learn or figure out.

Basically, I make sure that:

a) the fish are present

and

the fish don't have lockjaw

Once I have established these two basics, thats when I'll start throwing a new lure. Very rarely will I try a new lure at random in an area that I am uncertain of.

Gangley reply :

Fish adapt to their environment and if their environment is constantly being flooded with the same old lures, then they adapt accordingly.

Basically, I make sure that:

a) the fish are present

and

the fish don't have lockjaw

Once I have established these two basics, thats when I'll start throwing a new lure. Very rarely will I try a new lure at random in an area that I am uncertain of.

Gangley reply :

Fish adapt to their environment and if their environment is constantly being flooded with the same old lures, then they adapt accordingly.

Basically, I make sure that:

a) the fish are present

and

the fish don't have lockjaw

Once I have established these two basics, thats when I'll start throwing a new lure. Very rarely will I try a new lure at random in an area that I am uncertain of.

WRB reply :

It is better to try new lures and techniques during an active period when you know the bass are feeding in that zone of the water column. Fishing a new lure all day long can be both unproductive and boring, you are more than likely to put it away.

The best method is to fish with someone who has already perfected the new lure or at least talk to them and learn how and where they fish it.

WRB

WRB reply :

The best method is to fish with someone who has already perfected the new lure or at least talk to them and learn how and where they fish it.

WRB

WRB reply :

The best method is to fish with someone who has already perfected the new lure or at least talk to them and learn how and where they fish it.

WRB

fishfordollars reply :

That's how i learned the jig years ago, but i can see how trying that with a lot of other lures would be counterproductive.

fishfordollars reply :

That's how i learned the jig years ago, but i can see how trying that with a lot of other lures would be counterproductive.

fishfordollars reply :

That's how i learned the jig years ago, but i can see how trying that with a lot of other lures would be counterproductive.

Lund Explorer reply :

Quote
While it's good to learn new lures and techniques some times I feel we hurt our confidence to the point of putting us off on certain lures. I was one who taught that the only way to learn new lures and techniques was to bring nothing else in the boat. But how is it helping our confidence if we spend all day not getting bite?
Some lure will produce under certain conditions while it's of waste time to even throw other lures.

Case in point buzz baits; I can tell you in less than an hour if the bass are on a buzz bait bite on not, at least on Toledo Bend any way. So am I really helping a student by telling him not to have any thing on the deck but buzz baits?

I think you answered your own question Catt.

As any of us are trying to pass along our knowledge of the sport, I think that there are a number of more important factors to consider before what bait to throw.

I would start with recognition of the seasonal patterns of the fish, and weather and other outsdie factors that could have an effect on those patterns. The next most important thing would be to recognize the potential of the body of water being fished, its structure and the cover found on that structure.

A solid knowledge of these things should result in the fisherman being able to locate the fish. And in my opinion, location is the most important key. If you can find the fish, then that is the time to use the many various types of baits to see which work the best when taking into consideration all of the other factors you should have already taken into account.

In your example, throwing a buzzbait could be the best bait for a certain situtation at some point in time. But even if it the best, there is usually several other baits that will pick up additional fish from a location after the easy bites have been taken care of.

As the teacher, it should be our goal to have a pupil that is well rounded and takes into consideration all aspects of the sport to maximize time on the water. Forcing the student to work with only a single tool doesn't accomplish that.

Lund Explorer reply :

Quote
While it's good to learn new lures and techniques some times I feel we hurt our confidence to the point of putting us off on certain lures. I was one who taught that the only way to learn new lures and techniques was to bring nothing else in the boat. But how is it helping our confidence if we spend all day not getting bite?
Some lure will produce under certain conditions while it's of waste time to even throw other lures.

Case in point buzz baits; I can tell you in less than an hour if the bass are on a buzz bait bite on not, at least on Toledo Bend any way. So am I really helping a student by telling him not to have any thing on the deck but buzz baits?

I think you answered your own question Catt.

As any of us are trying to pass along our knowledge of the sport, I think that there are a number of more important factors to consider before what bait to throw.

Lund Explorer reply :

Quote
While it's good to learn new lures and techniques some times I feel we hurt our confidence to the point of putting us off on certain lures. I was one who taught that the only way to learn new lures and techniques was to bring nothing else in the boat. But how is it helping our confidence if we spend all day not getting bite?
Some lure will produce under certain conditions while it's of waste time to even throw other lures.

Case in point buzz baits; I can tell you in less than an hour if the bass are on a buzz bait bite on not, at least on Toledo Bend any way. So am I really helping a student by telling him not to have any thing on the deck but buzz baits?

I think you answered your own question Catt.

As any of us are trying to pass along our knowledge of the sport, I think that there are a number of more important factors to consider before what bait to throw.

Nice_Bass reply :

I would say with some baits, you could keep on the deck all day. A versatile bait as a jig yes- but i already have confidence with that. The worst thing I see people do, and have done it myself is have too many different baits and switch too often thinking it is the bait...and not where they are fishing. I tend to think find the fish, catch the fish.- less on style, selection, color and so forth.

Nice_Bass reply :

SDoolittle reply :

Quote
Anglers with my years of experience understand there are no new techniques and there are some newly shaped baits of what has already excised. We also understand the wide variety options lay in our ability to find bass under adverse conditions no in new lures or techniques. That's why we have become so laid back in our approach and that is why younger anglers become so hyper chasing after every new lure or techniques.

Quote
Learning techniques are the easy part, it so easy my 7 year old grandson has learned them all but flipping/pitching.

Quote
I think too many times anglers get hung up on trying to learn ever technique available when it is completely not necessary. On any given day on any given body of water there will be multiple patterns available that produce bass & there will be multiple techniques that will produce bass from those patterns.

SDoolittle reply :

Quote
Anglers with my years of experience understand there are no new techniques and there are some newly shaped baits of what has already excised. We also understand the wide variety options lay in our ability to find bass under adverse conditions no in new lures or techniques. That's why we have become so laid back in our approach and that is why younger anglers become so hyper chasing after every new lure or techniques.

Quote
Learning techniques are the easy part, it so easy my 7 year old grandson has learned them all but flipping/pitching.

Quote
I think too many times anglers get hung up on trying to learn ever technique available when it is completely not necessary. On any given day on any given body of water there will be multiple patterns available that produce bass & there will be multiple techniques that will produce bass from those patterns.

SDoolittle reply :

Quote
Anglers with my years of experience understand there are no new techniques and there are some newly shaped baits of what has already excised. We also understand the wide variety options lay in our ability to find bass under adverse conditions no in new lures or techniques. That's why we have become so laid back in our approach and that is why younger anglers become so hyper chasing after every new lure or techniques.

Quote
Learning techniques are the easy part, it so easy my 7 year old grandson has learned them all but flipping/pitching.

Quote
I think too many times anglers get hung up on trying to learn ever technique available when it is completely not necessary. On any given day on any given body of water there will be multiple patterns available that produce bass & there will be multiple techniques that will produce bass from those patterns.

slonezp reply :

If your intent for the day is to learn a new lure/technique and not to catch 100 fish on senkos, then who cares. Write those off as practice days. If your intent is to catch 100 fish or you're fishing for money, then it's time to break out the tried and true baits. If one has the luxury ;D to own a bass boat you can have a bunch of rods set up with different presentations and if tried and true isn't producing one can change with little effort.(I have an aluminum fishnski and lack that luxury :'() I always try something different on most every outing but I'll fish 1/2 hour here, 1/2 hour there. Many of us, including me, are OBLIVIOUS to the fact that BASS and FLW and all the smaller clubs gain their fan base thru marketing. The "highlights" that are televised are mere moments in KVD's, Skeet's, or Ike's day. Each pro has their own baits/techniques that they use. They are all not using the same lures, rods, reels, etc., but they all catch fish(well most of them). Whose to say one is better than another. It comes down to "What works for me on any particular day at a particular time, under particular conditions.""What do the fish want"

slonezp reply :

Siebert Outdoors reply :

How I typically do this is by fishing my proven baits to knock the dust off and develop a pattern. Then from there I will venture out to different colors or techniques. Same thing I do when I test baits or colors.

Why waste your time if the fish are on jigs and your throwing a buzzbait. Not all lures are going to produce year round. You need to do the book work on a technique before even trying it IMO.

Siebert Outdoors reply :

Why waste your time if the fish are on jigs and your throwing a buzzbait. Not all lures are going to produce year round. You need to do the book work on a technique before even trying it IMO.

Siebert Outdoors reply :

Why waste your time if the fish are on jigs and your throwing a buzzbait. Not all lures are going to produce year round. You need to do the book work on a technique before even trying it IMO.

Carrington reply :

it seems like on the waters i fish that the fish never want a buzzbait when i throw it.

Carrington reply :

it seems like on the waters i fish that the fish never want a buzzbait when i throw it.

Carrington reply :

it seems like on the waters i fish that the fish never want a buzzbait when i throw it.

farmpond1 reply :

I think the most effective/efficient way to learn a new technique is to shadow someone who has "mastered" it. One of my buddies is a terrific soft plastic fisherman (especially creature baits and stick baits) and I've learned a ton from him just in the past season. The secret, IMHO, is to figure out and use the appropriate technique at it's called for. One should generally fish to one's strengths but the more strengths we possess, the more successful we will be.

farmpond1 reply :

BASSclary reply :

The way I learn new techniques is when my confidence baits dont get the job done.

For example at the beginning of the year, ribbontail worms were my go-to lure my whole life. All of a sudden I wasn't getting any bites. So I had to try something out of my comfort zone and try something I maybe had never tried before. So I tied on a swim jig and put a baby bass grub on for a trailer. BOOM! first cast hooked up on a pig. Probably 5-6 lbs. Third cast. BOOM! little guy but he was a fighter!

What im trying to get now is Cranks. (Hard fishing from shore only and its weed central everywhere!) But basically, when I cant get a fish to bite on any of my baits I have confidence in, I tie on a crank to try and learn it. Although I still havent caught a crank fish to this day :-/

BASSclary reply :

The way I learn new techniques is when my confidence baits dont get the job done.

BASSclary reply :

The way I learn new techniques is when my confidence baits dont get the job done.

BigEbass reply :

Have only been fishing for a bit over 3 years now....at first I focused on the texas rigged worm, but very soon, I mixed it up with spinner baits and a few crankbaits to cover the water column....interstingly, I dont know that I have a "confidence bait" to date really. My limited experience so far has proven to me that everything works....and sometimes nothing works - caught my first jerkbait fish recently this year - I knew shad were stacked up on this spot and bass were working them, and reading and TV has reinforced the brilliance of this bait, so when I tossed it I knew there was a very good chance of a hookup - and then, there was....also my elder more experienced neighbor was leading me so I never felt all that not confident that a given bait wouldnt work really....

And personally I just love trying new things, somehow once you catch your few first jerkbait fish, or lipless crankbait fish, or craw bait fish, or more recently, my first big swimbait fish (lunker punker) - it just feels really good....and my neighbor is now always saying how he is psyched cause we are always catching on something different and its fun - sometimes it can be tough, but I figure over time if you focus less on the importance of a given lure and focusing on presentation, depth, the spot, etc, then you may lead the pack ;D - but I am far from that :-/ - but hey, I am loving learning the big baits now - its a ball -

Oh and I am now learning spooning and float n fly.....at some point I will focus in on what I will use more often, im pretty close to this point now, but in the meantime I just love the challenge!

BigEbass reply :

Oh and I am now learning spooning and float n fly.....at some point I will focus in on what I will use more often, im pretty close to this point now, but in the meantime I just love the challenge!

BigEbass reply :

Oh and I am now learning spooning and float n fly.....at some point I will focus in on what I will use more often, im pretty close to this point now, but in the meantime I just love the challenge!

Nice_Bass reply :

Quote
I think the most effective/efficient way to learn a new technique is to shadow someone who has "mastered" it. One of my buddies is a terrific soft plastic fisherman (especially creature baits and stick baits) and I've learned a ton from him just in the past season. The secret, IMHO, is to figure out and use the appropriate technique at it's called for. One should generally fish to one's strengths but the more strengths we possess, the more successful we will be.

Always wondered who has been shadowing me out at Clinton...It all makes sense now.

Nice_Bass reply :

Quote
I think the most effective/efficient way to learn a new technique is to shadow someone who has "mastered" it. One of my buddies is a terrific soft plastic fisherman (especially creature baits and stick baits) and I've learned a ton from him just in the past season. The secret, IMHO, is to figure out and use the appropriate technique at it's called for. One should generally fish to one's strengths but the more strengths we possess, the more successful we will be.

Always wondered who has been shadowing me out at Clinton...It all makes sense now.

Nice_Bass reply :

Quote
I think the most effective/efficient way to learn a new technique is to shadow someone who has "mastered" it. One of my buddies is a terrific soft plastic fisherman (especially creature baits and stick baits) and I've learned a ton from him just in the past season. The secret, IMHO, is to figure out and use the appropriate technique at it's called for. One should generally fish to one's strengths but the more strengths we possess, the more successful we will be.

Always wondered who has been shadowing me out at Clinton...It all makes sense now.

SeanW reply :

Nothing wrong with picking up nothing but that one bait you wanna learn and get confidence in. The key is to do it at the right time. If it was a buzzbait the prespawna nd post spawn are prime times. Jig times Id suggest prespawn. Big swim baits are the same, full moon in january and febuary are great times. The key to all of them is fishing it at the proper cadence, with the proper color.

I never suggest just one rod, take 3. All same technique, but with different colors and/or weights. Timing is really the key.

SeanW reply :

I never suggest just one rod, take 3. All same technique, but with different colors and/or weights. Timing is really the key.

SeanW reply :

I never suggest just one rod, take 3. All same technique, but with different colors and/or weights. Timing is really the key.

BassThumb reply :

Quote
That's how i learned the jig years ago, but i can see how trying that with a lot of other lures would be counterproductive.

Same here with jigs, and with spinnerbaits, tubes and flukes as well. But these are lures that can be fishing from top to bottom, so this learning technique works well.

Bringing only a lure type that covers just a small portion of the water column, like Carolina rigs or buzzbaits/topwater, would really be backing yourself into a corner. I can see how that would turn a person off.

BassThumb reply :

Quote
That's how i learned the jig years ago, but i can see how trying that with a lot of other lures would be counterproductive.

Same here with jigs, and with spinnerbaits, tubes and flukes as well. But these are lures that can be fishing from top to bottom, so this learning technique works well.

BassThumb reply :

Quote
That's how i learned the jig years ago, but i can see how trying that with a lot of other lures would be counterproductive.

Same here with jigs, and with spinnerbaits, tubes and flukes as well. But these are lures that can be fishing from top to bottom, so this learning technique works well.

Nibbles reply :

Funny that jigs should be mentioned. I guess I was just lucky with jigs because the first day I fished with them I caught several fat ones and I've kept at least one finesse and one full skirt jig tied on ever since.

Cranks and jerkbaits, on the other hand.... :-?

Nibbles reply :

Cranks and jerkbaits, on the other hand.... :-?

Nibbles reply :

Cranks and jerkbaits, on the other hand.... :-?

deaknh03 reply :

the need to own every lure ever made has forced me to learn to fish most of them.

deaknh03 reply :

the need to own every lure ever made has forced me to learn to fish most of them.

deaknh03 reply :

the need to own every lure ever made has forced me to learn to fish most of them.

bassinbob54 reply :

the need to own every lure ever made has forced me to learn to fish most of them. .....Ditto on that one!!

bassinbob54 reply :

the need to own every lure ever made has forced me to learn to fish most of them. .....Ditto on that one!!

bassinbob54 reply :

the need to own every lure ever made has forced me to learn to fish most of them. .....Ditto on that one!!

SharkHat reply :

I think a big factor in this method is also how often you get out to fish. If you only get out to the water once or twice a month, spending one of those days dedicated to learning a specific technique can be very frustrating if you are unsuccessful.

Using a tried and true technique that you have confidence in to get on the fish first, then switching to the new technique definitely has merit.

SharkHat reply :

Using a tried and true technique that you have confidence in to get on the fish first, then switching to the new technique definitely has merit.

SharkHat reply :

Using a tried and true technique that you have confidence in to get on the fish first, then switching to the new technique definitely has merit.

10156

Learning new lures and techniques 2024

related General Bass Fishing Forum topic

previous topic

next topic

most viewed General Bass Fishing Forum topic