How long do you work a bait?

[noclothes1]

I have always been impatient. But, it seems I am increasingly impatient and changing baits often as of late. How long do you guys usually work a bait before picking up a different rod or retying?

I'm thinking of just going out with one rod, one bait and forcing myself to work the heck out of it.


tips?.....


thanks

g

[Bigbass Dez]

Nocloths , sounds like you have yet to find your confidence bait (THATS A GOOD THING).. You have to be able to understand what each bait your throwing is doing under the surface in order to have a better understanding of when to make adjustments .. First of all break down your baits into a few columns based on the time of day you get going . If your starting out @ sun up i like to throw spinnerbaits, jerks, frogs until about 8am ..after that move too my plastics, jigs,creaturebaits,dropshots, worms,etc . I cant stress enough how important it is being versatile on any body you fish . Dont start your day expecting for one bait to get it done ,all your doing is setting yourself up to either be frustrated or too much use in that one bait all the time (RUT Fisherman).. Keep in mind the depth of water your throwing in , that is one of my main factors when it comes to deciding which bait is proper. If your sitting in 30 ft and casting up to 5-10 ft of water baits like jigs,dropshot , texasrig plastic comes to mind .. I your siting in 20 ft of water casting up too shore i perfer to use a crank or a weightless worm ..All of this is dictated by where you get your first two fish ..You must pay close attention to what fish are telling you , if you get bit half way back from shore ask yourself if that fish was already there or did he follow it from shore ..If you get a dink dont base anything around that fish period (keep moveing) ..If you get a keeper recap everything that occurred prior to bite water depth,distance from shore,any structure around, was the bite aggressive , was your bait sitting still , was there cloud cover, wind , every single detail will give you the angler what you need to know before you make your next cast (IF YOU PAY ATTENTION) ...once you have determined for example that the fish ate your jig in 7ft of water on the move with cloud cover on rocks you now have a PATTERN .. focus on duplicating that same thing around the lake , but dont just throw only that jig the rest of the day also try texas rig, dropshot , etc because now that your on fish your looking for bigger fish . Maybe that keeper liked your jig but a biggest bass might perfer something smaller and something bigger ..Im sorry if i get a little too detail and im not sure what leval of bassing your coming from but hopefully this will help you a little is my main concern .. BBD

[Trent Hale]

I like what bigbassdez said but you need too also match the hatch this will make the world of difference. If I'm using a jig I will match the jig with the color of the bottom of the lake. Thats called matching the hatch manny people think its the bait fish colors but its not. Your fishing a green bottom lake use green if its dark bottom use black or junebug,grape. This year I have caught more fish on jigs than plastic worms only a few on a 11 size top water bait I use as a jerk bait. And go out when the tides are high in your area this will put more fish in the boat than just going out to fish on a day that looks good. Most guys like to fish sunny days I like cloudy days the fish are not so spooky then. On sunny days you can see the fish they can see you too. That makes them very spookish and will swim off when they see movement. Pick your colors to where your going to fish.

[Rich McVey]

I, personally, have a very light BASS background. That kind of detailed info is GREAT

Thanks

[noclothes1]

Great input. I need to slow down and pay attention. I will need to better study lure selection according to conditions. I think maybe some of my impatience comes not having confidence in my lure selection ability. I have been a bank angler for quite a while and I got a float tube this year so I can explore more water. My "go to" bait has been a 5" pumpkin black/green flake Senko, or a floating frog. I've caught many fish on these, but the Lake I fish on has very little bank access and increased pressure. My options now seem to be more open and it is difficult for me to flip my Senko's being so low in the water. So I'm kinda learning to fish from out in the water as opposed to fishing from the bank.

Thanks for all your help.

[Bigbass Dez]

Great input. I need to slow down and pay attention. I will need to better study lure selection according to conditions. I think maybe some of my impatience comes not having confidence in my lure selection ability. I have been a bank angler for quite a while and I got a float tube this year so I can explore more water. My "go to" bait has been a 5" pumpkin black/green flake Senko, or a floating frog. I've caught many fish on these, but the Lake I fish on has very little bank access and increased pressure. My options now seem to be more open and it is difficult for me to flip my Senko's being so low in the water. So I'm kinda learning to fish from out in the water as opposed to fishing from the bank.

Thanks for all your help.

The cool thing about what your fishing out of is that it doesn't have a motor attached to it so you shouldn't have any problems slowing down .. The best purchased i made since iv live hear for 3 years now is my pontoon boat .. I have been able to work baits more effective in one area and truly take the time to figure out lakes ...Bass fishing is all about stages , time on the water and a fairly good memory just ask any pro ..

[AaronE]

I have been a bank angler for quite a while and I got a float tube this year so I can explore more water.

Take my advice and make yourself an anchor for your tube or you'll be exploring a lot more water than you want LOL I use a 2 pound barbell weight (flat and vented) with a 15' nylon rope. Easy to carry, easy to attach, and secure enough to hold me in one place when I don't want to get carried by the wind. If you're fishing deeper holes of water, get a longer rope. So far I've had more than enough anchor line with the 15' job.

[Anglinarcher]

I have always been impatient. But, it seems I am increasingly impatient and changing baits often as of late. How long do you guys usually work a bait before picking up a different rod or retying?

I'm thinking of just going out with one rod, one bait and forcing myself to work the heck out of it.


tips?.....


thanks

g

Bigbass Dez answered your question very well, but maybe not completely.

For example, what if you believe that spinner baits are the "right" bait, but you are not getting strikes or you are not getting the size fish you expect. This time "impatient" may be a good quality. Stick with the lure, but change colors often, or size, or blade options.

I find myself spending way too much time with the confidence bait of last week, when my fishing partners change up a little and prove that last week was indeed a different week.

The key is knowing when to flinch, not getting into a rut, but not spending all day changing lures instead of fishing. This takes a bit of reading the water, and the fish, a lot of learning, and a bit of luck.

[Gone Fishin]

I will add another little tip because it might save some frustration later. If you go out one day and do really well with a certain technique, don't go out the next day and try to duplicate the same thing. Pause, think about the conditions (weather, time of day, cover etc.) when you did really well and the conditions you are fishing now. Things might be totally different. I can think of a couple days where I thought I had them figured out one day and got skunked the next because I fell into this trap. The conditions might not even call for the lure you used the last time. I know it can be intimidating and it takes some time to learn what to use when and where but when you get it figured out you will be a happy man. The key is to figure out what the bass is doing and where it is based on the current conditions, not past conditions.

[ProP-Junkie]

Take my advice and make yourself an anchor for your tube or you'll be exploring a lot more water than you want LOL

Thats great advice and very true. I bought a float tube anchor from Sportsmans Warehouse. It's light and works great... check it out....

[noclothes1]

When I make my rod holder I'll pick up one of those folding kayak anchors.

Thanks fellas!

[T Dot]

I have always been impatient. But, it seems I am increasingly impatient and changing baits often as of late. How long do you guys usually work a bait before picking up a different rod or retying?

I'm thinking of just going out with one rod, one bait and forcing myself to work the heck out of it.


tips?.....


thanks

g

every trip its always different, its the nature of the beast.

usually after selecting what lake we are headed to, i prepare my tackle. i usually select a few lures that work well for that lake, just a handful of lures which often is less than 5.

when fishing with more than 1 person we try to select lures that cover different areas. we let the fish tell us what they want, so after a few good hookups everyone is pretty much on the same type of lure.

i will often select a single lure, throw it all day long and go after that one big bite.

[BassinBomber]

As long as you have in your arsenal of baits top action,..deep divers,..plastics for Texas and Carolinas you should cover all aspects of the water,..now just figure out what the fish want,..weather,..cover,..baitfish,..these all play a part in landing these fish,..I'm no expert but my memory is getting better each day I'm on the water,..listen to these Bassers,..they all have something to share! I have my "go to" "bread and butter" baits too but they don't always work,..I've caught many-a-fish on my favorites but as conditions change so do the fish,..have fun and keep at it! Great question!!!