Techniques that don't work...

[STETSON1B]

yupp no bites on zara spook on my lakes and ive tried them all year round

[Buck2thPerch]

Its all about pattern for me. I'll throw Cranks of varioius sizes and colors - no bite, move to spinner baits - no bites, move to eradic jerk baits (love the Rapala X-Rap) or top water- no bites, well by this time, I have already figured out that the bass are holding tight and are not as active. Time for jig with craw/worm trailer, then if need to go more subtle, weightless rigs or shaky head. By now, I should have caught a fish or two. Now its a matter or finding the color that triggers the fish even more. That completes the pattern search for me. One thing to note, if you even catch a bass and you see on its lower lips big circular redish looking sore thing, they are feeding on Crawfish. Guarantee, if you switch to jigs tipped with crawfish or anything craw, your bite will increase. And usually when I find something soo telling like this, its dead on.

Now if I am fishing and I know the previous days, a cold front moved through, but now its sunny and nice - In all my years of fishing, usually the fish will hold in tight and are not as active. I would start out with spinnerbaits and just move to jigs or weightless rigs.

Now more to the topic, for me its not technique, its more the bait. I have tried all the weird bass baits out there that claims to catch alot of fish and not one of them have proven itself to catch more fish for me than just a regular crank, spinnerbait, jig, to weightless rigs. Even the $30 life like lures vs my regular lures, catches the same. Its all a gimick ploy. Aint no Bass is going to swim next to your "Life like" lure with fine details and say "Wow, this looks soooo real" and then bite it. All bass do is react or is triggered by the way a lure is presented , how it moves and color. Its like a car moving fast. All you see is the color, you don't see all the deails of the car until it stops. Also if you buy into all of those mumbo jumbo "Guarnteed to catch more fish" infomercials, just send your $$$ my way and I will give you a "nut & bolt"...telling you, it catches fish. My 2cents.

[Toadslayer72]

Its all about pattern for me. I'll throw Cranks of varioius sizes and colors - no bite, move to spinner baits - no bites, move to eradic jerk baits (love the Rapala X-Rap) or top water- no bites, well by this time, I have already figured out that the bass are holding tight and are not as active. Time for jig with craw/worm trailer, then if need to go more subtle, weightless rigs or shaky head. By now, I should have caught a fish or two. Now its a matter or finding the color that triggers the fish even more. That completes the pattern search for me. One thing to note, if you even catch a bass and you see on its lower lips big circular redish looking sore thing, they are feeding on Crawfish. Guarantee, if you switch to jigs tipped with crawfish or anything craw, your bite will increase. And usually when I find something soo telling like this, its dead on.

Now if I am fishing and I know the previous days, a cold front moved through, but now its sunny and nice - In all my years of fishing, usually the fish will hold in tight and are not as active. I would start out with spinnerbaits and just move to jigs or weightless rigs.

Now more to the topic, for me its not technique, its more the bait. I have tried all the weird bass baits out there that claims to catch alot of fish and not one of them have proven itself to catch more fish for me than just a regular crank, spinnerbait, jig, to weightless rigs. Even the $30 life like lures vs my regular lures, catches the same. Its all a gimick ploy. Aint no Bass is going to swim next to your "Life like" lure with fine details and say "Wow, this looks soooo real" and then bite it. All bass do is react or is triggered by the way a lure is presented , how it moves and color. Its like a car moving fast. All you see is the color, you don't see all the deails of the car until it stops. Also if you buy into all of those mumbo jumbo "Guarnteed to catch more fish" infomercials, just send your $$$ my way and I will give you a "nut & bolt"...telling you, it catches fish. My 2cents.

I think there is more to it than that. To speak to your car analogy, I can tell difference between a BMW and a Corvette or any other car at high speeds. Profile comes into play. Then there are all of the other sensory cues to consider besides sight.

Here is an article from In-Fisherman: http://www.in-fisherman.com/node/4964#axzz1MfQTmJPA A decent read if you care to take a few minutes.

As far as this whole topic, I think everything works....even gimmicks even though I don't buy anything gimmicky. There are just so many variables that can come into play at any given moment. I think that a fisherman who is looking for that one bait or one color is limiting themselves in a big way. I mean sure it's a nice notion if it's gonna boost your confidence but there is no better confidence booster that experience IMO. Like when you get to the lake and you see the conditions are just so, water temp, wind, time of year, time of day, time of month (if you are into the moon phases thing) and whatever else that affects your real time decisions. Then when you put it together and it works.....man that's a good feeling. Better yet, when things aren't working and you switch up your approach then when that works, yeah that's a real good feeling.

[Buck2thPerch]

I think there is more to it than that. To speak to your car analogy, I can tell difference between a BMW and a Corvette or any other car at high speeds. Profile comes into play. Then there are all of the other sensory cues to consider besides sight.

Here is an article from In-Fisherman: http://www.in-fisherman.com/node/4964#axzz1MfQTmJPA A decent read if you care to take a few minutes.

As far as this whole topic, I think everything works....even gimmicks even though I don't buy anything gimmicky. There are just so many variables that can come into play at any given moment. I think that a fisherman who is looking for that one bait or one color is limiting themselves in a big way. I mean sure it's a nice notion if it's gonna boost your confidence but there is no better confidence booster that experience IMO. Like when you get to the lake and you see the conditions are just so, water temp, wind, time of year, time of day, time of month (if you are into the moon phases thing) and whatever else that affects your real time decisions. Then when you put it together and it works.....man that's a good feeling. Better yet, when things aren't working and you switch up your approach then when that works, yeah that's a real good feeling.

Correct, one very important aspect is sound. A 3/8 jig head with ratlles and craw trailer is killer for me especially in dirty water. And as far as telling between a BMW and Corvette, yes you are also correct there. Any bass can tell the difference between a crawadd swimming and a shiner or shad swimming. But my point was, are the bass going to be able to distinctively look at the details of an artificial bait vs a real one.

You last paragraph, very well said. The only time I take "Moon" Phases into account is if I am walleye fishing at night and its gotta be a full moon - more light out at night to me that is more active walleyes at night. But I do this only once or twice a year only.

[bassbandit]

I can't catch fish on chatterbaits...they now pull double duty as paperweights.

[EJP1234]

I don't have any baits that I can say that I havent caught fish on, as I realize there is a time and place for just about any technique. There are however two styles/baits that I do not fish much.

Tubes - I used to fish tubes an awful lot, and not sure why I stopped. I have a ton of them, and even the large mega tubes for flippin in grass. So I now have a mental note to start flipping tubes into grass now, just to get jiggy with them.

The other are skinny dippers by themselves. I have used swimming senko's a bunch in the spring before the grass gets super matted and did well. I have thrown skinny dippers and fished the same exact way and do not recall a single hook up? I have tried them in my home state of Md. in all of our various grass beds and nadda, as well as my travels to Florida in the late winter or their spring time and nadda. I do through soft swim baits and am successfull so not really sure why... I will say they are my favorite trailers on a chatter bait and work wonders on them, especially with it rigged up side down so the tail is pointed up... Those fish try to swallow it hole.

[thukidad]

Spooning.. for the life of me i cant catch a fish of a *%#@ spoon.. then again i dont really fish deep water

[LamiglasC]

yupp $%^& spoons and zara spooks oh can't forget drop shot grrrrrrr....

[smalljaw]

Carolina rigging is one technique I haven't caught a fish on yet. I've done well in shallow water with a split shot rig but C-riggs aren't good in my home water, but I think it has to do with the waters I fish more than the lack of knowing how to do it. The lakes I fish have mostly soft bottoms and you can't drag the weight or it just digs into the bottom so you either have to move the bait too fast in order to keep it from getting stuck in mud or you move it too slow that it doesn't do anything to attract the fish, what ever it is it has kept me from using the C-rig for a number of years now.

[Boods]

I've caught fish on every technique I've ever tried because it's something new and I find it addicting to master a new technique. Even if you're having a little trouble getting around to it, failure is not an option for me. I just keep going and figuring it out until I make it work and it fits my style. Adaptation= Master Key of fishing.

[Pegasus]

I am mostly a senko guy
Yes during the winter I get excited and buy all kinds of new baits I would love to catch a bass on a jig but
up to now nothing so I get frustrated and go back to senko and sometime beavers I started using 12" Jelly worms
they look great in the water but no fish on them yet so what is a guy to do?

Regards

[BB144]

There's a couple things I still try every once in a while, but don't have much confidence in.

The first is a lipless crank. Besides catching 4-5 bass on one trip this spring on them, I've never been able to catch anything on them. And after that trip, still nothing on them...

Another is the c-rig. I've thrown it before, and caught a few fish, but I don't like throwing it. And I really don't have a lot of confidence in it.

Finally, I'm not too good at close-quarters combat: pitching and flipping. Besides not being too good the actual techniques of pitching and flipping the lure, I just never really catch much close up and I end up backing away from the cover and casting. This is the technique I've dedicated myself to learning this year... if I ever get out on the water in the boat...

[USA-RET]

On some days, for me, none of them work.

Seriously, of the techniques I've tried, I've caught fish on all of them. Some are less productive for me than others, but I can't say I've encountered one technique that has failed to catch at least one fish on one occasion.

[bigfish85]

On some days, for me, none of them work.

Seriously, of the techniques I've tried, I've caught fish on all of them. Some are less productive for me than others, but I can't say I've encountered one technique that has failed to catch at least one fish on one occasion.

Completely agree. I'm having trouble thinking of a bait that I just don't catch fish on and I can't think of anything. Not bragging, because I consider myself an average fisherman, at best. There are plenty of techniques that I catch fish on here and there, but don't have much confidence in.

[zodiak311]

Can't catch squat on spoons... then again how often do I throw a spoon...