Items You Do Use That Don't Work

[EBass]

Looks sweet MedMan. I like the 3D view. Shh Cecil, but I think you're right

[RumRiverRat]

Looks sweet MedMan. I like the 3D view. Shh Cecil, but I think you're right

That is practically a community spot for the TRUE fisherman.

[slopmaster]

It is interesting to see the mix responds. Some of things people dont get results with I couldnt imagine fishing without. As for me I love hollow body frogs, but never catch much on the solid plastic ones (ribbits, buzz frogs, rage tails etc.) My experience is the slower you can work that frog through the cover the better. Also have had limited success with soft swimbaits, catch a few but nothing worth getting excited over.

[MedicineMan]

Ebass, you don't have to shhh anyone. I purposely did a map of that spot 'cause it's not the productive of an area.

[mww24]

I'll be the first to admit. All of my baits catch very little fish. Operator error I'm sure.

[BPBOB]

I'll chime in on lipless baits- yes, there are many choices in lipless baits.I've tried Spro ,lucky craft,red eye shad,rapala ,and even the new colors offered by rattle-trap(Northwood series). It pays to switch up sizes ,colors and brands. The sound and shape/wiggle are different for each model. Heck, I'm going to get the sebile flatt shad and the new Live target lipless bait to try this year.My primary lake I fish has a strong sunfish forage base,so I pick baits that mimic sunnies.

I fish'em (lipless baits) almost all season. Bass ,walleye ,and pike like them.

[flippenstick]

I think all bass fisherman have one trait in common. We love our tackle, way to much. We don't just purchase one bait of a certain color or size, we need 2 or 3 to feel comfortable, might lose one. Accumulating more tackle than 6 guys need is the name of the game. He who dies with the most tackle wins!!!!

We are deluged with ads, how to videos, fishing shows, and the internet. We are easy prey, we are bass fisherman!! So many baits, so many techniques, so many endorsements.

When you are bitten with the bass addiction you must face the fact that you are going to spend countless dollars on baits that either don't work for you or spend their entire life buried away in the bottom of your tackle boxes. Don't fight it, just go with the flow and enjoy. I don't own a bait that doesn't work for me.

[Stick in Mud]

I'm not a huge fan of soft plastic jerkbaits for largies....they kill the smallies, but I almost always do waaaaay better with some other type of plastic. I still fish them because a few years ago I did really well on them, so either I changed, the fish changed, or I caught every bass in the area on one. I assure you one of the three options isn't true...

[JP Z]

I'll have to chime in on Swim Jigs. I can't seem to catch anything on them. But then I put on a spinnerbait and it's lights out. Yet I keep throwing swimjigs because they are suppposed to be so good.

[popriveter]

I gave swim baits a good test for 2 seasons with pretty weak results. I was ready to grade the a C and move on. Then, late last summer, I was shore fishing the mississippi, and I broke off the crank I had been using. I tried the swim bait I had with as an emergency backup and hooked into a monster-sized something.

I could tell there was a slim chance I'd land this fish with my spinning rod and 8lb test so I loosened my drag and checked the time on my phone.

17 minutes later, it broke me off.

I bought another package of these:

[luckycrank]

spinnerbaits, probally my choice , replaced by swim jigs and chatterbaits in the spring. I do ocassionally throw a blade. but only on structure and as odd as it sounds only when they wont bite a jig and I know theres fish on the structure im fishing. spent a lot of time on this technique with various spinnerbaits still back to a widely dispersed cheapo with a big blade.and solid hook big blades = big fish.

Recently swim baits have been part of my arsenal but up until last fall never seen the light of day after its initial intro. they have replaced frogs in my boat. find them more versital

[Doufish2]

Is there a bad bait? It just takes time on the water to get to know how and when to use a certain bait. Yrs ago, I was scared to death to try worm fishing. Puttzed around never really learned. About 15 yrs ago, I set all other baits aside and forced myself to use texas rigged worms. It is my main go to bait now. I usually have 4 different presentations setup on my boat deck with different colors, sizes and weights. You have to build confidence in a bait. This yr, crank baits are my experiment for the year.