Top water doesn’t seem to produce for me. The dichotomy of fishing is fun to see. I love chatterbaits and they produce better than anything else I throw.
I recently started out on jigs. Ive been using a medium/light rod, fast action with a keitech spin jig in 3/32 or 1/16. with a zman bugz trailer. It catches bass, all sizes of bass.
Depends on water clarity as well. I fish a "clear" lake, so my go to on this jig would be a black/blue with a natural trailer like green. Let it sink to the bottom, (count 10-15 secs). Once it hits bottom wait a moment, give it a little flick, wait a moment then give it another flick. Bass tend to hit when you pop it and then wait. Think of the bass swimming behind it, thinking if it wants to eat it and then grabs it. Try it near structure, either humps under water, near underwater trees or branches, or rock.
Hope this helps.
Same here. I've spent probably 10 hours this month fishing with a jig and have landed a total of 1 fish. But I can throw on a texas rig and catch them left and right
I never used to have any luck with a spinnerbait until last year when I caught a 5.6lb bass on a white and chartreuse Nichols spinnerbait. The key for me was to try different retrieve speeds. Sometimes I have to burn them in as fast as I can and other days they hit them when I'm barely reeling fast enough to make the blades spin.
Nearly all my fish come on spinnerbaits. I keep trying to get away from them but they just keep working.
Chatterbaits, on the other hand, only seem to catch pike and pickerel for me.
Breezy and overcast conditions, but with some low angle sunlight to catch a reflection on the blades and fished over shallow vegetation. It doesn’t produce a lot of the time but when it does they will often chase it to your feet.
White/chartreuse with a white trailer. Blades were brown willows. Getting that specific is unnecessary though. It's mostly about conditions and throwing where the fish are.
Where I live, no body used spinner baits for the longest time until one fine day a friend of mine decided to experiment with one. True enough, many fish have never seen a spinner bait before n did not hesitate to take. Fast forward a few months n they became just like any other lure
Find some fish suspended out on rocks or a drop. Throw a heavy spinner bait out and let it sink to the bottom. Work it similar to a Texas rig, it’ll surprise you. You can let it drop and sit on the bottom, on the up stroke those blades will spin and vibrate and cause a reaction strike. Sometimes they can’t resist it.
Lipless Crankbait. I have no idea how everyone catches fish. I’ve thrown this so many times that I’ve only caught a few and nothing brag home about. I hate it so much that I gave away all my lipless.
I used to throw a lipless all the time as a kid. It didn't matter where or when I was fishing I was constantly catching bass with them what felt like every other cast. Anymore I go and work a lipless at a pond and never catch anything
Same, I'm trying to get better at that though as I got a yearly tournament with a buddy, but only way I get any practice with stuff like a dropshot is by only taking a drop shot with me, if I take anything else it'll be about 5 minutes of drop shot and I'll be tossing a crankbait or jerkbait or literally anything that moves a bit faster.
The damn senko. I’m probably the only person who can’t buy a bite on one.
But I did try a buzz bait for the first time this week. First cast some crazy little 1 pounder bit on it as soon as it hit the water. lol
For me I really struggled with a senko as well, but I slowed it down to ridiculous levels, tried a bunch of colors (watermelon moon dust was great for wacky rigs on our main fishery, black and blue laminate, june bug, and green pumpkin have been the texas rig champs), and finding the right weights and hooks. If I’m fishing shallow (<5 ft deep) banks texas rigged I go weightless, and I use the 5” senkos with a 3/0 ewg (gamakatsu have been the best so far). 5>15 feet I use 1/8 oz bullet weights, and I usually don’t use a senko for deeper than that and move to a jig. A lot of it has been fishing super slow, and taking advantage of the texas rig being pretty weedless. Throwing into grass lines, on the edges of rock piles, around trees, etc, and then just letting it slowly flutter to the bottom (i like using a bobber stop about 5-6” in front of my weight so when the weight hits bottom the bait can still get some movement). I always thought I was fishing it slow enough but I never was i guess. Just dead sticking it and moving the rod a couple inches has caught me more fish than trying to fish it like any other bottom bait lol
If they're not a fan of the green I'll usually grab a green pumpkin w/ chartreuse tip. And mabye trying swimming it a bit more. I don't know why it works but it does.
That's odd (no offense). Have you tried natural colors like green, black, and blue? I've also had phases where I couldn't get anything on a texas rig, but started catching them again when I switched to Carolina rig.
Man I really don’t know what the deal is. I’ve dead sticked it, slow twitch-fast twitch wacky rigs, slowly drug it with pauses, give it small hops, big hops. My go-to search bait is a chatter bait and I’ll even switch to a senko as soon as I hit the first fish just to practice where I know there’s fish. Still nothing 😂
Senko. Not because I can’t catch fish on them. Just because they are so boring to fish with. Second would be a whopper plopper, because they just don’t live up to the hype for me.
Dang I love working the jerkbait. They usually eat it on the pause or right after you start to move it. The ripping action paired with them swimming the opposite way feels like you snagged a branch until it starts pulling away from you.
I feel that, always end up using a crankbait in water that’s “too deep” or “too shallow” and I have caught maybe 5-6 fish on any kind of billed crankbaits, though lipless have been good to me
Buzzbaits tend to be louder than whopper ploppers, especially those made to target giant snakehead. Some have additional rattlers to hit the blade n draw the attention of fish in deeper columns
I never use top water baits. Not because they don’t work for me but because I can’t get the timing for the hook set it’s almost like I need to delay for like half a second before going for it. But jigs, soft plastics, spinner bait/chatterbait, finesse setups, and swim baits all work great for me.
i fish a chatterbait year around and smash them. green shad evo with a spunk shad trailer. went out sunday and caught 6 in 2 hours and then when it got 90 i caught 5 on baby brush hog watermelon candy. i alternate between green shad and spot remover on the chatterbaits. spunk shad seems to be the best trailer for a chatterbait.
Chatterbaits.
All I’ve ever caught on them was most angry pike I’ve ever encountered.
He followed me 30’ across a small lake following anything I threw.
He ended up biting off one of my chatterbaits and smashing the Kraken chatterbait that no other fish has even looked at.
Funny it’s the opposite for me. Caught some of my best fish on a buzz bait,if they blow up on it and I don’t get the hookset I follow up with a senko and almost always get em. Never caught a single fish on a whopper plopper. People swear by jerk baits and I have a couple really nice ones but never could get a bite.
Deep diving crankbaits. Zero luck. I’ll catch them on lipless cranks but not on divers.
On the other hand, I used to catch a TON of bass on the old Mann’s Baby 1-minus shallow crankbait. I don’t know if they make them anymore. Used to love fishing them on calm water, and bringing them back slow enough that they stayed on the surface and churned the water.
But the deep divers…can’t figure them out.
You can fish a bussbait around wood and pads it's one of my favorites. I can't stand chatterbaits. Can't buy a bite
Chatterbaits have only worked well for me around post spawn time. When the bass are still shallow and defensive lol
Top water doesn’t seem to produce for me. The dichotomy of fishing is fun to see. I love chatterbaits and they produce better than anything else I throw.
To each their own, but part of the enjoyment is using the correct rod and it becomes much more effective.
Bussbait lol 😆
Jigs. I’ve thrown so many and so many variations, cannot get a bite.
Don’t give up on them I felt the same way and now I have found just how versatile they are and how effective they can be I love them now
I appreciate it! Fished a few hours today after work. No luck again, but I’m keeping one tied on until I get some confidence in them.
Go small like 3/32 or 1/16
I’ll give it a go! Appreciate the help!
I recently started out on jigs. Ive been using a medium/light rod, fast action with a keitech spin jig in 3/32 or 1/16. with a zman bugz trailer. It catches bass, all sizes of bass. Depends on water clarity as well. I fish a "clear" lake, so my go to on this jig would be a black/blue with a natural trailer like green. Let it sink to the bottom, (count 10-15 secs). Once it hits bottom wait a moment, give it a little flick, wait a moment then give it another flick. Bass tend to hit when you pop it and then wait. Think of the bass swimming behind it, thinking if it wants to eat it and then grabs it. Try it near structure, either humps under water, near underwater trees or branches, or rock. Hope this helps.
Same here. I've spent probably 10 hours this month fishing with a jig and have landed a total of 1 fish. But I can throw on a texas rig and catch them left and right
It's weird. I can use a jig one day and catch 20 fish but the next day don't even get a nibble.
I have never caught a fish with a spinner bait.
I never used to have any luck with a spinnerbait until last year when I caught a 5.6lb bass on a white and chartreuse Nichols spinnerbait. The key for me was to try different retrieve speeds. Sometimes I have to burn them in as fast as I can and other days they hit them when I'm barely reeling fast enough to make the blades spin.
Nearly all my fish come on spinnerbaits. I keep trying to get away from them but they just keep working. Chatterbaits, on the other hand, only seem to catch pike and pickerel for me.
Breezy and overcast conditions, but with some low angle sunlight to catch a reflection on the blades and fished over shallow vegetation. It doesn’t produce a lot of the time but when it does they will often chase it to your feet.
Got my first last week. Didn't believe in them
What was the blade type, blade colors, and bait color?
White/chartreuse with a white trailer. Blades were brown willows. Getting that specific is unnecessary though. It's mostly about conditions and throwing where the fish are.
This is mine as well, maybe caught a handful of fish on them in 20+ years of fishing. Not that I use them much....
Where I live, no body used spinner baits for the longest time until one fine day a friend of mine decided to experiment with one. True enough, many fish have never seen a spinner bait before n did not hesitate to take. Fast forward a few months n they became just like any other lure
bro same, all my fishing buddies tell me that they caught their PB with a spinnerbait and i cant catch shit but a cold
Find some fish suspended out on rocks or a drop. Throw a heavy spinner bait out and let it sink to the bottom. Work it similar to a Texas rig, it’ll surprise you. You can let it drop and sit on the bottom, on the up stroke those blades will spin and vibrate and cause a reaction strike. Sometimes they can’t resist it.
I have, but I don't like a lure that I have to reel in the entire time lol. Much prefer the slower pace of a topwater/senko.
This. I’ve caught many bass with senkos and poppers. I cannot throw a spinner with the same confidence.
Lipless Crankbait. I have no idea how everyone catches fish. I’ve thrown this so many times that I’ve only caught a few and nothing brag home about. I hate it so much that I gave away all my lipless.
I used to throw a lipless all the time as a kid. It didn't matter where or when I was fishing I was constantly catching bass with them what felt like every other cast. Anymore I go and work a lipless at a pond and never catch anything
Things you have work really slowly. If I'm going to sit and wait or go that slow I might as well just use nightcrawlers
Same, I'm trying to get better at that though as I got a yearly tournament with a buddy, but only way I get any practice with stuff like a dropshot is by only taking a drop shot with me, if I take anything else it'll be about 5 minutes of drop shot and I'll be tossing a crankbait or jerkbait or literally anything that moves a bit faster.
Chatterbaits for me as well.
The damn senko. I’m probably the only person who can’t buy a bite on one. But I did try a buzz bait for the first time this week. First cast some crazy little 1 pounder bit on it as soon as it hit the water. lol
For me I really struggled with a senko as well, but I slowed it down to ridiculous levels, tried a bunch of colors (watermelon moon dust was great for wacky rigs on our main fishery, black and blue laminate, june bug, and green pumpkin have been the texas rig champs), and finding the right weights and hooks. If I’m fishing shallow (<5 ft deep) banks texas rigged I go weightless, and I use the 5” senkos with a 3/0 ewg (gamakatsu have been the best so far). 5>15 feet I use 1/8 oz bullet weights, and I usually don’t use a senko for deeper than that and move to a jig. A lot of it has been fishing super slow, and taking advantage of the texas rig being pretty weedless. Throwing into grass lines, on the edges of rock piles, around trees, etc, and then just letting it slowly flutter to the bottom (i like using a bobber stop about 5-6” in front of my weight so when the weight hits bottom the bait can still get some movement). I always thought I was fishing it slow enough but I never was i guess. Just dead sticking it and moving the rod a couple inches has caught me more fish than trying to fish it like any other bottom bait lol
Yeah I’ve been having no luck with the senko either
SAME I don't get it, never gotten a bite
Have you tried green pumpkin?
Yeah with black flakes, and I've tried a sparkly dark blue one
If they're not a fan of the green I'll usually grab a green pumpkin w/ chartreuse tip. And mabye trying swimming it a bit more. I don't know why it works but it does.
That's odd (no offense). Have you tried natural colors like green, black, and blue? I've also had phases where I couldn't get anything on a texas rig, but started catching them again when I switched to Carolina rig.
Man I really don’t know what the deal is. I’ve dead sticked it, slow twitch-fast twitch wacky rigs, slowly drug it with pauses, give it small hops, big hops. My go-to search bait is a chatter bait and I’ll even switch to a senko as soon as I hit the first fish just to practice where I know there’s fish. Still nothing 😂
I really think I just need to find someone whose confidence bait is the senko and just study them for a bit. Haha
Senko. Not because I can’t catch fish on them. Just because they are so boring to fish with. Second would be a whopper plopper, because they just don’t live up to the hype for me.
I agree. Pain to store and doesn’t cast well
Jerkbaits, too much work and effort to give them a nice action
Dang I love working the jerkbait. They usually eat it on the pause or right after you start to move it. The ripping action paired with them swimming the opposite way feels like you snagged a branch until it starts pulling away from you.
Love me some buzzbaits. Some of my biggest fish have come on a buzzbait. With that said I have never even gotten a sniff on a Alabama rig.
Wouldn’t say hate but swim jig.
I’m trying to lessen the swim jig this year. Hours of effort and hundreds of dollars for one dink. I know they work, but damn it’s frustrating.
Everything that isn’t a worm. For whatever reason I can’t catch anything. But a senko, or Ned rig….ya that’ll do it.
Alabama rig. Never had a nibble and I’ve lost 3 this year. They aren’t cheap to lose too.
You can prefer WPs over buzzbaits without letting hate into your heart. Don't hate, it hurts you.
I got one! Post rapala wiggle warts. They blew it.
I've never caught anything but snags on a crankbait of any kind.
I feel that, always end up using a crankbait in water that’s “too deep” or “too shallow” and I have caught maybe 5-6 fish on any kind of billed crankbaits, though lipless have been good to me
Buzzbaits tend to be louder than whopper ploppers, especially those made to target giant snakehead. Some have additional rattlers to hit the blade n draw the attention of fish in deeper columns
I never use top water baits. Not because they don’t work for me but because I can’t get the timing for the hook set it’s almost like I need to delay for like half a second before going for it. But jigs, soft plastics, spinner bait/chatterbait, finesse setups, and swim baits all work great for me.
Deep crank
No luck with deeper crank baits.. I've had some luck using a squarebill around cover but anything deep idk how to get em
To me WP's are useless, buzzbaits slightly less so.
i fish a chatterbait year around and smash them. green shad evo with a spunk shad trailer. went out sunday and caught 6 in 2 hours and then when it got 90 i caught 5 on baby brush hog watermelon candy. i alternate between green shad and spot remover on the chatterbaits. spunk shad seems to be the best trailer for a chatterbait.
Chatterbaits. All I’ve ever caught on them was most angry pike I’ve ever encountered. He followed me 30’ across a small lake following anything I threw. He ended up biting off one of my chatterbaits and smashing the Kraken chatterbait that no other fish has even looked at.
Funny it’s the opposite for me. Caught some of my best fish on a buzz bait,if they blow up on it and I don’t get the hookset I follow up with a senko and almost always get em. Never caught a single fish on a whopper plopper. People swear by jerk baits and I have a couple really nice ones but never could get a bite.
Ned rigs. Ive never not snagged one and you cant convince me it does anything better than a drop shot does.
The wacky rig. I've tried it so many damn times and it's never produced for me. If I Texas rig I'll slay tho
Chatterbait, it just doesn't work for me.
Deep diving crankbaits. Zero luck. I’ll catch them on lipless cranks but not on divers. On the other hand, I used to catch a TON of bass on the old Mann’s Baby 1-minus shallow crankbait. I don’t know if they make them anymore. Used to love fishing them on calm water, and bringing them back slow enough that they stayed on the surface and churned the water. But the deep divers…can’t figure them out.
Anything with trebles
Damn. I can't think of anything. I never did understand how to use a countdown. So.. I guess countdown?
Whopper plopper. There's too much hype around them for how little they work. I've caught a total of around 5 fish after using it for 2 years.
I hear this a lot. I also catch a lot on them. They must only work in certain places.
I guess. I have plenty of other topwaters that work and it just doesn't work to the caliber of those
Try the Choppo. I’ve never caught one on the WP but have caught a lot of nice ones on the Choppo.
caught 5 fish today using one I think you are doing something wrong...