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Bass Fishing Forums => Bass Fishing Tips & Techniques => Topic started by: Curt on April 23, 2016, 11:35:10 AM

Title: Been Trying Some New Stuff
Post by: Curt on April 23, 2016, 11:35:10 AM
While I was out fishing yesterday, I tried a new-to-me technique that paid off big time!

I had tried it maybe once in the past, sort of, but never gave it more than about 3 or 4 minutes worth of effort. Then I put it away and didn't even give it another attempt until yesterday.

You know how you buy a new bait and stick it in your boat because you just know it will catch fish for you "some day"?

Well, I bought these things last spring and after giving them a halfhearted try one day, they got set aside and overlooked for a whole year.

But, after giving it another try yesterday, and landing 3 really good bass on it, it will be something that I use for months to come, with full confidence that it catches big bass.

I'm going to do a bit more playing with it before I divulge the full details, and I also want to get some good pics of fish caught on it. I completely forgot to get pics of the fish I caught yesterday (fp)

So, as they say, more to come... (yes)
Title: Re: Been Trying Some New Stuff
Post by: bullet20dc on April 23, 2016, 11:44:30 AM
I now that feeling all too well   I got a boat filled with baits that looked great on the shelf of the store  that are still in their unopened packages. 
Title: Re: Been Trying Some New Stuff
Post by: sbg on April 23, 2016, 11:58:51 PM
Yep. Me too. A-rig comes to mind. Ive seen it work!  Been there for the results at weigh in. Big fish baits for sure. I still havent caught a dang thing on an A-rig. Lol.
Guess Im also very guilty for buyin jigs. Ill see a color I like and buy like 3 of them. Half the time they just sit there. Keep using the same colors I normally do.  (fp)
Title: Re: Been Trying Some New Stuff
Post by: bullet20dc on April 24, 2016, 05:59:53 AM
there's a lot of us out there,  thats what the mfg's bank on.  New color new shape the more fishermen gotta have it. Isn't a fisherman alive that dont have a box or wall with dead baits or unused baits on it. In my case a room  (fp)
Title: Re: Been Trying Some New Stuff
Post by: Curt on April 24, 2016, 08:28:53 PM
I typically resist the new trends and stick with what's proven. Then, once in a while, I'll try something new. Or at least new to me.

In this case, I'm glad I brought this setup out of hiding on got it wet on Friday. Sure changed the way the day went  :nod:

As for the A rig, that's another one that I resisted for a long time. Then one day I finally bought one of the Yum versions, since it was considerably cheaper than the Mann's model.

I don't know for sure if I've even gotten it wet yet. Here in the northeast, I fish way more natural lakes than reservoirs, so schooling baitfish aren't as common as in the big reservoirs, although they do exist to some degree.

Hmmm.. maybe one of these days I'll get that rig wet too and it will catch some fish for me  (shrug)
Title: Re: Been Trying Some New Stuff
Post by: sbg on April 24, 2016, 08:35:12 PM
Good luck with it!   :nod:

I am intrigued by whatever it is your fishin with though
Title: Re: Been Trying Some New Stuff
Post by: Curt on April 24, 2016, 08:40:52 PM
Good luck with it!   :nod:

I am intrigued by whatever it is your fishin with though

Thanks! I'll spill the beans soon enough, once we get past this tourney I'm pre-fishing for  (yes)
Title: Re: Been Trying Some New Stuff
Post by: sbg on April 24, 2016, 08:45:19 PM
Sounds good. Maybe its something these Bama bass havent seen!
Title: Re: Been Trying Some New Stuff
Post by: bullet20dc on April 25, 2016, 06:32:12 AM
  give that bama rig another chance David,  Gotta be the fish catchenest thing I ever bought.  But it will tire yer butt out.  We dont have shad up here so we use smaller baits on em but it do work when them smallies are suspended over something like ledges or rock piles.   
Title: Re: Been Trying Some New Stuff
Post by: Curt on April 25, 2016, 09:34:56 AM
  give that bama rig another chance David,  Gotta be the fish catchenest thing I ever bought.  But it will tire yer butt out.  We dont have shad up here so we use smaller baits on em but it do work when them smallies are suspended over something like ledges or rock piles.   

I suppose I should try it again too. I know they'll catch fish here, but I have yet to catch any myself. But then it can't catch fish if it's not getting wet  (nope)
Title: Re: Been Trying Some New Stuff
Post by: JackJ on April 25, 2016, 11:56:06 AM
I use to feel the same about the A-rig, but now I seem to catch them all the time on it.
Title: Re: Been Trying Some New Stuff
Post by: Curt on April 25, 2016, 12:07:41 PM
I use to feel the same about the A-rig, but now I seem to catch them all the time on it.

Cool. Thanks for the info. I will be trying them sometime soon!
Title: Re: Been Trying Some New Stuff
Post by: bullet20dc on April 25, 2016, 04:36:22 PM
YEP its tough to build confidence in a bait if you arent catching anything on it but i bet I  said the same thing when the spinnerbait first came out backin the early 70's.  No way in hel! this will catch fish look how stupid looking it is  dont resemble nothing in nature  and the rest is history.   gotta have it wet to work
Title: Re: Been Trying Some New Stuff
Post by: frugalangler on April 25, 2016, 05:13:57 PM
problem here is that in MO you can only have 3 hooks, and in KS it's worse, only 2 hooks, sucks!
Title: Re: Been Trying Some New Stuff
Post by: Curt on April 25, 2016, 09:16:11 PM
problem here is that in MO you can only have 3 hooks, and in KS it's worse, only 2 hooks, sucks!

Same here in RI... only 3 hooks allowed. CT, where I also fish, allows 5.
Title: Re: Been Trying Some New Stuff
Post by: Curt on May 02, 2016, 11:19:42 AM
OK.. so now that the tourney is over, I can share what it was that I was trying out last week that produced so well for me  :nod:

I was using two baits from Primary Tackle ( @Midsouthbass ). One is called a Shimmer Swimmer and the other is the 5" Swim Minnow.

http://www.primarytackle.com/store/p186/5%22_Swim_Minnow_10pk.html

http://www.primarytackle.com/store/p219/Shimmer_Swimmer.html

I found both of these baits last year. The 5 inch Swim Minnows make awesome trailers for bladed jigs. They also work well as standalone swimbaits.

The Shimmer Swimmer is basically a tweaked version of an underspin. But the blade is attached to a short wire arm, instead of just a stubby little eye.

What I found, though, was that by rigging them on the Shimmer Swimmer, they give the fish something that they haven't seen much of (if at all). Bingo! Great fish catcher  (giggle)

And the design also allows weedless rigging, so it comes through just about anything. Oh, and the hook is incredibly strong, so there's no fear whatsoever about it bending on a bog bass.

(https://www.bassboatboards.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fbassfishingphotos.com%2Fimages%2F1%2F188%2F00000002.jpg&hash=de4b249ef00dfc1762ea5951377abcd43b7faef7)
Title: Re: Been Trying Some New Stuff
Post by: frugalangler on May 02, 2016, 12:25:30 PM
those Shimmer Swimmer hooks are cool, I'm gonna get me some of dat
Title: Re: Been Trying Some New Stuff
Post by: Curt on May 02, 2016, 01:14:48 PM
those Shimmer Swimmer hooks are cool, I'm gonna get me some of dat

They are quite cool!

One thing... there are the standard Shimmer Swimmers and then there are the HD versions. I have used both and I like the standard version better. They're easier to rig, using the screw lock setup. The HD version requires you to punch a hole in the bottom of the swimbait head, so the eye of the hook can then protrude from the nose of the bait. That setup works, but the screw lock is definitely much easier and doesn't tear up the nose of the bait as badly.
Title: Re: Been Trying Some New Stuff
Post by: frugalangler on May 02, 2016, 01:50:30 PM

They are quite cool!

One thing... there are the standard Shimmer Swimmers and then there are the HD versions. I have used both and I like the standard version better. They're easier to rig, using the screw lock setup. The HD version requires you to punch a hole in the bottom of the swimbait head, so the eye of the hook can then protrude from the nose of the bait. That setup works, but the screw lock is definitely much easier and doesn't tear up the nose of the bait as badly.

Great tip, I've used reg waited swim bait hooks a lot, and yea they are tough to rig, the screw works better most of the time, and I'll likely try both - there are times when one may be better
Title: Re: Been Trying Some New Stuff
Post by: fishon-son on May 02, 2016, 06:52:00 PM
can I argue with you curt??????  I just want to say....people think like people  bass don't think like people  bass think like bass..your bait looks good to me and most people bassfisherman. but to a bass it looks like a easy meal .not a meal that it never seen..just a easy meal..bass are opportunist  they will hit or eat anything that comes into the strike zone for that moment.....the saying from the pros use to be throw them something there never seen because there use to the regular baits we throw and wont hit them...well if that was the case they would never eat bluegill because they see them all the time?   right ...as fisherman we all know that bluegill is the number one meal ticket on a basses mind for a meal...and all manufactures want there baits to look like what they see in there neighborhood...so I'm thinking your bait looks more like a school of minnows so you see to a bass its minnows...lets eat......just my thought......
Title: Re: Been Trying Some New Stuff
Post by: Curt on May 02, 2016, 07:02:48 PM
can I argue with you curt??????  I just want to say....people think like people  bass don't think like people  bass think like bass..your bait looks good to me and most people bassfisherman. but to a bass it looks like a easy meal .not a meal that it never seen..just a easy meal..bass are opportunist  they will hit or eat anything that comes into the strike zone for that moment.....the saying from the pros use to be throw them something there never seen because there use to the regular baits we throw and wont hit them...well if that was the case they would never eat bluegill because they see them all the time?   right ...as fisherman we all know that bluegill is the number one meal ticket on a basses mind for a meal...and all manufactures want there baits to look like what they see in there neighborhood...so I'm thinking your bait looks more like a school of minnows so you see to a bass its minnows...lets eat......just my thought......

I hear where you're coming from. But the premise behind that saying is that bass have a rudimentary memory capability, or at least an instinct that tells them if they have tried to eat something in the past that caused them to get yanked out of the water.

So even though they have eaten hundreds of bluegills, those bluegills have never stuck them in the mouth and jerked them from their habitat. They just get swallowed and become food.

Some tests over the years have shown that many bass will not hit something repeatedly if they have been hooked by it in the past. This obviously varies from bass to bass, but in highly pressured lakes, bass will eventually become gun shy from getting caught repeatedly.

One exception to this might be baits that are very natural looking or subtle in their presentation.

I wrote a lengthy article about this many years ago. It was published in The Fisherman - New England Edition close to 20 years ago.

You can read it here: http://northeastbass.com/bass-fishing-articles/finesse-bass-fishing
Title: Re: Been Trying Some New Stuff
Post by: fishon-son on May 02, 2016, 09:11:34 PM
heres something ..and I'm not trying to bunch holes in anything ..but a few yrs back I was bass fishing my lake and took the same bass on the same bait 3 different times within a 2 wk span.......the bass had a cut lip and a broken jaw from someone else hooking it...and I took that same bass within 100ft of the first time I hooked it....we as people think we think like fish ..we will buy a better looking bait that really isn't needed but we are programed to do so...and our manufactures know this...to compare baits  megabass to strike king..one at the top and one at the bottom on looks  but the guy on the bottom out sells the top guy because of pricing 10 to 1 ..I would bet...I use both baits and have a lot of both..just thinking its the sales pitch..going back to the never seen bait?    I will read you article tonight....
Title: Re: Been Trying Some New Stuff
Post by: fishon-son on May 02, 2016, 09:20:23 PM
nice read.......I guess my fish wasn't the smartest fish in the lake.!!!!!
Title: Re: Been Trying Some New Stuff
Post by: Curt on May 02, 2016, 10:16:34 PM
heres something ..and I'm not trying to bunch holes in anything ..but a few yrs back I was bass fishing my lake and took the same bass on the same bait 3 different times within a 2 wk span.......the bass had a cut lip and a broken jaw from someone else hooking it...and I took that same bass within 100ft of the first time I hooked it....we as people think we think like fish ..we will buy a better looking bait that really isn't needed but we are programed to do so...and our manufactures know this...to compare baits  megabass to strike king..one at the top and one at the bottom on looks  but the guy on the bottom out sells the top guy because of pricing 10 to 1 ..I would bet...I use both baits and have a lot of both..just thinking its the sales pitch..going back to the never seen bait?    I will read you article tonight....

Believe me, I agree with you on most of this when it comes to bass being caught on the same lure. I know it does happen. But a lot of that is about what kind of clues the lures give as to being artificial.

Soft plastic baits give very few clues as to their "fakeness", if that's really a word. Spinnerbaits, on the other hand, have a lot to give them away as being fake. Again, not every bass will only eat a spinnerbait once and never eat another one in their lifetime, but the more natural or subtle a bait is, the better chances it has of fooling the same bass multiple times  ;)
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