OK, johnnymcsavage's thread got me thinking. What new/old techniques are you going to try this season? I think it's an excellent idea to run a season long experiment with a different method than you're used to.
So, time to declare for all the world what you're gonna get good at. I hereby swear I intend to:
Throw a spinnerbait. I've never had real confidence with one. I gave it a real go a few years ago and got into some good bites, but I've never been able to duplicate it. Time for another try, it's just too good of a bait.
Hard swimbaits. I experimented with hollow baits last year, not much luck. The hard baits look unworldly real in the water, something's gotta bite one.
Throw a jig. Did good with one last spring, gonna hone that skill a little more. I'd like to get real good with a jig.
Do the shakey worm thing. Too many pros make a living with it to ignore. Gonna spend a lot of time with it's cousin, wacky jigging too.
So what's on your agenda?
Better yet, if you check this in the fall, how much of it will you have really done? :-\'
I would really like to fish shallow. That includes docks, laydowns, pads, etc. I have always fished deep and many times last year had tough days when the fish were shallow, and I was still deep. I very seldom used a jig shallow and only one time did I throw a frog all year. I think that is my main goal of the year.
That and to really learn to develop patterns rather than "spot" fishing all the time. I have certain "spots" on every lake I fish and if it is a new lake I study maps and pick spots out before I even get there. I think that I'm doing it backwards and I should work to develop a pattern first and then decide which spots fit that pattern.
I want to get good with hard jerkbaits and jigs for the moment. Once I feel I have a grasp on those I would love to learn how to fish slop. The lake I usually fish has a lot of it so i figure that it would be good to learn that as well.
Im diggin on that zappu wacky head. Its different and i dont think too many guys are using it so i will have at it this season!
Alright theres alot of difference between fishing shallow and slop fishing. i am a shallow water fisherman. i fish stick baits pretty much anywhere i can find a weed.. too benders post focus on your casting,theres a ton of shallow fisherman but the ones that seperate thmselves are the ones that are great with there rod and baits. if you ever get a chance talk to Mark Snyder hes the best ive ever seen.. hard jerkbaits and jigs!! work those jerkbaits and find the right cadence. jigs are one of my bread and butters check out some more of the Nemesis jigs there sweet. -skeeterman-
i'm going to hone some skills from last year... cranks and jerkbaits mostly. The zappu head is definitley on the list. My goal for the year is to get better at flippin jigs on docks.
Quote from: thedude on January 20, 2009, 05:49:27 AM
i'm going to hone some skills from last year... cranks and jerkbaits mostly. The zappu head is definitley on the
"You know, like nunchuku skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills... Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills."
i give up what is a Zappu Wacky Head. sounds like something " Billy Mayes " would be selling on TV.
Quote from: Langer on January 20, 2009, 09:05:46 AM
Quote from: thedude on January 20, 2009, 05:49:27 AM
i'm going to hone some skills from last year... cranks and jerkbaits mostly. The zappu head is definitley on the
"You know, like nunchuku skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills... Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills."
yeah.. i already mastered wolverine hunting with a freaking 12 gauge so i figured jerkbaits were the logical next step.
Quote from: thedude on January 20, 2009, 10:19:35 AM
Quote from: Langer on January 20, 2009, 09:05:46 AM
Quote from: thedude on January 20, 2009, 05:49:27 AM
i'm going to hone some skills from last year... cranks and jerkbaits mostly. The zappu head is definitley on the
"You know, like nunchuku skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills... Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills."
yeah.. i already mastered wolverine hunting with a freaking 12 gauge so i figured jerkbaits were the logical next step.
Im pretty good with a bow staff
;D
Quote from: dartag on January 20, 2009, 09:26:38 AM
i give up what is a Zappu Wacky Head. sounds like something " Billy Mayes " would be selling on TV.
http://s126.photobucket.com/albums/p105/tournamentreadytackle/?action=view¤t=ZAPPU-Nemesis.flv
It looks like a good rig kind of similar to the flick shake but with a stick bait. The shimmy action looks similar to a weightless yamamoto senko which is hard to match but has a faster fall with the jighead. My question is in what cases would you want to use a jighead over a weightless wacky rig?
Quote from: TCook on January 20, 2009, 11:42:14 AM
It looks like a good rig kind of similar to the flick shake but with a stick bait. The shimmy action looks similar to a weightless yamamoto senko which is hard to match but has a faster fall with the jighead. My question is in what cases would you want to use a jighead over a weightless wacky rig?
seems to me it would help when trying to cover a lot of water with highly productive bait. Worst part about senko fishing is taking the time fish it correctly on a slow retrieve. When i prefish i almost never throw one though.. i use cranks, spinnerbaits, trigs, jigs... try to cover as much water as possible looking for the reaction bites. I would think the faster fall would trigger some reaction strikes and widen the strike zone - you could use it more as a search bait rather than a finesse approach.
just my 2 cents.
I purchased some swimbaits last year,(soft type) with the weighted hooks and never did throw any of them. I'm going to try that in LSC when the water is clear and hope I don't catch a musky. I put up all the smithwick jerkbaits and want to throw my LC Pointers, again I hope no musky looks at them. I've got drop shots rigs and not used them and shaky heads I have not shook. Tubes work so well, I use them alot. I forgot all about spinnerbaits too. If no one hasn't tried the strike king Diamond shad, it works better than a 1/2 oz chartreuse and gold rattle trap on LSC. Senko type baits tear up quick and you spend a lot of time adjusting and replacing the bait. I bought one new rod and reel, a pflueger trion reel and rod. I'm getting excited just typing about this. Man I need to live in the south.
I think thedude is right on. The wacky jig allows you to fish a wacky rig faster and deeper. You should be able to cover more water with it and possibly get better feel with it.
Cy
They aren't really techniques, but I've narrowed it down to three baits (for now):
1. Texas-rigged worm - I can't believe how long it has been since I fished a worm!
2. Tubes - It hasn't been as long as a texas-rigged worm, but it has been a season or two since I really spent the time throwing the tube.
3. Hard swimbaits- I'm talking the Sebile-style swimbaits, not those monsters they throw out west. I have a couple special ones I'll have ready for the start of the season.
i am thinking deep diving crankbaits and traps. it get so boring catching fish on a drop shot or 1/2 senko all the time. why not get a workout and cast. maybe some of Jeff's DD22's will work.
I want to perfect my jig fishing. Then I'm gonna work on my jig fishing. Oh, and the zappu thing... already tried it... will continue to use it (read: it catches fish!).
I'm also going to perfect my surface bait presentations.... buzz baits, wake baits, and a few others.
Not to sound like a broken record, but I need to work on jig fishing as well. I also need to be a better drop shot fisherman. I will also teach myself a new casting technique this year. I don't know what it will be yet...but I am thinking about learning to skip baits with a casting rig. Or I could just continue to practice my spinning rod skills, because I'm sad with a spinning rod.
Cy
Im not sure if I will try a new technique but I will hone some of the ones I already use. Especially the crankbait. This is something I will be spending alot of time on this year.
Im with LGMOUTH im going to work on cranking more. Also some other reaction baits. Yeah i know TCOOK "when pigs fly, he'll throw that senko till hes purple all year long." right?? haha- im so bored i could scream! cmon spring..-skeeterman-
I am going to work on the behind the back through the legs jump cast! I heard its hard but pretty freaken sweet!
:D :D :D A comedian i love it. when u get the .. over the tree,under the pontoon into the 5lbers mouth. added onto your new found skill.. you'll be a pro! i think, aint that what that hartley guy was doing in the classic last year??-skeeterman-
You guys talking about cranks got me thinking about the past; it's one of the techniques I set out to learn that really succeeded.
I used to be a die hard soft plastics guy, but getting my butt kicked by guys with cranks made me take a hard look. So I bought a cranking rod, and a little spread of cranks I had researched, and made a promise to fish them hard.
I also talked with a couple of guys via e-mail who were hard core crankers. I asked some questions, went fishing, and asked some more. I gotta really thank Thad Rains from BFHP; he took some real time to explain crankbait movement.
One of the additional secrets I learned along the way was that slowing down when the bite got tough wasn't always the right plan. Many times you need to speed up. If that bait is moving fast enough, a bass needs to decide fast to try it or it's gone. I was blown away by how many bites I had missed out on.
Now I have a hard time not cranking, especially rattlebaits. Last July I lost out on some tough bites I could have saved with the drop shot because I though I new a hard bait bite was gonna happen.
That's why I'm choosing slower presentations to work on this season. I want to get better at my on the water decisions, especially my abillity to recognize how & when to switch gears.
I think we all wanna learn that, on the water desicion making.. its got to be the hardest. when to stay when to go. Its all a matter of time spent out on the water and learning to adapt. then theres smallmouth ill leave that one alone!-skeeterman- good info on the crankbait retrieves.
Quote from: chrisvmo on January 21, 2009, 07:36:40 PM
I am going to work on the behind the back through the legs jump cast! I heard its hard but pretty freaken sweet!
I hate to end up in the emergency room after one of those casts! ;D
Quote from: skeeterman190 on January 21, 2009, 10:29:51 PM
then theres smallmouth ill leave that one alone!
Haha, that is exactly how I feel most of the time smallmouth fishing! I couldn't have said it better myself.
I really agree with the decision makeing. I wasted alot of time this year fishing techniques and spots that are proven. Somtimes I can be a little stuburn.
For 2008 it was dropshotting and cranks - I now have a lot of confidence in dropshot (who wouldn't) and I'm almost there with cranks.
For 2009 - I'm going to work on jerkbaits and jigs. I've thrown jerkbaits around but I must not have the cadence down or I must not be pausing long enough. I just don't tie on Jigs enough yet, so I'm going to spend some days with only a jig and start learning.
Jig fishing can be the most frustrating or rewarding techniques out there. The biggest thing I found is having a good assortment of weights to play with. The rate of the fall must always be considered. Some days a finesse jig with a slow fall is just what the fish wants, then just as you think you've patterned the fish, they quit biting it. I'll go to a heavier jig and make the fish react to it as it fly's to the bottom. Then there is the trailer, use one with a lot of action like a Paca Chunk, or one with sublte action like a Zoom chunk. Should I add rattles? Do I need to swim it? You can fish an entire season just throwing jigs and never have the same bite twice, I love jigs, they can be the most versatil weapon in your tackle box. 3/4 oz. football jigs through an old river bed in 20' of water, flipping 1/4 oz. in 3' of water or swimming them over a big weedy flat. Use your imagination with them and have some fun with them. Can you tell I love jigs?
For me, 2009 will be a good fishing year. The biggest improvement to on-the-water decisions I have made is to change fishing partners...actually I will probably fish a lot of the one-on-one deals, unless I find another partner who is pretty good. It is tiresome fishing with someone who thinks they either need to fish the spot they caught on 10" a week ago thursday, or he heard from "enter name of thinks he knows more than he really does person here" that fishing out from the dock with the red pontoon is a real hot spot. Then at the end of a 3 hour tourney with only 3 fish in the box that I caught, I hear "hmm, don't really know why we didn't catch em tonight"....Glad I got my own boat now.
That jig information is great - thanks. I'll have to experiment and I have a lot to learn. I do have a box full of them that have never seen water - so I'm ready to go.
I've seen the same thing from partners - some times people get consumed with a particular spot or information rather than adjusting to what is currently happening. Just because you think you saw a large fish on a rock an hour ago, don't leave an area that we are actively catching them in. Once we find a real pattern lets stick to it but be flexible to give it up once it drys up. I've fished with some stubborn guys.
I think it is always a great conversation at the end of the tournament to think about what you and your partner could have done differently - even if you caught em great or you didn't. It is always a good practice to talk about the decisions and try to learn from them.
Hey Bender, You can jig fish shallow. Just throw Your best skert and chunk soft plastic on plan hook fish it slow like your led jig. If you have confidence in your led jigs that you fish deep you will catch fish shallow. I myself am going to fish faster this year. Not taking so much time to fish one spot. I seem to beat up on one spot for to long. Good luck fellow anglers. Got Fish?