I can't catch a fish..........

[Jonhig]

I've never caught a fish on a jig or a spinner bait. Jigs are the most annoying, beside the fact that I don't catch anything with them, I always have to scratch the paint out of the hole to tie them on.... My favorite and most successful lure is my hula popper....nothing like a bass crashing through the surface to hit a popper.

 

[Captain Ahab]

Big Surf Plugs - Needles, dannys, bottles, swimmers, darters and anything wooded with a metal lip


I never have any luck with them and really do not tossing them

Knew i could come up with something.


Anyone here use them - I have a small pile of them to get rid of.

 

[LonLB]

I've never caught a fish on a jig or a spinner bait. Jigs are the most annoying, beside the fact that I don't catch anything with them, I always have to scratch the paint out of the hole to tie them on.... My favorite and most successful lure is my hula popper....nothing like a bass crashing through the surface to hit a popper.

Do you know Snookie? :lol:

 

[SkagBass]

Skag...for the uninitiated ( that would be ME! ) how about giving us specific descriptions of your light weight, and your heavier weight... setups? Line strength; distance to weight...length of the
"bait" leader etc.? Lure used...Inquiring minds want to know...

I think I know how a drop shot is used...but have only used it once.

That one time, a guide tried to get me to use in on Lake Geneva, Wisc. for LM bass. It kept getting caught up in the weed bed ( it didn't seem like the right use of a drop to me????) so I switched to a standard Texas rig and caught a nice LM bass in a few minutes. thanks, Rich

By all accounts I am a true novice, but here is an attempt to break down what i use and what i have been tought.
On the light DS i am using a Lamiglas Excel drop shot rod (spinning). It is 7' Med action and is decent in the sensitivity area. The most sensitive rod you can afford, is what I was told. I am running 10lb powerpro braid to about 2'-3' leader of 6lb fluorocarbon. 8lb leader if I am fishing deep (35'+). I like the long leader. It gives me confidence that the fish wont be spooked by the braid from both above and below. I join the leader with a Slim Beauty knot. I like this knot because with the length of leader I want to be able to cast the knot through the guides. The Slim Beauty leaves all of the tag ends pointing back toward the main line. I use a #4 Gamagatsu split shot/drop shot hook typically. I usually get a distance of about 8-14" between the hook and the weight. For me, this really depends on the water depth and bait that you are fishing. I would say 80% of the time i will cast this rig out, let it sink and slowly drag it back to the boat. I will give a pause or a couple of light shakes in between drags. Rarely do i just drop it over the edge of the boat and sit and wait. I use 1/4 - 3/8oz weight, usually the 1/4oz. As mentioned above I keep the weight in contact with the bottom. I will use most any finesse worm, i typically use Roboworms and Reaction Innovation. I will nose hook these types of worms. I will also use a 3-4" senko wacky rigged on this set up. The bites will feel like added weight to the line and the hook set is just to apply steady tension, sort of like you are trying to lift the fish not yank it up.

I started playing with a heavier set up near the end of last summer. I found that i liked to pitch the lighter rig to the edges of the lily pads but I would loose too many fish due to the light line. I rigged up a Lamiglas competitor casting rod wich is on the ligher side of MH. I use 12-15 lb fluorocarbon with a 1/0 EWG hook. I will usually texspose when hooking the bait. I will bump the weight up to 3/8-1/2oz and will shorten the distance from the hook to about 4-8". This rig i will pitch to a spot and let it sit in one spot with giving it a few shakes, then move it once before retrieving. I like to use smallie beavers and baby brush hogs with this heavier setup. You can use a bit more strength on the hookset but still using steady lifting pressure.

There is a technique some folks have been using here in WA. They will probably string me up for letting the cat out of the bag, but i have never been one for withholding good information. It is called drop-swimming. A google search should result in a few articles about it, but the basics are this. as a lure you use a hollow belly type of swim bait or a paddle tail fluke. Nose hooked, it is a cast and slow retrieve just fast enough to get the action of the tail moving. Weight size on this depends on depth of water making sure to keep contact with the bottom on retrieve.

 

[richg99]

Thanks to both of you. I certainly am learning a lot.

Isn't this the technique that a lot of guys said isn't working???? Wonder if they do it the exact same way you two do it?

I see both of you use 1/4 to 3/8ths weights. What kind of weights? Bullet head worm style; split shot or what?

re ....just dropping it over the side and waiting.....not for me, either.

Thanks again, rich

 

[LonLB]

Thanks to both of you. I certainly am learning a lot.

Isn't this the technique that a lot of guys said isn't working???? Wonder if they do it the exact same way you two do it?

I see both of you use 1/4 to 3/8ths weights. What kind of weights? Bullet head worm style; split shot or what?

re ....just dropping it over the side and waiting.....not for me, either.

Thanks again, rich

There are a couple weights made just for drop shotting. The pencil style which I don't use or like, and the round style...That is what I use. They have a clip for clipping on your line but with 6 or 8lb line I tie a not in the line so the clip can't slide off the line. I've used 10lb flouro in the past and didn't need the knot.

I never fish right over the boat either. I do fish it slow though....I'll let the weight settle, shake it a tiny bit.....Let it set...You keep the line tight between the weight and bait.........Then shake it a little more....wait.....Then lift and pull like you would a jig....Let it settle and start over.

 

[richg99]

Sounds good. I have a large number of bullet weights, mostly 1/16th ounce. I can see sliding xx number of them up the line; clamping a single split shot on the bottom, and use that setup as a weedless weight string.

I'll experiment on my little pond next week when it warms up a little. Bass around here think that, when the temperature hits 33 degrees for a few nights...that they have to settle in a deep hole and not eat. Wimps... ha Rich

 

[Jonhig]

I've never caught a fish on a jig or a spinner bait. Jigs are the most annoying, beside the fact that I don't catch anything with them, I always have to scratch the paint out of the hole to tie them on.... My favorite and most successful lure is my hula popper....nothing like a bass crashing through the surface to hit a popper.

Do you know Snookie? :lol:

lol...I know I'd like to use her for chumming. We who live here refer to "them" as BENNYS....quite annoying. I think I may need to change the wording of my profile location.

 

[LonLB]

I've never caught a fish on a jig or a spinner bait. Jigs are the most annoying, beside the fact that I don't catch anything with them, I always have to scratch the paint out of the hole to tie them on.... My favorite and most successful lure is my hula popper....nothing like a bass crashing through the surface to hit a popper.

Do you know Snookie? :lol:

lol...I know I'd like to use her for chumming. We who live here refer to "them" as BENNYS....quite annoying. I think I may need to change the wording of my profile location.

Trust me I don't watch that garbage just know of it, and that was the first thing I thought of when I read your location. :LOL2:

 

[Outdoorsman]

For me its a baseball bat... every time I see a fish swimming under the boat I grab the bat and WHAM....never got any fish, but always seem to get wet... other than that I do ok fishing with all types aleady mentioned.... :lol:

:fishing:

Outdoorsman

 

[Captain Ahab]

I've never caught a fish on a jig or a spinner bait. Jigs are the most annoying, beside the fact that I don't catch anything with them, I always have to scratch the paint out of the hole to tie them on.... My favorite and most successful lure is my hula popper....nothing like a bass crashing through the surface to hit a popper.

Do you know Snookie? :lol:

lol...I know I'd like to use her for chumming. We who live here refer to "them" as BENNYS....quite annoying. I think I may need to change the wording of my profile location.

That is only North NJ - South they are Shoobies! In Delaware, googans!

 

[Jonhig]

LOL Ahab you got it. I grew up in Trenton so I was a shoob in my formative years. We have friends in Va along the Demarva and when we visit they call us "comeheres" We're all a bit xenophobic I guess. Snookie must die regardless.

 

[schlifawitz]

I started playing with a heavier set up near the end of last summer. I found that i liked to pitch the lighter rig to the edges of the lily pads but I would loose too many fish due to the light line.

Personally, unless I'm chasing finicky smallmouth is deep water, I shy away from light line. when your flipping this rig into gover the fish only see one thing. That little worm shaking right in front of their face. Dont be afraid to go big. I started pitching this setup on a high speed baitcast reel with 20# floro and very very rarely lose fish. I was taught to only use light line, but I started loosing so many fish in heavy cover that I needed some change. The only difference I have noticed after switching to heavy line is stonger hooksets, and more torque pulling the fish out. With heavy line your able to horse the fish out of the thick stuff. I've pulled in 2lb LM with 15 lbs of weeds wrapped around it, something that couldnt happen with light line. as far as the number of fish i catch, i feel that line has no effect on how many I hook up with, but rater everything is in the presentation of the bait.