Learning a new technique this year.

[jonnymcsavage]

For the last 2 seasons I have selected one technique or bait and fished it all season to get it down pat. I learned Lipless cranks 2 years ago and Drop Shot last year. I am having trouble figuring out what I want to learn this year. I was thinking spinnerbaits because of the versatility of the bait. What kind of setup would be a good start for spinnerbaits? Any techniques or baits I should check out? Rods? Reels?

[thedude]

forget the spinnerbait and learn to fish a jig.

[bob o]

either spinnerbait or jig, head to the lake with nothing in the boat except the bait you want to learn, that way no matter what happens you can't change up to an old favorite. do it i dare ya 
we are doing almost that with frogs at Ovin lake in Aug. we'll how long i can fish a frog without tossing a craikbait 

[jonnymcsavage]

So far so good with the "only one lure tied on" rule. Worked for me the last 2 years. So why would jig fishing be better than working spinnerbaits all year?

[Cy]

I would leave the spinner baits at home too.

Jigs are one of the best big fish baits out there.  You may get fewer bites but you can almost be guaranteed to catch a better class of fish.

If you a dead set on learning a chuck and wind lure this year...than I would consider a square billed crank over a spinner bait.  You fish it in most of the same places and will probably catch more fish on it.

Cy

[TCook]

Without a doubt the jig is more important to learn than the spinnerbait but the spinnerbait is also a big fish bait and has its time and place. Maybe this is the year to work in two new techniques. As for setup I use a 6-9 MH rod because I like to throw it tight to cover banging docks or laydowns. For open water a longer rod would be ideal. I always use a highspeed reel and a trailor hook. I usually throw a SB with lowlight and if its sunny there has to be wind. Chartruese and colorado/indiana blades in muddy water, natural or char/white with willow in clear. Metal blades when sunny and painted in low light. For more bites be erratic with your retrieve and when fishing cover always make contact with the laydowns or dock posts, I usually will kill the bait for strikes after I hit whatever cover I am fishing. Good luck I have already had some excellent days with the spinnerbait around here this year.

[jonnymcsavage]

Appreciate all of the input guys. I think I am going to go with jig fishing this year. I can pick up spinnerbaits next year. Any suggestions on what a beginner jig setup would look like? Line? Rod? Reel?

[BNL]

You could make fishing a bladed jig (chatterbait style lure) your technique to learn this season. It can be fished like a spinnerbait and a jig! Straight retrieve or roll it like a spinnerbait or a hopping and dragging jig-like technique. Found it to be a big fish technique too, with the right presentation. And lots of different trailer options, from craws to swimbaits to flukes.

Just a thought.

[Skulley]

There are a lot of great ideas listed in this post.  Jigs are probably the most important to learn because you can do the same things with a worm that you can do with a jig.  You can yo yo it, hop it, swim it, bump cover with it, and the list goes on.  You can do these same things with a spinnerbait.  I often fish the spinnerbait like a jig.  You can use a trailer on the spinnerbait just like a trailer on a jig.  Both are very versatile and you really should learn both.  A crank bait should be part of your arsenal too.  A square billed shallow runner can be fished similar to a spinnerbait as previously mentioned in this subject.  Good luck and let us know how you do in your quest to be a versatile fisherman.


BD                     

[Cy]

For jig fishing I use a 7' 3" MH casting rod with a 7.3:1 reel and 15 to 20 lb fluorocarbon line.  I use Kustom Kicker Jigs Www.kustomkickerjigs.com or Nemesis Jigs www.nemesis baits.com.  Both jigs makers are awesome and the products are too. 

Cy

[Trux]

So I get the whole "jigs for bigger fish" idea. What about the opposite? What technique would you learn to increase numbers?

[markgoetsch]

wacky rigged senko for numbers hands down.  not much to learn throw, wait, reel in fish.

[FishermanJohn]

I spent last season working on the jig and I really saw my average weight go up.  I didn't catch quite as many numbers, but almost all of my jig fish were in the 2.5-3+ range, and I found that I could catch them fairly consistently.  Two years ago I worked on lipless cranks and spinnerbaits.  This year I am going to really work on soft plastics - both flipping/pitching creatures and other similar baits as well as t-rigging/carolina rigging.

[jonnymcsavage]

I will definitely add some chatterbait type lures to the arsenal this year. Hopefully I can get some time on a boat to really test out my jig skills.

[FishermanJohn]

Bass don't eat chatterbaits.    ('cause the pike usually get to them first).

I like throwing my spinnerbaits/chatterbaits on a 6'6" MH St. Croix Legend paired with a Shimano Citica spooled with 17# Sufix mono.

For spinnerbaits, I have 3 styles:
Chart/white skirt gold colorado blade for overcast/stained/cold water
Chart/white skirt silver willow blade for general purpose (I use the same chatterbait color mostly)
White or neutral baitfish skirt silver willow blade for sunny/clear

I pretty much only use Booyah spinnerbaits with a couple Strike King and generics thrown in.  Haven't really noticed a difference besides my confidence.

Experiment with sizes/retrieves.  Sometimes bass want it small profile and fast retrieve, sometimes big and a slower retrieve, or straight vs. start/pause vs. yo-yo.  Fish it around shallow flats, cover, weed edges, anywhere. Mostly I fish in the top 2 feet of the water column, but sometimes slow rolling a big spinnerbait along the bottom can be effective.   I will add a trailer hook if they are short striking, but I rarely add plastic trailers unless I want a bulkier or more buoyant bait.

[bosshawg]

swimbaits..  finally caved in & bought some.  whats some x-tra tackle that i probably didn't really need. 
haven't found a good hook for them yet that i'm happy w/& really don't like those corkscrew types. have some offset wide gap weighted ones that i've haven't tried yet, but use them on senkos, worms & stick baits.