Everyone has goals when it comes to fishing. Mine: finding lures fish attack.

[SenkoSam]

I can remember catching my first smallie on a yellow Mr Twister 4" curl tail grub years ago. What followed was me trying out many lures to catch bass: crankbaits, Texas rigged plastics, spinnerbaits with different blade sizes, surface lure (Z Spook, Pop R), just to name a few. I will go back to casting them this year, but for now the challenge is getting fish regardless of species and size to hit my soft plastics rigged on small ball head jigs.

Keeping fish on those small hooks is challenge enough - especially large fish - but searching for the ultimate designs all species attack is my obsession. I live for that tick transmitted up the line followed by the hookset that keep fish hooked all the way to my boat. Keeping a photo record means a lot when it comes to 1.water fish, 2. date fished and 3. the lures that caught fish.

Before digital cameras and computers, a written log was all I had to remember the above.
Answers to questions such as what colors of jig & pig caught bass; would a large willow leaf spinnerbait get slammed; how about 10" plastic worms T-rigged and colors; etc. were answered. And yes, all caught bass! Mission accomplished.

But fish are fish are fish. They all attack many of the same lures regardless of size. Yesterday I caught a 2.5 lb pickerel and took a photo of it and the small creation I put on a 1/28 oz jig. The braid broke just as I netted the fish. It was like winning the lotto! I caught fish (3 more species) on that same lure within the hour and then had to leave because the 30 mph hour wind was getting to me.

I caught 82 fish on my b'day May 9 - same thing: many species and sizes starting with that little tick my sensitive hand felt like a fish's lateral line. So cool was getting it many times by the same excited fish either on the same retrieve or on multiple retrieves to the same spot!
Those fish became obsessed maniacs trying to clobber my lures!

The following are example of lure that caught fish that day that answered many questions:
A forked fin tail cut from a Fin S Fish added to a French Fry stick segment caught the 2 3/4 lb bass in the first picture.
Question answered by the next fish: are fish fine-wire leader-shy? I had lost a few lures to picks and decided to make a few leaders and attach my small lures using snap swivels or duo-lock snaps. Also...
Question: would a bright chartreuse curl tail get hit?
A yellow perch said no to being leader shy as well as a dozen other fish and yes - a bright chartreuse, Berkly ribbon-tail was just what the fished ordered, as well as the 1 lb bass in the next photo! The pumpkinseed didn't mind the leader or lure color, nor did the small sunnie.

The week before my partner and I caught over 130 fish in the same lake and in water 5' or less around emerging vegetation! He stuck with his white curl tail grub, me with everything else. We both had a great time hooking fish after fish schooled in many spots and in particular a trophy 2.5' pickerel taken on 8 lb test braid and light action rod - my fishing award for the day!!!

Did I care that he wouldn't try some of my lures? Hey, whatever floats your boat. Mine isn't just simply catching fish on one lure - obviously.

[Hobious]

i lose my mind looking for baits.  or techniques.

sadly, i just recently found a killer bait.  3 tough trips out, i was the only one that got fish.  everyone skunked but me and my magic bait.  i hesitate to even say anything about it because it is always out of stock.  it is expensive.  makes a Senko look like a garage find.

i have a 1 against 1 contest coming up with a friend that lives in MN.  i bought $200 of those baits to kick his butt.  as a Californian, i think a Minnisodian will beat me silly.  but we are measuring the 3 longest fish.  i have a chance.

i am going in with my bait, "magic".

[SenkoSam]

Good luck!
Any lure that catches fish consistently I label magic. There are almost none that will ever disappear from my collection especially since I can make what I need.

[alvaro1]

For soft plastics, try different retrieval techniques, like steady retrieval or 'jigging' it, which can entice a variety of species. When it comes to keeping fish on small hooks, a solid hookset is key but it also helps to keep your line taut and to apply steady pressure during the fight.

[SenkoSam]

I never use a steady retrieve even for curl tail grubs or crankbaits. I do use a combination of rod tip/ reel handle-imparted changes in speed. The lure stays in one spot for a few seconds multiple times during the retrieve before moving a short distance. The nice thing about using light lures is the ability to do just that regardless of the type of lure.

The key to a solid hookset using small hooks is to not use a power hook set like I would with large hooks and heavier test line. Sometimes I turn the reel handle 1/4 turn, change rod tip angler and repeat. Fish panic and hook themselves much of the time. Of course, when using small hooks, a light action rod gets more hook sets than a medium action where fish use rod stiffness as leverage to get unhooked or not hooked at all.

[Wizard]

Senko, BUDDY! Ask me about grubs. I'm as grubby a guy as you'll find.
1) Always try the straight retrieve first. Simple and over a long period of testing, it will far exceed other retrieves.
2) Don't use the drag with small soft baits. Turn off the drag and fight the fish by hand. As Alvaro said, keep the line taut. Small hooks often are against a bass' jaw but didn't penetrate the jaw. Fighting a bass by hand allows you to land many of these poorly hooked fish.

Wizard

[SenkoSam]

I take off the anti-reverse and back-reel very large fish. Not sure what you mean by fighting fish by hand.
What soft plastics do you use a steady retrieve with? Certainly not straight tails. The definition of grub anymore is not only lures like a Mr Twister curl tail. I take it to mean all small soft plastics rigged on jigs.

[Hobious]

confused.  isnt that 100% the point?  finding a lure the bass will attack?

are we rating the violence of the bite?

[PapaMike]

After suffering many days of defeat at my local pond, I decided to pull out a Shad Rap. I haven't fished it since pre-Covid and forgot about the vicious strikes.

First cast this morning and three winds of the reel resulted in a solid, vicious strike. Felt too good to be true. Caught 4 total in 30 minutes.

[Oldfart9999]

I'm with Wizard, fish grub with a straight steady retrieve. When I rig a 4 or 6 inch Twister grub on a ball head jig I do it as straight as possible, it imparts a rocking motion which, IMHO, is the trigger, you can't get that jigging it up and down or twitching it side to side. Works great on smallmouth.
Rodney   

[PapaMike]

My favorite grub lure is used on the back of a Johnson Silver Minnow. Bass can't resist that wobble and wiggle.

[Oldfart9999]

Mine is to get back on the water, all these surgeries are putting the hurt on my fishing time.
Rodney

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[SenkoSam]

Good luck Rodney! Get out there!