Overcoming Confidence Baits

[-Joe-]

How does one overcome confidence baits and look at the bigger picture? I am a T-Rig worm chunker about 70% of the time and follow with spinner baits. I have tried other style baits including crank baits, swim baits, jigs, and even c-rig and wacky rig worms. After a few minutes of no success I find myself back to my old faithful. I will take these two favorites and adapt them to the style of fishing I need such as pitching to stumps and docks to slow low tip for deep and fast high tip for shallow. I have a whole arsonal of about all baits out there and know I can become a better fisherman by expanding my usage of these baits. How do you all put down your number one to throw something more suited for the situation?

-Joe-

[trackerpt175]

haha i was the same way. i was a die hard finesse fisherman.  honestly i tied on all new baits that i never used but i knew were producers and left my confidence baits at home.  one you start catching fish on the new baits then you start to figure out what baits work better where and when. then even with your old confidence baits in the boat you arent hesitant to fire out another bait when you feel its the right situation.  also if you do well on the new baits in a tournament its over your cured   

troy

[docav]

the fastest way to learn a new technique is leave everything else at the house. if you want to learn drop shot only take drop shot gear. you will only only have once choice to make so your forced to learn it. doug

[Hawgwild]

I have somewhat of the same problem..for me it's rattletraps and jigs......but have slowly started using other lures and gaining confidence in them...

I kinda watch, read, and listen what others are using and know they confidence in those lures, so since they produce for them they should produce for me if used properly...I use to rarely throw a spinner but have seen and read about their effectiveness on this forum..so by reading, watching, asking for tips, etc. I've gain allot of confidence in those lures and use it regularly now..

Lots of talk about swimbaits right now so started using them some in certain situations....just spent about an hour looking at different swimbait videos to understand how others are rigging and using them......

I'll go with my confidence baits but after a while if they don't produce then it's jsut time to try something else......

I'd just pick a lure and just give it some use and time...like I said if it producing for others it should produce for you....

[bass1cpr]

   Only taking one bait or one presentation and trying to force feed it to fish can be a very long and frustrating day.
   It's better to try new presentations when you know fish are biting. Put down your favorite because you already located fish and you know what depth they are at and you know they are pretty active. That's the time to pick up a new bait and presentation and start getting familiar with it. (No don't do this during a tournament) 
   It's easier to get familiar and gain a little confidence in yourself using a new presentation when fish are biting.
    frustration or    which one makes you happier. JMHO.

[-Shawn-]

Joe, I have to jump on the bandwagon of take one bait and learn how to use it.
I consider myself a pretty well rounded fisherman as far as knowing when to use a certain technique and how to use it effectively. My problem is with finesses techniqes. And it is not that I don't have confidence that it will catch fish. It is more that I don't have the patience.    Carolina rigging is the other techniqe that I just can't stand. I have caught lot's of fish doing it and haed every minute of it.   If I am fishing a tourney I will crig if I absolutly have to, But when I am funfishing I can not force myself to throw one, Even when I know it will put fish in the boat.   

[showy03]

I have attempted both suggestions on the table...Both work....BUT, both are equally bad!!! Here's what I do when I want to learn something new.
Let's say I'm going to be at a dock lake and I want to learn how to fish swimbaits and sencos....Normally, I'd have a med. running crankbait and a spot remover jig when faced with the same conditions. So, I'm going to carry all four with me. That's it!!!
I will spend a few hours (if needed) figuring out what the fish are doing and once I feel conifident I've located my fish than I put the 2 (normal) rods back in the box. You can't keep them on the deck or within reach, Because you'll continue to do what your doing right now. (I've done it myself)
Keep in mind it could take a few trips to the lake to really start getting confidence in anything new. But, once you get it you'll be surprised just how easy it is to adapt them to new areas and situations. BUT............Don't let them become your "NEW" confidence bait and forget to rig that worm when needed!!!  I've done that too!!!

[Dug]

I have attempted both suggestions on the table...Both work....BUT, both are equally bad!!! Here's what I do when I want to learn something new.
Let's say I'm going to be at a dock lake and I want to learn how to fish swimbaits and sencos....Normally, I'd have a med. running crankbait and a spot remover jig when faced with the same conditions. So, I'm going to carry all four with me. That's it!!!
I will spend a few hours (if needed) figuring out what the fish are doing and once I feel conifident I've located my fish than I put the 2 (normal) rods back in the box. You can't keep them on the deck or within reach, Because you'll continue to do what your doing right now. (I've done it myself)
Keep in mind it could take a few trips to the lake to really start getting confidence in anything new. But, once you get it you'll be surprised just how easy it is to adapt them to new areas and situations. BUT............Don't let them become your "NEW" confidence bait and forget to rig that worm when needed!!!  I've done that too!!!

I like this idea best and will try it.  Thanks!

Dug

[-Joe-]

Thanks for all the replies, really great answers, I especially like the last one about keeping my goto's on deck untill I feel confident I've devoloped a pattern. Then make the switch. I plan on fishing alot more touneys this year and really need to pick up my numbers. Time to try different and new techniques and baits.

Thanks,
-Joe-

[bass1cpr]

   Equally Bad

[-Joe-]

   Equally Bad

please enlighten me. Now I'm confused (not real hard to do)

-Joe-

[SlingBlades]

I come from the leave everything else at home school. You are going to fish, and if you want to, you'll throw what you have. At least leave the others in the rod box.

You know what the fish are doing, the depth, and that they will bite what you are trying if you have done some homework. Now you don't want to leave the house with only Hopkins spoons if the fish are spawning.      So, take what you are trying to master and give it your undivided attention. A couple bites will build your confience way up.

[WRBass]

One way is to fish with someone who is good with whatever presentation you want to develop. Lures are tools to catch fish and only certain types of lures can be fished properly under specific conditions. For example spinnerbaits can't be fished in heavy cover effectively, so you need to go to different lures like; frogs that work well on top of mats and small open pockets within mats.
Texas rigged worms or spinnerbaits don't work well when bass are active targeting faster moving bottom bouncing lures like crankbaits, or shad shooling bass targeting spoons or tail spinners.
My suggestion is get away from the bank and start fishing deeper structure where a wider variety of lures work well.
WRB

[-Joe-]

My suggestion is get away from the bank and start fishing deeper structure where a wider variety of lures work well.
WRB

WRB, That is exactly what alot of my problem is. I'm a bank beater. Never had much confidence in fishing deeper structure. It looks like my problem isn't just confidence baits but structure and location also.

Thanks,
-Joe-

[coldfront]

One way is to fish with someone who is good with whatever presentation you want to develop.

another great tip from WRB...

Joe, when I wanted to learn how to crankbait, I went out with a friend who's 'go to' technique is cranking.  I put him in the front of the boat and watched him, emulated him and tried to do the same things he did.  We kept up a running discussion about stuff like importance of angle, what he was actually trying to do underwater (not visible), when bites typically occurred...and what they'd feel like...

Watching another guy boating quality fish, tossing the same bait to the same areas...having him leave the occasional spot for me to work ...

Basically, a 'day in class' on the water.  I learned a lot just by watching...and trying a few things...

course, after a couple of hours, we switched to tossing frogs on weed mats, ... but that's another story for another time...

[Baron49]

As I progress down the road to understanding more and more about fishing there are two things that I take as personal challenges.  One is fishing brand new waters I have never seen before and finding and catching fish.  The second is learning new techniques of fishing.  For many years I was a die hard jig and worm fisherman and this hurt me in my early tournament years.  Now it is a challenge to catch fish on a new technique.

I would suggest when trying to learn and gain confidence in a new technique you go to a lake you know well and have a good idea where the fish are.  As you gain confidence in a new lure or technique you can increase your arsenal when on new waters.  I am not a spinning rod fan, but after learning dropshotting and then getting in to shakey head and wacky head fishing it is a rare day I go fishless even on waters I have never fished before.  All it takes is an open mind and a willingness to challenge yourself.

[Lipripper]

Joe as you know I'm just starting to fish for Bass and this year was the first time I went out looking for them and most of these bass lures are new to me. I do most of my fishing from the banks so the amount of tackle you can carry with you is limited. What I have done this year is pick one lure I want to learn how to use and read how otheres use it and then try it myself the same way. I would try diffrent ways untill I found the one that worked for me and after catch my first bass on it I would remember what I did to catch it and try to repeat the process again. After catching Bass with that bait concestently I would then move on to another bait I wanted to learn. I got good with them sekno worms and dropping them down through the slop close to the shore so I would always carry a wrom rod and some senkos with me. I set goals and would keep trying the next lure till I started catching Bass on that one also. I started with a vibershock and then moved on to a Spro frog after that. i'm still not a pro with it yet but can catch a Bass on it if I remember to leave some slack in the line when I pause it  next year I'm going to move on to a diffrent lure unless I see a spot that is just crying out FROG  I guess then my answer would be like the others start a new one and stick with it  but carry at least one of your go to baits along to just in case 

[coldfront]

.. next year I'm going to move on to a diffrent lure unless I see a spot that is just crying out FROG ...

Lip, they ALL cry out for FROG!   

[Lipripper]

Lip, they ALL cry out for FROG!   

coldfront eye'm Confident that if eye throw my Spro Frog or my senko in that stuff behind me enough time eye will catch a Bass 


but next year I'm going to try a diffrent lure in there that I havn't used yet like a rodent or a Ribbit type frog and will keep on throwing it every time till I catcha Bass on them 

[-Shawn-]

Lip, I hope you are talking about a rubber rodent!! I don't want to see that thread again. 

[bass1cpr]

   Joe that was suppose to be (Equally Bad ?) in referance to the opening line of another post, then explaining about put down your favorite and pick up something new when you have the fish located and know where they are.

   Any way that was my take on it.

   The only bad idea is not trying anything new at all. JMHO
WRB made the suggestion of going out with someone that is already familiar with the new presentation your trying to learn which is also a good suggestion if that opertunity exists for the person wanting to learn it.

[WRBass]

There is nothing wrong with becoming profiecent with one or two lures, we have have our confidence lures.
Bass use the entire water column depending on the seasonal periods; top, middle and bottom. You should learn presentations that allow you to fish all three zones, with lures that mimic the prey the bass are looking for, where the bass are feeding.
Using your confidence lure in the wrong place, at the wrong time and you end up catching nothing. Right place, right time and you are catching bass and feeling great.
Spinnerbaits and Texas rigged worms don't work well as top water lures. Buzzers, spooks, poppers, chuggers, weedless spoons, frogs, trick worms, prop baits all work good. Mid water range; the spinnerbait works, so does soft and hard jerk baits, swimbaits, inline spinners, underspins, tail spins, crankbaits, swimming spoons, speed worms. The bottom zone, the Texas rigged worm is a good choice. So are other soft plastic creatures and worm presentations; Senko's, drop shot, Carolina, Florida, split shot, wacky, nail weight, doodling, shaking, shaky head, slider head, sled head, spider and jig n pig. Structure spoons and ice jigs for example are good in deeper clear water reservoirs during the cold water period, fished from a boat.
The are lots of choices to make, depending on where and how you bass fish. If you own a bass boat and have invested in good electronics; then invest in learning to fish the entire water column on lake you fish. If you are a bank walker, your choices are limited. Selecting lures and presentations that work best for the seasonal period, cover and structure you are fishing, is the key to becoming consistently good at catching bass. We all have choices to make and presentations to learn, that is what makes our sport so interesting.
WRB

[skeeter944]

Everyone is different though, take Edwin Evers for example. He fishes a large variety of different baits depending on conditions, yet he isnt a master of many if any of them. But then you have Denny Brauer and we all know he throws a jig more often than not. IMO its important to be versatile and know how to fish abunch of different lures depending on conditions, but also to have a few techniques that you KNOW inside and out, that you can rely on. Just my >02cents

[coldfront]

Everyone is different though, take Edwin Evers for example. He fishes a large variety of different baits depending on conditions, yet he isnt a master of many if any of them. But then you have Denny Brauer and we all know he throws a jig more often than not. IMO its important to be versatile and know how to fish abunch of different lures depending on conditions, but also to have a few techniques that you KNOW inside and out, that you can rely on. Just my >02cents

Denny throws that jig more often than not because he knows it gives him his best chance of winning and/or placing.   Something about getting 5 'better' bites...

Evers?  Master of none?  Seems he just goes around giving the fish what they want.  Not force feeding them...Eddie's a pretty smart guy in my book...

Course, all those guys are a heck of a lot smarter than I am...   otherwise, I'd be fishing and they'd be typing...