# Popular Lures you've Never Caught a Bass On



## Fletch_W (Apr 21, 2015)

I've never caught a bass on a jig n pig. 

I've never caught a bass on a spinner bait.


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## crokseti (Apr 21, 2015)

B.b.boom ?


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## The mtn man (Apr 21, 2015)

Ov never caught one on a jig and pig either, I bought some banjo minnows once, they produced a big fat goose egg.


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## rhbama3 (Apr 21, 2015)

Hula popper comes to mind.


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## Hankus (Apr 21, 2015)

hula popper

jitterbug

bass size tube baits

double buzzer buzz baits

swimbait


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## owl (Apr 21, 2015)

this cant be beat and I hate to admit it a Rattle Trap


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## Hankus (Apr 21, 2015)

Rattle trap

helicopter lure

banjo minner

chatter bait

soft plastic crawfish


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## KKrueger (Apr 21, 2015)

Owl beat me to it. RATTLETRAP


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## NCummins (Apr 22, 2015)

Alabama Rig for me.


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## Coenen (Apr 22, 2015)

A safety-pin style spinnerbait.

I've got a box full of them too, I just hardly have any confidence in them anymore.


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## Tmpr111 (Apr 22, 2015)

It's a fluke, but a fluke ��... Well a weightless style fluke.


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## mtr3333 (Apr 22, 2015)

Snag hook rig for me. Never got a bite.


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## StriperrHunterr (Apr 22, 2015)

Ironically, a carolina rig with soft plastic.


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## NCHillbilly (Apr 22, 2015)

I've never caught a bass on a hula popper or a Zara Spook. Or a buzzbait. Not from lack of throwing them, either. I have caught bream on all of the above, though. 

Weird jitterbug experience: I used to like throwing a big black musky-sized Jitterbug at night in a local small lake that had some big largemouth in it, and would catch a nice one occasionally like that. One night when it was pitch-black, I tossed my JB alongside a concrete wall and started retrieving it. I couldn't see it, but I could hear it going "gurgleblub-gurgleblub-gurgleblub-blub-blub." All of a sudden, it sounded like somebody dropped a cow into the water from a cliff, and my pole was about yanked out of my hands. I fought the fish for about ten minutes, and it was pulling drag and wallering me around, and I was about to overdose on adreneline. I thought I had the next world record on the line, because I had never felt a bass fight like that, and I could tell it was really heavy. I finally got it up close and flipped on my headlamp. It was a 25-lbish. carp. I would never have thought about a carp hitting a giant topwater plug.

One weird unpopular lure that I used to catch a lot of bass on, but never saw anybody else use was the old Bill Dance's Dancin' Eel. I had a great big one that I named "Eelvis." My buddy used to make all kinds of fun of me for fishing with it, but it always caught fish. I finally lost it when a nice bass wrapped my line around an underwater tree limb and broke me off. I miss Eelvis.


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## pnome (Apr 22, 2015)

Zoom super fluke. 

You guys all swore by em, so I bought a whole bunch.    And it's not for lack of trying!


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## jzFish (Apr 22, 2015)

Alabama rig.


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## NCHillbilly (Apr 22, 2015)

pnome said:


> Zoom super fluke.
> 
> You guys all swore by em, so I bought a whole bunch.    And it's not for lack of trying!



That's strange-I've caught tons of bass on flukes, and I don't even bass fish much, and pretty much suck at it. That's one of the few lures that I can usually always catch a bass on. But then again, I have caught very, very few on big white spinnerbaits; which seem to be most folks go-to lure.


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## StriperrHunterr (Apr 22, 2015)

pnome said:


> Zoom super fluke.
> 
> You guys all swore by em, so I bought a whole bunch.    And it's not for lack of trying!



Give it a few weeks. The spots up shallow on rocky, and timber rich, banks won't be able to lay off them. 

The best two tactics I've used, at least for green fish with them, is to work them either dead slow, or burn them in like a spook.


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## StriperrHunterr (Apr 22, 2015)

NCHillbilly said:


> I've never caught a bass on a hula popper or a Zara Spook. Or a buzzbait. Not from lack of throwing them, either. I have caught bream on all of the above, though.
> 
> Weird jitterbug experience: I used to like throwing a big black musky-sized Jitterbug at night in a local small lake that had some big largemouth in it, and would catch a nice one occasionally like that. One night when it was pitch-black, I tossed my JB alongside a concrete wall and started retrieving it. I couldn't see it, but I could hear it going "gurgleblub-gurgleblub-gurgleblub-blub-blub." All of a sudden, it sounded like somebody dropped a cow into the water from a cliff, and my pole was about yanked out of my hands. I fought the fish for about ten minutes, and it was pulling drag and wallering me around, and I was about to overdose on adreneline. I thought I had the next world record on the line, because I had never felt a bass fight like that, and I could tell it was really heavy. I finally got it up close and flipped on my headlamp. It was a 25-lbish. carp. I would never have thought about a carp hitting a giant topwater plug.
> 
> One weird unpopular lure that I used to catch a lot of bass on, but never saw anybody else use was the old Bill Dance's Dancin' Eel. I had a great big one that I named "Eelvis." My buddy used to make all kinds of fun of me for fishing with it, but it always caught fish. I finally lost it when a nice bass wrapped my line around an underwater tree limb and broke me off. I miss Eelvis.



I had one of those eels and had the same luck. It must have been because no one else was using them, I guess.


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## thedudeabides (Apr 22, 2015)

Never got one on a jig and pig


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## Trapnfish (Apr 22, 2015)

I have never caught a bass on a jig or a bb boom that could be because I've never tried it also.


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## MariettaNole (Apr 22, 2015)

Chatterbait.  Hope to fix that Friday.


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## mudracing101 (Apr 22, 2015)

I have caught so many bass on a chrome rattletrap that there is no paint left on it. Jig and pig here, never even a bump.


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## WPrich (Apr 22, 2015)

Fluke, spinnerbait, and buzz bait and I've tried them and they just don't produce for me.


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## StriperrHunterr (Apr 22, 2015)

MariettaNole said:


> Chatterbait.  Hope to fix that Friday.



I love chatterbaits. They can be worked so slow and maintain a shallow depth that they are deadly in skinny water when the fish aren't on the beds.


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## brunofishing (Apr 22, 2015)

cigarette but!!


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## tlee22 (Apr 22, 2015)

I have never caught a bass on a jerk bait.  90% of my bass have came off baby bass flukes, spinner baits or trick worms.


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## burtontrout (Apr 22, 2015)

I would have to say I have caught fish on a helicopter lure and the banjo minnow , but never on a drop shot with a finesse worm. I know people swear by this but it is not a fun way to fish.


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## JonathanG2013 (Apr 22, 2015)

Spinner Bait ( I have off of a buzz bait)

Jig and Pig

Zara Spook


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## Micropterus Salmoides (Apr 22, 2015)

*Budweiser Fishing Lure*

Budweiser Fishing Lure

Heddon. Big Bud's. The Heddon 9410 bait is a replica of a Budweiser beer can. Jack Davis was the original designer of the Big Bud which first appeared in the 1975. I still have this lure today in my "Save Tackle Room."


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## jcarleto (Apr 22, 2015)

Spinner baits and jitterbugs worked great in the South Florida glades.  Nada here in NW Georgia.  Also, never caught anything, anywhere on a rattletrap.


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## WPrich (Apr 22, 2015)

jcarleto said:


> Spinner baits and jitterbugs worked great in the South Florida glades.  Nada here in NW Georgia.  Also, never caught anything, anywhere on a rattletrap.



I've had more luck with stripers/white bass than I have with largemouth/spots when it comes to rattletraps.


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## ChadF821 (Apr 22, 2015)

Spinner bait.


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## DAWGFISH66 (Apr 22, 2015)

Rapala's DT 10.....it's a great looking crank bait (caught me cause I've got 10 to 15 of them), but they absolutely don't work for me!!!


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## Fletch_W (Apr 22, 2015)

tlee22 said:


> I have never caught a bass on a jerk bait.  90% of my bass have came off baby bass flukes, spinner baits or trick worms.




Isn't a Fluke a type of jerk bait?


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## gsp754 (Apr 22, 2015)

Bb boom!


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## Darkhorse (Apr 22, 2015)

I think it's  mostly a matter of time and place for some of these baits.
Take plastic crawfish for instance. I saw Bill Dance catching bass on a Yum Craw. These  were 3/8 oz with a weedless hook. So I bought some, got one bite and quit using them for several years. Last year I caught a couple of bass on them and this spring I've lost all the originals and am now using the Yum Craw bought at Walmart rigged with a weighted swim hook or texas. I've caught a bunch of fish this spring on this bait. I guess you need to fish a craw when the craws are out.
Another bait is a goldish colored craw pattern rapala with a red eye. I've had this bait longer than I can remember with not a bite. One August a few years ago I couldn't buy a bite and tied on this Rapala out of desperation. That day I caught several good fish. About a week later I caught one about 5, then weighed a 7.5, then caught and weighed a 9. All this on a bait I'd never gotten a bite on.
But get this, the next year I didn't get one single strike on this lure. So far, the same for this year.
I mainly fish a large family pond and I know it pretty good after all these years. If they don't want something today then they won't bite it. Period. But tomorrow, maybe.
I resisted Wacky and Dropshot but now keep rods rigged for both. Some days the Wacky will get them when nothing else will. Some days they won't bite it at all.
Wish I could read their fishy little minds.


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## g0nef1sshn (Apr 22, 2015)

Man, Ive slayed bass with banjo minnows in Fl and IL, But not so much on chutter bugs and jig'n pigs. Spooks always produced too.


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## Tarpfisher (Apr 23, 2015)

a-rig...


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## Coenen (Apr 23, 2015)

brunofishing said:


> cigarette but!!


Challenge accepted.


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## StriperrHunterr (Apr 23, 2015)

Fletch_W said:


> Isn't a Fluke a type of jerk bait?



I've heard it called "twitch" bait before, but I'm not sure of the difference between a twitch and a jerk, relative to a lure.


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## ryanh487 (Apr 23, 2015)

I've never caught a bass on a spinner bait, buzz bait, ratt-l-trap, jig-n-pig, crank bait, plastic worm, hula popper, propeller bait, frog bait...

Heck the list of things I HAVE caught bass on will be shorter:

-Super fluke (my go-to now)
-banjo minnow (they always tore them up, but they were a one-time use lure with that special screw-in bit--super flukes work the same and cost WAY LESS)
-Live shiners
-Nightcrawlers
-Crickets
-Rooster tail


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## brunofishing (Apr 23, 2015)

Coenen said:


> Challenge accepted.



Must have pics!


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## spud (Apr 23, 2015)

Guys, I can not believe so many have said pig & jig. That is my go to bait, period!


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## bvi (Apr 23, 2015)

If talking strictly about Lanier, Carters, Rabun type lakes (farm pond LM bass fishing is completely different thing):
I never caught a bass on

1. Buzzbait
2. Lipless cranks
3. Blade baits
4. Spybaiting type baits (spinbait)

It is not easy to catch on those baits
spinnerbaits
crankbaits
chatterbaits


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## SkeeterZX225 (Apr 23, 2015)

Any crank bait that dives more than 10 ft
A rig
senko -- usually throw a trick work in a situation where I should probably throw a senko
swimbait


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## Wcgreen20 (Apr 23, 2015)

Jig and pig and a-rig. All the pros on tv seem to use them but I've never had any luck. I feel like Mine are always too heavy or maybe wrong trailer. You just drag em and pop em a little right?


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## brunofishing (Apr 23, 2015)

Wcgreen20 said:


> Jig and pig and a-rig. All the pros on tv seem to use them but I've never had any luck. I feel like Mine are always too heavy or maybe wrong trailer. You just drag em and pop em a little right?



swim it, drag it, pop it, jig it, burn it, rip it.


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## Tarpfisher (Apr 23, 2015)

spud said:


> Guys, I can not believe so many have said pig & jig. That is my go to bait, period!



+1


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## tbrown913 (Apr 23, 2015)

jig and pig. tore em up on a texas rigged worm, but no bites on a jig in the same pond.  Never caught one on a spoon either, but cant say i have used one more than about 20 casts.


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## ghadarits (Apr 23, 2015)

Dang I've caught fish on every bait mentioned except the cig butt, beer can lure and the as seen on TV lures the banjo and helicopter.

Pig and jig, jerk bait, spinnerbait, crankbait, chatter bait, buzz bait, popRs, hula poppers, texas rig, Carolina rig, trick worms, flukes and senkos are all fish slaying baits in my boat at sometime or another.


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## needmotime2fish (Apr 24, 2015)

NCHillbilly said:


> Weird jitterbug experience: I used to like throwing a big black musky-sized Jitterbug at night in a local small lake that had some big largemouth in it, and would catch a nice one occasionally like that. One night when it was pitch-black, I tossed my JB alongside a concrete wall and started retrieving it. I couldn't see it, but I could hear it going "gurgleblub-gurgleblub-gurgleblub-blub-blub." All of a sudden, it sounded like somebody dropped a cow into the water from a cliff, and my pole was about yanked out of my hands. I fought the fish for about ten minutes, and it was pulling drag and wallering me around, and I was about to overdose on adreneline. I thought I had the next world record on the line, because I had never felt a bass fight like that, and I could tell it was really heavy. I finally got it up close and flipped on my headlamp. It was a 25-lbish. carp. I would never have thought about a carp hitting a giant topwater plug.



Sounds as if I've been doing this carp fishing thing all wrong.    
Instead of all that prepared carp bait, I should'a been using a Musky Jitterbug .


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## GeorgiaSwimbait (Apr 24, 2015)

If anyone needs to get a bite on a swimbait hit me up. I'll get that off your list haha.


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## NCHillbilly (Apr 24, 2015)

needmotime2fish said:


> Sounds as if I've been doing this carp fishing thing all wrong.
> Instead of all that prepared carp bait, I should'a been using a Musky Jitterbug .



Well, I've probably caught a thousand carp in my life, but that's the only one I ever caught on a Jitterbug.


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## warronl (Apr 24, 2015)

Rat-L-Trap

Alabama Rig

Jitterbug (My Dad could catch a fish on a Jitterbug out of the bathtub)


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## Fletch_W (Apr 26, 2015)

When I was growing up, next door neighbor had about a 1acre pond stocked with bass. I used it as my personal bass aquarium to test out different lures. 

The previous poster mentioning he had wore out bass with a plastic worm where they wouldn't touch a jig-n-pig, I've had the same experience.


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## TMeadows45 (Apr 27, 2015)

alabama rig, hate that thing!


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## EverGreen1231 (Apr 27, 2015)

Helicopter lure. It's bizarre...Rowland made it look so deadly, and we all know that tv lures can't be gimmicks...


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## Okiefenokee (Apr 28, 2015)

Lol what kind of swimbaits?


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## Bambi (Apr 28, 2015)

One of them long snake things that are supposed to catch big o bass


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## BCPbuckhunter (Apr 28, 2015)

That big giant 4 foot long jelly worm.


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## nathancombs (Apr 28, 2015)

Storm Bait


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## doomtrpr_z71 (Apr 28, 2015)

Drop shot, shakey head, and Alabama rig


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## BeerThirty (Apr 28, 2015)

Crankbait, Rat-L-Trap, or Jerkbait.  

I'm stubborn, so I've always felt like throwing a crankbait is too passive, and I just don't have the skill or patience to properly fish a jerkbait.  Of course, I'm sure I just need to learn how to fish these lures and it will change my mind...


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## Mr Warren (Apr 29, 2015)

A bait I haven't seen mentioned here is the Johnson silver minnow. I have heard a lot of people say they have never caught a fish on one of them - but it is one of my very favorite lures for fishing big pad beds on the surface with a white or red & white pork trailer. Keep the rod tip high & reel fast & stop at all the little openings & let it drop. Deadly if you do it right!!!


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## WPrich (Apr 29, 2015)

Mr Warren said:


> A bait I haven't seen mentioned here is the Johnson silver minnow. I have heard a lot of people say they have never caught a fish on one of them - but it is one of my very favorite lures for fishing big pad beds on the surface with a white or red & white pork trailer. Keep the rod tip high & reel fast & stop at all the little openings & let it drop. Deadly if you do it right!!!



I've been using it off and on for over a year trying to get bass and pickerel with no success but I finally got a bass on it Monday using the small 1/8th tipped with a white grub caught a largemouth and a huge warmouth on it.


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## StriperrHunterr (Apr 29, 2015)

Mr Warren said:


> A bait I haven't seen mentioned here is the Johnson silver minnow. I have heard a lot of people say they have never caught a fish on one of them - but it is one of my very favorite lures for fishing big pad beds on the surface with a white or red & white pork trailer. Keep the rod tip high & reel fast & stop at all the little openings & let it drop. Deadly if you do it right!!!



I just use a weightless Texas rigged worm, or lizard, or fluke in those situations. It will sit on top of more sparse cover than will the heavier spoon, and that allows me to leave it there, twitch it every few seconds and then drag it into the hole. 

I've encountered mean fish before, but nothing like those I do that to. They hate, HATE, *HATE* that bait by the time it drops into that hole.


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## Mr Warren (Apr 29, 2015)

StripeRR HunteRR said:


> I just use a weightless Texas rigged worm, or lizard, or fluke in those situations. It will sit on top of more sparse cover than will the heavier spoon, and that allows me to leave it there, twitch it every few seconds and then drag it into the hole.
> 
> I've encountered mean fish before, but nothing like those I do that to. They hate, HATE, *HATE* that bait by the time it drops into that hole.


   Good stuff there Striper Hunter - Ive done that too - but I use the spoon because it is a good search tool and it lets me know in a hurry if the bass are up shallow. I throw the spoon right up against the shore in the thickest pads and as you said -they just blast it once they decide maybe it's a frog. The only other lure Iv'e had em hit that hard  & try to destroy is a Spook.


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## Lukikus2 (Apr 29, 2015)

The Dancin' Eel! I threw it a bunch too! Must only work up north? Lol

I caught a spot on one of these Hi Tails one day though. It was a white one. My Dad wouldn't let me change baits until I figured out how to catch fish on the one I was using. I was six years old and had fished with the grownups for three solid days and watched them catch fish all day. I went down to the dock and the dumbest fish in the lake latched onto my whale tail and I landed it and have never thrown another one again.
Outdoorlife agrees. Lol


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## Arrow3 (Apr 30, 2015)

Absolutely despise a rattle trap. I've caught a few on a jig but it's not a high confidence bait for me.


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## Tmpr111 (Apr 30, 2015)

Arrow3 said:


> Absolutely despise a rattle trap. I've caught a few on a jig but it's not a high confidence bait for me.



The red-eye shad will catch em in the fall / winter like no other. I used to feel the same way, until I found a school in a local pond.  Caught 5-6 quickly.... One of my top three.


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## Barfolomew (Apr 30, 2015)

Rattle trap
Buzz Bait
Spinner Bait
Any type of spoon


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## pnome (Jun 8, 2015)

NCHillbilly said:


> That's strange-I've caught tons of bass on flukes, and I don't even bass fish much, and pretty much suck at it. That's one of the few lures that I can usually always catch a bass on. But then again, I have caught very, very few on big white spinnerbaits; which seem to be most folks go-to lure.





StripeRR HunteRR said:


> Give it a few weeks. The spots up shallow on rocky, and timber rich, banks won't be able to lay off them.
> 
> The best two tactics I've used, at least for green fish with them, is to work them either dead slow, or burn them in like a spook.




Finally caught something with the zoom super fluke!

Caught a Red Drum and a Spotted Sea Trout yesterday on one doing some yak fishing in Jacksonville FL.  Not freshwater, but it still counts.


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## StriperrHunterr (Jun 8, 2015)

pnome said:


> Finally caught something with the zoom super fluke!
> 
> Caught a Red Drum and a Spotted Sea Trout yesterday on one doing some yak fishing in Jacksonville FL.  Not freshwater, but it still counts.



Awesome. Congrats.


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## glynr329 (Jun 9, 2015)

How many lures do you carry around and never caught a fish? I know how many I have and wonder why do I keep doing this. If I threw away all the ones I never caught a fish on I could probably carry the rest in my pocket.


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## brunofishing (Jun 9, 2015)

brunofishing said:


> Must have pics!



Any luck?


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## brunofishing (Jun 9, 2015)

Coenen


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## chambers270 (Jun 9, 2015)

It is neat to see the differences on here. I have had some of my all time best days fishing with flukes. Have done really well with chatterbaits also. In my life of bass fishing about 17 years I have caught one on a jig. 

But I have never caught bass on a hula popper, jitter bug or rattletrap.


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## StriperrHunterr (Jun 9, 2015)

chambers270 said:


> It is neat to see the differences on here. I have had some of my all time best days fishing with flukes. Have done really well with chatterbaits also. In my life of bass fishing about 17 years I have caught one on a jig.
> 
> But I have never caught bass on a hula popper, jitter bug or rattletrap.



I got my first spot on my new boat on a rattle trap in late November. I had found a deeper hole in an otherwise pretty flat bay, and was working it like a spoon. Cast and let it fall to the bottom, then raise the rod tip to jig it up and then let it flutter back. Even in the cooler water it hit like a Mack truck.


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## cmfireman (Jun 9, 2015)

I've caught em' on almost every bait mentioned here but a jig.

I've read the articles on how to work one and seen the pros catch monster fish and I've never even detected a bite! 

I actually kept one tied on for an entire day and said I wouldn't swap bait until I caught a fish on it. Never swapped baits that day.

My go to is a spook or a wacky rigged Senko.


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## riverbank (Jun 9, 2015)

Never on a spinnerbait. Love a fluke. That's my go to as well


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## EverGreen1231 (Jun 9, 2015)

I fished a helicopter lure for about 5 minutes one time. It looked ridiculous and I didn't catch anything. That being said, the biggest bass I've caught to date came off of a Banjo Minnow: I'm sad they don't make them anymore. My hypothesis is that you have to be a Banjo player to work 'em right.


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## StriperrHunterr (Jun 9, 2015)

EverGreen1231 said:


> I fished a helicopter lure for about 5 minutes one time. It looked ridiculous and I didn't catch anything. That being said, the biggest bass I've caught to date came off of a Banjo Minnow: I'm sad they don't make them anymore.



I don't believe it sometimes myself, but one of the only trout I've ever caught came on a helicopter lure on a river in NC. 

A friend of mine had it and I just threw it out there to goof off.


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## EverGreen1231 (Jun 9, 2015)

StripeRR HunteRR said:


> I don't believe it sometimes myself, but one of the only trout I've ever caught came on a helicopter lure on a river in NC.
> 
> A friend of mine had it and I just threw it out there to goof off.



 I hope a fly fisherman was watching. That'd be hysterical.

My Grandfather gave them to me along with the VHS on how to fish them. I was too young to go fishing myself then or I'd have used them a lot more. Now, I really don't fish anything else outside worms, spooks, and various flys.


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## swampstalker24 (Jun 9, 2015)

brunofishing said:


> cigarette but!!



Now heres a funny story,

Was fishing one of my honey holes on briar creek one day and couldn't buy a bite....

Back then I smoked on occasion and as I was finishing my marbo light, I flicked it into the creek (I know, nobody likes a litter bug, but I was yound and didnt care back then, picked up my fair share since then)....  bout two seconds after it hit the water and started floating down stream a big ol blue gill hammerd it but didn't eat it.... half a second later it was hammered again...

Well thats all the convincing I needed so I quickly smoked another and put the butt on my hook.....

Tossed it in weightless and just let it float, and sure enough had a hand sized bluegill on the bank within 5 seconds...  

Not sure if them fish were just nicotine addicted or had been feeding on something that looked similar to cig butts


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## brunofishing (Jun 9, 2015)

swampstalker24 said:


> Now heres a funny story,
> 
> Was fishing one of my honey holes on briar creek one day and couldn't buy a bite....
> 
> ...



That is a good one!!


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## Randy (Jun 9, 2015)

I have never caught a bass on a big swim bait.


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## rigderunner (Jun 9, 2015)

I know most of yall will question this but ive fished gary yamamoto senkos in every color and every way to throw them and ive never even got a smell they just dont produce for me.


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## EverGreen1231 (Jun 10, 2015)

rigderunner said:


> I know most of yall will question this but ive fished gary yamamoto senkos in every color and every way to throw them and ive never even got a smell they just dont produce for me.



Some can catch fish on lures I've never gotten to produce very well, while I can catch fish on something others seldom throw for lack of ever having caught much. I'm convinced there's some kind of "magic" in a fishing lure when coupled with a specific fisherman. I don't talk about it too much...people give me strange looks.


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## needmotime2fish (Jun 10, 2015)

swampstalker24 said:


> Now heres a funny story,
> 
> Was fishing one of my honey holes on briar creek one day and couldn't buy a bite....
> 
> ...



WAY too many years ago to mention, I was fishing for trout in a lake in PA, and not catching anything.  Finally caught one skinny little runt of a rainbow, so I gutted him to see what he'd been eating.  I discovered that the reason he was so skinny was that he had a cigarette filter in his stomach -- no room for other food.  He'd probably have starved if I hadn't caught & killed him.  Before you ask, NO, I didn't try to "match the hatch" by baiting up with a cigarette filter.


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## Self! (Jun 10, 2015)

Randy said:


> I have never caught a bass on a big swim bait.



Define big. I got some nice ones on a Mike Buca ******ad.
I would not even try those being thrown in California.

My never caught a fish on...Sammy


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## Hooked On Quack (Jun 10, 2015)

EverGreen1231 said:


> Some can catch fish on lures I've never gotten to produce very well, while I can catch fish on something others seldom throw for lack of ever having caught much. I'm convinced there's some kind of "magic" in a fishing lure when coupled with a specific fisherman. I don't talk about it too much...people give me strange looks.





That "magic" you refer to is confidence in that lure !!


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## Scout'nStripers (Jun 11, 2015)

Hooked On Quack said:


> That "magic" you refer to is confidence in that lure !!


Yes, I agree, it's confidence. I watched a video from KVD some years back and he talked about confidence in a bait and his techniques for trying a new bait. It convinced me to change the way I try new tackle. Granted, I make  my own tackle and I have the time to test it, but when I am testing a new bait I like to give it the time required for a thorough try. This requires different presentations under different condition during different seasons. Sometimes a bait may work in the summer months but not in the winter. Colors and size are very important when it comes to different seasons and there are some colors and sizes that will only work under certain conditions.

I'll tell you guys, I'm always optimistic with a new bait and I like to visualize when I'm fishing. I think one of the biggest problems folks have with certain baits is not giving it the time it required for a good try. I think a lot of folks try a bait and if it doesn't give the required result, it goes in the box and then it's on to the next bait. Another problem I see is folks that "go with what they know" and that makes them a one dimensional fisherman. 

I fish with a guy who likes to work the worm. He'll try other baits for a few minutes, but he always goes back to the worm. At the same time, I'll be pulling them in on a  crankbait left and right. He'll try a crankbait but I can tell that his confidence is not there and he's not comfortable until he has that worm back in the water. 

Unfortunately a lot of fishermen only have a day or two to fish during a weeks time and there's not a lot of time to try new things when you can go with what you know.


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## EverGreen1231 (Jun 11, 2015)

Hooked On Quack said:


> That "magic" you refer to is confidence in that lure !!



This is the part where I express my descent from that thought and folks give the cross-looks. 

Every lure I've ever fished was, at one time, new, and I had no confidence in it past what might have been seen on "The Fishing Hole." There're some lures that have always produced for me, and others that never really have, irrespective of the level of confidence I had. This is for no particular reason I can see other than some unknown variable that I have yet been able to solve for: magic.


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## habersham hammer (Jun 11, 2015)

*the legendary Dance's eel*

It worked for Bill


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## Coenen (Jun 11, 2015)

brunofishing said:


> Coenen


I haven't taken my crack at it yet.  There's been some proof of concept in here though.  I'll get there!


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## blink (Jun 11, 2015)

I have never caught a bass on a carolina rig.
I have never caught a bass on a drop shot.
I have never caught a bass on a suspending jerkbait.
I have never tried any of the "As seen on TV" baits. 

I have on pretty much everything else. Every topwater i can think of, shakyheads with worms of diff types, creatures and craws, senkos rigged every which way, cranks of all types and depths including rattletrap type baits, jigs flipping and finesse, spinnerbaits (my go-to bait starting when i was 7 years old), chatterbaits, flukes rigged weightless, on jigheads, belly hooks, etc., alabama rig, large and small hard and soft swimbaits.


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## FishingAddict (Jun 11, 2015)

brunofishing said:


> cigarette but!!



Put a hook on it and cast with a fly rod, it would probably do pretty well when they are feeding on fry.


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## FishingAddict (Jun 11, 2015)

Some of these lures that no one has had luck on really depend on the conditions on how well they work.

For example- rattle trap. There are days that fish will run AWAY from them. You'll know pretty quickly if the rattle trap bite is on.

Other days, it's your ticket. One day I was fishing a jerk bait and jig and pig around Lake Weiss, and hadn't gotten a bite in 20 minutes. On one particular cast, I worked my jerk bait past the area I wanted to fish it, and then reeled it in fast to get another cast- and a fish grabbed it.  

I started to think to my self: Maybe they need something to fire them up to bite. So I moved over to the side of the lake and tied a rattle trap on. Cast it out with out moving, and got another fish. I stayed in the EXACT same area and got a bite or a nice fish (smallest 2 pounds) on nearly EVERY cast for the next two hours. Best five were each at the five pound mark, and I never moved the boat. I tried a couple other lures as an experiment, and they wouldn't eat- just a rattle trap ripped in. 

I do best on Jig and pigs either pitching them in a bunch of trees/dock and letting it fall (have to pay attention to subtle bites, then twitch a couple times on the bottom), or twitching them ever so slowly over rocks. My biggest spot every came this way over rocks (6 pounds in a river). 

Flukes are great baits, and it's the only thing I can outfish friends in the same boat while they use live bait. Sometimes 5 to 1. The key is technique and the tackle you use. 

Anyhow, moral of the story is- if it's not working the first time, try different techniques and different places to use the bait. Think like a fish. 

Oh, and there was something I never had much luck on- a tube bait.  But I gave up on it too early.


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## grunt0331 (Jun 11, 2015)

I've never caught a fish on a crankbait, but not for lack of trying.

Spinnerbaits and soft plastics are my go to lures.  A black or dark purple lizard and a weigtless green pumpkin trick worm.  I also like the weighted shank hooks for these.

I've got a lot that I've only caught 1 fish on like a buzzbait or jitterbug.


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## DeepweR (Jun 11, 2015)

This is the funniest Thread I've ever read, I don't go fishn' without a :
Jig (net boy baits)
Spinnerbait (mini me, war eagle)
Jerk bait (megabass)
Ole Monster (zoom)
Crank bait (spro little john sq bill, rapala dt10, strike king 5,6,8,10XD)
As for a lure I've never caught a fish on, Drop shot, cause it ain't my style, but I plan on trying it next time I hit the water


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## Wheeler2 (Jun 11, 2015)

The fluke was a surprise. Caught more fish on a fluke than any other bait. Rattletrap is a skunk for me. Never even gotten a bite with a rattle trap.


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## Backlasher82 (Jun 11, 2015)

Never caught a fish on a spoon.


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## hoythunter1861 (Jun 11, 2015)

Chatterbait, Swim bait, and Alabama Rig


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## 61BelAir (Feb 20, 2017)

Chatterbait, spoon, AL rig, drop shot, jig and pig, and a baby brush hog.  I haven't really used the AL rig or spoon, but I've spent a few trips using just a chatterbait or just a jig and skunked out.  I used both around a lot of cover where I usually get good bites and they never got me hung up so at least that is good.  I like fishing soft plastics and the brush hog looks like a killer.  I have thrown it hundreds of times and never had a bite.  I just don't understand how that can be?

Another one I should mention is a jerk bait.  I have caught bass on a jerk bait, but not using it as intended with the twitch/jerk and wait motion.  I've only caught on them with a steady slow retrieve.  

Up until this year I'd never caught a bass on a spinner bait (although buzz baits worked) and lately I've done okay with them.  

I haven't caught one on a cigarette butt, although I did tear off the corner of my shirt and catch a few more bass one day years ago when they were biting good and I lost the only rubber worm I had carried to the pond.


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## joepuppy (Feb 20, 2017)

Buzz bait or pig n jig. Caught my first bass on a small jitterbug when I was 8, and it has struck out ever since.


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## cableguychris (Feb 20, 2017)

deep running crank baits


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## toyota4x4h (Feb 20, 2017)

Only thing in the box I havnt at some point caught a fish on is the arig. Ive had a few hit it im guessing hitting the non hook bait but no hook ups yet!


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## King.Of.Anglers.Jeremiah (Feb 20, 2017)

for me, it's almost every popular bass lure made:

pop-r, chatterbait, spinnerbait, spook, fluke, senko, swimbait, frog, rat-L-trap, whopper plopper, buzzbait, curl tail grub, shaky head, swim jig and maybe a few others here and there. I've caught exactly THREE fish on jerkbaits. One on a X-rap, one on a lucky craft pointer, one on a Vision 110. And exactly ONE fish on a finesse jig. Mind you, I own ALL of these, but Haven't used them enough to get bit I guess. For my best baits I never leave without would be these:

Trick worm (mojo rigged/weightless), roboworm (drop shot), power worm (1/4oz texas rig), original floating rapala, rapala countdown, rattlin rap, Paul Krew minnows, and maybe kick n' bass and megastrike scents.


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## King.Of.Anglers.Jeremiah (Feb 20, 2017)

oh yeah, haven't got one on the brush hog, jitterbug, plastic craw, or weedless spoon either.


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