Which do you fish more ? I’m about a 90/10 hardbait to plastic ratio. The only plastics I carry are pretty much tubes & flukes with tubes getting the bulk of the plastic action due to their versatility and the fact hardly anyone out here in shallow murky land throws them. I gravitated toward hard baits some years back and it’s done well for me. I tend to use the plastics when I need to slow down which I dislike doing but it’s a necessity at times. Which one do you favor ?
Ranting incoherently
Mostly soft baits then jigs.
I throw a hardbait maybe 10% of the time. Many days I don’t throw one at all. Jig and plastics for me the bulk of the time.
^^^^^^ Me too.Originally Posted by BassinPaPaw
1993 Tracker Pan fish 16
Add in hackle baits? Rubber jigs, bucktail, marabou
Wire- spinner/buzz chatter.
30 Hard baits
30 Plastic
30 Hackle
10 wire baits
There are so many variables that figure into bait/technique selection that I don't feel like I could answer this one definitively. It goes back to the old "best tool for the job" adage and the need to be well versed and capable in every technique which includes staying abreast of new techniques to stay ahead of the curve and capitalize on new presentations before the fish become conditioned to them.
I'll usually start a day of pre fishing with a deck filled with rods/baits that are best suited to seasonal presentations and more importantly CURRENT conditions IE:: rising/falling water,clean/stained/dirty water,water temp, etc. From that point,the rest of the day is a series of adjustments until some sort of a pattern begins to develope...once that happens, certain things (wind direction, cloud cover, etc) will almost always occur and the decisions and adjustments that are made at those points are usually what separates the check cashers from the donators in a tournament.
Last edited by Philly; 10-16-2021 at 03:07 PM.
90+% plastics
5% jigs
everything else spinnerbait or hardbait.
Hardbaits 30 %
Wire baits 40 %
soft baits 30%
1988 Ranger 364V
150HP Merc Black Max
this is me also
1995 Ranger 481v
1995 Johnson Fast Strike 175hp
95% hard baits for me. Just can't get into fishing slower anymore for some reason. Used to be exactly opposite.
40%wire
30%hackle
20%hard
20%plastic
Water's too clear, resulting in TONS of weeds, mostly milfoil...in my usual lakes. Plastics get through that better than jigs, which gather enough moss or slime to be a PITB.
I enjoy it when I get to a lake with less weed growth, so I can throw something...anything...else. A lake that's pretty stained to us is about like Dale Hollow or Table Rock. Count your blessings.
Don't bother me, I'm screwing for virginity.
I killed a 12-pack just to watch it die.
Hardbaits 60% and plastics 40%
What do you consider a spinner bait, Buzz bait and Jig? Those along with a Texas rig, shakey head or wacky rigged plastic are what I catch 90% of my fish on.
I prefer fuzzy stuff.
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That is beautiful dog!
For me it depends on the time of the year. In general I fish soft plastics and jigs way more than I fish hard baits. Except in the Fall of the year. In Fall I fish hard baits at least 90% of the time.
Mostly a plastics guy, but always have a "hard bait" top water tied on.
This is me as well. Allows you to fish must faster and cover more water. If I'm not pitching a jig, I'm usually throwing a spinnerbait, chatterbait, jerkbait or crankbait. Would never do this years ago. Maybe that's why I don't catch them like I use too??95% hard baits for me. Just can't get into fishing slower anymore for some reason. Used to be exactly opposite.
I used to be a hard baits guy but I now mostly (80%) throw plastic. Fished a tournament yesterday and the five keepers I caught came on plastic. (Z Craw, Finesse Worm and Senko.
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