do you swap baits a lot during the day?

[Luke]

heres a question for you all.....say its a day when you know a jerkbait bite is going to be on and hot.....do yiou stick with a color that you think is going to work all day and possibly miss out on fish that might take another color better or do you switch colors often trying to find that one color that the fish seem to key in on better than the other

reason i ask this is i always find myself swapping back and forth on colors no matter what bait it is....if i know they are on a jerkbait i seem to swap from one color to the next if im not gettin bit on it

how about you

i think that made sense

[Klinger N Ok]

I wouldnt ever say I "know" its gonna be a certain bite. If I strongly believe there is a good jerkbait bite, I'll have one w/ flash like a clown or American Shad, and another with a painted color like Tablerock shad. Throw em for a while, and then start rotating different types of baits in- a trap, a jig, a senko, shakey head. The way I see it, the fish will key on certain types of baits primarily, while color might affect the type of strike you get- aggressively eating it or just slapping at it. Colors just let you fine tune whatever type of bait they are hitting. The only time I change baits alot, is at the end of a long fishless day, in desperation! But then again, the best thing to do is pick back up your confidence bait and seine the water.

[waterfoul]

Heck, I keep 10 rigged rods ready to go at all times!! Do I throw them all every time out? No... but I use quite a few. I'm not afraid to change rods at any time... but if one is producing well you will have a hard time making me put it down.

[Klinger N Ok]

Same here! (about havin 10 rods on the deck) If you are too worried about color, you end up spending more time retying as opposed to keeping your lure wet.

[dpage70]

Even if I have a good feeling about what they are on I still tie on several other lure on several other rods. If my gut is saying jerkbait then I'll tie a couple of different colors on and then make up my mind on the water. It may be more windy than the weather man said or the water may be more stained than I thought. I usually don't throw a lure for more than 30 minutes without a bite before I start mxing it up and narrowing things down.

[teelman]

I have A.D.D when I'm on the water. When I had my boat, I had 15 combos tied up and ready to go on the deck and I still changed baits. Usually I'd hit a spot, throw everything in the boat at them, then move and repeat. I heard a tip at the NC rally, one of the guys I knew there told me to throw at least 20 casts with the same bait before switching. I have a hard time doing it, but it's something I keep in mind to keep me fishing instead of changing alot.

IMO though, it's really all about confidence in what you have. I tend to stick with a shad color. I have very little confidence in anything with chartruese. Others are the complete opposite. I think it's more about the presentation first of all. If you get a few fish to bite something and figure out where and what they want, after that you can zero in on a color.

I tend to stick with the overall patterns and seasonal patterns suggested by many articles and websites I've read. The clearer the water, the more natural your bait should look. As the water gets more and more stained, you go towards chartruese or really dark, and also get larger and displace more water.

Also, dont forget about seasonal changes in forage. For instance, in NC, i've heard the crayfish tend to get darker in the winter. Therefore, I use a lighter color in the summer and fall than I do in the winter and early spring.

But, I tend to go with differnt types of baits, shapes, wobbles, wiggles more than worrying about color. I tend to stay rather natural with the colors and just match shad the best I can.

I do understand your concern about color, though. I can stand in a spot on the bank and thrown several baits with nothing, then just simply change the color of a bait and get 3 bites in 3 casts. I still feel like it's more about the size, shape, and action of the bait more than it is about color, though. That is, unless you are throwing something that is just WAY off.

[lwlittle]

One of my buddies changes lures so often that we've nicknames him "re-rig Charlie"

[hawgjawsTR196]

i don't think jigs and plastics make that much difference in color if you stick to the "clear water = natural colors and dark/stained water = blacks/blues or bright colors" theory. With jerkbaits i tend to alternate between depths they suspend at more than i do color. I fish the same lakes as you do Luke and i tend to stick with the silver blue back or silver black back rogues or shad or perch colored lucky crafts. I will also tie on a table rock shad color or a clown color lucky craft. I will alternate the shad and the clown to try to find fish. Crankbaits are the same way....in the spring i will alternate rootbeer and crawfish shades and wobbles to find the right combo. Once warm weather hits i'm more of a shad colored crank kinda guy. I tell you what i've had success with at LOZ the last 3 springs and that is a Bandit 200 in the Mistake color pattern. I would highly recommend you or Ryan throwing that parallel to the bank for the rally.

[gatrboy52]

i wouldnt have that mind set w/o the fish tellin me so.if i was gettin bit on a jerkbait and something wasnt quite right,like slow bite,slappin at the bait,fish on the back hook only,then i would switch up to a different color or size.if that didnt improve my catch ratio then i would switch to a different bait.the worse thing a angler can do is assume what the bass want or try and force feed them.
if im not sure what they want then i try everything i know to try and find out and that means changin baits often.

[tuckerabbi]

So if you get a bite on a certain bait. How long do you go without getting another bite before you change?

[sisezz73]

I may be stubburn but I will not switch baits until I lose my confidence in that bait. Which is going to be harder for me now that I have more confidence in what I am throwing.Thanks from fishing with many other anglers.Some days its all day long. Thats a question only you can answer. Good luck.