YourBassIsGrass

That's not weird, that's delicious. That bass knows whats up.

@RoadWarrior, great idea there! If you know the fish are biting you can actually tell if a new lure is at least 'attractive' to fish. That is a good point. @Grumpydog, I wish i had your free time! But of course I get the standard one day a week ration from the wife, smile and take the day like I earned it. As for pitching the same bait all day, I honestly want to do that one of these days. Take some lures I use only every so often and really learn to work it. Maybe if I get a two day ration for good behavior and time served @Mcgreggor57 & @Mike2841, do you always start with the soft plastics? This is what I mean, I do the same thing. Start with a finesse worm in the shallows t-rigged. I spend so much time trying every stick up and stump around that I feel like a waste the morning with it. Do you ever switch the starting bait? I mean has anyone really logged what they start with every time out and figured out that their 'favorite' was actually not performing as well as we thought it was? I think RoadWarrior has a good idea here. I rarely switch once I start with something for fear that if I'm not getting bites its just that I'm not in the right spot or I'm not working it the way the want it. I really want to try jigging, swim jigging, using a fluke, carolina rig. But I am always torn when I think about trying to use those setups when I have the old trusty t-rig or buzzbait screaming from the tackle box to take it out for a spin. Grumpy is right though, its not about the number of fish caught. Heck there have been days my 'best performers' didn't catch squat for the day. So maybe the attitude of, if the new stuff doesn't catch anything, oh well, would be a good mantra for trying new stuff. And there is always the bonus that I may find a new 'best performer'!

New to the forum, but have lurked for a while. I have been fishing more and more seriously for the last few years and have slowly been acquiring the bait monkey problem I hear some (most) of you guys are plagued with. My question is, why do you throw the bait you throw? Did you catch a fish the first time you tried it? Did the pretty packaging make you want to buy it and now you feel you have to use it? Did your old man show you the technique and it stuck with you? Do you switch lure/bait/technique on a given day/temperature/condition? I am curious as to how many of you guys change technique for condition as opposed to, I throw this bait every time and catch something so if they don't bite it they aren't hungry today. I have acquired mostly every type of lure (not in every color) but at least every style: spinner (inline and safety pin), buzz, jigs, worms, swimbaits, cranks, topwater... But I rarely go through and try em all! It kills me every time I get back that I didn't try them all. I feel like, to be a well rounded fisherman, I should at least know how to use everything in the box. Have you guys tried them all? Or just stick to what works or you like? I want to try more techniques and learn how to use them, when to use them. Any tips for trying learning more? Thanks for any responses.