Luke Barnes

You nailed it on the head. Its decision making. Thank you. I was reading and thought this is it!!!! I'm a bait monkey victim and the person I am, I bought a giant tackle backpack from Bass Pro and I bring everything with me. Weighs atleast 40lbs. I need to weigh my tackle backpack. But deciding is so hard, and if I dont catch I question my decisions for days. I guess this thread isn't so much about what to throw where and when. Its my personal emotions of fishing. I will admit I'm obsessed. My wife will agree! I dont know how or why fishing became a mental game for me. I only started fishing four years ago. Or was it three. Either way not too long ago. Besides glide baits and huge swimbaits, if you name it I have it. But its not a sport of tackle variety. I'm sorry I am letting this out here. I just am probably overly obsesed to the point it ruins my week when I dont catch something. I should feel so privileged to have these problems.

Thanks for the replies everyone and also for the support. This year I got so caught up on chatterbaits I forgot about a spinnerbait. Im going to tie one of those on for sure. I have a Ned Rig dedicated setup that always has a Ned on it so that will be one. I think a soft swimbait and a small finesse jig too??? Its either a small jig or a Wacky rig. No idea on the weediness. I do need to give myself a break and just relax and fish but I'm always so wound right its hard without that rush of excitement when I get one on the line. I'm working on it though.

Totally. Thanks to the Army I have a bad back and knees, so its sometimes a painful event but I still do it. So to come home without a catch makes me feel like I wasted my time. Im in northeast Oklahoma. Its a pond so now below the dam spot to fish. I'll explore the whole pond definitely. No idea what the color of water will be even, ive never even been to the pond let alone fished it. I found it on google earth! I like junebug and have had success with it. Also black and blue.

But for me, tomorrow night be two weeks from now. Weather depending even longer. In the best circumstance I get to fish once a week. So if I whiff I dont get to take a crack the next day. I mull on it for a week or more.

I am sorry to hear that. I know the pain, this time last year my wife moved out and it was my fault why she did. But in the end we worked it out and she is back home. Funny enough I got her pregnant with our third a few weeks after she moved out so it made it even more weird. But I agree, I fish to catch fish and feel disappointed if I don't. I bought specific setups for certain techniques so I don't have to retie either!!! It's nothing to take six combos, but then I sit on one bank for the whole time dissecting it, but I dont always catch fish and then i think I should have moved and maybe another spot would have produced. I beat myself up pretty bad for a day or two after on times like that. I was thinking about that. Taking 2-3 rods and fish those lures around the whole pond. No bite on them, move. But again if I do and dont catch, I beat myself up saying I should have worked a certain spot more and tried something else. I'm bad about not switching colors too. I just cant find a rhythm that works for me and it frustrates me to no end.

I know it's supposed to do the opposite. No life story but ive been laid off since May, had a baby, our third, havent gotten to fish much, the weather is getting cold, ive been striking out lately and I finally get the chance to go again tomorrow. I am trying a new pond because ive baat all the others to death and need something new. I was diagnosed with PTSD when I got out of the US Army in 2010. 27 months in Iraq took its toll, and fishing is the single best therapy for me. I am so worried I'm going to get skunked tomorrow it's causing me anxiety. I am not the person who says. I just like being outdoors and wetting a line. I love to catch fish! If I don't, yeah I got out of the house and got some air. I can do that going for a walk. I know you dont catch every time you fish. I know buying every lure under the sun won't catch you a fish. But I'm so torn what to throw at this new pond its driving me nuts! It's not huge, maybe 2-3 acres. No idea depth or what the bottom of vegetation looks like. Ive been trying to cut down on the amount of combos I take when I bank fish, which is 98% of the time, but I want to be covered. I found when I take too many I stay in one area too long trying different techniques instead of moving to a new spot that may hold fish. So all in all, take a bunch and force myself to move? Take less and work them more thoroughly? For sure two spinning with a Ned rig and wacky rig are coming. For casting I thought about soft swimbait on an underspin, big jig, little jig, jackhammer, lipless, jerk bait, bigger line through soft swimbait, T-rig, pr whatever else comes to mind before then. I'm literally driving myself nuts worrying about fishing tomorrow and I dont like it.

Wait, what? There are six recognized ned rig retrieves?? I know of two! Small pops and swim, glide, shake. Do tell!!

Year round I use either a Zako, Razor Shadz, or Rage Menace anymore. Only thing I have a paddle tail on is a Thunder Cricket. I second the rage menace being about the most versatile plastic out there!

About once a year I go to the factory to see if they are hiring. They are about 8 miles from me. For clear water, monkey milk. For stained, bluegrass. Muddy water, black and chartreuse. They are a lure that will catch anything and everything that swims. Caught 6oz bluegill to 3lb bass on them. Also best crappie soft plastic you can buy. Its just hard to specifically target bass with them.

Fish on the line is always a great time! Glad you got out and wet a line and hooked some bass!

I dont have a picture, but i made a thread asking about treble hook sizes for various hard baits because I bought a 30pc unpainted hard bait set to have craft time with my kids and paint lures. WRB said check your inbox. He sent me well over 50 high quality trebles in the sizes i would need for the cost of $0! He wouldn't let me pay him for shipping even. They will be put on when we start painting the lures soon. I was blown away at the generosity.

I witnessed this before. Went to tour a wedding venue when me and the wife were engaged. I saw an extremely small pond by the parking lot and asked if it was stocked. The owner said it was dug out to use the dirt to level the spot the venue was on, so it literally was just a round ditch dug a few feet deep to harvest the dirt out of. When we were there in the wedding day I had time to kill and had a spinning setup with me and decided what the heck. Through a really small crickhopper type lure and wouldnt you know, there was fish in it. Tiny tiny fish but they would nip the lure and i could see them. No streams, creeks, bodies of water within eyesight. How they got there, no clue.

That's a great idea! How do you like the spike it markers?

There are also the KVD Fish Sticks. They are more like a big tube of Chap Stick but they are solid and supposedly dont melt when hot and just rub it in and go.

I bet they would be great rigged on an A Rig. A school of small baitfish to make an easy meal for a hungry bass!!

Very interesting. I could see how color would make a difference in a bass discerning if its a food fish or a fish it doesnt want to eat. Im guilty of switching lures all together and not changing up color. I need to do that more before I change lures all together. I insist on having multiple colors of the same thing, I need to switch them up!

I think to a degree yes, but to a certain point. My example is I use a few of the Berkley Choppo as opposed to a whopper plopper. Its cheaper, but not "cheap". Its not Ozark Trail but its not $16 a lure either. Same with lipless. I dont normally use the Red Eye Shad, although I got two on sale recently, but I don't use Ozark Trail. I like the H2O Express ones. Middle of the road. That or Cotton Cordell. Its not a Bill Lewis but its not a cheap china knock off. So to a degree cheaper can be as good, but too cheap and it really is cheap junk.

So this basically keeps the bait off the bottom while the weight is on the bottom? Hop it, steady retrieve? I'm so new to anything outside of a T rig. I threw my first Carolina rig this year.

Looks like I would have to order Mega Strike. I know I can get Pro Cure locally. I see really good reviews for Bang spray. But being a spray I'm curious how well it holds onto the lures. Anyone have any experience with it?

Ok. I need to double check I dont have the bitsy bug. Honestly I'm not exactly sure if its the flip or bug. I have three so they might be different ones. I have every rod power covered so trying to decide on the best.

I have three SK Bitsy Flip jigs in 1/4 oz. Would they be consider finesse? I always just thought they were small little jigs. To be honest ive always been intimidated by jigs and vow to use them more. A 1/4 oz jig with an Elaztech Zcrawz trailer would be best on spinning im guessing. Medium action or if the hook is light enough wire ML?

I have spike it chartreuse garlic but like above I do it more for the color than the scent. What got me thinking is when crappie and Panfish fishing I will spray some Slab Sauce on the plastics and it seems to make them commit instead or just peck at it. So that made me think if it applied to bass fishing and what products worked best. Sounds like the majority prefer Mega Strike so I'm going to look into it. I agree on the gel, the Slab Sauce is a spray and lasts about 4 casts before I dont seen an oil slick when pulling it out of the water so I have to respray. Crappie nibbles are just a pain in the butt so I quick tipping with them.

Ive been mulling over using some kind of scent and taste additive on my lures. Whether a spray or a gel. Ive seen videos of people using them and even they admit they dont know if they would have still caught the fish without it. If anything to me, it may help them to hold onto it longer once they bite, but do they actually attract bass who rely on their lateral line so much with finding food?

Also I decided to try small bluegill instead of worms. Closest place I can buy minnows is 20 minutes away and they arent always open and dont have regular hours. I would love to get ahold of some big shiners though! Nice thing is I can catch a handful of really small gills with my fly rod quickly. The big ones are just fun to catch then toss back, but the smaller ones I'll keep to use.

I solely use 3/8 oz ones. They just feel the best while being retrieved to me. No other reason than that.