Flippin and jerkbaits. I will absolutely work on both!

punching... just going to take a few days and do nothing else, i need to have confidence in this rig to be competitive on certain tournament waters...

 

Mitch

Punching is something I've never much of either, but I should. I fish some small lakes with lily pads that hold big fish. Punching would be perfect for this.

I will fish more with,

Jigs n pigs

Plastics

Different hard baits(crankbait sizes)

Different hard swimbaits

Different soft body swimbaits

Different topwater poppers

Frog lures plastics and hard baits.

I need to expand my knowledge of different lures and presentations. Only then I can fish with more skill. My fishing will improve with more time on the water. Remember fishing isn't a given, we get out of it what we put into it. It's skill not luck in fishing.

Remember to sharpen your hooks.

punching... just going to take a few days and do nothing else, i need to have confidence in this rig to be competitive on certain tournament waters...

 

Mitch

 

Ditto (except the tourney part, I don't do tourneys), I started last year and caught one fish towards the end of the year. I have to set the frog down and punch those mats.

 

Also, I caught my first fish on a jig last year. Unfortunately it was a Northern but I plan on throwing it a lot more this year.

I'm in a new area this year so my focus will be on learning to fish in bodies of water I'm not used to. I've done a lot of lake/pond/stream fishing but never any serious river fishing or fishing near locks etc. Had a little nice weather last year when I moved here so I threw a few different things before the ice hit but didn't catch anything. That coming off my productive year, so to end it in an area with no fish not even a nibble was a slap in the face. I drive by that body of water as it taunts me on a daily basis.

Late in the year can be really good on the river here. The big smallies put the feedbag on. Get in touch and I'll show you a few spots.

I really improved with jigs last year, so much so they are a go to for me now. Looking to drop shot more and improve on some finesse techniques.

It's gonna be jigs for me this season.  Never really gave them the time of day but I recently got a dedicated jig rod and a few different models and colors.  Lost what should have been my first jig fish at the end of last season due to my 12 pound mono breaking off so I'm gonna grab some braided line as well.  Now if this weather will just break and we can get started with spring I'll be in business.

I setup one of my new unused bait casting rods with my first football jig in green pumpkin. I casted it down a rocky point off the corner of a low bridge. The first time using a jig I hopped it up to the shore slowly. Just a few hops and fish on.
It's a new lure to me with a new presentation plus fishing a rocky point for the first time. This was about 15 years ago. I made it look easy the first time.

This opened up my eyes on how successful a rocky point can be.
After catching a bass on a jig I fan casted the point with a shallow crankbait. I casted parallel and straight down the point. I used every direction I could cast to work that point.
I used all my different lures and plastics to catch bass off that point.

My "point" is if you have a spot you know the bass are there that's the spot to try out new lures and presentations. The fish will let you know when we get it right. Bill