I fish almost all soft plastics. I mean I throw rattle traps, rooster tails, and crank baits and chatter baits. But besides the rooster tails they have never produced for me so I mainly throw soft plastics. Anyone else out there?

I throw them all, depending on the conditions and water temperature.

 

During the warm months a drop shot and shaky head can work wonders on Virginia rivers.

 

In the spring it is lipless crankbaits on the lakes prior to the spawn.

 

Fall we throw crankbaits.

 

And in between I throw everything I can.

Last year I only fished Texas Rig Worms. This year, I am planning to expanding to Jigs, Spinnerbaits, and Crankbaits.

That's basically me I throw more t rigged stick baits and ribbon tails and swimbait hooked swim baits than anything. Rooster tails are good but hard to fish in the ponds and canals near me do to the cover

Jigs and soft plastics 95% of the time.

That's basically me I throw more t rigged stick baits and ribbon tails and swimbait hooked swim baits than anything. Rooster tails are good but hard to fish in the ponds and canals near me do to the cover

Same. I mostly fished ponds last year, so anything not weedless was a no-no. So pretty much, all I could fish were texas rigged plastics last year. I will also experiment with jigs and chatterbaits this year.

I really wana give jigs a try this year! I'm ordering some and some trailers

95% of the time I just throw plastics. Other 5 throw spinners. But senkos, crawls, beavers anything thats soft. What she said lol

Stick baits(mainly Senkos) at least 95% of the time last year, I had so much confidence in them that I would not throw anything else. I have vowed to throw more worms and jigs this year, along with swim jigs and spinnerbaits. We will see how well that plan works out. 

I normally throw 99% plastics, but, this year, I am going to strictly use Charlie Brewer's Slider method. All plastic.

I fish soft plastics and jigs 70% of the time. If I'm not throwing those I'll usually be throwing topwater (10%) or, rarely, crankbaits/spinnerbaits. I fish pressured ponds and the fish just shun rattling baits and seem to like soft plastics a lot bet. 

I use them about 80% of the time. Soft plastics are so versatile you can fish so many ways. Hard baits are kind of 1 dimensional. You can only use them 1 way which is a disadvantage at times.

I agree a lot of the local community centers ponds and park canals and ponds get a decent amount of pressure. Last it's just works better for me. I'm expierementing with the rage rig a lil

Last year, 70% of the bass I caught were on T-rigged plastics & wacky rigged Senkos.  I actually prefer to catch bass on moving baits, especially topwater, but the structure, cover & pressure on my home lake dictate that soft plastics will be most effective.

 

If you bank fish, it makes even more sense to fish soft plastics.  You are limited to what water you can reach, and usually a soft plastic gives you the best chance to catch any fish that may be in that limited area.  That said, I fished a pond in Arizona last year that gave up 1 fish to a multitude of soft plastics, but over a dozen to a crankbait & topwater (including 4 that went over 4 lbs).  Visibility in the water was less than 6", making those lures that made more noise more effective.

Where you are, in the Tampa Bay area, you certainly can catch plenty of fish on nothing outside of soft plastics.

 

You can cover everything from top to middle to bottom; crawling to swimming to buzzing.

 

My only suggestion would be to add some slow moving topwaters to the mix. A Devils Horse (prop bait), a Pop R (Popper) and a Spook (Walk the Dog) are the main fixtures. Not only are they extremely effective at certain times, they are addictively exciting.

I actually picked up a couple storm chug bugs and a rebel popper. I haven't fished them yet tho. I need to get out and try those. Swim baits and worms are my main go to. I'm trying rage rigging and creature baits tho.

Plastics are the #1 most productive lures for both quantity & quality!

Studies have proven that the plastic worm is the only lure made that BASS CAN NOT REMEMBER!

So why would I want to use #2

My favorite fishing methods all involve soft plastics. I love to fish a jig, t-rig worms and creatures and fish a Super Fluke. However, there are times when a Rat-L-Trap or square bill just perform better so no I do not fish them exclusively but my feeling would not be hurt if I had to.

Soft plastics have been my dominant style...probably 80-90% of the time. The last couple years I have been forcing myself to use all those other lures that lay there and say "throw me please!" It's hard to switch when I know I have so much confidence in plastics and jigs, but I enjoy throwing everything except maybe the drop-shot but I want to be as versatile as possible.

I do about 50/50 in the northern iimois region I like soft plastics for those home grown small ponds. If you use soft plastics in a big 20ft lake lol good luck. Then I switch to my cranks, rattles, chatterbaits.

And not to mention topwater baits. #milkandbread

To fish one type of lure "exclusively", means you are severely limiting your fish catching potential.

I will admit, that I prefer to fish plastics, but even more than that, I want to catch fish. I will throw

whatever it takes to "git 'er done". I despise using multi-hooked baits, {crankbaits}, but if that's what

it takes,.... so be it. In order I prefer,

Plastics:

Spinnerbaits:

Jigs:

:

:

:

Crankbaits.

 

Hootie

Quite the opposite. I throw hard baits 85 percent of the time.

90% of the time I throw plastics. Crankbaits and spinnerbaits help me to locate fish. 

I'm not patient enough to fish a weightless stickbait but I'll take my time with a jig, lol. I'd say I fish plastics 40% of the time

It is a slow game lol. Sometimes I get jealous of the guys who have clean lakes to fish a nd don't fish the slop constantly lol. It limits Ya big time