On a day when every other bait has failed what do you throw as a kitchen sink bait, the last hail Mary?

For me when my usual tactics are just not working a firetiger color has been my saviour.

This has taught me we can have a horizontal stack of different water conditions as we go deeper. The surface can look clear but changes as we go deeper.

The under water current can factor in this change.

Just my thoughts.

Senko

/thread

I just make adjustments based off what I can actually see happening. Short strikers, followers, etc. I always start my day with a 5/8 Oz lipless crank and vary my retrieve. Then I'll downsize to a quarter ounce. I'm always looking for the size of the foorage and baitfish. My next stop will be a 4 inch Keitech, then a 2 inch. Fast, slow, let it drop, etc. Once I cycle through those two bait styles I assume they don't want anything moving to fast. If the cover is right I might try banging a crankbait around but I usually move on. My go to baits at this point will be a flick shake on an Owner 3/32 wacky head, a weightless 4 inch Senko either wacky or Texas, and a 3.5 and 2.5 inch tube. If I'm coming up nada I'll dead stick some soft baits if I know fish are present. I'm primarily a smallmouth angler, but during the winter I use these same baits for brown trout. Other days I'll get a hair up my butt and throw jerkbaits all day. I can always catch something slimy on a jerkbait, plus it's my favorite bait to throw. That said, I start every morning tossing a Pop X around cause it's just fun.

 

 

A-Jay

Ned Rig. Have thrown it a good bit and have yet to be skunked on it.....

Tbat looks a hell of a lot better than the wrench

Ned Rig. Have thrown it a good bit and have yet to be skunked on it.....

Agree on the Ned Rig, seems like I am throwing it more and more.

How did the color firetiger teach you about thermocline, specifically bill?

There is literally a thread about a go to last ditch bait two threads above this one right now...

4 inch finesse worm on a Carolina rig with a 1/16th ounce weight.

5" GYCB Watermelon Creme wacky rigged on a circle hook. Dead stick it and the bait will literally set itself. Doesn't get much easier than that. Produces when nothing else does. 

Tbat looks a hell of a lot better than the wrench

I thought I might add a bucktail fly to the wrench to spice it up. I caught a bass on a generic Gummy Worm though.

4 inch finesse worm on a Carolina rig with a 1/16th ounce weight.

Carolina or split shot??

texas rigged 4" hand poured finesse worm with a 1\16 oz weight on 7lb test

Depends on the type of bass and structure in the lake but the two that come to mind. Senko or drop shot with 4.5" roboworm