What is your go-to bait that always seems to catch you a fish when having a tough day? For me I'd have to go with jigs, and chatterbaits.

Jig

Baby creature bait or shaky head.

4 inch senko type bait.

1.5 Size SQBill

I keep 2 rods rigged 24/7/365!

#1: Texas Rig, maybe weighted or un-weighted

#2: Jig-n-Craw

I keep 2 rods rigged 24/7/365!

#1: Texas Rig, maybe weighted or un-weighted

#2: Jig-n-Craw

 

+1

 

Tight lines,

Bob

Smokin Rooster

Texas rig worm .

The "Go-To" bait thing, ya that doesn't seem to work for me.

 

The closest version of that for me would be that there are one or two baits that I can use for each calendar period that routinely produce some fish.

 

 But I haven't  found that one magic bait that gets is done during Prespawn, Spawn, Postspawn, Presummer, Summer Peak, Summer, Postsummer, Fall Turnover, Cold Water, and finally Winter.

 

Often times one or two baits (or Techniques) can remain viable for 2 or even 3 periods. 

 

I will say a jig & craw works all year but even that can be Tough Sledding.

 

A-Jay

4 inch green pumpkin curly tail grub on a 1/8th jig head.

#1 Bandit 100

#2 Santone swim jig, trailer depending on cover fishing

Ned rig depending on cover has been good this year too.

5" Zoom Super Fluke in White Ice/Watermelon Gold rigged weightless on 3/0 EWG hook. Produces bass year-round for me

Jig & craw, spinnerbaits

4 inch senko type bait.

 

This.

Texas rigged Zoom U-tail in gourd green, followed by a 4" Senko.

If you asked me at the beginning of the year- over the past 10 years of fishing I would have said 5" GYCB watermelon creme senko. Always catches me fish.

 

This year I progressed with my bait casters(2nd year) and learned new techniques. One of which was a texas rigged Powerboat Crazy Chigger Craw. This bait produced all year. I think I have 20+ full packs in the garage and buy some more everytime I am in a tackle store. Fantastic bait. 

I have one rod that always has a one bait tied to it, and is always pulled out when bite is tough, the bait is a Dave's Tournament Swim Jig with a Zoom Ultravibe Speed Craw in Green Pumpkin.

 

When I buy these swim jigs I go through all the packages in the store to get the ones with yellow eyes. I am convinced they are the best.

Faith in a bait is a function of where I'm fishing.  If I'm fishing grass in 6 feet of water or less and I'm ticking the tops of the grass with some bait, then I have faith in an old Berkley Frenzy lipless crank.  Every year, late March to mid April, I will catch a few 5 to 7 lb fish doing this.  Early spring, afternoon from 1:30 to 3 is the best time to do this.  ( at least that has been my experience in Missouri, in the clear to semi-clear waters that I fish in most of the time)

 

If I'm fishing a deep weed line 10 foot to around 20, I have faith in my home made jika rig - with some creature bait to be determined by water color.   Throwing soft plastics at objects in 5 to 14 or so feet of water, my bait of choice currently is a quarter ounce Brewer slider head with a 5" paddle tail worm - again, color to be determined daily.

 

If I think fish are suspended in a tree line, my first choice is a Timber Tiger DC 16, probably in their Texas Shad color, but I really don't think that color matters much with this bait.  Whenever I'm confronted with this situation, i.e. fish suspended in trees, there are always a couple of baits that I will always try.  Choice #A would be a whacky rigged senko and choice #B would be a 1/4 or 5/16 oz tx rigged 10" Berkley power worm.   I generally start with Red Shad color for this presentation but I think that there are other colors that would equally well.

 

I've got lots of favorite baits for specific instances, but this is enough for now.

 Five inch Yum Dinger.  

Jig or bladed jig. 

A jig with some sort of craw trailer on it.

+1

 

Tight lines,

Bob

+1

 

Tight lines,

Bob

plus 2 and a senko

If you asked me at the beginning of the year- over the past 10 years of fishing I would have said 5" GYCB watermelon creme senko. Always catches me fish.

This year I progressed with my bait casters(2nd year) and learned new techniques. One of which was a texas rigged Powerboat Crazy Chigger Craw. This bait produced all year. I think I have 20+ full packs in the garage and buy some more everytime I am in a tackle store. Fantastic bait.

2x

jig with a craw trailer or a chatterbait