Soft plastics !!!

Why ? Because they catch fish  the best for me.?

14 hours ago, MassYak85 said:

I'm with you on wacky rig (or weightless T-rig). Seeing braid "swim" through the water and make a slight wake, knowing a fish 100% has my bait and I will be able to reel down and set the hook (unless it's a dink in which case I will probably just rip it out of their mouth) is one of my favorite moments in fishing. 

This^^^.  Also, I love when the wind blows hard and the only thing I can do is throw a spinnerbait. Some of my best days are windy days when I let the wind blow me down a flat or drop off and I just chuck and wind. 

I suppose it'd be dragging a Carolina rig. It's the only thing that I have tied on and on the deck of my boat year round( except at night when I keep the rods on the deck to a minimum.) I feel I can catch fish on any body of water any time of year with it. And that's what it's all about.

my favorite way to catch them is on texas rigged soft plastics but will change to any bait or technique to catch them if they wont bite the worm. but i usually always start with the worm

Nothing beats a frog bite. But favorite style is pitching a jig in cover. It’s becomes a brain game pin pointing what spots to hit or not. Then you get that spongey feeling of a 5 pounder 

My favorite technique to use is a top water popper. Of course the thrill of a top water bite is awesome, but it’s more rewarding with a popper than other top waters because I have so much influence on how I present the lure. Also really fun to use for juvenile tarpon in Florida backwaters!

Topwater... you watch the lure work and that hit ROCKS!

Jig is the wife. Spinnerbait the mistress. 

When im throwing the wife I’m thinking of the mistress...sometimes vice versa

Jig fishing.  You change the trailer and you have a completely different bait. 

20 hours ago, AC870 said:

I like a ‘Trap. Chunking and winding or yo-yoing. Nothing quite like that “clomp” when one thumps it.

I like pitching a T-rigged worm around docks or grass too. 

Ditto to that "clomp" except I call it a thud.  The only downside to it is that I need some wind blowing to get a trap bite going.  We're in the doldrums right now.  Pretty much no wind.  First fall weather with a stiff breeze and I'm in heaven!

Bluefin Tuna on spinning gear off the coast of cape cod.   Nothing compares to it.   When a fish can pull you overboard if you screw up, it's more than fishing..... and nothing taste better than fresh tuna!!!

 

check out capt Dom at coastalchartersportfishing.Com or on Facebook.  

 

 

Buzzbait... Although I love topwater in general, there's something about those buzzbait blowups that just gets me every time. Love it

T rig worms, because I like to feel what it is doing, work the bait, and pick apart cover.  It seems that I have to "fish the bait" more.  Love the tap.  Jigs are up there too.  I have to admit I wish I could catch EM all on topwater though.

 

I love Bream (sunfish for you yankees) with a light fly rod and poppers.

 If I had to pick one style of fishing it would be a Texas rig or a jig.  Something that's making bottom contact and the retrieve is primarily done with the rod.  I like to feel what's going on under the water, and visualize what the bait or lure is doing.  I try to pay attention to what I was doing that made the fish commit, and then try to replicate it.  The "tick" isn't as glamorous or easy to detect as a topwater bite, but if I can pattern the first couple bites, it often turns into a good thump.  Also a style that let's me lay the wood on my hook set ?

 

Guess I'll be in another minority boat here... I prefer using hard lures like lipped crankbaits (especially square bills) and topwater lures. The topwater hit is the best. The two I am yet to have any luck with though are frogs and buzzbaits. But there's something about feeling the thump of a crankbait and watching it wiggle through the water that makes me smile too. The one hard bait I don't care for thus far are lipless cranks cause I have lost more of them with no results than any other lure type aside from maybe bottom plastics. I guess this style would fall into the power fishing category.

Love catching smallies on spinnerbaits also... Such a rush when one smashes it..

Oh, man... I love it all. Wish I could put as much into all species and types of fishing as I have my trout and bass fishing.

 

So... standing back, and just letting the feelings come, I guess I've always loved stream smallmouths, bc they are so willing and strong and in such neat places. And small stream trout fly-fishing. I like streams bc of their structural complexity and small ones bc of the intimacy they provide. Plus, my dad and I used to wander backroads fishing every little crick we came to. We caught many species on UL spinning tackle and tiny jigs, mostly, and enjoyed them all, from chubs and dace to surprise smallmouths, trout, and pike. I developed strong feelings for the mystery and sense of adventure we found in such overlooked places. Yeah, I think that last -those little cricks- does for me.

 

In the meantime... I've got to figure bass out... before I die!

27 minutes ago, Paul Roberts said:

Oh, man... I love it all. Wish I could put as much into all species and types of fishing as I have my trout and bass fishing.

 

So... standing back, and just letting the feelings come, I guess I've always loved stream smallmouths, bc they are so willing and strong and in such neat places. And small stream trout fly-fishing. I like streams bc of their structural complexity and small ones bc of the intimacy they provide. Plus, my dad and I used to wander backroads fishing every little crick we came to. We caught many species on UL spinning tackle and tiny jigs, mostly, and enjoyed them all, from chubs and dace to surprise smallmouths, trout, and pike. I developed strong feelings for the mystery and sense of adventure we found in such overlooked places. Yeah, I think that last -those little cricks- does for me.

 

In the meantime... I've got to figure bass out... before I die!

I've always loved wading here in IN for smallmouth.  Physical challenges have made it more difficult in recent years. Your post paints a very near and dear word picture.

A jerkbait bite is the most exciting for me.  That sensation of excitement when you feel the rod load extra heavy on the next jerk!  Especially as the water warms and you get to work them a little faster.  Early spring with long pauses can get a bit tedious.

 

Second favorite would be a walking bait on the surface.  Blow ups are fierce and if you aren't catching anything, its still fun to be moving a bait quickly!

Froggin.  Nothing else is even close.  When the frog bite is on, I can sit out there and throw until my shoulder gives up and I'm on Advil for 3 days.  Nothing like picking apart a stump filed mat.  Just KNOWING where they are at and working it to them.  I can sit and work the same mat for 3 or 4 hours until I move and be pretty confident that I got every last bass outta there.  I love it and I'm obsessed by it.  The good part of that is that the obsession has made me pretty d**n good at it.  I would go head to head with anyone with a frog rod and that includes any pro.  

My casting is deadly accurate and that includes windy conditions and a natural high casting arc.  I typically WANT the arc because I want the *plop* at the end.  I can curve frogs around standing timber and get it just where I want it.  Once again..this is hour after hour after hour of practice.  I've definitely earned my chops on the frog and have to re-earn them every year.  That timing is a *****.

I LOVE shallow water fishing.  Flipping and pitching into cover and feeling those violent hits is just flat out fun.  Something satisfying about dissecting a lay down or punching thru a grass mat and wrenching that fish thru it.  

 

Frogging is a close second.  Those blowups are nasty.  

I love punching mats. Big rod, fast reel, heavy tungsten, heavy braid, and bass. The process of figuring out the color, cadence, where they are positioned and finding productive mats. That's all fun. Then you add in the hook set and tons of vegetation with a bass. fun stuff.

 

2nd would be smallmouth fishing in the spring with a topwater. Evergreen Shower Blows is my bait of choice for that. It doesnt get much funner.

Jitterbug at night. When it’s pitch dark your senses are heightened already and I’ll never become immune to the sheer fright of a topwater explosion interrupting that chug, chug, chug .... pause.....CRASH! My heart skips beats every single time! I get chills just thinking about it

Frogs are the most fun to fish, that said I don't get a lot of fish with a frog so I might have to go with spinnerbaits for that reason. Seeing a bass just swallow it whole is pretty exciting, plus you're always casting into different areas and you can skip them under docks.

I like cranking...keeps me busy.