Today was a pretty big turning point for me, I had previously had intermittent success with a few lures but I threw artificial for most of my float today and it was way more efficient and fun.  I covered exponentially more water and found fish in places I would’ve never previously considered casting as with live every cast is a big production.  They were hitting the whopper plopper on practically every cast, I had the most success with this so I stuck with it. However, the Ned was productive as well when I used it. I’ve got the buzz now, I’m sold! Thanks for all of the help and encouragement, I’m ready to explore all of the different baits!

Nothing wrong with fishing livebait, but as you've now realized, there's something to be said for the ability to cover water and present your bait in places you just can't with livebait. I've watched bass inspect a livebait and turn away from it also. With lures, they don't usually have time to closely inspect it, so you get that reaction strike you'll rarely get with a live bait. 

 

Glad it's working out for you, now watch out for the ?

8 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Nothing wrong with fishing livebait, but as you've now realized, there's something to be said for the ability to cover water and present your bait in places you just can't with livebait. I've watched bass inspect a livebait and turn away from it also. With lures, they don't usually have time to closely inspect it, so you get that reaction strike you'll rarely get with a live bait. 

 

Glad it's working out for you, now watch out for the ?

Thanks! Yeah exactly, live is just very limited in many ways.  Watch out for the monkey?

2 hours ago, Ohioguy25 said:

Thanks! Yeah exactly, live is just very limited in many ways.  Watch out for the monkey?

The bait monkey. He is well documented on this website, and has mystical powers that cause fisherman to purchase far too many lures 

8 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

The bait monkey. He is well documented on this website, and has mystical powers that cause fisherman to purchase far too many lures 

Oh I’m already past the point of no return, the addiction has taken hold! Now it’s just a matter of minimizing it ?

27 minutes ago, Ohioguy25 said:

Oh I’m already past the point of no return, the addiction has taken hold! Now it’s just a matter of minimizing it ?

The monkey has you right where he wants you 

I'm glad for you. You are a diehard for these smallies. You'll eventually wean yourself away from the livebait totally in time. You'll get frustrated many of times in the future but you'll fish your way through it because of your desire to fish. And maintain a confidence level. Keep it simple and basic with your lures and lure colors at first. A lot of good/great time proven lures out there for catching smallies. They were never discontinued. The bait/lure market is saturated with stuff these days. Catch anglers or catch fish?  Have fun, make it fun. 

If you haven't try some 4"or 5" stickbaits, rigged weedless they can prove to be a good addition. You are moving fast now towards those big orders from TW ? 

I think the best part in my mind about artificial vs. live is that you have much fewer logistical challenges, no need to find a local bait shop to buy minnows or whatever from, no need to worry about water temperature shocking your bait to death, pack a tackle box and leave in under the seat of your truck to go fishing after work, no problem because crankbaits don't overheat and die, it's just a lot less complicated that way, of course the other side of the coin is having to learn to do a lot of what live bait does for you, imparting the sort of action (or not) that will entice a fish to bite, and the cost of enjoying this hobby over a lifetime can grow to be astonishing, but in the end it's still just tackle, unless your tucking your deep divers in your children's bed at night and making them sleep outside it's not like your hurting anybody, and there are far worse uses of money. 

Looks awesome, the world of artificial baits for bass is a fun world to be in. Live bait will still have a place, for me it is ideal for fishing flood conditions.