I don't really fish a lot of popular stuff I guess.  I don't like poppers and ploppers. I agree about trokars.  If there's a fisherman I do not like I won't buy his sponsors.  Not missing much so far.

Love me some Carolina Riggin' though. 

I dislike:

Finesse, chatterbaits, swimbaits, deep cranking, jerkbaits, expensive boats, electronics, spending money unnecessarily, pressured waters, crowds, fly fishing (I may still come around on that one).

 

I like:

Lures with the paint rubbed off, tactical snaps, T-rigs in any color as long as it's black and blue, trying old lures that people forgot like the Johnson Silver Minnow, straight braid, hazy IPAs and mid-lower shelf whiskeys.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like: 4:1 reels for crankbaits  

 

Dislike: Buzzbaits

Dont like:

- 90% of non-JDM spinnerbaits especially war eagle. To clarify, I like spinnerbaits, but most on the market are garbage. Why are the blades so big? Why is the wire the thickness of a clothes hanger, its going to bend out anyway!

- Ned rig. My fishing buddy loves these and does catch fish, but I dont find these do anything much better that various other soft plastic rigs/jigs cannot do simultaneously. 

- Yum dingers. I'm not a senko purist but these baits are absolute trash, and if you want a lower salt/cheaper stick bait there are much better options.

- bladed jig mini-max. This one is not so bad, but the hook keeper is terrible, hook is way too short even for small trailers. 

- VMC hooks. Plenty sharp and not bad quality but every model I tried has the unique ability to be just not the right shape to work well as other brands. 

- Small baits. I never see catch rates go up by downsizing to the 2-3 inch range unless we are talking juvenile bass and 13 inch dinks. I also dont fish water with shad so YMMV

 

Like:

- Graphite rods for cranks/moving baits. Glass definitely helps keep fish pinned EASIER, but I've never had a problem doing this on carbon rods. A graphite rod with a good tip and mid bend backbone can be used for jerks, cranks, and topwaters of a variety of weights, which cant be said of glass. 

- Braid to flouro leader. Use it on everything besides hardbait rod described above. There are some slight downsides but its worth it not to deal with line memory. 

- Ryugi Hooks. The opposite of VMC, every hook they make is the ideal shape for its respective genre. 

- BPS Stick-o. Quality varies by color but its equal to the best senko clones and the cheapest. 

- Jackall soft plastics. Cheapest JDM quality soft baits and all their designs are killer. 

 

 

Obvious dislike here is the whopper plopper

 

Havent seen anyone comment about their sunglasses yet. I used to get a pair of $20 cheapies every season for many years. I’d toss them at the end of each season and then buy a new pair the following spring.

 

Several years ago, Santa dropped off a pair of Costa Fantails. What an amazing difference those things made. I am a customer for life.

 

“See what’s out there”

2 hours ago, Darth-Baiter said:

I only have one.  the A-rig.  it's like casting out lawn furniture.  yuck (for me).   I dont love it.  

 

Dang that's a really really good one.  What an awful bait.

Popular, but not my fave:

 

Jerkbaits: I own a bunch and use them here and there. I've caught a few bass on them, but not enough to use them every trip.

 

Jigs: Again, I own a bunch, but am intimidated by all the jighead shapes and so rarely cast one because I don't know if it's the right one for where I'd be casting.

 

I like, but you don’t hear much about:

 

I both power fish and finesse fish with my spinning rods. I'm both accurate and feel I cast farther with them.

 

I think I use underspins more than most. I fish a lot of tight cover and the underspins both cast far and I can cast them into thick cover without producing a lot of noise.

19 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

I think I use underspins more than most. I fish a lot of tight cover and the underspins both cast far and I can cast them into thick cover without producing a lot of noise.

 

First underspin type lure I ever used was a beetlespin. Then I saw several people on here, yourself included, talking about using The Mayor on an underspin hook, and I've been burning through them far too fast. I hang up a lot on submerged cover. 

43 minutes ago, IcatchDinks said:

 

First underspin type lure I ever used was a beetlespin. Then I saw several people on here, yourself included, talking about using The Mayor on an underspin hook, and I've been burning through them far too fast. I hang up a lot on submerged cover. 

The beetle spin is a spinnerbait type lure, not an underspin. Unless they make an underspin I haven't seen.

Hate: Spinning Gear. Don't get me wrong, I use it and it serves its intended purpose, but I much rather use a baitcaster.

Love: Carolina Rig. Don't use it much in the shallower, natural lakes close to home, but put me on a lake with some deeper structure and it's the best search technique I've found.

Something Not Many Anglers Use: Short, pistol grip rods. I love mine for working Spooks. I recently added a 5'6" StCroix to my collection.

35 minutes ago, Bazoo said:

The beetle spin is a spinnerbait type lure, not an underspin. Unless they make an underspin I haven't seen.

You're right. It wasn't a beetlespin. It was very similar, but with an underspin configuration, not the spinnerbait style. Guess IDK what it was. 

Dislike/doesn’t work for me that everyone loves:  the brush hog (and similar baits).  Maybe I should try harder but just not the bait for me and my water. 

I like what the fish like.

I dislike what the fish dislike.

Not a big fan of chatterbaits. I can use them and use them fairly well but I hate fishing them for some reason.

Not a big fan of Drop shotting. I hate drop shotting so bad I can even spell drop shotting. LOL

Not a big fan of Shimano The sound an SLX DC reel makes when you cast it is like nails on a chalkboard to me. It literally makes my skin crawl.

Dislike: full size brush hogs. Green pumpkin color plastics. Dull hooks.                                         Like: plastic worms, most any brand. Lightweight jigs, spooks and buzzbaits.

Not that I dislike them, but I rarely find kicker craws useful on a jig (doesn't apply to wobble heads or swimming).  Most of the time I'm convinced the kicking is just changing the rof, meaning a beaver/d-bomb on a lighter jig will do the same and maybe even better.

 

I like the extreme heavy weights in smaller profiles more than most.  A 3" 3/4oz hairjig, a fine wire 2/0 scrounger in 3/4oz, a 3/4oz swim jig, spoons, etc.  It allows me to play with speed at depth, and often trigger with a high rof. 

 

scott 

37 minutes ago, Mobasser said:

Dislike: full size brush hogs. Green pumpkin color plastics. Dull hooks.                                         Like: plastic worms, most any brand. Lightweight jigs, spooks and buzzbaits.

it’s funny. The other day I came to the conclusion that if I just used green pumpkin for every soft plastic but the baitfish ones then that would be all I need. 
 

 

On 5/27/2025 at 11:26 AM, Pat Brown said:

Supposed to like but don't: Fluorocarbon line.  Not for me!

 

Supposed to be bad but love it: Monofilament line.  Works great for me!

I’m with you @Pat Brown

On 5/27/2025 at 9:18 AM, Rockhopper said:

I don't really like fishing green pumpkin

You might be under punishment for saying this.😂

For me it WAS the neko/wacky that I hated. Why? Because wouldn’t give it time to do its thing. I am more of a chunk and wind guy…I even work a t-rig too fast. However, I stuck with a neko twice this week for almost 4 hrs each day. It produced numbers for me. Not lbs, but numbers.
 

I also am not a fan of leaders. I’m straight 50# braid on everything except my spinning rig which is 20# with a 10# leader. It’s used for above neko purposes.

 

I have absolute confidence in a bladed jig. 1/2oz green pumpkin shad bladed jig with a 5.5” green pumpkin delight spunk shad trailer get bit in every N Alabama fishery I’ve fished. 

13 hours ago, IcatchDinks said:

You're right. It wasn't a beetlespin. It was very similar, but with an underspin configuration, not the spinnerbait style. Guess IDK what it was. 

Probably thinking of the roadrunner 

 

 

23 minutes ago, Motoboss said:

Probably thinking of the roadrunner 

 

 

That's it! 

3 hours ago, Pumpkin Lizard said:

it’s funny. The other day I came to the conclusion that if I just used green pumpkin for every soft plastic but the baitfish ones then that would be all I need. 
 

 

I pretty much agree. I could also be quite happy with watermelon red.

 

2 hours ago, Smirak said:

For me it WAS the neko/wacky that I hated. Why? Because wouldn’t give it time to do its thing. I am more of a chunk and wind guy…I even work a t-rig too fast. However, I stuck with a neko twice this week for almost 4 hrs each day. It produced numbers for me. Not lbs, but numbers.
 

I also am not a fan of leaders. I’m straight 50# braid on everything except my spinning rig which is 20# with a 10# leader. It’s used for above neko purposes.

 

I have absolute confidence in a bladed jig. 1/2oz green pumpkin shad bladed jig with a 5.5” green pumpkin delight spunk shad trailer get bit in every N Alabama fishery I’ve fished. 

Posts like this what keeps me trying the bladed jig. Once I hone in on the right combo of color/size/trailer, I just know it'll be the stuff!

The fact that I have never caught a fish on one doesn't really factor into my equation.

I can’t catch fish on crankbaits to save my life. I don’t understand it. As for unpopular gear, I use a medium heavy spinning rod fairly often. I like it for lighter lures that still require a stiffer rod. Never heard of anyone else fishing with one though. 

I like options. I like experimenting.  I like all spectrums of the water column.  I like quality, and value. I like loyalty.
 

I don’t like hype.  I don’t like fads.  I don’t like inconsistency.  I don’t like being boxed in.  
 

What I like or dislike only impacts me.