My bait of choice has always been the jerk bait because I had historic early success with it & have put some really trophy fish in the boat using it. Like A-Jay mentioned I do fine tune it when I think I need to by changing color, depth, profile, sound & always hardware changes. When the bite is really strong & I have caught my fill I will try alternate baits & methods just to see if something else is hot or if I'm truly maximizing my first choice. On the days that nothing works I try to accept reality & go home so I don't burn out beating a dead horse.  

21 hours ago, Bird said:

It appears that these latter posts by experienced fisherman are making bold claims.......the bait monkey is a hoax. 

Say it isn't so 😳

 

It isn't so!!!!!!!

 

On 6/29/2025 at 5:43 AM, GoneFishingLTN said:

I’ve noticed a pattern in myself—I’ll figure out what works, start seeing success with it, and then I catch myself wanting to change things up or chase the next shiny new idea. Even when I know what I’m doing is working, that urge to tweak, add, or switch things up kicks in. How do you stay disciplined and avoid falling into that mindset of constantly wanting to change your style or add more, even when your current process is getting results?

 

Your time on the water is your own. In my world, I think you should enjoy it as you see fit. There's no harm in switching things up unless maximizing your results is what puts food on your table. Sometimes you might just want to try other methods to see if they work better or work at all. If no one experimented, we would have no innovation or personal growth/discovery.

I'll start off the day playing with my new toys and then by the end I always end up with a fluke in my hand. Every time.