@JonB2 wrote this in another thread:

"Sure, throwing a ned rig or wacky senko every trip will catch you lots of bass, but it won't grab your soul since you're only fishing one thing, and it won't challenge you. I want near constant adversity in my fishing. Some days, I'm lazy and just wanna bang out some fish, so I'll throw a senko and just relax. Most trips, I'm hunting and LIVE for that challenge. A lot of anglers are so scared to not get fish, they won't branch out, which is a shame for them."

A couple years ago, I'd launch with eight rods, each with a different lure. When I caught a bass on one lure, I'd immediately switch rods to see what else they'd hit. Over tens of thousands of casts and thousands of bass caught, I learned what my local bass like.

Nowadays, I still launch with eight rods, but six or seven will have variations of the same lure.

So, on the Static vs. Fluidity Scale (SvF), I've changed from a 10 (oh-so fluid) to a 3 (I've got my plan and I'm sticking to it.). Now, my plan does evolve over the fishing season. For example, I was fishing mostly craws earlier this year. Last summer, I was fishing spinnerbaits and then underspins. Now I'm fishing T-rigged worms. I change my lures after a few months so that the bass don't stop hitting, but even though I'm fishing worms, I'm mixing it up. For example, I'm alternating between Zoom Trick worms, Senkos, and Roboworms. So, this is why I'm not a 1. I have my plan and I'm sticking to it, but my plan gives me latitude (At this point, it's to throw different kinds of worms of different colors, with and without weights. And I vary where I cast. For example, this morning I was working a shoreline, but tomorrow morning, I'll work a drop-off adjacent to where they spawned, as suggested in the latest Bass Resource post-spawn article.

So, where are you on the SvF Scale and why?

Very interesting topic. I am blessed to have the opportunity to fish numerous lakes. My SvF is significantly different for some lakes vs others. My "home" lake is ten minutes away and I fish it at least once per week March to November and sometimes more. I mean, c'mon! I KNOW what they are SUPPOSED to be eating and where they are! Which is the worst possible mentality. I have actually gotten pissy and gone home because the two rods I had on deck weren't catching big enough fish. The fisherman is smart. The fish are just being b-holes today. This is my lazy lake. I drive over after work and only use a couple rods and catch a fish or two on my "spots" and call it good. I would give myself a 1 for that lake, however you've allowed yourself some credit for changing colors, weights, and sizes and I am ALWAYS flexible with that so I'll allow myself a 2 for that lake.

If I'm on a new or less-familiar lake I am at least a 10 if not 11. I love fishing new water and I love figuring out a body of water on a particular day even more than I like catching tons of fish. I've mentioned it before, if no one is catching and I can get a pattern down and pull a few fish then I am happier than boating 50 fish. And I mean that. On those lakes I keep an open mind and actively try new things, including practicing techniques that I have little experience with. This is the fishing I get excited about.

The other lakes I fish are somewhere in between, but I try to stay mentally engaged and flexible at a minimum of 5. It's something that I actively work at which makes this an excellent subject of discussion as it has already caused me to take stock of my last couple of fishing seasons and make certain that I'm not allowing complacency to creep in (except on my designated lazy lake). Thanks for asking.

Not sure how to rate myself. I only carry 1 to 3 rods, so maybe a 2, but that is because I fish on foot from the bank. Conversely, I could be a 10 because I have totally different lures on each, and the extra lures I carry are also different. Unless, that is, I feel confident about something specific because of the water, weather, conditions, etc.

If I have confidence in a particular lure on a particular day, I delight in taking one rod with that lure and some similar lures with variations in size and/or color.

I'm 63 years old, and the Bait Monkey permanently moved in to my house when I was 13 years old. Does that get me a 10

30 minutes ago, king fisher said:

I'm 63 years old, and the Bait Monkey permanently moved in to my house when I was 13 years old. Does that get me a 10

I'm with @JonB2 . I catch more on the days when my SvF is 10. I believe you have to figure them out every day. Sometimes I slip up and push a bait or a location that ain't working too long.

4 hours ago, Lottabass said:

I'm with @JonB2 . I catch more on the days when my SvF is 10. I believe you have to figure them out every day. Sometimes I slip up and push a bait or a location that ain't working too long.

For sure, Al. It seems like you're always chucking something new. You are the bass whisperer.

I've gone through phases. When I first started out, I pretty much just fished weightless senkos. So the conditions I wanted was calm, shallow, easy identifiable cover. Anything other than that would throw me off.

Then I started learning all the techniques, what lures "should" work in certain conditions, I got more rods, more colors, more baits, more sizes. I was too fluid. I would constantly be experimenting with the gear, sometimes to my detriment, but it was a good learning process.

Now I am far less fluid with my gear. I know what I like, I know what baits can do what I want and get less hung up on the specifics. I still have all the gear but I'm spending my time covering water, trying to figure out the location and the presentation/retrieve. I'm more fluid in FINDING the fish and exploring different areas, but I'm less fluid in the baits I might employ. Usually the less gear I have to put away at the end of the day, the better my fishing day was.

I’d put myself at about a 5. I try to stick with what I know is going to work, but I am not above junk fishing when the mood strikes.

I always start with the same bait and end up throwing 10+ different baits by the time I am done for the day.

I'm a zero zero minus one (00-1).

One rod, fish jerk baits almost exclusively and sometimes topwater.

23 hours ago, SJS said:

I only carry 1 to 3 rods, so maybe a 2

IMHO you get extra points for being versatile with only a couple rods.

Not sure what my scale is, depends on the day. One thing I'm adamant about is not letting myself get complacent with one or two baits or techniques. Nothing worse than a day when something you don't know or have is "it". Sometimes you're dead in the water due to that type of thing. We're all our own bass angler, but me personally...I hunger for versatility. The more I know, the better I can adapt on the fly if things go a certain way on the water.

6 hours ago, Rockhopper said:

I always start with the same bait and end up throwing 10+ different baits by the time I am done for the day.

Me too. In past years I would carry one rod and re-tie for each lure change. Today, with dwindling eyesight and fumbling fingers, I will have each lure already tied on with a different rod. Golden years.

In the past I have been that schizophrenic angler - paralysis of analysis and deviating from my plan and getting nowhere, I usually carry 7 rods with me including a flipping stick, but I can't remember the last time I used it. On average, I end up using only 3 or 4 rods and the others are "just in case."

In the past, whether it was for fun or in tournaments, my mantra was to just show up and fish. But I'd like to think that I have matured this year. My target is quality bass, not quantity bass.

I research weather, wind, imagery, previous tournament patterns, etc. before I get to the lake and I know what baits I should be throwing. But in the past, when those didn't work, I would blow everything up, throw different baits, and look for new patterns and get frustrated.

This year I have learned to trust my bait selection and realize that it's often timing and not the baits that I have chosen. I'm trying to learn bite windows for each of the waypoints that I have chosen. Being in a kayak, I can't easily motor miles and miles to go to different cover and structure. With that, I try to launch from areas that give me multiple options and try to find the bite window in each of them.

In summary, if I had to rank it, I think finding the bite window on bass cover/structure is more important than the bait you choose, but the bait must be conducive to that type of cover and structure.

From my experience, bass out in the Everglades can be pretty predictable. I know each trip will have at least one big bite, often trophy size. I know it’s coming so I play into it very statically because I know what they want and I never deviate. I get a bit more fluid as the sun comes up, tossing worms, wake baits, frogs, and so forth. As the sun gets higher I go static again with punching only. It’s a system that has produced bass that I used to dream about, so I stick with it.

23 hours ago, Zcoker said:

From my experience, bass out in the Everglades can be pretty predictable. I know each trip will have at least one big bite, often trophy size. I know it’s coming so I play into it very statically because I know what they want and I never deviate. I get a bit more fluid as the sun comes up, tossing worms, wake baits, frogs, and so forth. As the sun gets higher I go static again with punching only. It’s a system that has produced bass that I used to dream about, so I stick with it.

It's cool that you're so dialed into the Everglades.

"Sure, throwing a ned rig or wacky senko every trip will catch you lots of bass, but it won't grab your soul since you're only fishing one thing, and it won't challenge you."

A pretty presumptuous statement, IMO. How do they know the person throwing a Ned isn't in a Zen-like state of mindfulness or perhaps finds raw, pure, joyful bliss in throwing such a simple presentation? Maybe to them the Ned rig IS their soul grabbing technique. Also, not everyone needs to fish to "challenge" themselves. Some just fish for "the love of the game".

Fishing means something different to everyone and there is no right or wrong answer. Not every fisherman will fit neatly into a categorized box...

5 hours ago, RRocket said:

"Sure, throwing a ned rig or wacky senko every trip will catch you lots of bass, but it won't grab your soul since you're only fishing one thing, and it won't challenge you."

A pretty presumptuous statement, IMO. How do they know the person throwing a Ned isn't in a Zen-like state of mindfulness or perhaps finds raw, pure, joyful bliss in throwing such a simple presentation? Maybe to them the Ned rig IS their soul grabbing technique. Also, not everyone needs to fish to "challenge" themselves. Some just fish for "the love of the game".

Fishing means something different to everyone and there is no right or wrong answer. Not every fisherman will fit neatly into a categorized box...

Comprehension is your friend. Put the defense away and go read again. Nothing zen about a ned rig, thats why so many fish it. Have a good one.

2 hours ago, JonB2 said:

Comprehension is your friend. Put the defense away and go read again. Nothing zen about a ned rig, thats why so many fish it. Have a good one.

I'd say you clearly don't understand mindfulness/meditation...

You have a great day as well.