specifically what bait would you throw and what method would you employ if you had to catch fish. Not necessarily big fish, just a technique that catches a lot of fish for you?

I would likely use a Split Shot rig and a small 4" curly tail worm by RoboWorm.

My second option would be a 1/16oz jig n pig on 6lb line.

I would have to say cranking, specifically a medium diving Bandit would be my favorite lure and one that always seems to catch fish. I can put it on heavy line and fish it shallow, or put it on lighter line and get down a little deeper than normal. It caters to the appetite of a hungry fish, but can also be used as a reaction bait when the fish are alittle sluggish.

Spinnerbait

I probably catch the most fish per cast with a 6" Texas rig worm.  My favorite is probably a buzzbait or a crankbait.

5" Senko if I can't use live bait.

The most fish I have ever caught were white bass on the downstream side of Diamond Island, about ten miles below Pickwick Dam. My partner and I went through eight quart boxes of baby crawdads and four or five dozen shiners. Ultra-light equipment, 1 - 2 1/2 lb bass on EVERY cast!

Number two was fishing crickets for bluegill. I don't know how many we caught, but after a couple of hours we were running out of bait so we started using "pieces" and that worked fine.

When wading the river I usually carry crankbaits and 3" Kalin or Zoom Fat Albert grubs with a few insider jigs, I travel pretty light.

A quiet morning, an original pop r (bass colour) Here on the Rideau I try to hit double digits before the locks open.It doesn't always happen but it's fun trying.

My favorite is a spinnerbait.But my number#1 fish catcher would have to be a texas rigged crawfish.

I love the Yamamoto Senkos, especially anywhere from the 4-6 inch. The best colors in my mind are white and pink. I've caught countless fish in countless situations and countless places. No weights, just the Senko. It's an odd plastic. It seems pretty heavy in your hand but once you get it rigged properly, and when I say properly I mean PERFECT, it will fall very very slowly and have a consistent wobble to the tail. Try them out, even though they aren't the cheapest bait on the market.

On a River:  I would put a 4" DT Hula Grub on a 1/4 oz. football head.  I fish it on 10 pound fluorocarbon line and spinning tackle.  If you can get it bumping along the bottom its only a matter of time.

On a Lake:  A 8" Yamamoto worm w/ 1/8 oz bullet head.  Fish it in and around weeds on 12-14 pound line.

I would use a red worm my local fishing store texas rigged.

a zoom watermellon seed  mag 11 worm.. works everytime

#1-  Texas Rigged 6-7" plastic  Powerworm in plum for stained water and watermelonseed in clear.

#2- Pop-r

casting a spinnerbait just past treetrunks or alongside fallen logs.

1.) Wacky rigged Senko.

depending on situation:

Either a wacky rigged senko

               OR

A texas rigged motor oil power worm.

Day in Day out, I can always count on a 8" June bug colored worm, carolina rigged. That has caught fish when nothing else seemed to work.

My #1 fish catching tactic is throwing a clear tiny torpedo with a red treble hook, and slow jerk it back.  Will catch any fish and bass any time of the day for me.  

Wish them dam bluegills would leave it alone...lmao  

If it's late in a tournament and I need a fish or two to make my limit,I go to the spinnerbait and cover alot of water.Fishing well known fish-holding places only (docks,laydown brush,deep brushpiles) you will eventually run across an aggressive fish at one of those places.

This strategy applies only after the water reaches at least 50-52.

1) Spinnerbait

2) Rattle trap

If I just had to catch fish, any fish, it would be a silver Rapala minnow.

Crankbait or a wacky senko these are the only two that I know will catch fish any time any where day in and day out.

6" ribbiontail worm pumpkinseed color. 2/0 owner offset hook. Texas rigged with the sinker pegged. Fished moderatly slow. This thing will always catch fish. Even when they have a bad case of lock jaw.

Tight Lines,

Fatdaddy151

Red gulp worm with no weight on a 1/0 hook, toss it into the hole of the weeds

My number one fish catching tactic is a

Zoom, june bug, trick worm rigged with a Gambler Florida rig weight 1/8 ounce.

My favorite lure to throw is a Luhr Jensen 1/8 oz. spped trap - crystal crawdad in color.  That lure rocks!!

fishforfree

1) Spinnerbait

2) Rattle trap

If I just had to catch fish, any fish, it would be a silver Rapala minnow.

I agree. When I'm fishing for small bass in a lake or pond with bass not very big, and most likely in a canoe, I like a size 5-6 Rapala. Prefereably, the Floating Rapala.