This is a three part question.

1- how often do you try a new bait, not necessarily new to the market but a bait you normally wouldnt use. or even a color you have never used.

2- how much time would you spend using that new bait till you have decided yea or ney. this leads into the next question.

3- how long till you have enough confidence in that new bait to keep it tied your line.

Now I will tell you why these questions came to mind. Tonight at my home lake I tied on a bait in a color that I would normally never have given a chance. I got it out of the bargain bin at Gander Mt. In two hours of fishing I caught 8 fish. On the same bait. After 1 fish I was going to switch baits, but figured with only an hour and half left to fish, why? Its good I didnt.

Those questions are great. They sure got me thinking. I have turned into a fisherman with tunnel vision. I throw the same confidence lures day after day time after time and I catch fish most of the time. But I want so bad to get confidence in jigs. So tomorrow that is all I'm going to take on the boat with me. Thanks.

I try something new with baits virtually every time I fish.  Even if it's something I use all the time, I'll change something up.  A little dye here, a rattle there, a bigger sinker, smaller hook, etc.

But as far as NEW baits.  This year I have tried shallow cranks, rat-l-traps, jigs, and texas rigs.  I've used all of these before, but I'm getting better equipment and experimenting, trying to perfect each technique.  With those rigs, you should be able to consistantly put fish in the boat.  Carolina rigs are next.

Confidence baits are baits that either I KNOW work and I'm screwing it up somehow (the above 5 that I'm working on)  I keep those tied on because I know I have to learn how to fish them in various conditions.  But for a bait to earn it's rightful place as an anytime, anywhere confidence bait, it has to put about 20lbs of fish in the boat over a short span of time.  Surprisingly, I'm getting a lot of confidence these days.  This has been my best bass year ever thusfar.

As far as how long I'll spend with a bait...that depends on the conditions.  I team fish a lot so my buddy and I use different lures to pattern faster.  Generally he reconfirms that Flukes are baits that were designed by God himself.  But we've picked up a bunch of bass on other stuff.  I'll generally spend about 6months fishing a bait before I lose all hope to be sure I've fished it in a variety of temperatures, situations, and weather conditions.  Almost every bait will work...it's just a matter of figuring out color, size, when, and where.  That takes research...which sucks but really, really pays off.

Well iam still new to fishing.So the Yum hawgtail has put over 30lbs on the rod & reels.Every time i go fishing i try something alittle new to me a bait or anything that i have seen on the fourms or the net i will try to help better myself and be a better fisherman.

Scoot

I am always picking up a new bait here and there and eventurally they pile up so some trips I do nothing but test these that I have stockpiled.  I really like doing it when fishing with a friend.  This allows me to see how they are compareing against the old faithfuls we normally use.  I do like to try or repeat useing a new one that didn't pan out on a previous trip almost everytime I go when the conditions vary.

I like to throw a new bait every time I fish.  Its not actually a new bait I usually throw, just different colors.  I will spend an entire trip experimenting with a new bait.  Just last weekend all I threw was a white jig, because I had never used one before.  At first, it kinda sucked.  Then I figured out how they wanted it, and caught em' all day long.  Needless to say, its one of my new confidence baits.

I like to try something new fairly often.  I try to pick times when I think my new bait will be a good presentation to try to give it the best chance to be successfull.  I also like to find an old presentation or two that is somewhat similar and that I think would work under those same conditions to see how it stacks up.

This forum "forces me" to use new lures all the time. I use only the ones that are highly recommended and I have to say none of them let me down so far.

I try something new pretty much everytime I go out. Whether it be a new bait, color, rig, etc. I always try to give the fish something different to look at.

I hear you guys changing the bait, but how about the set up sometimes instead of the bait.   Tweaking the pattern instead of finding a new one all together.   On Rayburn, watermelon candy had to be a good choice, a brim colored egg stealing lizzard.   Caught a few on T-rig 1/4 oz bullet, then changed the bullet to smaller size to slow the fall.   So, so.    Electronics showed fish suspended off bottom, so I went to drop shotting a watermelon candy fluke 18 inches.   That was the ticket .

Next morning, topwaters didn't start well, they were up, but just not wanting to take the surface plug.    Went to split shotting the fluke, 1/16thoz which stayed in the strikezone better until the sun got up and put them back deeper, then switched back to drop shotting.   Watermelon candy.

Bass see the same presentation of color every day.   Sometimes tweaking the pattern is done by changing presentations, changing the color slightly, down sizing line, weight, hook, leader size, nosie/rattle or no noise.   Sometimes on glassey days, instead of rattles, ill use two beads, or 1 bead and the weight.

When you know the base color should be green or shades of green, you have pepper, chart and pepper, green fleck/blu fleck/watermelon red/ gold fleck and the list goes on.     The same colors for years have always worked, so I stick to base colors,  too many brands and types out there.   Too much stuff to carry or think about.

If you owned everything on the market, you'd sink your boat carring it.

Matt's absolutely right.  I play around all the time until I'm consistantly getting bit.  Sometimes it's a completely new bait, sometimes a new color, sometimes a new rig.  If you know that they -should- be hitting a plastic worm but they won't hit a traditional Texas Rig, switch to a dropshot or a C-Rig.  Change the size, color, sinker, and even hooksize.  That has actually worked for me.  Smaller hooks make fishing a bit tougher, but can slow down the fall rate of a bait just a tad.  

Also Matt, when you drop-shotted a fluke, what kind of structure were you around?  I've wanted to try it, but never have.  I have a confidence issue with fishing right under the boat, though I know it works, but I don't know where it works at  

I used to call myself "the bait manufacturers best friend" because I would buy it all.

Now I'm less so but not completely cured (chatterbait for example)

For me, confidence is everything.  I need to catch a few fish on a new bait to gain some confidence in it.

When fishing I start off tossing a little bit of everything but if something doesn't start getting bit pretty quick, I go back to my "confidence" lures.

I always try to try a new bait when I am fun fishing. However, when I am fishing in a tournament I usualy stick to what I have confidence in.

At almost 67 years of age, y'all may think it strange but I'm trying completely new or new-to-me baits almost all the time and am I glad I have.  Matt's Baby Bass brought me several Bass, ranging from 1.5 to my PB, a '9'.  I took a chance on Senkos.........back in 1999(before I found the internet) and on the perfect hook for them, GY's Sugoi and they've been successful for me over the years.  And recently, the Chatterbait has been a Bass catcher for me.  An open mind....................................... 8-)

Some that didn't work:  Doug Hannon's Snakes >, Berkley Blade Dancer, some custom-made cr/baits, etc.

Dan

At almost 67 years of age, y'all may think it strange but I'm trying completely new or new-to-me baits almost all the time

Way to go!

I still have a lot to learn, so as long as there's money left, I'll feed that voracious monkey

If the day ever came when I resisted change, that would be the day I hang up my rod :'(

Roger

Ain't Texan,

                Well, first I was in the flats with humps from 9ft upto 3ft with hydrilla.

Only produced fish up to 2.5 pounds consistently.    2.5 pounders arent gonna win any money there.

The 147 bridge across Sam has horizontal cement structures that start at 12 ft deep at current lake level.   The 'H' of the bridge under water.    I showed fish suspended on top off these structures in 20-30 ft deep water.    Feeding on crappie was my thoughts.   I graphed each one till I found the same picture i was looking for.    I had downsized my line.   I lost two fish right out of the gate breaking my line.  I switched to 17 pound McCoys mean green and never got the big bite again.    Big fish love crappie.     There was small bait feeding on the algae growth on bridge piling on the sunny side.   Every once in awhile, crappie would bee-line up and hit the baitfish.    I expected that the bass where waiting for the crappie to come up and the bass where ambushing the crappie.

I had mentioned before on another thread that I have never been on Sam without any wind, and Sat and Sunday basically glassed.   gnats were so bad, you couldn't see, breath, or get them out of you nose or ears long enough to concentrate.  We called it an early day and packed it up.   Sprays didn't effect them, smoke or anything else.    Even my partner lit up a cigar.

Hookem

Matt.

If I'm going out to have fun or just waste time and really don't care if I catch anything then that is when I will tie on something "new."  If I was fishing in a competitive mode then I will fish with my "confidence" baits.  

One of the baits that I'm going to try to gain confidence in is a crank bait.  I just can't seem to catch anything on them.  

I'm ready bait monkey.  I give in.

I usually try a new unused bait every trip. The last one used was a white 1/2 oz Chatterbait, which fooled stripers, bass from 1/2-2.5#, and one slab crappie. Because it appeals to multiple species I probably won't use it often. I've ordered the largest one to try eliminating small fish.

As soon as I see the water conditions I tie on 7 proven baits before launching, then begin eliminating them for better working choices.

Jim

By nature,I'm an angler who has about ten confidence lures that I go to time and time again...even when they're not working.That is a weakness in my game.Since being a member of the forum and hearing about new(for me)and different baits,tactics,and methods;I've expanded my variety a little bit.For example,I'd tried to use a c-rig before but never gave it a chance.After hearing all about it here,It's developed into one of my favorites.The same with straight tailed finese worms.And I've really become proficient pitchin'and flippin' tubes,jigs,and creature baits.

I only buy new lures highly recommended by members of this forum.

I only fish new lures when I have a big bite going.

I only fish lures on three outings if they aren't working for me.

I'm an absolute tackle junkie. The bait monkey has me on speed dial, so I buy lots of baits. But, I ususally try the new ones only when nothing else is working. I'll tie on a new bait and fish it until I know what it feels like when its running through the water, banging off rocks, digging into the bottom deflecting off brush, etc. Once I know what a new lure feels like, I'm ready to apply it to a given situation where I think it may work. Sometimes, when experimenting with new baits, I catch some fish. Those are the ones I have the most confidence in. If I catch nothing on a bait after three or four tries, it goes into the bait cave. (the corner of the garage that's mine)  Every now and then, I'll dig through those discarded baits, and pull out a couple to give another try. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. For me, new stuff is a big part of the fun.

Matt is right, you can't take it all. Part of the fun is planning each outing, sorting out what to take and what to leave home.