Tips and Reviews

Approaching a new technique on a budget

Assessing new techniques is something every competitive angler trying to keep an edge has to be willing to do, and as with everything in this sport, it can easily become very expensive both financially as well as eating up valuable time on the water.

Whether or not to try new lures and techniques is not really an option for competitive anglers. To allow yourself to fall behind on what could be the new winning technique sweeping the country could put you at a serious disadvantage. However, most of us don’t have the time or money to waste jumping down the rabbit hole of every new fad. So instead, I’ll go over a slightly more efficient and cost effective way to test out the latest and greatest things to the bass fishing marketplace.

Avoid the bandwagon baits

One thing that happens all the time is that when the latest Pro to win the Super Big Bass Championship with the new Crankbait X in the Wacka Billy Bayou Red Craw with an astounding lead, guess what sells out quick at the big online tackle stores? You guessed it.. you can’t get your hands on that Wacka Billy Bayou Red Craw and it is backordered for 4 months. You just saved yourself some money, because even if you grabbed it, odds are you wouldn’t have done as well as the Pro did, and you would have a dozen of them rusting away in the bottom of your boat.

Most of the time confidence is the reason for the bait’s success, and the pro probably made some adjustments to the bait, or fished it in a way that he isn’t going to share completely. But boy that sponsor of his is sure pleased with the stores calling them up to restock on that Wacka Billy Bayou Red Craw! There has also been plenty of cases when that Pro was a little less than honest about what bait won the event for him.

Instead of jumping on those hot baits every time they seem to have crushed them during a tournament, focus instead on the baits that have a consistent track record, or are something you feel will work best for your style of fishing. Lures that will work good in the places you fish the most is another important factor if you’re a local tournament angler, or maybe a technique you feel you need to work on to strengthen your versatility.

Aim small, miss small

When you want to test a new lure, grab 1 or 2 in confidence colors. A color that works when you intend to throw it at a lake you fish that you have confidence on. For me, the basic soft plastics colors that I have most confidence in are green pumpkin and black and blue. Those are the first colors I will buy in just about any soft plastic I want to test out. I can adjust from there if I think the bait itself is working to fine tune for the best bite later, if it actually passes the test.

Match the bass patterns with the testing so you are getting a true result. Red is a popular crank color in later Winter, early Spring just about everywhere. There is no point in trying to test a red crank in the middle of summer. It may work, but it may be more luck more than the bait. For moving baits, we have shad here so I stick with basic shad colors when trying new baits regardless of time of year. Getting color crazy can come later when the bait has proven itself.

Confidence is key

Hit a lake where you have the most confidence in, and try every retrieve with confidence. Picture what the lure looks like in your head as you move it through the water. Picture that bass coming after the bait on every retrieve, believe in it like it is your favorite, most productive bait.

When you are smashing them on your favorite technique, pull out that new set up. You know the bite is on, you know you have feeding fish around the boat, build some confidence in the technique while conditions are ideal.

The same thought process goes for size or weight as well. If the 7 inch worm seems like your best size, then that is the size to test new worms. If the 3/8 spinnerbait work well for you, testing a swim jig in the same weight may be the ticket. Everybody has a different opinion with trailers, stick with what works best for you.

A negative attitude is a technique killer, and it’s easy to get frustrated. Don’t think for a minute that the guys in the videos just go out and smash fish all the time using the bait or technique. It’s a tool in an arsenal. Don’t give up on the bait the first hour, or the first day. Keep working at it.

Put the other baits away

If you really want to give this new technique a go, then commit to it. Read up, watch videos, and learn all you can before tying it on. Eliminate as much research time off the water first, narrowing down the best depths, cover, and retrieves before you get on the water. Pick a day that conditions are ideal and just throw it all day. Don’t bring 20 rods rigged with 20 different things, just attack that new technique like a machine.

Dedicating the majority of the day to a technique is where good anglers fine tune presentations. Trying and making notes of what works and and fine tuning from there. If you get bit when you paused the retrieve, try it again and vary the pause. 2 second pauses after 5 handle turns for a few casts, 1 second pauses for a few casts etc. is how you can fine tune a bait in, as well as fine tune a bite in general.

Don’t pimp the lure out… yet.

Another thing you will hear folks talk about with a lure is replacing hooks, split rings, trimming skirts, dipping the tail in magic garlic chartreuse glow butter and more strange things that you can shake a stick at. Overwhelming and expensive, forget about that for now. When you are initially testing our a new technique there is no need to go through all that expense before you even get the bait wet. Some of the modifications can be as expensive as the lure itself.

Go prove it gets bit first, make sure its a lure that you will have confidence in and you will throw. Don’t worry if you drop a fish while testing because the hooks weren’t the super micro razor sharp titanium mega beast sticky award winning hook of the century, you will remember that and can make those adjustments down the road. Fine tuning with dipping in dyes, or trimming etc can be done as needed later after you build some confidence and its time to fine tune to a situation for more or bigger bites.

Use the gear you have

Another costly piece of adding a new technique to arsenal is pairing up with the “ideal” rod and reel set up. There will be cases where the technique is best used on specific gear, and we don’t always have that ideal set up. In general, a 7’ Medium-Heavy spinning or casting combo is a good base starting point to test just about everything. Again, when the technique proves itself, you can fine tune the combo as needed.

Summary

• Start with consistent and proven baits
  
• Go with new baits that fit your fishing style
  
• Keep the initial color choices simple with your confidence colors
  
• Keep the weights and sizes of the bait in your confidence zone
  
• Give the new bait time on the water with attention to details
  
• Upgrade terminal tackle after its a proven winner in practice / fun fishing
  
• Use what you have for gear and fine tune later as needed