Hey guys, I can never get the fish to heat up on plastics or rubbers. I tried popping corks and jig heads and can never get the bite. I have luck using live bait though. I would like to not have to find or buy bait all the time. Any advice for me?
14’ Mckee Craft 70 HP Yamaha
13’ Stinger 15 HP Yamaha
First, make sure you have a good variety (colors, sizes, paddle tails, jerk baits, trout tricks, shrimp, etc)… I primarily use Z Man artificials, they work for me, tons of options and they are durable. I like to have several prerigged with Trout Eye jig heads and weighted flutter hooks… That way I can keep changing baits without tearing up my tackle… Now assuming you are seeing fish or know that they are their but won’t strike, try changing up your retrieval… I fished Tuesday and Wednesday and what worked one day did nothing the next, happens, gotta mix it up until you find what works… Tuesday mullet style (mullettron) was the ticket. Wednesday beginning of incoming, cast to a school of reds on a flat for 30 minutes, changed baits ten times, couldn’t get a strike… Finally, root beer/chartreuse pogyZ twitching slow across the bottom… Slow… Bam 32" red… Threw to him a dozen times, I assume it was the change of retrieval that drew the strike… Fish probably wasn’t hungry (tons of bait everywhere) but couldn’t resist an easy meal. Other times it’s a reactionary strike by a fish looking to feed… Good rule of thumb is to start with an artificial that resembles the bait in the area and go from there…
I second what slickcrick said. When it comes to artificials, you have be flexible and able to change up things quickly and often. I typically head out with five rods rigged with various baits. I typically try to have the entire water column covered. I’ll have a topwater, something(s) to cover the middle of the water column, and something(s) to drag/hop across the bottom.
Pay attention to what the fish are telling you (as opposed to what you want to catch them on) and you’ll start putting more fish in the boat. Patience, persistence, and an open mind, along with confidence, will keep your lines tight.
It also helps to remember to have fun. Unless you’re a guide or a full-time tournament angler, it’s not like you’re doing this for a living. There’s always something to be learned when you’re on the water. Even those days when you get skunked, there’s something to learn from it.
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2 very good replies there. Hard to add much to them.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Swamp Worshiper
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
Good stuff here! I’d add that in general I think people who don’t have much success with artificials fish them too fast. Slow down. Watch your rod tip. Keep motion less than 12 inches, or better yet 6 inches. Also manage the slack in your line. Bites will come on the fall of the lure. If you have too much slack you won’t feel it.
2000 SeaPro 180CC w/ Yammy 115 2 stroke
1966 13’ Boston Whaler w/ Merc 25 4 stroke “Flatty”
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Practice, practice, practice. I was never a fan but, fishing with Vinman and seeing the success he (and others) had made me want to learn how. Still not great but, there are many days I catch more on arties than on live bait. My youngest caught his first ever red on his first ever attempt (first cast) to fish artificials (a trout trick). Of course he expected such success everytime after that.
“Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”.
Thanks guys! I am a younger fisherman and haven’t master the art of artificials yet. These tips were very helpful!
14’ Mckee Craft 70 HP Yamaha
13’ Stinger 15 HP Yamaha
quote:
I am a younger fisherman
Fantastic. We need more of those.
With all the live bait moving into the creeks right now artificial baits would not be my first choice. It might be for some, not mine. I use plastics when bait is scarce. Everybody does their own thing though. A few throws of a cast net should get you all you need to catch fish. A few live shrimp, mud minnows, small menhaden, mullet, any small fish will probably out catch artificial baits right now. It’s that time of year.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Swamp Worshiper
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
Thank you Larry!
14’ Mckee Craft 70 HP Yamaha
13’ Stinger 15 HP Yamaha
I like and agree with: “When it comes to artificials, you have be flexible and able to change up things quickly and often.” & " Pay attention to what the fish are telling you (as opposed to what you want to catch them on) and you’ll start putting more fish in the boat." Best advice I ever got was from an old fisherman who always said " You have to learn to make adjustments, adjust your bait and retrieve to what the fish want to eat." I’d just add, identify what works best for you and build on that. The bait and/or retrieve that works great in the morning might not be the bait or retrieve that you need to be trying at noon. We all have little differences in the way we work baits. Some baits work better than others depending on the variables of each day and how active the fish are. Light line or fluorocarbon will get you a lot more bites in clear water than mono. Keep asking questions and if you get the chance fish or talk with some of the experienced fishermen who are fishing the same areas that you fish. “Experienced” sounds a lot better than “old”, but most of us experienced old guys can usually figure out what will put fish in the boat.
For example, I’ll be fishing clear freshwater today and I have six pre-rigged rods. Only one will have mono on it. Don’t know for sure what the fish will bite, but at some point during the day I will probably have tried all of my preselected baits and a few others. If I guessed right I might already have the right bait on one of these rods. If not I have a bunch more to try.
Thanks for the advice spoonmaster. I am trying to expand my tackle and get more rods but i do not have the money to afford them while trying to pay for college. I will definitely use your techniques.
14’ Mckee Craft 70 HP Yamaha
13’ Stinger 15 HP Yamaha
Where are you going to school?
“Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”.
Charleston Southern University
14’ Mckee Craft 70 HP Yamaha
13’ Stinger 15 HP Yamaha
Getcha some of these! Have your different lures all pre-rigged and just change them out as needed. You can change a lure and leader out in less than 30 seconds if you put a snap swivel on the leader and a swivel on the end of the main line!
http://www.walmart.com/ip/RigRap-Yellow-4-Pack/35260635
PS: I’ve got 16 of them and each has a different rig ready to go. I’m getting more!
My son is a rising sophomore at CofC, he started a fishing club there. He is CofCfishing here on CF.
“Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”.
As far as rods go, check out the swap shop or any local flea market. You can find some fairly good used rods and reels at flea markets for very little money. As long as the reels work you can atleast put a Carolina rig on them. I didn’t do too well fishing today. Didn’t put a keeper in the boat until around 12:00. Tried a bunch of different baits without any success. Finally managed to catch a limit of small largemouth and a few more short ones. Never could get a good kicker fish. Tried a variety of baits, but could only get bit with either Texas or Carolina rigged plastic worms. Caught bass with three different worms. The worm I caught the most keeper bass with today was a Zoom Green Pumpkin Magic trick worm.
Thanks guys! DFreedom, I’m also a rising sophomore. The want to get something like that started at CSU
14’ Mckee Craft 70 HP Yamaha
13’ Stinger 15 HP Yamaha
Trout Tricks on jig heads
Zman paddlerZ on jigheads, my favorite color is pinfish
I used to be one of those guys who had every soft plastic and color under the sun. Now I use 3 soft baits, DOA Shrimp, shrimp colored paddletail grub, and a trout trick, period. I use a plain grey headed 1/4oz jig head. Assuming you’re on fish that will bite an artificial, one of those 3 will do it. All the color variations and jig heads with eyes are meant to catch fishermen as much as fish. Yes the other colors will catch fish, but like I said, if they won’t hit one of those 3 things, they won’t hit an artie. The two caveats to that is if I’m throwing baits to reds on a flat I’ll rig the shrimp paddletail with a plain worm hook or a light flutter hook. If I’m throwing to them when they are falling out of the grass and patrolling down the banks I’ll bite the tail off a DOA and rig it backwards.
X2…IMHO, and this may not be true for all species, but I think most fisherman put way too much emphasis on color. How many years was a trout trick only available in one color and caught lots of fish? In most cases, I believe, type of artificial, depth and presentation are waaaay more critical than colors.
'07 198 DLX Carolina Skiff
FS90 Suzuki