Start Cheating... on Yourself

Fishing forums are filled to the gills with people talking about fishing, catching and the baits they are using to do it. Among those baits are certain ones that you have heard about for years and constantly pass over when tying on a new lure while on the lake. I've been doing it for almost 30 years.

I don't like spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and until recently jigs. I've never had a lot of luck on them and they just gave me no confidence. I see friends, family and famous people throwing spinnerbaits but when I do it, it's...well...it's a suck fest. Chatterbaits are just weird to me. My dad likes them and caught his biggest bass ever on one but for me, again, suck fest. Jigs, the same story. Until last week.

I've had limited success previously on jigs. That translates to one six pound bass in the dead of winter. One time. It was a great fish but I quickly went back to my favorite confidence baits (Hag's Tornado Baits). I am sure we've all done it, told ourselves we would branch out and try a new bait that works well for lots of people and is great in lots of applications. We buy some of those new to us baits and take them with us. And then when the opportunity arises, the new tool never gets used.

Speaking personally, I've sold scores of baits that were out of package and merely chauffeured around in my kayak.  I hate that but I just wouldn't cheat. I wouldn't cheat on my confidence bait. I wouldn't cheat on myself. As a creature of habit and seeking to actually catch fish I had to break my mindset. Completely. When you take personal pride in outsmarting nature and convince a fish to eat a non-food item, it's hard to break that. Fly fishermen understand this even more when they tie their own flies. I remember my first fly I caught a trout on that I had personally tied. It was amazing!

So what did I do? I set myself up for success. To gain confidence, you need to locate water with actively feeding fish. Then, you need to cheat on yourself. You need to quit taking your confidence baits. It is much easier said than done and it feels wrong. Only take the bait you need to get to know. Take several of them but stay within that category. For me, the first item was the jig.

I had received a boost of confidence from friends on the forums who already know the fish catching power of the jig. I followed their advice and went to work. Within 15 minutes of launching, I had my first jig fish of the year in the kayak. My Commander 140, nicknamed "Winter Soldier" was proving a great platform for this type of fishing. I could stand, sit or crouch and lay into the hookset to get these fish out of the cover. With early success, I continued to percolate confidence and land several more fish. All on the jig. The other bonus was all of the fish were 14 inches or larger.

Planning for success coupled with forcing the situation made it happen and now the jig has a permanent place in my bait rotation. To me that makes me a better fisherman.

Now I just need to cheat a little more and learn to love a spinnerbait.

Three Fishing Techniques Everyone Should Try

Almost any fisherman you talk to has a confidence bait. Give them two hours to catch a fish on a lake they have never fished and usually, the first thing they throw will be the confidence bait. I have one. It's a four inch soft plastic from Hag's Tornado Baits, the F4. People who have fished with me know I throw this bait a lot. I really like two colors but the bait is the same (Watermelon/Chartreuse and Purple Haze for those wanting to know). I fish it on a split shot rig and have caught fish just about everywhere doing so. When conditions are tough I'll throw it and of course even when they aren't I'll throw it.

This year and last I have branched out some and started fishing baits and styles I had been hesitant to try in the past. All three of them have produced fish for me and I find myself using them more and more often. I am now of the opinion that everyone should give these a go if they haven't. With a little patience and time on the water, these three techniques will put fish in your kayak.

#1 Jigs

Lots of people fish jigs already but I am always surprised by how many don't. It takes some research, some patience and time on the water but jigs can produce big fish year round. There are several different types of jigs designed for different types of structure. For reference you can check out this article: Jig Styles

Find a good trailer that will help slow the descent in the water or cause a disruptance/gain attention. I use the Hag's Jr Undertaker with great success. It stands on end when submerged to imitate an attack stance of a crayfish. Others use similar craw imitations. If you are going to be swimming it, more like a spinnerbait, add a paddle tailed trailer.

What I have learned is to find an area that has good structure, right temp and depth for that time of year and bang your jig on every single stick, rock and piling in the area. Usually the fish will hit it on the fall or the first twitch. Don't lose faith. Keep practicing. You will catch fish.

Warbaits Slayer Swim Jig

#2 Drop Shot

Not too far removed from split shot rigs, this was an easy one for me to pick up. It is more finesse than a lot of people fish and if you are a cast and burn type of fisherman, this will take some getting used to. Put the weight below the hook, tie a special knot, add a small plastic and cast. Keep your line tight and either dead stick or lightly twitch. That's it. We could talk about it for days but in all actuality, look at the diagram below and give it a shot. Chances are you've got most of the stuff already.

Courtesy of netknots.com

#3 Swimbaits

When I say swimbaits, I am NOT referring to those little four inch, paddle tailed, hollow bodied soft plastics. While technically those are swimbaits, it's not what I am referring too. The swimbaits I am talking about are big, heavy and catch monsters. Well, at least they don't catch dinks as often (though they still can). It takes a special discipline to throw swimbaits. They range from $10-$400 in price, require special rods and reels to handle them and you could go weeks without a single bite. Some popular baits are the Huddleston Trout, 3:16 Wake Jr, MS Slammer, 21st Century Triple Trout, Spro BBZ, and Mike Bucca's Bull Shad. Of course there are others but most of these are very well known. Forums of people talking about nothing but swimbaits are becoming more and more abundant. The bait looks so big in your hand you wonder how some bass would ever eat it. You'd be surprised at what a bass will try to inhale. In the video below you'll see one of my first swimbait fish. I was throwing a white 7" MS Slammer. The bass crushed it after the first big twitch. It was only 13" long. I had reservations about throwing big baits until this happened. I found this creek on Lake Belton that wound way back and the only access was by foot. I decided to try it and bam! Fish on. Here is the video:

Don't be afraid to get out of your comfort zone a little bit. Try new things. Keep your confidence baits at home. One day one of these three may become your confidence bait!

Have another technique you think others should try? Tell them! Spread the love!