# Choosing the right lure for the right time of year.



## Fish4Fun (Apr 6, 2004)

Ok as the seasons change and you make your lure selections how do you progress and what do you use. I have really started taking bass fishing seriously in the past 2yrs and read alot but still struggle at times picking the right lure for the right conditions. So basically how do most of you choose for example what do you start with in the spring then go to at spawn then the time before the water heats up then dead of summer then so on and so on. 
I am not looking for your exact lures just some ideas on what you pick for times of year and why. And do you know of any online articles about the issue.


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## atrkyhntr (May 31, 2004)

I use to fish a couple circuits (redman/OBTC) and my choice never depended on the time of year but on the conditions...
I always have a couple safety pin style spinner baits tied on with one having a streamlined plastic trailer for speed casting and covering more ground for active fish, speed does not mean fast more like covering an area faster then another choice like rubber worms... The other spinner I'll have a bulky trailer so I can fish it slower with more hops, stops and the like... Then I'll move into the cover or flat or area I am fishing and slow down with a crank bait that will bump the bottom then retrieved slowly... I'll have 2 rods rigged one for shallow one for deeper...
I'll try an erratic retrieve and love the suspending lures that I can hold in one spot and shake with a fast tipped rod...
I'll comeback with a carolina rigged worm small/medium depending on time if year and pull it along any flats in the area... then I'll switch to a pegged worm again small/medium and work edged cover and in some pockets but I'll also have a jig ready to go if I need to get in and out of some thick stuff as I move in towards shoreline cover... During times I'll toss a buzzbait when I 1st hit an area trying to get active fish 1st... You don't want to run right in and spook fish you could have caught at 1st...
More then anything else you'll have to stick with a sequence that suits your style of fishing and don't get in the rut of tossing something all day you need to be versatile more then anything else and learn how to use what your using...
My best advice is remember to look for bass on edges in deep water structure like points and curves in river channels that is where you'll catch your better bass from areas that I call staging areas that bass use to hold on when waiting to go up on flats or shallow feeding areas... Man you can take a lot of bass from these areas when conditions are right... I like jig/pig fishing these areas but slow rolling a a spinner with a bulky trailer works well too.
Safety pin style spinners can be fished in so many ways with a variety of trailers that you can almost get away with using them all day but don't get caught up in them like some guys do and learn how to use every bass lure out there and what conditions they work best in...
If you have to at times only take one style of lure with you and learn how to use it...
Re-tie often and check your line...
90% of the fish are behind you when fishing shallow cover bro 
Don't think you'll pick up bass fishing overnite you will continue to grow every year untill you can't go anymore which is the only time you will stop learning...
oh yea get lake maps and use them along with a fishing logbook


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## Buzzman (May 1, 2004)

I know my thoughts have changed over the years on this subject, but in general, I try to think about what they're eating.

In the spring, I start with crayfish immitations: jigs, crankbaits, c-rigs. I will check the spinnerbait and the jerkbait bite at this time as well.

Summer = plastics and topwater.

Fall, I go to shad and / or minnow baits (crankbaits, spinnerbaits).

The one lure that I will have on all year is a Rat L Trap.


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## Flipp (Apr 5, 2004)

There are a few things I look at to determine what to throw that particular.
1.Time of year
2.Water Temp
3.Water Level
4.Weather Conditions
I always have a couple flippin sticks with a jig and tube. Spinnerbait, Crankbaits Jerkbait depending on what time of year. Strike King diamond shad,fluke and a tube jig.

It just takes some messing around until you figure out what they want.

Good Luck!


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## Fish4Fun (Apr 6, 2004)

Thanks for the input guys, Last year i pretty much keep a rod riged with a worm one with jig pig one with spinner bait and one with crank. All using my best producing for each one. and just keep fishing them different ways until something hit. Just trying to learn more as i go. Thanks agian.


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## Warpath (May 23, 2004)

F4F,

RW will teach you a thing or two. It's all about experience. The more time you spend on the water the more you will remember. Personally, I have a strength and a versatility approach I learned from some CD's by Mike Iaconelli. My strength are blade baits. I thow them in a multitude of sizes and situations. But I am also very in tune with when they aren't working. that's when I switch up. Keeping rods rigged like you stated is a good idea. As I have gotten "better" (used loosely of course), I learned what I don't need. I've downsized my tackle tremendously. I only carry a few colors of jigs (black/blue, green/watermelon, and white), spinnerbaits (white, chartreuse, and white/chartreuse), and plastics (green pumpkin/watermelon, blue/black, and junebug. Cranks I get more colors, but not nearly all of them available. 

Seasonally, I throw a lot of crawfish colored cranks early in the season that I may not throw again all year. I use firetiger early in the year, and again in fall. Summer time, that color dies for me. But if I'm cranking rip rap or rockpiles, you better believe I'll have a crawfish crank on. Grassbeds, I'll use shad/bluegill colored baits. It all comes from confidence and experience.

Eric


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## TritonBill (Apr 9, 2004)

My choices depend on conditions and the particular body of water I'm fishing but... In general I like to flip/pitch alot early in the year and also carolina rig at times. Until the spawn occurs its a challenge to find the fish between their deep wintering holes and their staging areas for spawn. Once the spawn is over I like to fish points alot and flip/pitch early through midday. In the summer I like to fish vegetation(weeds,grass,lily pads) but will flip/pitch early and late. In the summer I also switch to night fishing alot to avoid the crowds. In the fall I'm back to flip/pitchin alot and fishing points and roadbeds. In the fall I'll also still fish remaining vegetation. I also like to hit the creeks in spring and fall and more main lake stuff during summer.

www.bassresource.com has articles broke down by seasons and always is good reference material.


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## Marshall (Apr 11, 2004)

Don't be afraid to try something crazy that most people would not think of doing. Its crazy how a bass will smack a rattletrap in 48 degree water but not touch a spinnerbait for example. (on some days). Little things like going against the grain can score you a big fish when other presentations are not working. I agree with what everyone else said also. Good Luck.


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## johnboy111711 (Apr 7, 2004)

in extremely cold water, lipless cranks will work...i know someone who caught a bass on one in 38degree water last year. Vibration almost always works while bass fishing.


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## basstrackerman (Apr 6, 2004)

atrkyhntr said:


> I use to fish a couple circuits (redman/OBTC) and my choice never depended on the time of year but on the conditions...
> 
> I'll comeback with a carolina rigged worm small/medium depending on time if year and pull it along any flats in the area...



ok which is it?? time of year or not??? lol


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## atrkyhntr (May 31, 2004)

hahahaa...
I plead the 5th


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## Reel Man (Jul 4, 2004)

Jerry, It is probably more important to identify where the fish are on any given day. There are always a variety of lures that will work to catch the same fish. Type and color are important but you won't catch anything throwing your lure to a place where there are no fish. Here's a link to an article by Mike Iaconelli that offers some excellent information on finding fish through out the year. http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/tournament_preparation.html


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