All the threads about various lures that so many use effectively has me thinking about how I've caught thousands of fish up north, but have never caught a single fish using any of the following popular methods:

a bass on a spinner bait (and I've cast spinner baits many, many times in bass thick waters to catch pike)

a bass on a rattle bait (I've tried.)

any fish drop shotting (have yet to try it)

any fish on a worm harness (have yet to try it)

any fish with a slip bobber from a campsite (Oh, I've tried!)

a swimbait (have yet to try it)

What popular bait/fish combo has eluded you?

- Jigging for Lake Trout in the Summer (Always catch these pulling cranks)

- I don't recall ever catching a walleye in BWCA on a jig and twister tail (always caught on leech and jig head or lindy rigs)

Slip bobbers and casting cranks

There's a lot I have not tried, but here's some stuff I hear referenced a lot which I haven't tried:

Lindy Rig

Worm Harness

Sucker Rig

Searchbaits (aren't they all? If you're fan casting and moving, isn't it that simple?

I try to use something new every year to expand my toolbox, and it seems like everything works to a degree if you put your mind to it. I've added weedless presentations, swimbaits, and different rigging options. This year I'm focusing on drop-shotting, which I am high on. I start with panfish around this time of year, and scale the technique up as I more on to other species. I have high hopes for drop-shotting walleye next month!

not necessarily a lure but a color pattern and thats blue/silver minnow imitation.

Jigging spoon, and lord knows I've tried

Johnson silver minnow

quote shock: "not necessarily a lure but a color pattern and thats blue/silver minnow imitation."

In clear water, especially at night, is extremely deadly.

quote mr.barley: " Johnson silver minnow"

+1 I must have had 50 hits on this damn thing before i caught my first fish on it about 25 years ago.

There is a undisclosed BWCA lake that we go to often that we can catch Walleye all day long. Then we cast out lighted slip bobbers from shore and most nights after supper we can catch 10-15 more all thrown back. We just sit on our canoe pad and have an adult beverage and a Cuban cigar and let the fun begin. Largemouth bass and Smallmouth bass on spinnerbaits all the time.

What evades me is dropshot fishing and limited success with a Senko worm rig. I've tried both but I just don't have good luck with them. Maybe I need more time on the water, I am retired now so work is no longer an excuse.

quote missmolly: "All the threads about various lures that so many use effectively has me thinking about how I've caught thousands of fish up north, but have never caught a single fish using any of the following popular methods:

a bass on a spinner bait (and I've cast spinner baits many, many times in bass thick waters to catch pike)

a bass on a rattle bait (I've tried.)

any fish drop shotting (have yet to try it)

any fish on a worm harness (have yet to try it)

any fish with a slip bobber from a campsite (Oh, I've tried!)

a swimbait (have yet to try it)


What popular bait/fish combo has eluded you? "

I'll admit my amateur nature and ask what is "drop shotting" and "worm harness"? If I have to ask, it's safe to say that I haven't ever tried these or caught fish on them!

I have no luck with spoons either.

In short, drop shotting is where your weight hangs beneath your bait or soft plastic lure.

A worm harness is a string of hooks where you hook a nightcrawler multiple times. Most have a spinner up front to further attract fish.

No luck or extremely limited catches: Rattle bait, swim baits, plastic worms and worm harness.

My go-to best tactic: Lindy rig, lindy rig with bottom bouncer and slip bobber.

Mr. Barley: a few tips on the Silver Minnow. Use a trailer like a 3-4 inch Curley tail...traditional is a 4 inch pork lizard, always good, plastic more convenient. HOWEVER, my experience is that the fish will hold on longer with the pork. Work the lure slowly, so that the head waffles back and forth, too fast and it will roll. Also, I get more strikes when going through cover, like tall cabbage weeds or brush, or flipping over a deadhead. It moves a lot, and might come off as a rather "aggressive " lure in the open, away from cover....so use it where the fish won't get a real good look at it. Also, experiment with retrieves...in 5-8-10 ft. cabbage weeds I let it sink to the bottom, slowly reel it to almost the surface, and then let it fall on a tight line. This retrieve will give you the approximate depth the fish are lurking(ambush depth). Chrome in clear water, gold in tannic, chrome at night. (We flip/pitch these at night in weeds, letting it fall out of the weed edge into the open)

quote Basspro69: "

quote shock: "not necessarily a lure but a color pattern and thats blue/silver minnow imitation."

In clear water, especially at night, is extremely deadly."

thats what i've been told , i think by you a few times LOL ;)
lets face it, anybody's achilles heal lure isnt going to get the time your bread and butter does . confidence is a big part of fishing. but i'll keep trying ,,maybe,,

I can hjonestly say I have never caught a bass on a spinnerbait, and yes I have tried. I have caught a lot of northerns on spinnerbaits. Never tried a crawler on a harness because I have cauhght plenty on jigs and crank baits.. I have drug the paint off an Erie Derry without any sucess. I did try rattletraps a few times without sucess so they were banned from my tackle box years ago. I did buy a couple of those HUGE muskie daredevils because someone told me "big lure, big fish" I drug them for miles in Canada and just got a tired arm and stronger wrists, they havent seen the sunlight in about 10 years. Every Canadain fishing trip I've read about recomends a yellow 5 of Diamonds for northerns, I bought into that hogwash, they have'nt seen sunshine for about 10 years. I could rival Cabelas fishing lure department with lures that don't catch fish. FRED

Pastor Shock preaches: "lets face it, anybody's achilles heal lure isnt going to get the time your bread and butter does . confidence is a big part of fishing. but i'll keep trying ,,maybe,,"

And I shout out: "Amen!"

Like Bassnet says the key to the Johnsons spoon is the pork trailer.........and most of the guys who toss them here on Lake Okeechobee use black and not silver. That hook has got to be hand sharpened.

I to am not a fan of the 5 of diamonds spoon pattern and come to think of it I don't think I have ever caught a fish on them. I much prefer the crackle frog daredevil and have blasted many nice pike on that color.

The Earie Dearies are lights out on walleye but only if they are suspended and that usually means off color water. Before lake Earie cleared up due to Zebra mussels my all time biggest stringer of walleye came off Earie Dearies. If you can fish them near the bottom (as with any crawler harness) they will catch plenty of fish. EZ.......just count them down to the bottom and the next cast start cranking before they hit.

I cannot ever remember catching a fish on the venerable Hulu popper.......thats rather odd actually.

FOG51: "learning" new lure types can be frustrating. Two places to try: farm ponds that are rarely fished and those 100plus days in June when you "can't do anything wrong". Pond fish that have rarely seen a lure will make feel like a pro, and a spinnerbait is tailor made for ponds. On those 100 fish days, instead of doing the same thing, pull out a spinnerbait or trap and think of it as a learning day...you know where the fish are, you know they are active. In the spring, go to the warmest water, fancast 180 degrees, reeling at a slow to mod speed. White is always good, yellow/ black if bluegill present. Colorado blade in spring, willow in summer/fall. Traps are a "niche" lure.....there are "certain" times for it. Generally a fast retrieve is best, because you don't necessarily want the fish to get a good look at it...it's loud and obnoxious, and requires fish to be rather aggressive. We do best in the spring, when the fish are actively feeding and have not seen a lure for several months, and fall, when they are Very active, chasing shad( baitfish) fattening up for fall. Spring colors are 1oz size in red(crawdads), fall in a baitfish color(for size just match the hatch). Big spinnerbaits and big Traps require levelwind reels. There are certain situations that require yo-yoing retrieve for both lures, ferget them for a bit, just go to a pond and get a feel and a bit of confidence. Of all the weird things, I I have found a big spinnerbait to be good in the fall in the BWCA on walleyes at last light in decaying weeds. As always, it's not the lure... it is the combo of location, depth, speed....just pick a lure that fits that moment. My pedigree is power bass fishing techniques at home(okla.)...I just use those techniques, and modify a tad for up north. The fish are still looking for the same thing: food , craws and minnows.

Hey, bassnet, do you ever fish out of a kayak? If you do, I'd like to interview you for one of the kayak fishing mags. You know so much and explain it so well. Wanna?

TGO method, but only because I haven't tried it. I'll likely give it a go this May.

Never even been in a kayak....canoe only for 5-6 years, most of that in a solo. Sorry.

That didn't sound right... fishing from a canoe since first bwca trip in '83, but sold my Triton 5-6 years ago, so only canoe since then.(that sounds better!)

quote Atb: "There's a lot I have not tried, but here's some stuff I hear referenced a lot which I haven't tried:


Lindy Rig


Worm Harness


Sucker Rig


Searchbaits (aren't they all? If you're fan casting and moving, isn't it that simple?


I try to use something new every year to expand my toolbox, and it seems like everything works to a degree if you put your mind to it. I've added weedless presentations, swimbaits, and different rigging options. This year I'm focusing on drop-shotting, which I am high on. I start with panfish around this time of year, and scale the technique up as I more on to other species. I have high hopes for drop-shotting walleye next month!


"

Give the Lindy rig a try. Tipped with a leech, it's one of the most effective lures I've used for catching walleye. Drifting through channels and off points.

Dang it, bassnet!

Well, it's easy to write it down...speaking it I fumble. Something written down I probably could.

quote bassnet: "Well, it's easy to write it down...speaking it I fumble. Something written down I probably could."

Let me think about where we could immortalize your wisdom. Writing it would be fine and if you wouldn't mind, I'd bring it to a high shine.

Ok

Teach me Al & Ron for I have
never caught a fish on a dardevil,
never caught a fish on a artificial worm?
never caught a fish on a pig & jig?
never caught a fish on a soft crawdad bait?
never caught a fish on a tail diver?
never caught a fish on a rattletrap?
never caught a fish on a bulldog?
These are all in my tackle and God knows I have tried these lures extensively, and have seen fish caught on them but I can't seem to get them to work for me!
For my penance I shall read 10 Infisherman, and catch 2 dozen nightcrawlers.

White tube for lake trout
Cranks for lake trout (including the purpledescent tail dancer).
Bait for lake trout
Spoons for lake trout
... lake trout
Seems to be a theme. I'm pretty sure that the pictures and stories that you all post are a conspiracy to drive me crazy. That fish doesn't actually exist.

I had a lazy ike back in the day. I could not catch anything with it. Even weeds would spit it out.

quote Captn Tony: "For my penance I shall read 10 Infisherman, and catch 2 dozen nightcrawlers."

LOL

Marketing Promotion at work. I lost one on Missing Link once, not sure if it was a fish or a snag, it happened so fast.

quote Savage Voyageur: "There is a undisclosed BWCA lake that we go to often that we can catch Walleye all day long. Then we cast out lighted slip bobbers from shore and most nights after supper we can catch 10-15 more all thrown back. We just sit on our canoe pad and have an adult beverage and a Cuban cigar and let the fun begin. Largemouth bass and Smallmouth bass on spinnerbaits all the time.


What evades me is dropshot fishing and limited success with a Senko worm rig. I've tried both but I just don't have good luck with them. Maybe I need more time on the water, I am retired now so work is no longer an excuse. "

Geez, Savage, sign me up for that! You've got it figured out for sure. After searching the maps for a lake called "undisclosed", I then assumed the lake name might be "Eden", "Shangri La" or "Utopia".....my search proved fruitless. Any chance you can share some info with a younger BW angler where this might be? Perhaps an email of the info could be part of your last will and testament. I envy the time you have available for fishing in your retirement!

Anyway, back to subject at hand. I'd throw rattletraps (lipless cranks) onto my list of not productive, along with Blakemore Roadrunners. I hear so much about both, especially Roadrunners for crappie, panfish....just not when on the end of my line. I have some of both along for my BW trip this spring. Chartreuse roadrunner with a leech? Gonna give it a shot when drifting for 'eyes. I'll give a rattletrap or two a few casts in bassy areas too.

This is interesting MM. I have not caught a fish on a Senko. Granted, haven't used them much, and have had good intentions on using them more...

quote Bdubguy: "This is interesting MM. I have not caught a fish on a Senko. Granted, haven't used them much, and have had good intentions on using them more... "

They're my follow-up lure. When a bass missed your surface lure, toss a Senko to the spot and watch your line, for you'll often see the hit before you feel it. Don't wait too long to set the hook.

quote missmolly: "

quote Bdubguy: "This is interesting MM. I have not caught a fish on a Senko. Granted, haven't used them much, and have had good intentions on using them more... "

They're my follow-up lure. When a bass missed your surface lure, toss a Senko to the spot and watch your line, for you'll often see the hit before you feel it. Don't wait too long to set the hook. "

Do you throw your follow up senko texas rigged or wacky, Miss Molly?

A Senko rigged wacky on a dropshot is a deadly presentation. I now go up north with a rod dedicated to drop shot presentations. It is a patient and 'slower' presentation, but pays off more than not.

Wacky, but I should try it with a hook in the head too like a largemouth presentation.

quote shock: "not necessarily a lure but a color pattern and thats blue/silver minnow imitation."

Rapala skitter pop/prop is killer for me in this pattern

Re drop shots:

- great in moving water, the current will impart action on the bait. My favorite bait is a Gulp 3" fry.

My son caught this on first evening out, one of first Senko cast at campsite last September... 39 inches..

I have a small down rigger. Have tried it with canoe and 14 ft boat. Never have caught a fish with it. Granted I usually don't give it much game time.
I also have tried planer boards with same results.
This will change this year.

quote mapsguy1955: "My son caught this on first evening out, one of first Senko cast at campsite last September... 39 inches.. "

Nice!

Black?

I was heavily influenced by what I read on this forum ten years ago because I was about to fish for species I did not have in California. "Top ten lure" lists were frequent and I would pick from lures that occurred most commonly near the top.

Going with other people's favorites was a good starting point but I think I might have done nearly as well if I had started out using what worked for me at home.

I have never fished with a worm harness, seiko or buzz bait in the BW. However, I've caught plenty of bass on them in California. Same with drop shot fishing.

The red and white Dardevle and yellow five of diamonds never worked out for me in the BW but they came through for me later, in BC and Yukon Terr.

The fire tiger pattern cranks worked for me in the BW, in summer but not early June.

I own several inherited Johnson's Spoons but I have never cast one, primarily because of the things I read on the Fishing forum, ten years ago. Different people had never caught a fish on one despite using them over long periods of time.

I can't swear to it but I don't think I have ever caught a fish, in the BW, on a Mepps Spinner. It was my brother's most productive lure in the BW. He'd be landing fish left and right and I'd have to switch FROM a Mepps to start catching fish. It's the power of the mind, I guess. I've caught tons of trout and bass with Mepps spinners, in California.

I've used slip bobbers from camp successfully in the BW. I still don't like messing with them.

The collective favorite ten years ago, the silver and black original Rapala, was moderately successful for me.

My most successful technique, by far, was a leech with a buoyant jig.

And I have never caught a fish with a leech and a buoyant jig. I have, however, caught countless fish on leeches.