Fishing Outside Your Comfort Zone

“This is my jerkbait. There are many like it but this one is mine. My jerkbait is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me my jerkbait is useless. Without my jerkbait, I am useless… I must fire my jerkbait true…”

Show me your war face: Full Metal Jacket — ***Show me your jerkbait face!!***

It’s easy to get attached to our favorite lures, favorite locations or favorite fishing patterns. So much so, that parting ways with a certain bait – or a certain lake – seems unfathomable.

We go with what we know.

If you take a look at the recent TV spot for Minn Kota Trolling Motors with iPilot & Spot Lock – what do they keep repeating?

“This is MY SPOT. I ain’t going NOWHERE.”

It’s the same with confidence baits. While they are (very) important, if we don’t break away from “the usual”, we never grow as anglers.

… so… what do you do when YOUR SPOT ain’t producing fish? What happens when YOUR CONFIDENCE BAIT gets ignored?

YOU PIVOT – because sticking with the same thing and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity.

hillary crazy you dont say — Here’s a picture of Hillary. No reason.

It’s time to fish something different!

I bank fish often. Love it. Usually, it’s a successful way to target largemouth bass… but lately, the bank-bite has been off.

Way off.

I’m talkin’ non-existent at my favorite lakes. We touched on setting up scouting missions when times are tough – which is exactly what I’ve been doing – fishing new, challenging water with presentations I’ve never tried before. (Some old favorites have produced as well…)

Take a look at a few recent fish and presentations that have worked. See if one of these suggestions sparks your curiosity – then get out there and give it a shot!

Jon Boat Largemouth Bass Powerbait Minnow — Exploring new water in the jon boat. Tried a **walking bait for the first time ever**. Several largemouth crushed it!
Heddon Zara Spook Puppy:
Tackle Direct | Amazon

Largemouth Bass Bank Fishing Strike King Super Finesse Worm Floating — Found a **new, tiny pond on Google Earth**. Fished it with a simple fluorocarbon leader, 3/0 Trokar and a floating worm. Great success!
Strike King Super Finesse Worm:
Amazon

Jon Boat Bass Largemouth Yum Dinger Wacky Rigged — Took the jon boat out for a second time and the topwater bite was off. Slowed down and threw a small plastic to mimic the minnows I could see skipping about in the shallows. BOOM!
Powerbait Twitchtail Minnow:
Tackle Direct | Amazon

Snakebite Rig Largemouth Bass Fishing Illinois Bank Fishing — Found another small local lake with clear water and weedy cover. Fished a **Snakebite Rig** through the grass and connected many times. I’m still developing this rig and I’ll post it later – but one key component is the compact weighted hook.
**Z-Man Finesse BulletZ:**
**Tackle Direct | Amazon**

Jon Boat Bass Zara Puppy Yum Dinger Largemouth — My biggest bass from these last 2 weeks came on the smallest bait I threw, fished weightless in **ultra-clear water**, on **light line**. Got ’em!
**3″ Yum Dinger:**
**Tackle Direct | Amazon**

How about you? Any lures or locations you’ve been experimenting with? Let me know!

What do you think? Cancel reply

It ain't rocket surgery - if you want to grow as an angler, it's never too late - but you need to push yourself. Grab something new, go somewhere strange, and start casting.

I'll be doing the same.

Tight Lines & Godspeed, Patriots.

Quick Message for Readers:

Thanks for visiting! I’m going to keep doing everything possible to keep the helpful content coming, and FREE FOR EVERYONE… but I need your help. Please chip in by making a small monthly contribution to keep this site alive & growing. $4.96 will buy a sweet Pack ‘o Dingers, and with it, I promise to catch many bass in your honor. Thanks. You are a gentleman & a scholar! -AJ

Sure, I'll Pitch in for a Pack 'o Dingers!

Featured Video:

crawling underneath the interstate to fish micro swimbaits email link

Crawling Under the Interstate to Fish
Last year I found a gorgeous fishing area after crawling under the interstate - these 4 baits slayed 'em! Watch the Video>

Stars & Bars Fishing is a video blog (vlog) dedicated to putting the techniques we write about to work. All Episodes>

Subscribe:

Weekly articles & videos to help us become better anglers – and better men.

Worth Checking Out:

Rapala X-Rap Pop Popper Ad Banner — ***The Rapala X-Rap Pop in Moss Black Shiner***

Ad Rapala Husky Jerk Olive Ghost Banner — ***The Rapala Husky Jerk in Olive Ghost***

ad vmc bj boxer jig swimbait — ***VMC Boxer Swimbait Jig***

ad vmc hsbj hybrid swimbait jig — ***VMC Hybrid Swimbait Jig***

Gary Fultz says:

October 15, 2022 at 3:07 pm

I have been using a power bait twister tail on a jig lately. Pike bite off the line a lot but I’m doing well on walleye, bass, crappie and some big blue gill. I may start tipping with minnows for walleye to be more engaged. That also means more pike bite off’s but I land quite a few.

Loading...

- AJ Hauser says:
  
  November 2, 2022 at 9:14 am
  
  As frustrating as those hammer handles can be, I do wish we had them around here. They can be so much fun. How deep are you catching your walleye? I’m just curious. I primarily target largemouth and smallmouth bass, and this year I’ve had to find deeper water for whatever reason. It’s always a bit different. Have a great week, Gary!
  
  Loading...

Largemouth Bass Vision: Horizontal vs Vertical – The Minimalist Fisherman

October 12, 2022

[…] Fishing Outside Your Comfort Zone“Take a look at a few recent fish and presentations that have worked. See if one of these suggestions sparks your curiosity – then get out there and give it a shot!” […]

Loading...