Best Lure and Technique (Winter 2024)

[Capt. BassinLou]

New for 2024, the Best Lure and Technique thread. This will be a seasonal thread, where Florida UB Members can stop by and share which lure, bait, and technique has been working the best for them in 2024. The concept is simple. You share as much information and detail as you want. This is a teaching and resource thread, designed to help our UB Florida bass fishing community. There will be 4 threads to watch out for through out the year.

First season up to bat: Winter




 

[Capt. BassinLou]

Let's kick this thread off!!

On this outing, I threw a host of techniques, but NOTHING was working, until I slowed things down and began to throw the stickbait.

1/1/24 outing: Weightless 5" stick bait. Bass were taking the stick worm as it slowly descended from the bank to the first ledge. 

To read the full report go there --> Everglades (New Year's Day)

[Capt. BassinLou]

1/5/24 Outing

The only productive bait of the trip. Swimbait. 5". The bass I managed to catch were holding around the pencil reeds.

[Larry Francis]

So far this winter my best or most productive lure or presentation has been a pitched Senko 5 inch cut down to about 3.5 on a 3/8 oz tungsten bullet weight and a sprearpoint 3/0 flippin hook.

Followed closely by a Junebug Mag 2 worm on a 1/8 BFS rig

[big g]

Plastic stickbaits will catch bass almost anywhere, any season, just figure out the proper cadence for that day, that hour.  Flukes will also do the same thing.  Great little baits.

[topdsm0138]

When it gets cold, I downsize and slow down. I also have a tendency to stay on a spot a bit longer too. For me, I use a Z-man weedless Bulletz head with either a Junebug, Black & Blue or PB&J Zman Ned Craw or regular Ned. Sometimes if I notice they're "tapping" it but no solid hookset, I'll switch to non-weedless and just clean the hook as needed.

Sent from undisclosed location. -Tiller Mafia

[FlatsNBay]

Caught 10 today at the neighborhood pond on a Savage Gear ned rig on a 1/16 oz jighead fished very slow with minimal action on a clean  bottom. Hits were pretty hard and they were fully engulfing the bait. Biggest went 3 lbs.

[big g]

Today caught ten in an hour and a half, all with weightless Flukes fished slow and deep.  Just ticking the top of the bottom grasses, with pauses every few yards.  All on the small side but willing to play.

[Capt. BassinLou]

I went on big bass hunt today, the Gambler Big EZ and Siebert Outdoors Spinnerbait were the key baits.

[RangerAndBass]

Come on guys this is Florida. We are supposed to be power fisherman, not finessey, clear water smallmouth anglers.
That said I've caught next to nothing this year power fishing. 🤣
Oh and I am only teasing about the thread so far.

[Eric-Maine]

I am fishing Florida vicariously this season. Looking forward to the reports.

Sent from my SM-G781U using Tapatalk

[Larry Francis]

Come on guys this is Florida. We are supposed to be power fisherman, not finessey, clear water smallmouth anglers.
That said I've caught next to nothing this year power fishing. 🤣
Oh and I am only teasing about the thread so far.

Well so far this Winter in Florida has been more like Winter in central USA. Tenn, Carolinas and such. Had to buy Hand warmers yesterday.   

[FlatsNBay]

Pitching a Paka Slim on hydrilla edges. 5/8 oz weight because the grass was very thin and sporadic.

[topdsm0138]

When it gets cold, I downsize and slow down. I also have a tendency to stay on a spot a bit longer too. For me, I use a Z-man weedless Bulletz head with either a Junebug, Black & Blue or PB&J Zman Ned Craw or regular Ned. Sometimes if I notice they're "tapping" it but no solid hookset, I'll switch to non-weedless and just clean the hook as needed.

Sent from undisclosed location. -Tiller Mafia

As I mentioned in this early post, try downsizing and slow down. Bass are like us, they get lazy when it's cold or hot. So they want to expend a little energy as possible.

For today's catches, I used a 1/16oz bullet, with a 3/0 thin gauge widegap hook, topped with a KVD Perfect Plastics 5" Finesse Worm in Junebug color. This was the biggest out of about 20 bass. All my hits were on the downfall of the worm. I jig twice, let fall, reel the excess slack, repeat.



Sent from undisclosed location. -Tiller Mafia

[topdsm0138]

Come on guys this is Florida. We are supposed to be power fisherman, not finessey, clear water smallmouth anglers.
That said I've caught next to nothing this year power fishing.
Oh and I am only teasing about the thread so far.

Sometimes finesse works.

Sent from undisclosed location. -Tiller Mafia

[Capt. BassinLou]

Nice catch!

[Capt. BassinLou]

3 techniques produced decent catches for me on my last outing. Swimbaits, spinnerbait, and the swim jig. I haven't fished the swim jig in quite a while, but it felt great sticking bass again throwing this technique!

[FlatsNBay]

After the 3rd warm day after a cold spell, gold pepper fluke fished along the shoreline in peppergrass. They were hitting pretty hard.

[Capt. BassinLou]

With our fluctuating temps and frequent cold fronts, the bass mood is all over the place. One day they are smashing moving baits and the next, the bass have disappeared. When the bass seem to have "disappeared" is when I have started to slow things down. Way down. Fishing plastics slowly deep, has been producing lately. 

[FlatsNBay]

1/16 oz Shakey Head with a Robo Worm for pond fishing has been getting bit for me.

[FlatsNBay]

I've been catching a few off the new Berkley Power Switch when they are schooling on shad. It casts like a rocket and perfectly imitates a shad.

[FlatsNBay]

As the water warms up, a topwater prop bait such as a Devil's Horse or Berkley Spin Rocket.

Around spawning areas and shallow water, a Texas rigged stick worm.