Forum | Comfortable... maybe toooo comfortable!

Years ago… I got comfortable with 3-4 styles of fishing. And since then I haven't really tried any other methods. Why? What I did worked for me – most of the time. Rather than go through the discomfort of learning something new I kept doing what I had been doing. Recently I got to thinkin' perhaps I should broaden my presentation repertoire. This year I'm going to try things I haven't ever or in a looooong time. Drop-shotting is on my list as are swim baits as is frogs and hard jerk baits. Of those listed, and there are more, at one time or another I've fished'em. The only thing I haven't done is drop-shot.

Same thing with baits… While many do the same thing as what I'm using now there's no doubt they do them a little differently and maybe… just maybe it might be exactly the subtle difference the fish are looking for on that particular day.

The advantages of staying with 3-4 methods is you get to know, without a doubt, what the bait should be doing and can sometimes detect strikes the casual user would never feel. The disadvantage is if the fish aren't on that particular method or bait – you strike out!

Just a note on swim baits. It ain't all that new…. yeah some of the baits are flashier and more realistic but heck… I was swimming what was called boot tail shad on an exposed hook jig head back in the 80's and doing right well on it. What has changed more than the baits themselves is the hooks and line we fish with today. Back in the 80's swimming jig heads were geared mostly towards saltwater anglers and u-tail grubs and thus had heavy hooks and even though they were exposed the streachy monofiliment line made hooksets a challenge at times. So I moved away from them…

Sooooo how about you? Have you gotten comfortable… maybe toooo comfortable?