How many times do you.......

[Red Childress]

Just curious as to how many times you guys change baits during a normal day of casting??? It does not matter what species you are chasing......

Personally, I am pretty hard headed. I try to make the best educated guess as to what SHOULD be the hot bait for the day and I hardly ever change unless someone else is having very good success with something different. If musky fishing and my client bangs a fish, I will write that off as it being a cast that landed in the right spot at the right time. If there is another fish caught or follows (not on my rod), the light goes off and I am much more likely to change to a very similar bait but different color since I personally think action/size is much more important than color in most situations.


Anyone else have any input???

[Joe M]

I always throw jerkbaits,gliders and bucktails on every outing. I will use my 5 or 6 go to baits then see what is going on. I may use the same lure but in 6 or 7 different color patterns if I am getting action. Then again there are days when you see fish and throw 50 different lures and get NO action. Sometimes I wonder how my boat stays afloat with all my tackle boxes.

[b.bent66]

im hardheaded also i have my couple goto baits and i dont change all that often.

[jah1317]

I try to keep my line in the water where the fish are so I do my best to not to switch often. I keep 2 rods rigged at all times one almost always has a suick on it (9" weighted sucker) the other usually has a Jake or bucktail on it. I would say on an average trip I may run 4-5 baits. It also kinda depends on if I got a bunch of new lures or not..... if I did they all have to get wet!

[stushsky]

i have gone full circle with muskies...used to have a couple hundred baits in my boat. now i have maybe 20 ready to go. topwater, glide, jerk, spinnerbait, rubber and bucks. colors...super bright, natural and black. you have heard it before and i agree that new baits with new colors catch more fisherman than fish. during the winter i re-paint baits that i hadn't had a follow on the previous year. paint is cheap...new baits are not...use your imagination...a db 10 bucktail looks "like" what to a musky?

[RapRunR]

I have a half dozen tried and true lures. After working the entire area i'm at with one and if i have no luck or followers will then switch to another lure. I do always switch at dusk too.

[Polish_Pike]

I overpack and change lures often. My friends get mad when I board their vessel with 2 giant boxes.

It's not because of a lack of confidence in the lure. I generally agree with the "right spot at the right time" theory. I definitely see how you can have a great day with a dozen lures to choose from that have a variety of depth, size, and retrieval speed.

I change lures and try different things to keep my attention level elevated.

I have a tendency to get lazy with a lure that's been on for 3 straight hours with no results. The figure 8 becomes a figure C (at best), and the chance of not seeing a follow get increased because I start to daydream. When I change lures, it renews my vigor and I believe that will reward me someday. It's tough to stay focused for 10-12 hours when your arms are sore and no fish have been seen.

One thing all musky pro's seem to agree on is you gotta be observant, figure 8on every cast and go into each cast thinking this cast is the magical one, ready to set the hook. I'm a pack-rat and lure changer to keep my focus.

And sometimes the arms just get too tired to keep throwing giant blades, and you gotta goto something a little easier to throw.

[toothyfishman]

I have a ton of lures along and normally only use a handful of them.

I guess what makes me change the most is the areas/depth I'm fishing.
If it didn't change then I probably didn't either.

I do agree with the re-newed energy of making a decision to change a bait and do it when times are getting slow.
I seldom do it but just stopping for 5 minutes, put your rod down and eat a sandwich, get a drink, snack, or just take a break when times are tough and the fish are not playing just gives you a fresh start, maybe open the box and make a change then too. Talk to your partner, make a new plan maybe.
It is lost time casting but sometimes it's what you need to get on track and stay focused again when it counts.

"Zobie Casting" and not paying attention is just going to break your heart when the fish shows up and you blow it, if changing lures help I'd do it.

[NitroMusky]

I think it all depends on your strategy and what you about the situation going into the day.

for me, I first try to figure out where I expect to find the fish (shallow vs deeper, weeds vs breaklines) and based on that and conditions (pre/post front, time of day, chop etc) choose the lure type that will work that situation best. after a little while of working that area with no action I'll tie something else on in a different style that will also work in that situation, usually in 15-30 minute intervals until I've decided its time to move elsewhere. and I adapt my lure choice as conditions change over the day

I'm convinced that you can throw a certain bait in front of a fish (esp the finicky muskie) with no reaction, but another one with a different color, vibration or style will be the one that it reacts to on that given day so I change once I've thouroghly worked the area with a bait. and my partner and I will usually try to use different styles/colors until we find one that works and then both use that and similar ones from there out.

not sure if its the right answer (or if there is one ) but thats what I do