[oldschool]

Since I have been active on bass fishing boards about a year now, a few things really perplex me. One is the tendency to buy only the cheapest injection molded soft plastic worms, creatures and swim baits. It is no problem at all to spend $50K for a bass rigs, $300 to $400 rods & reels, yet refuse to pay 30 cents for a custom, top of the line plastic worm like Roboworms. Zoom, Berkley and Culprit mass produced injection molded products dominate the market. Two colors also make up 90% of the sales; watermelon/red flake and black/blue flake. The only time any good bass fisherman out west uses black with blue flake is night fishing or flipping the Sacramento Delta. We do use a combination of greens with red flake, usually adding black, green, blue and purple flakes to go with watermelon, however it is a secondary color used primarily in the spring.
I believe the anglers that start using colors like; Aarons magic, oxblood with light red flake, MM III and blue crawler will double the catch rate when fishing plastic worms. How easy is that! Give them something that the bass are not conditioned to.
Tom
Ps; http;//www.roboworm.com/ check out there products and look at the colors I listed, they work everywhere across the country. Innovations products, Yamamoto, Gitzit, Iovino products...the pro's are fishing them and you should.

 

[hi steel basser]

Tom, I have been expirimenting with some local hand-pours. Some of them are just too pretty to leave on the shelf. ;D But it seems that the fish in this area just prefer a plain old green pumpkin zoom worm as often as not. I will continue to play with the other colors, but when the going gets tough, I'm grabbing a plain old green pumpkin- and catching fish with it.

 

[oldschool]

Tom, I have been expirimenting with some local hand-pours. Some of them are just too pretty to leave on the shelf. ;D But it seems that the fish in this area just prefer a plain old green pumpkin zoom worm as often as not. I will continue to play with the other colors, but when the going gets tough, I'm grabbing a plain old green pumpkin- and catching fish with it.

Why use a local hand pour and technology has passed them up, try ordering 1 bag of Aarons magic w/red flake, in whatever type plastic you are confident with. I do not have anything to do with this company, however it is the best soft plastic product available.
Tom

 

[hi steel basser]

OK, will do. Can't wait to write my post about how great they are.

 

[Jared]

I agree with you Tom about tossing the bass something new.

Quite often I am like everyone else and will toss your typical green pumpkin or something but I do from time to time use custom colors. Most I pour myself. I have been pouring worms for about 20 years now.. I dont do it as much as I use to due to time restrictions but... I do have a few favorite colors that I pour for certain lakes and certain times of the year that I will always make time to pour. I've done quite well in tournaments with them and they have been dubbed "yankee baits" by the people they have beaten lol The colors arent radically different than what most people use on Santee Cooper but they are different enough to make a difference and stand out while still looking quite natural. I think thats the key right there.

Most lakes you go to you will find that there are certain colors that the locals will always fish. I believe if you can find a custom color that is similiar to that color but with a difference or two... that could be enough to make the difference between doing so-so and tearing em up.

Now as far as roboworm, I saw some interesting colors there and to be honest.. 4 bucks for a pack of 10, thats not bad at all when you consider how much a pack of senko can cost you.

 

[Guest]

Tom, I am a little perplexed at your post. You make it sound like it is a bad thing to use cheap baits. Well, I use cheap baits and do not buy expensive baits just because they are expensive. Some folks have budgets to live on and can't justify spending $6 for 10 worms when the "EXACT SAME THING" can be purchased for $3 per 10. This is not rocket science here. Plastic is plastic. I actually own some Robo Worms but you are certainly a California man. Not everywhere can the same tactics and techniques be applied with the same results. I thought you knew that already?

Also, I use black and blue allot because well, I catch lots of fish on them. In Florida there is not a more productive color combo around. I have tried watermelon with success, Junebug with lots of success and many other colors but black and blue just gets it done. So why change? Do I need to change just for the sake of change?

I also do not buy $400 reels or $400 rods. While some may truly believe these products are worth it, to me they are not. The product isn't to blame most of the time it is the user.

I am in marketing so I know a thing or two about marketing products and how companies use the "It costs more so it must be better" philosophy. In some cases this is true but in many this is not. For example, I catch just as many fish on Alluring baits as I ever did on Senkos. So why should I buy Senkos for $6 a bag when I can buy Alluring for $2.50 per 10?

Perception is key in any industry and remember what perceptions some have about certain products doesn't mean they are "superior" maybe to that person they are. So maybe for you Aarons Magic is the best color when to me it isn't. Sort of like some people think Picasso was a great artist and I happen to think he wasn't. Who is wrong? Do we need to be wrong or just different? Think about it.

 

[oldschool]

The point is this; 90% of the fisherman on the lake you fish use the same exact bait at the same time. Why do you believe that the bass are going to bite the one you presented? Are you that much better. I fish Yamamoto's Hula grubs, Kreatures and Zoom flukes and G tail worms (night), Berkley's power worms (night). Every western pro fishing this years Classic will have Roboworms as a go to soft plastic, Aaron Martens, Ish Monroe, John Murray and Skeet Reese and that should tell you something. I fish all over the country and Canada, when traveling and time allows. Everyone I get a chance to fish with, a local, will have their pet colors (guess what color) and can't believe the bass in their lake would eat a purple worm, for example. The reason is they never try it. A 10 package of Roboworms cost #3.50 + tax, thats not out of line for high quality product. I only used Roboworm for an example. You have made my point and only fish watermelon green pumpkin with red flake like everyone else does...it just amazes me.
Tom

 

[TampaCountryBoy]

I fish a lot of zoom products and love a color that is hard to find now called bluegill. I use it just to show the bass something a little different, I still throw pumkinseed, June Bug, motoroil, watermelon and I love to throw Mann's jelly worms usually in grape or blackberry.

I also throw GY products as well as Strike King, Hawg Caller, hell I think I got em all. I have purchased some hand poured baits from Ghost Baits. They offer a different profile and have some different tint to the same old colors.

I ain't got no dog in this fight, I just try and throw what I believe will get the fish to commit and hopefully I want be committed for buying all these plastics.

Tom, I have got a few packs of Roboworms on the pegboard in the garage, maybe I should take em to the lake. Thanks for your advice.

 

[oldschool]

Hope this post was not a flag to everyone. Just remember the old adage; 10% of the fisherman catch 90% of the bass...for a good reason. Put yourself in the 10% catching all those bass, it's not that difficult.
Happy Valentines day!
Tom
Ps; Roboworm makkes series called Rodo-X, pro series. The 4" Pitchin' Kraw, MMIII PK-B29F is a hot item and I beleive it will work anywhere, for anyone looking for a great creature bait. Bag of 6 is #3.99

 

[Guest]

You have made my point and only fish watermelon green pumpkin with red flake like everyone else does...it just amazes me.

I am sorry, where did you get this info from?

Do you use Bubblegum colored worms Tom? I do. It catches fish believe it or not. Not just around springtime or in cypress tree filled lakes. it actually works in ultra clear water. Yep, Bass are pretty stupid animals and can be caught on a variety of colors, baits etc. Good thing for me they are not too picky andwill bite just about everything I have at some point or another. I have caught them on 3" long worms to 11" long worms.

I have at least 100lbs of soft plastics and have almost every imagineable color offered. So I have no problem using any bait, any color, basically whatever it takes to catch more bass. That is afterall what we are all about here.

 

[Jared]

There is one thing that can be said about popular colors and that is that many of the popular colors tend to imitate something natural in the bass's habitat. Regardless of how many people do use that color, the bass will still hit it just like they constantly hit the same color live shad, multing crawdad, bottom darter or amphibian. If it's natural looking and natural moving, it has a very good chance of being eaten if properly presented. This is why I feel that green pumpkin, watermelon seed, black etc... work so well. They are natural colors and fit very well in the bass's world. Now I am not contradicting what I said about sometimes liking to use custom colors by any means as my custom colors that I have used also are very natural looking. But I am a very strong believer in confidence and presentation. I think if a confident angler, does the right thing, in the right area, it wont matter much if he is using purple, black, brown, green , oxblood or whatever, he will catch fish. He could even catch enough to win any tournament there is.

I personally dont think there is any magic bait that if you have it you will catch more fish than everyone. (though we all know that certain crankbaits will outperform others) But if an angler feels that a certain color mixture or a certain flake will give him an edge, and believes it with confidence, I believe he will do well. Yet that same angler could tell someone else to use that same confidence color and the other person may strike out, simply because he didnt have the confidence his buddy had.

And in defense of cheap mass produced worms: 1994 Bassmaster Classic, North Carolina - Bryan Kerchal was pre-fishing and near a dock found a red shad Culprit worm. He started fishing that same worm and bought more for the tournament. That worm is what he won the Classic on. As a matter of fact, not only was that worm the winning bait, but it was also responsible for making Bryan the only angler who had a limit all 3 days of competition.

 

[jwbarker]

While I agree with you that Zoom plastics are cheap and I don't use them 98% of the time - if you go back through your issues of your fishing magazines and look at the types of soft plastics that are winning tournaments - more often than not, it appears that Zoom is an effective bait to use - cheap or not. I know you are more interested in catching the one fish of a lifetime and therefore you need something better than the run-of-the-mill lure and I support you in your efforts. However, for the common weekend angler mass production lures do work and will work most of the time without spending more money than needed to get the job done. Of course, this isn't to disagree with you either, I am sure that there are times when the higher end and more supple lures will outfish the mass produced cheap stuff, but it is a matter of necessity for some.

 

[imonembad]

If there is a substitute for the chomper grub I haven't found it. Everything else is inferior to it.

 

[fish4funinfl]

Just a little food for thought so to speak.

http://www.woodaves.com/article_zoom-baits.htm

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/bassmaster/classic/news/story?page=classic_fea_final25

 

[oldschool]

You have made my point and only fish watermelon green pumpkin with red flake like everyone else does...it just amazes me.

I am sorry, where did you get this info from?

Do you use Bubblegum colored worms Tom? I do. It catches fish believe it or not. Not just around springtime or in cypress tree filled lakes. it actually works in ultra clear water. Yep, Bass are pretty stupid animals and can be caught on a variety of colors, baits etc. Good thing for me they are not too picky andwill bite just about everything I have at some point or another. I have caught them on 3" long worms to 11" long worms.

I have at least 100lbs of soft plastics and have almost every imagineable color offered. So I have no problem using any bait, any color, basically whatever it takes to catch more bass. That is afterall what we are all about here.

Confusion with earlier post. Bass fisherman love to buy lures and soft plastics are "collected" by most of us. We try them once or twice and "store" them, going back to the flavor of the day. You are one of the exceptions and try different things to determine what the bass want and that makes you a better bass fisherman at the end of the day. Thats the point of this, giving the bass what they want.
Tom

 

[BASSDUDER]

Bass don't care how much the lure they are eating cost. I buy most of my soft plastics from Barlows Tackle and they are cheap, last year I fished three club tourneys exclusively with those soft plastics, and wouldn't you believe I placed second as a non boater ( competing against boaters) in all three. It's all in the confidence you put into the lures you have.

 

[Jared]

It's all in the confidence you put into the lures you have.

Exactly! :cheers:

 

[hi steel basser]

Just a little food for thought so to speak.

http://www.woodaves.com/article_zoom-baits.htm

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/bassmaster/classic/news/story?page=classic_fea_final25

I don't put a whole lot of stock in what pros say they caught their fish on. They get paid to like a brand. Also, with the other thread, you cant tell me that the top 25 at the classic only threw 1 or 2 lures the whole time. Anybody who knows anything will change presentation when the bite stops. They had to throw at least 5 different lures apeice.

 

[oldschool]

What would give for the lure that wins this years classic? Does nayone believe that the lure will be a cheap plastic?
Has anyone taken the time to even look at Roboworms Pro-X series Pitch' n Kraw that was referenced? I'm not saying that will be the winner, but I can guarantee that the bass in your locale lakes haven't seen that lure often or at all. That is my point.
When lakes Casitas and Castaic were producing giant bass, the mass of bass fisherman were worm fishing green weenie with red flake worms and catching lots of 2 to 3 lb bass. I could wait until they would clear out of the area I wanted to fish and catch double digit bass on hair jig with custom color pork rind trailer, simply because these bass were conditioned not to bite the plastic worms that everyone on the lake was fishing. What do you think those fisherman would pay for one of those jigs, if they knew about it?
Tom

 

[TampaCountryBoy]

Super points Tom, I believe that is exactly why you always hear about the pros tricking up thier baits. It is to show something different to the fish. But excuse my ignorance could that not be said for what has been called in this post as cheap baits. These baits do offer something a little different over that of the store bought well known names. What ya think?

I orderd some tonight as my local shop hooks were empty where the Kraws were hung, but I did pickup a package of the Sour Puss thats resting comfortably under the seat of my truck until momma goes to sleep.

Tom didn't the same folks make the zipper product as well?